»Windows Vista Tips & Tricks

By Joel Durham

1. If you hate the look of Aero, click Start/Control Panel/Themes and you can choose a non-Aero theme, such as Windows Classic.

2. Windows Vista's installer can detect serial-ATA (SATA) drives without the need to provide a driver diskette. Don't bother creating a diskette for your SATA drives before you install Vista.

3. If, for some reason, the Vista installation gets interrupted due to an unintentional shutdown or reboot, start the computer without booting the Vista DVD. Windows Vista's installer should pick up where it left off. If it does-n't, then restart the installation over from scratch.

4. When you perform a search with Vista's new, instant search feature, you can save the search in a special folder. This powerful feature allows you to create a virtual folder which, by default, is saved in your \\Searches\ folder. Every time you open such a folder, the search results are updated.

5. In Windows Vista, you can add additional clocks to the system tray. Click the clock, and then click Date and Time Settings. Click the Additional Clocks tab. You can add one or two additional clocks to the tray and select their time zones.

6. You can save your progress in most of the games included with Windows Vista—even the carry-overs from earlier versions of Windows.

7. You can create XML documents, which are more secure than regular text files or even word processor docs. Just create a document in a word processor, print it via the options menu, and select the XPS printer.

8. If you upgrade your graphics card in preparation for Windows Vista, be sure to get a new card with as much local memory as possible. Since Windows Vista renders everything—even the desktop and windows them-selves—as 3D surfaces, local 3D memory greatly improves performance...sometimes even more than a more powerful GPU.

9. Windows Vista games deposit their saves into a special directory, called Saved Games, in your personal folder. In theory, that will make upgrading to a new system much easier for gamers, who like to migrate their game saves.

10. When using the Help system, it's usually advantageous to include Microsoft's online database in your search. The online/offline status of your search is located on the bottom right of the Help window. You can click it to toggle.

11. The Games folder is a powerful repository of all things gaming. From within, you launch games, update games with the latest patches, enable parental controls to protect younger users from harmful content, and more. Invoke it by clicking Start/Games.

12. Several applications are available to help you tweak Windows Vista for maximum performance. They in-clude TweakVI (www.totalidea.com), TweakVista (www.tweakvista.com/tweakvistautility), and VistaBootPRO (www.vistabootpro.org). And don't forget about Windows ReadyBoost, which lets you use a removable flash memory drive to boost system memory.

13. Do you use the icon in the upper left corner of system and application windows? A quick double-click closes the window (instead of a single click on the X at the upper right). Though Microsoft left the icon out in Vista, the function remains.—Sarah Pike

14. In Microsoft Windows Explorer, you can use column headers (Name, Size, and so on) to sort files. Savvy users may right-click on a column head to remove items or add some—say, Dimensions for images. There are around 45 such columns available in Windows XP. Windows Vista has well over 250, covering a multitude of metadata.—Sarah Pike

15. If you've become used to surfing your Program Menu to get to applications, you'll be in for a shock when you first use Microsoft Windows Vista. The new Program Menu shows you only recently used applications and requires extra clicks to navigate to submenus. This can be very frustrating but, thankfully, the Search box Microsoft has added to the Start menu is a great replacement—as long as you're an accurate typist. As quickly as you can type, it returns intelligent results in apps, files, even e-mail messages.—Dave Cardinal, freelance writer

From: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2088459,00.asp

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» Fast Web Design For Webmaster

by: T. O' Donnell

About two years ago, I had a go at commercial web site design. I put a medium-sized ad in a London classified ad paper. Nothing fancy: "Web designer seeks work ..." etc. This was expensive, about £500 for a month's run.

Got a few replies. Lesson number one: advertise where clients of the calibre you want will see it. The clients I got thought £300 was a lot for a web site. They didn't want to pay web hosting. They wanted a lot of bang for their buck. 'Mission creep' was a term I grew to know and loathe.

This set me thinking: how could I give these people all they could ever want, but not spend a lot of time and money? Lately, I realized how.

So how can you get a full featured site up in a day? Easy (ish!).

1. Mambo Content Management System http://www.mambo.com.

I wish I'd found this software a couple of years ago. It's freeware. The default set-up allows people without web design skills to update the site. It has a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) option. This adds HTML Area code to text input form fields. Each HTML code input box becomes a mini HTML editor.

If you can use Microsoft Word, you can add formatted HTML code to the site.

To get it running you need to know how to install MySQL databases, or have PHPMyAdmin as part of your web-hosting package.

You can add articles, edit them, send emails to members, and be contacted by users.

The only criticisms I have of this software are:

1. The admin interface is confusing. It's all there, just finding and using it is the problem!

2. You need to search around template sites to find ones suited to your site purpose. I wanted simple, clean, business ones. Most of those available seem to have a fat graphic which covers half the screen. There are more restrained ones out there.

These are minor gripes, compared to the relief of finding what is essentially a web site in a box. It can be installed in an hour, once you get familiar with it.

To add ecommerce to your site:

Oscommerce Shopping Cart http://www.oscommerce.com.

Again, this is a full-featured, freeware software. You can add lots of freeware 'plug-ins' to it, to get a professional shopping cart.

Therein lies the danger. Some of these plug-ins require altering or overwriting the default cart files. When you try to upgrade the cart version later, you may 'break' it, by overwriting a plug-in, thus creating errors.

The trick here is to only install plug-ins that add files (rather than overwrite them) or that require minor alterations to existing files.

What I do is download all the versions of the plug-in type I need e.g. a WYSIWYG editor. I then choose the one which has the least files, or which creates a new directory for its files. If it requires that important files be overwritten, or is complex, I chuck it.

Mambo and Oscommerce. Don't try to integrate them! Hyperlink from one to the other. I've tried integrations of other softwares, like PhpBB and PhpNuke. Fine, when it works, but when you upgrade one or the other, arrgh!

*Keep databases separate*. If one goes skew-whiff, then at least the other will still work. Same goes for adding chat rooms and the like. If they're all running off the one database, and that database becomes corrupted ...

It may offend your sense of tidiness for your visitors to have to sign up twice at your site, but you'll thank me for this sage advice later. Remember KISS is the basic rule of computing (Keep It Simple, Stupid!).

About the author:
T. O' Donnell ( http://www.tigertom.com) is an ecommerce consultant and curmudgeon living in London, UK. His latest project is an ebook on conservatories, available at http://www.ttconservatories.co.uk.T. O' Donnell freeware may be downloaded at http://www.ttfreeware.co.uk.

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» How To Effectively Use The Touchscreen On Your PDA

By: Gregg Hall

PDAs, or personal digital assistants, are similar to computers in many ways. One way they are different is that you typically use a touch screen to input data to your PDA. On a computer, you would type on a keyboard or point and click with a mouse. With a PDA, you simply tap the screen with a stylus.

The touch screen is used in various ways. One is the virtual keyboard. The letters, numerals, and other characters are displayed on the screen just as they are situated on an actual keyboard. It is only a picture, but if you tap the characters with the stylus you can create documents on your PDA. This is also good for setting up appointments on a calendar or writing a to-do list.

You can also tap some of the touch screen figures to activate buttons or select from a menu. You can tap and drag the stylus to highlight the information that is the most important to you. The touch screen is very versatile.

Another use of the touch screen and stylus is letter or word recognition. In this mode, letters or words are actually written with the stylus onto the screen. The PDA takes this data and converts it into computer text characters. This technology has been met with mixed reviews. Some like the way it works while others find it inadequate.

In stroke recognition, certain strokes are set up to correspond to the different characters on the keyboard. The strokes are easy to learn because they are similar to the letters. They are also easier for the PDA to recognize and so work better than letter or word recognition.

One thing to remember when using a PDA touch screen is that you only have to tap it lightly to get the effect you want. If you have to jab hard at the touch screen, it means there is something wrong. You may, for example, need to clean it.

When you clean your touch screen, be sure to use an electronic cleaner. Dust and other foreign material can get on the touch screen of your PDA. A daily cleaning will keep it working at its peak performance.

It may be tempting to use a pen or other pointed object to tap on the touch screen. This can damage the touch screen so much that you will not be able to use the PDA at all. Make sure that you keep track of the stylus so that you can always use it.

You can protect the touch screen with screen covers that are available in any department store. They come in multi-packs so that you can get several at one time. They will keep dust and dirt out when you are not using the PDA. They can be used for a period of time so that you do not have to have a new one every time you take out your PDA.

Using a touch screen on a PDA is easy. Whether you are using a virtual keyboard, tapping menu choices, or using one of the letter or stroke recognition systems, you will find that the touch screen offers ways to input data into your PDA.

Article Source: http://articles.directorygold.com

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Nokialand

by: Nicolas Fogelholm

I guess you havenดt heard of NokiaLand before? The naming NokiaLand has to do with the worlds big-gest handset manufacturer Nokia and Finland, the country it comes from.

Nokia

Nokia has not always been a world leader in cell phones, digital technologies, telecommunications networks, wireless data solutions and high tech gadgets like the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. Some 100 years ago the company was manufacturing paper, toilet paper, galoshes, tires and raincoats.

Finland

Thanks to Nokia Finland has become one of the fastest-growing and most prosperous economies in Europe. And Nokia phones have a dominant market position on its home market. This is why Finland is sometimes referred to as NokiaLand.

In the 1980s Finland was best known for its paper and pulp industries and long dark winters. At the same time Nokia made the decision to shift its company focus from timber, tires, and rubber boots to mobile phones. Good move - today the company sells more phones than any other company in the world.

The Nokia success story had an enormous impact on the finnish economy. Nokia increased the finnish GDP by more than 1.5 percent in 1999 alone. In 2004 Nokia's share of the Finnish GDP was 3.5 percent and accounted for almost a quarter of Finnish exports in 2003. Last year more than 20 000 people were employed by Nokia in Finland which is roughly 2 percent of the people in the Finnish business sector. Also several tiny companies such as Perlos have grown into large ones as Nokia subcontractors.

As Nokiaดs profits grew, the Nokia share price increased and this also created a large number of new very rich households in NokiaLand – thanks to Nokia.

The President

Believe it or not there was a secret plan some 5 years ago in NokiaLand to put Jorma Ollila, CEO of Nokia as president of Finland. This did not work out, but if it had we surely would have had our NokiaLand. The story was revealed when Sauli Niinist๖ published his memoirs this summer. He writes that he had asked Jorma Ollila, the chief executive of Nokia, to run for president in the 2000 presidential election. According to Mr Niinist๖, Mr Ollila pondered over the matter when Niinist๖ made him the offer in the spring of 1999. As we all know Mr Ollila didnดt go for it!

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Why You Need Covert Listening Devices

by: Kingston Amadan

Covert listening devices are those items that are hidden and meant to listen in on others’ conversations. These devices are often very small and hidden, or they may be disguised to look like ordinary household items. There are a variety of covert listening devices, and they are essential to the success of any surveillance operation or surveillance business.

Convert listening devices can add context where some cameras do not offer adequate information. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine what a visual actually means without the accompanying audio. This makes the incorporation of listening devices very important in any surveillance mission. While the visual may serve to identify, you may miss crucial spoken information without listening devices.

In addition to adding to the visual, covert listening devices have other uses. In some cases it is impossible to get a camera in place. At such times a listening device can be very helpful. These devices ensure that there is some information gleaned and that the surveillance mission is not a complete wash. Audio can provide valuable clues, especially when listening is the only option.

Whether or not you are a surveillance professional, or just a private person, covert listening devices can be very helpful. For the professional, listening devices present a picture of someone who knows what he or she is doing. You look more reputable, and the information is more likely to be helpful, if you use bugs to get information. If you are a private person, there are many uses for covert listening devices. You can use them to record conversations you have with others that may need to be referred to, you can use them listen in on what your children are doing, and you can even use them to check your partner for infidelity.

There are many different covert listening devices, ranging in price from under $50 to costing more than $5,000, depending upon your needs. Additionally, you can get them to look like nearly anything, from buttons and pens to cell phones and alarm clocks. But not matter you buy, or how you use them, it is possible to keep on top of things by making use of covert listening devices.

(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com. This article is about: Covert Listening Devices.

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How to Tap Your Own Phone Line

by: Kingston Amadan

It may seem kind of strange that you would want to know how to tap your own phone line. After all, aren’t phone taps meant to be used on other people? However, there is a definite advantage to having a tap on your own line, as long as you are the one doing the tapping. The best thing you can do, especially if you are fielding some pretty important or incriminating phone calls, is to record them. You can use them for bargaining, or you can use them as evidence that someone is behaving inappropriately.

It is not too hard to learn how to tap your own phone line using simple and relatively inexpensive items that can be picked up from your local electronics store. You will need one Ferrite split core assembly, 75 feet of 28 AWG magnetic coil wire (enameled), one 1/8th inch mini-lug cable (should have tinned ends), and make sure have heat shrink tubing, tie wraps, and electrical tape.

One you have all of these items, it is time to begin learning how to tap your own phone line. Open the core assembly and wind the coil around the end that does not open. There should be roughly 100 turns of coil. You should leave a six inch tail sticking out before you start winding, and then at the end, create a second six inch tail when you clip the wire.

Use fine grit sand paper on the last half inch of the coil wire to remove the enamel. You have to be careful not to break the wire. Slip the tubing over each end of the wire for insulation purposes. Then, solder the ends of the mini phone plug to the coil wire. Use tie wraps to secure the cable to the tap, and insulate solder joints with electrical tape. Slip one (and one only) of the phone conductor circuit through the split core. You can then attach the core to a tape recorder to record all conversations that you wish.

This is a very simple way that you can create your own effective phone tap quickly and inexpensively. Additionally, you have the peace of mind that comes with being able to record conversations because you know how to tap your own phone line.

(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com. This article is about: How to Tap Your Own Phone Line.

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How Plasma TVs And LCD TVs Differ

by: Joseph Foley

The buying of large-screen TVs has absolutely skyrocketed lately. It seems that everyone wants one – and with good reason. The large-screen TV has come a long way from those faded-out behemoths of old that took up half your living room and never really produced a picture of decent quality. Now, however, especially in combination with HDTV, you can get not only a nice, large picture, but a crisp, clean one too.

Once you decide that you’re ready for a large-screen TV, you quickly discover that you only really have two main options – a plasma TV or an LCD TV. Plasma TVs were first on the scene, but the recent mass production of LCD TVs by major manufactures has put LCD TVs pretty much on equal footing with plasmas. That said, you will still have to make a choice.

If you’re like most people, you not only have no idea how the two differ, you don’t even know the areas you should be considering in order to determine how they differ. But they do indeed differ, and knowing the difference is extremely important if you’re going to get the TV that’s right for you.

You can essentially boil the differences between plasmas and LCDs into twelve basic points. In some areas, plasmas will win out. In other areas, LCDs will win out. In yet other areas, it will depend on your own personal taste in order to decide who wins out.

The twelve ways plasma TVs and LCD TVs differ are the following:

1. The first is a technical issue, and may seem a little boring, but it really does affect other areas. Plasmas TVs are made of chemical compounds called phosphors. LCD TVs use millions of liquid crystals.

2. The next section is related to how big the TVs are and the availability of larger sizes. You have a wider selection of larger-size TVs with plasmas (though LCDs are catching up).

3. The next section is “small size,” which is also important. Plasmas don't come in smaller sizes, which you will need for places like the kitchen.

4. Next is viewing angle. Plasmas tend to have a wider viewing angle (though, again, LCDs are catching up).

5. Although the manufacturers may not like to admit it, each “can” suffer from certain problems. Plasmas can suffer from burn-in effect; LCDs don't.

6. Another problem area, but for LCDs, is “delay.” LCDs can produce a jagged figure when in motion. Plasmas tend to do better. HDTV improves this dramatically for both.

7. The next area is life span. You can replace the light source with an LCD, thereby bringing your original picture back. With plasmas you can't.

8. In the next few sections, the theme of “picture quality” is considered. First, color: LCDs produce sharp, lively colors. Plasmas produce warmer and more accurate colors.

9. Next is brightness levels and the TVs ability to handle different lighting. LCDs tend to do better in bright-light conditions.

10. Also related to picture quality is “black levels.” Plasmas tend to produce blacker blacks.

11. Another area to consider is contrast range. Plasmas, "technically," produce a higher contrast range.

12. Last, and certainly not least, is price. At the moment, plasmas tend to run a little cheaper, but this is changing rapidly as LCDs flood into the market. By the time you read this, in fact, there may be no difference at all.

Essentially, which one is right for you will all comes down to taste: What potential negatives will you not really notice? What positives do you want more of? What do you really want the TV for – movies, sports, news, regular TV shows? Both plasmas and LCDs have strong advocates in their corners. Both have deliriously happy customers. But those happy customers are only happy because they knew what they wanted before they made their purchase. If you want to make the right choice, you’ll have to decide what it is you want and which of the two TVs can best give you that.

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The Dish on Satellite TV

by: Jay Stockman

The evolution of television has seen dramatic acceleration recently. Satellite TV has truly revolutionized the global viewing experience. You no longer have to rely on awkward rabbit ear antennae to bring viewing pleasure. Satellite dishes have become as ubiquitous as the roof antenna was in the early years. The world can now be accessed through numerous, and diverse channels, and programming.

The number of options available with satellite television is overwhelming. Since the broadcast signals used in satellite television are digital, as compared with old analog, the results are crystal clear audio and visual transmissions. Broadcasts can be done in HDTV, or high definition television, which is the latest television technology. Digital transmissions allow a greater degree of flexibility for broadcasters.

In addition to picture and sound excellence, there is a virtual library of movies, sporting events, and news programs to choose from. More than the basic channels of yesteryear. Satellite receivers, when put together with the properly built and positioned satellite dish, hook up with access to more than 225 digital-quality channels. The receiver can also provide an on-screen program guide that can be customized to suit viewers needs. The receiver also has a built-in "Locks and Limits" feature, which gives control to limit channels or programs.

More recently, a spectacular Digital Video Recording feature, DVR, has emerged. This gives the viewer the ability to record, replay, and splice programming scenes as many times, and in as many ways, as desired. That's what the combination of HDTV and DVR will give: complete control.

Unlike commercial television, which broadcasts free programming, satellite television is not without cost. To get satellite TV, you need a dish antenna, and a receiver designed to work with the chosen service. You can buy the hardware from the satellite company, an electronics store, or a satellite-system dealer/installer for about $100 and up. There is a monthly subscription fee, in addition to the cost of the hardware; this varies according to the level of service. In the past, bad weather could adversely effect the signals, however new technology and improvements have made this a rare issue.

All considered, satellite television is an investment well worth it. Satellite service can include you in a world revolution that is changing the face of how information and entertainment is done in this world. The sky is the limit with satellite services, literally, when it comes to speed, features, and innovation.

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» Top 10 list of the weirdest keyboards ever

by timethief

Keyboards come in many shapes - from the simplest computer standard 102-key keyboard to variants that seem to come straight out of a Star Trek episode. Here’s the Top 10 list of the weirdest keyboards ever.

1. The Tidy Tippest - The keyboard is hidden inside a decorative, washable tablecloth. The electronic is woven into a fabric, which finds itself between layers of water resistant felt as sandwich material.

2. The Datahand - This product is aimed for people who get pain in their hands from typing with a traditional keyboard.

3. The Orbitouch - The orbiTouch creates a keystroke when you slide the two domes into one of their eight respective positions. You type the different characters by sliding the domes to create letters and numbers. The orbiTouch also has an integrated mouse, so moving the domes gives you full mouse and keyboard capability!” The target group for this keyboard is of course people who have limited or no motion in their fingers or hands.

4. The Twiddler 2 - According to the testimonials at their site, it will take you ‘a weekend’ to learn typing 30 words per minute.

5. The frogpad - The frogpad is a tiny, tiny keyboard - or it would be more suitable to call it a keypad actually. The manufacturer say that you can get up to 40 words per minute if you practice between 6 to 10 hours with it.

6. Virtual Laser Keyboard - This laser gadget projects a virtual keyboard on a table or other suitable material, and then interpret your finger movement and pass them on to your PDA or whatever you have it connected to.

7. The SafeType keyboard - The idea is that your hands and arms shall be in a more relaxed position while working with the SafeType compared to a traditional keyboard.

8. Maltron 3D Ergonomic Keyboard - Getting used to this keyboard isn’t something you’ll do in 10 minutes or so - it will take a while for sure. But if you have medical problems with your hands, this might be a good choice.

9. The wrist keyboard - If you’re in the need to type stuff while doing practical work in tough climates this one maybe for you.

10. Roll-up keyboard - This keyboard has the same measurements as a standard 102-key keyboard, but there’s a big difference. You can roll this one up and put it in your pocket.

-> Pictures are worth a thousand words. Check out the images here. .

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» 11 Tips for Directory Submission

By Markus Skupeika

Directory submission is the easiest way to grab some good quality one way links to boost page rank and gain some niche visitors. Here are some tips to gain the maximum from the directory submission.

1. Anchor Text or Title– this is most valuable part of the incoming link in respect to search engines and regular visitors. The anchor text must contain keywords or key phrases but at the same time it should not be stuffed with them. You can always mix secondary key phrases with the primary one.

For example, if my primary key phrase is http://www.monopolizingmarketing.com/3-seo-tips.htm directory submission services and related secondary key phrases are Manual Directory Submission and submit website, I would like to write the anchor text as

a) Manual Directory Submission Services – Submit your website to niche directories (if such a long sentence is supported).
b) Manual website submission to niche directories.

2. Description- The description part of a link is also important both from visitor’s and search engine’s point of view. If you go through some link directories, you will find that the description parts are no better then a sales speech. Good directories will not allow promotional descriptions. A good description should try to explain the anchor text or should focus on the objective in a state of the art manner.

At present, major search engines like Google are looking for related content near the link. It is not enough to have keywords in the anchor text alone; the description part should have secondary key phrases and related words in it. However, if you have other options, do not go for lonely links. And always remember that anchor text is as good as its surrounding text.

3. Number of links in that page-How many links does that page have? If the number of links in that page is more than 10, you should not expect much help. But as we always say, every little bit counts in SEO.

4. Proper category– Find out if that directory has proper category and subcategory to submit your site. Some directories may allow you to suggest a suitable category; otherwise you may leave that one.

5. Quality of other links– Before submitting your link to any directory, guess the possible page from where you may get a link. Now, look for other out going links from that page. If other outgoing links point to some great sites, you should select that page for submission irrespective of the number.

6. Directory submission per day– Do not submit to more then 20 directories per day from the same IP address.

7. Manual submission– Do not go for automated submission – it is always safe to manually submit your site in the best directories.

8. Cached pages– Look if the sub pages (and sub category pages) are cached by search engines or not.

9. Supplementary Index– Do a Google site search to find out if some pages of that directory are in the supplemental index or not.

10. Blank pages – Find out if some sub category or category pages are empty or not. Directories with "Under construction" or "Empty pages" are not good for your site’s health.

11. Meta Attributes- Look for "noindex" or "nofollow" attributes in Meta Description along with Java Script links – they do not pass PR juice.

These are some of the primary conditions that you should follow before directory submission. There are other important parameters like class, IP check and others to get the maximum benefit from directory links. You can contact a good SEO company for proper directory submission services. Last but not the least – do not submit same anchor text and description in more then two directories. Use separate anchor text and description for different submission.

Markus Skupeika is a link building expert. He believes that proper directory submission services along with other SEO services can easily and ethically boost your online presence.

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»A few tips to find the best computer buy!

by MyLife

Computers, computers, everywhere!! How to find a great one without over paying?

1. Research what kind of computer you want. Once you decide which brand or brands and what components you want. You may want to go look at them in a store and see which ones feel right to you. Write down the model # and brand of each computer you would be interested in purchasing.

2. Places like Circuit City offer a price gaurantee, however you will have to deal with rebates.

3. If you enter the exact model and brand into the google search engine it will come up with a list of stores and their prices. Also try Amazon.com, www.overstock.com, www.everyprice.com. These will give you a list of places to buy the same item at different prices.

Remember its more important to make sure you buying the type of computer you want rather then the price of the computer.

About the Author

How can you use your new computer to make you a little extra income from home, part time? Visit www.livefree2008.com

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» Computer Shopping Tips Online

By Andrea Dilea

Buying the right computer for you can be a learning experience if you are willing to take a little time. Price will be an important factor, but it does no good to buy a computer at a low price if it does not have the functions you need for your lifestyle.


First, determine what will be the most important job of your computer. If it's for business, it might require complex accounting applications. It might need large data storage. Your computer may be used primarily for entertainment which requires specialized video cards and additional RAM. It's in your best interest to know what software you plan to install, so that you can check that your new hardware will meet all the requirements.


Once you have ascertained your specific wants and needs, you are ready to go shopping. Shoes and coat are unnecessary, because online shopping is the ultimate way to compare several brands' prices and functionality. You can visit large chains to determine whether they're offering any good sales or discounts. And online shopping allows you to check out retailers that sell products exclusively online, like Tiger Direct.


When you have decided on the computer that you want, it is important to make sure that you buy any accessories that you need. You might need to purchase cables, extra connectors, or other accessories. Sometimes these are part of the package. If not, you can always add them to your online order to avoid any problems when you install.


As the final step before confirming your purchase, check and read the retailer's return policy in regards to both shipping damages and faulty equipment. If you are not sure what their policies are, do not hesitate to ask the retailer for clarification. Knowing what your computer's warranties are could save you a lot of headaches in the future. It is important to save all sales receipts and any paperwork regarding acceptance agreements.


Upon finishing your purchase and your computer is in your new home, you must read through the instructions regarding installation and registrations. By taking a few minutes to do it correctly for the first time, you could save the hours of being frustrated later. In case of finding a mild malfunction or damage in the product you can put all the packing material and documents on one side if there is room for it.


A computer that fits your budget and your needs is a perfect fit for you. Online shopping will help you compare the prices of different models and also help you find the perfect model for your needs. This can all be done with a minimum of fuss on your part.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrea_Dilea

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» Need A Website? You Have 3 Options

by: Joel Walsh
When it comes to building a website, most individuals and small business owners think you either have to do it yourself or hire someone to do it. Web builder software is often the better option for this group by far.

Even if you're a seasoned web professional, you should know what web builder software can offer private individuals and small businesses. Designers regularly waste time fielding inquiries from small-time website owners who don't realize the time, effort, and therefore cost involved in making a website from scratch. Or your brain may be picked endlessly by a would-be developer. Recommending a good web builder program is a great way to help this group--you can even monetize these non-prospects by reselling web builder software or referring it as an affiliate.


The 3 Web Design Options

DIY (design it yourself), usually using software such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage. Pay someone else to design it.

Use a "website builder" that includes everything you need and builds the website based on a setup wizard that asks questions about your website goals.

Most people just stumble into one of these three options without really comparing. In fact, if someone is even considering whether to try to do it themselves, hire a pro, or use a website builder program, it's extremely likely they really do need to start with a website builder program. After all, with the small investment required by web builder software, you can easily decide to go the DIY or professional design route later. But the money and time spent on professional services or DIY cannot be un-spent.

If you don't have the web design skills that would lead you to make your own website without questioning, or the budget to hire a designer just as easily, your time, money and other resources are probably better spent on other aspects of your website--such as promoting it, planning it, or getting content for it.

Website Options Comparison: Cost

: Cost of software (Dreamweaver, the most popular, runs about $300) + many hours of your life--what is your time worth?

Web Designer: $500-$5000

Website Builder: $100-200 (if a software package); $15-40/month (if a subscription service)


Time

DIY: Depending on your skill level, a week to a few months.

Web Designer: A few weeks till completion (but little time on your part).

Website Builder: Five minutes to an hour (depending on how much you want to play with the options).

Graphic Design: Most people who build their own websites use graphic design templates, or at least ready-made graphics. But there's still the problem of how to bring the elements of the design together into an attractive whole.

Web Designer: If you want to be taken seriously, a graphic designer will go a long way. Still, many people manage to sabotage the designer's work with too many demands. Also, some designers are really programmers rather than graphic designers, and will use templates anyway. In the end, though, the biggest drawback is cost: graphic designers can do it better, but can you afford them?

Website Builder: The advantage of a website builder over DIY templates is that the builder will save you the time of coding the website to stitch all the parts together.

About the author:
Joel Walsh recommends you check out http://www.ezgenerator.com/

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The Razr Family is Expanding! Razr V3i, Pink Razr, Blue Razr, Verizon Razor

by: Sam Michelson

Motorola Razr for CDMA Users

Motorola is marketing different phones for men and women. Moto’s newest line of pink and blue Razr offspring seems to assume that there are men who will prefer blue and women who will want the pink one. They’re probably right!

The classic Silver Motorola Razr captured the lion’s share of new cell phone buying over the past year or so, causing Motorola to encroach on Nokia’s enviable leading position.

Motorola is planning to cash in on its huge success with the razor thin look and feel of the original Razr v3. The NPD Group, a leading cellular market researcher, found that Motorola cell phone sales accounted for 30% of the 31.6 million cell phones sold in the third quarter of 2005. The Motorola V3i with iTunes software and the Pink and Blue cell phones promise to give Motorola an ever-increasing share of the cell phone market.

People who care about how they look or want to make a statement, will be the first to get their Motorola Razr fix. These Razr thin phones are ceating a lot of attention - making them must-haves in some circles.

Mazal Tov!The Motorola Razor family is growing by four new members; Motorola RAZR Pink (RAZR PNK?) and Razr Blue, (RAZR BLU?) plus two new versions - Motorola CDMA RAZR for Verizon with EVDO and Motorola RAZR V3i (with iTunes). The new Razr phones include all the great features as the original models. The Blue and Pink versions are really style updates designed to make your cell phone an accessory - like a stylish watch.

The new CDMA version of Razr (for Verizon) will satisfy the appetite of Verizon Wireless subscribers who have long ogled over Cingular and T-Mobile’s Razr offerings. The Razr V3i aims to redeem Motorola’s slightly tarnished reputation when it comes to MP3 phones. Unlike the Rocker which had only music going for it, with the Razr V3i the MP3 capability is essentially an add-on.

The Motorola has not made a statement about the chosen carrier for the Motorola v3i many are speculating that Cingular is the choice. Besides being Razr thin like the original Razr v3 the new v3i has added appeal with the inclusion of the Apple i-Tunes software like on the Motorola ROKR released in September in by Cingular, Apple and Motorola. Cingular just slashed the price of the Motorola ROKR by 40% and several leading cell phone dealers like AmericanCell and YouNeverCall now have the Motorola phone available for free with the purchase of a new Cingular plan.

Until now the Motorola Rokr is the only cell phone around that plays tunes from the iTunes Music Store. Another new addition to the ever increasing Motorola Razr family is new Razr VC which operates on networks of CDMA standard wireless EVDO. Christmas holiday season shopping has now been enhanced with the inclusion of the Razr V3i which sports a 1.23-megapixel digital camera with 8x digital zoom, video capture and a full-screen viewfinder.

Additional features include a hot plugging memory card, a display with sixty-five K color support and built-in Bluetooth. For the late summer-early fall season Motorola earned a profit of $1.75 billion on revenue of $9.42 billion. Motorola stated that its monetary gains for this period were all due to the tremendous success of the Motorola Razr v3. Now Motorola is hoping to further push its financial gains for the next quarter! We’ll wait and see.

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Spy Equipment Accessories for Home Surveillance

by: Shawn Davis

Spy equipment accessories may not seem very glamorous or exciting, but they are often necessary for the more efficient functioning of your surveillance or your counter-surveillance efforts. The fact of the matter is that there is more to spy equipment than just a neat gadget. There are accessories that are “behind the scenes” to make sure that everything runs smoothly, and that you have everything you truly need.

Most of the more useful spy equipment accessories are for cameras. These cameras are often surveillance cameras that can detect intruders and record vandals, helping you better protect your home. This equipment can help you keep your home safe, protecting your most valuable asset, and your valuables (human and otherwise) inside. The different options available to enhance camera performance can only aid your efforts to fortify your home.

One of the best spy equipment accessories for the camera is the illuminator. Illuminators come in various sizes and they are effective up to different ranges. These illuminators usually sit atop the camera, or somewhere nearby, to provide adequate light for the camera to pick up different people that come in its range. This is especially helpful at night, as most illuminators help the camera “see” in the dark what it otherwise would not have been able to distinguish.

Other helpful spy equipment accessories include camera housings. These housings for CCTV cameras protect them from the elements, helping them last longer and protecting your investment in better home security through premises surveillance. Some housing are even equipped with blowers and heaters. These keep the cameras from overheating during the summer and protect them from the bitter cold during the winter.

Other helpful spy equipment accessories include things like videotapes for recorders (long tapes that hold 9 or 10 hours of footage, as opposed to 6 hours) and power supplies and battery packs. Battery packs may even be rechargeable, making it that much easier to make sure your surveillance system always has adequate power to do the job. Additionally, plug and play cables of different lengths can add to the effectiveness of your spy equipment.

(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com. This article is about: Spy Equipment.

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Should You Upgrade to an XBox 360

by: Colette Ianieri

The XBox 360 is going to be one of the most sought after gifts of this upcoming holiday season. However many people want to know is it worth upgrading now, or should you wait, here are some factors you may want to consider.

The base price for and XBox 360 is $300, the most common accessories are the 20GB hard drive ($100), wireless controllers ($50) and headsets ($20). Many vendors are offering packages with a variety of options with prices of $500 or more. While some of these options depend on your gaming style and preferences the hard drive is the one option we recommend you get right away. The hard drive allows you to save games to play back later and install updates that make many older games compatible on the new platform.

One of the advantages the XBox 360 will have over other game systems is graphics. The graphics of other gaming systems are top notch but on newer games like Project Gotham Racing 3, NFL 06 and Call of Duty 2 which were written for this platform, there simply is no comparison. When you compare the specifications the XBox 360 to any of its competitors, it’s anywhere from 2 to 10 times more powerful. If you are lucky enough to own and HDTV you will really notice the difference, although it will work on standard TV’s as well.

With this console Microsoft is also making a concerted effort to make the Xbox part of your media center. It can connect to any other windows networked computer in your house. It can be used to play movies, slideshows of pictures, and MP3 files. If you own and IPod or digital camera you can also connect them directly to the USB port located on the front game console.

Lastly you’ll want to think about Xbox Live. This is a paid online membership that allows you to get free trials of new games and play in head to head action against other players over your high speed internet connection. You also have access to updates and patches as they become available.

For hard core gamers there is no choice, they will do practically anything to get their hands on the newest and latest systems available. For others it may be worth waiting until 2006 when Playstation 3 is released to see how platforms compare.

© Copyright.Gamer411.net, All Rights Reserved.

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Satellite Dish TV - Renters 5 things you need to know before buying satellite tv

by: Dleena Bargas

1. Satellite Dish TV Rules and Regulations

If the landlord doesn’t approve and permit satellite dish TV, under the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) rules and regulations, renters have the right to install dish antennas in permissible areas. The FCC ruled that landlords do not have the right to prevent installation, maintenance, or use of a satellite dish to receive video programming such as satellite TV.

Under the FCC guidelines, renters are allowed a satellite dish in exclusive areas designated to be used by the tenant, but not in common areas. Renters are permitted to install satellite dish television in their own exclusive areas such as their balcony, patio, or other areas that they have exclusive right to use. Renters are restricted to install satellite dishes in common areas that are generally used by other tenants such as shared balconies, patios, and roof decks.

For single family homes and leasehold properties, satellite dish TV may be installed in areas that are part of the leased space which includes inside or outdoor areas. A Satellite dish may be installed upon the home itself or other leasehold property such as outdoor gardens, patios, yards, or other areas accessible to leaseholder’s exclusive use.

For apartment buildings, rules do not apply to common areas such as roofs, exterior walls, or other areas accessible to other tenants. In this case renters may install a dish inside or on their balcony.

2. Satellite Dish TV Restrictions

* Size of satellite dish - The size of the satellite dish antennas must be one meter or less (39.7") in diameter. The standard 18" and 20" dish antennas from dish network and directv comply with this rule.
* Safety restrictions - There are safety restrictions for a dish satellite being on a fire escape or violating any fire or safety codes. Dish satellites are to be a certain distance away from any power lines.
* Historic preservation - Satellite dishes are restricted from Historic preservation properties that have a prehistoric or historic district and are registered in the National Registers of historic places.
* Damage restrictions - There are damage restrictions for having a satellite dish when necessary to prevent property damage such as drilling holes to exterior walls or roofs. Check with installer for installing without holes.

3. Satellite TV Home Compatibility

Outdoors are recommended to get a clear reception. If you are a renter who does not have access to outdoor areas, you may still install a satellite dish TV inside near a window or on a balcony facing south. In order for you to receive satellite television broadcast signals, the satellite dish must be placed facing view of southern exposure that is unobstructed from any large trees, buildings, or other large object that may block and diminish quality of reception.

If you are a renter who doesn’t face southern skies, you can talk to your landlord to workout finding a place to install your satellite dish. You also need to obtain consent prior to installing when installing in common areas. If you do have such an area to install satellite television, the landlords may not charge extra rent, fees, or make you sign a satellite dish addendum mid-lease to have a satellite dish.

4. Satellite Dish Installation

Most satellite dish providers provide free professional installation. So you won’t have to worry about mounting the dish. You may use a clamp or a tripod in order not to make any holes in exterior walls. Tripods should be set up in areas that are not in high traffic areas of walking or people bumping into it. The antennas are sensitive to any movement that may throw off your reception signal which you would have to readjust and reposition tripod to catch signal again.

5. Satellite TV Reception

To make sure you get the most optimum picture quality, connect the receiver directly to the TV and not to the VCR/DVR to receiver. Once your satellite dish is in a secure place of any movement and in a clear view of southern skies; rain, snow or wind won’t usually affect or interfere with the satellite dish reception signal.

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Repairing A Digital Camera

by: Steve Gargin

It would be ideal if you never had to use a digital camera repair service but the chances are that you will have to find one during the life of your digital camera. If you have bought your camera carefully then it should have a lengthy digital camera repair warranty. Even if your camera is still within the warranty period for digital camera repair then you still have to ensure that you meet the requirements of the warranty.

No digital camera repair warranty covers damage caused by abusing the camera or incorrect use. You also need to check what paperwork you have to send off with your digital camera repair for it to be carried out under warranty, such as the sales receipt and completed warranty card. Your warranty will provide instructions for how to obtain a digital camera repair and the procedures to follow. It is important to use a digital camera repair service authorised by the particular manufacturer of your digital camera to ensure that you do not incur any extra costs. A digital camera repair carried out under warranty will not cost you anything unless the equipment needs to be returned to the factory, in which case there are shipping charges.

One of the most frequent problems that require a camera to be sent to a digital camera repair service is a zoom lens that will not zoom, because the lens is out of alignment. This may have been caused by rough handling or some type of impact which will not be covered by the warranty. If your camera is not able to focus then it will not fire and may print out ‘system error’ or not turn on properly. It is a relatively simple process for a digital camera repair service to realign the zoom lens or reset the zoom barrel guide pins that may have been pushed out of their slots, and this will then enable the lens to focus and zoom. The cost for this form of digital camera repair will vary from service to service but it should be a relatively quick job, as long as the digital camera repair company has the correct equipment onsite. It is worth checking before you decide which digital camera repair service to use that they have the necessary equipment and expertise to carry out the repair and not have to send it away.

The best digital camera repair services have skilled digital camera repair technicians that specialize in repairing certain types and brands of cameras, hundreds of specialized tools to properly service your camera and some may also have custom test jigs to help complete repairs more effectively and efficiently.

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How To Choose The Perfect Digital Camera For You!

by: Amit Laufer

The huge variety of Digital Cameras in the market is a great thing but it is making our buying decision a difficult task. The following buying tips will help you make a better, more educated, focused and rational purchase decision. Please take into acccount that there is no one perfect Digital Camera that contains all the requiered features and sells at a low price too, so it will be a compromise like many others we make in life.

Do You Really Need a Digital Camera?

To answer this compare the price of mid range digital cameras and devide it by the cost of a roll of film. How many rolls of film you need to buy before covering the cost of your digital camera? On average good mid range digital camera cost aprox $ 600. Film will avarage $ 2. you will buy 200 rolls of films before ever covering the cost of your new digital camera. Think about it, how much time in terms of years would it take to shoot 300 rolls of film X 36 frames? It is almost 11,000 pictures! Shooting ten rolls a year on average would take 30 years to spend $ 600 in terms of rolls of film and if the cost of the camera was only $ 200 then it will take " only " 10 years. Do you start geting the picture here? Don't forget that there is the cost of developing and the cost of the prints, but if you want to get simmilar quality prints as film camera then you will have to send your digital images to a mini lab printer as well.

So please, don't buy into the idea you are saving money here...

It is true though that with the digital camera you print only the best shots you like most and not all 36 pictures, so at some point everything begins to balance out. Another point to consider is that, many people don't print digital images, they store it on their computers or over the internet in digital albums, or they make a presentation with background music, burn it on a DVD disk, and share it with family and friends at their living room on TV. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

If it is not necessarily cheaper, Does the Digital Cameras give better quality results? The answer is short: NO! experts may even argue that film quality is better.

There is the psychological aspect behind it all. Remember not having to buy film gives you the free feeling of taking as many pictures as you like, with instant satisfaction of seeing results immediately. Secondly,you always have the option to retake shots.

Thirdly, people tend to store or print only the best pictures. The overall result is improvement in our recorded memories, we shoot much more, correct and delete bad ones and store or print only the very best.

In addition, imaging software enables us to even further improve saturation of colors, Compensate for bad exposures, crop, rotate, make a collage from many pictures, add Artistic Graphics Text and style.

To sum it all up, it is not true that the Digital Cameras are saving money, the quality is not higher than Film camera, in general the new better Digital cameras give you more manual control over exposure and shutter speeds. Psychologically we feel relaxed and free to shoot much more pictures. The end result is an overall improvement in recording our live memories.

What Do You Need to Look for in a Digital Camera:

Examine the Camera at a real store:

First I would like to suggest that the whole buying process not be done over the internet even though it is convenient and tempting. In my view it is very important to see the camera, to hold it in your hands, and most importantly to try it and see the results. The features of many digital cameras look quite similar and it is hard to make a decision merely by feature comparisons . It might be very handsome nice looking camera on the internet but may be it is too small for your big hands? Did you know that some Digital cameras Have up to 3 seconds delay between pushing the button and the actual shutter Movement (Picture taking). In 3 seconds my son is out of the frame already... One warning, come prepared (after reading this article), listen to the salesman but with a critic ear, as objectivety may be abscured and profit margin goals may be at mind. You don't have to buy at the store, If you like a specific camera now is the time to go to the internet and compare specific model prices. buy only at a reputable and reliable store either virtual or not.

Decide on a Certain Budget and Stick to it:

Photo gear has a lot of wana haves, nice to haves and let me have that one as well, gadgets. most camera manufacturers provide a basic memory card of 16 MB, this will be good for only a few high quality pictures, I strongly recommend you will buy a 128 MB or even better yet 256 MB Memory Card. Since Digital Cameras use LCD screen, batery consumption is much higher than what you are use to in film cameras, it is recommended to invest in a battery charger. Allocate a budget for your camera, but make sure it includes the Camera + Memory Card + Battery charger + case and even consider Wide Angel Converter.

Skin tone:

Test the cameras quality by taking a picture of people, observe the skin tone (face, hands etc'), does the skin tone looks natural to you? Or is it too pale or yellowish? Is it too reddish or pink? Insist on a good natural result.

How Many Mega Pixels?

The very basic " Point & Shoot " models can start with 2 Mega and can give very good results but I recommend you choose 3 mega or even 4 Mega for prints of up to 5 x 7. If you don't need many enlargements it is high quality and sufficient. There are compact models with even 7 Mega pixels but for all practical reasons it is an over kill, I would invest in wider aperture lens and longer range zoom. Don't think if your neighbor bought a 7 Mega camera that his camera is better, It's not.

What Aperture Lens:

The smaller the number the better, it is always marked with "f", for instance aperture range: f2.8 - f4, if it is constant on the entire zoom range, let's say f2.8 on all zoon range - excellent, the longer the zoom range the harder it is to produce a small aperture number, for instance a zoom range of 36mm - 420mm (12 X) if it is f2.8 on all the range it is impressive. a camera with Aperture range of f2 - f3 Very good. Higher aperture than f5 will produce less desirable results.

Zoom Range:(Optical)

The longer the range the better, you can catch a distant object, make nice close ups and portraits, it gives you more accessibility, flexibility and creative options. A long 420 mm (12 X) is excellent range BUT, you need to understand that the longer the zoom range the bigger the amplification of any hand shaking with the camera, therefore it is recommended to hold your breath, be as stable as you can with your hands and body but even better yet to use a Tripod. I would even compromise a bit on the range to be 370 mm (10 X) " only ". Important feature on a long-range zoom is an Anti-Shake or Image stabilizer. These features compensate approximately one f stop or more on movements.

I referred here to Optical zoom, there is a digital zoom in addition but usually the quality of it is very low, some salesmen tend to confuse the customers by multiplying the optical zoom by the digital zoon and claiming the camera to be 12 optical x 4 digital = (48 X)! Ignore such statements, refer just to Optical zoom.

In the old Film cameras a long zoom range meant a very long bulge, in the current modern Digital Cameras it extends less than an inch and stops, all the rest is done internally by the Cameras optics.

Wide Angel:

Most Digital Cameras do not have wide angel! It is one of the their biggest shortcomings, 36 mm or even worse 37 mm is not a wide angel zoom, as a result when taking pictures indoor you will notice you cannot catch a better part of the scene or only part of the room, when shooting outdoor you will notice that only part of the landscape can be included in the frame. Not to worry, there is a solution! Wide Angel Adaptor, it is an add on which is placed over the existing lens. It can be (X 0.75) = 28 mm, it can be (X 0.66) = 24 mm which is excellent. There is an additional charge for adopters as they are produced either by a third party or the original manufacturer of the camera. Adaptors give small Distortions so as a rule of thumb it is much better to have the original manufacturer adaptor as it matches optically much better. There are even Macro ad on Adaptors available.

LCD Screen:

The bigger the better, average size is 1.8", but there are models with 2" and even 2.5", another feature is a swivel (flip-out & twist) LCD screens, you can show your kid His picture in real time, and it can help you take a difficult angel and access shots. The LCD screens have one big problem, that is, under sun light and outdoor conditions it is very difficult to see the picture on them. Therefore, if it has Anti Glare feature it's better. The more pixels the better.

ISO Rating:

This one is important to actually check in the store and observe the results carefully. The wider the range the better, both on the low and high sides of the scale. If it is less than 100 it means you will get very good results in bright day light sunny conditions ( Iso 50 or 80 ), if it is Iso 400 and up it means you will get excellent results on low light conditions. Some of Digital Cameras don't perform well in Iso rating of above 200, (e.g. you will see a lot of noise and snow flakes), this is why I recommended verifying it.

Optics:

The quality of the Glass Optics is Important, some of the Manufacturers wave with their Optics Brands well known producers like:

* Leica lens
* Carl Zeiss lens
* Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon lens
* Nikkor Lens
* Canon Lens
* Etc’.

Additional points:

* Auto Focus - The more points the better - (9 Points is very good).
* External Flash option via hot shoe a plus.
* Lens Protective Hood - Better Light input + physical protection of the lens.

Who is the Camera manufacturer?

Most of the Digital cameras are designed in Japan, it is very important to choose a reliable producer with strong and experienced knowledge of Cameras, with a large variety of models and commitment to service and excellence. Always think who is the manufacturer, is he coming from the film field, Printers producer, electronics or has he dealt with cameras from day one.

Summary:

* The economy of the Digital Camera is not cheaper than Film Cameras.
* The overall result of using Digital Camera is improvement in our recorded memories, we shoot much more, correct and delete bad ones and Store only the very best.
* Examine and test the Camera at a real store only then compare prices in the Internet, buy only at reputable store.
* Decide on a Budget and stick to it, Take into account all the accessories such as bigger memory card of at least 256 MB.
* Aperture lens - The smaller the "f" number the better, Range between f2 - f3 is very good, f2.8 across all the zoom range is excellent. Especially if the zoom is long.
* Zoom range of (12 X) or (10 X), with Anti Shake or Image Stabilizer is great, Consider adding a Tripod.
* Wide angel adaptor is most important (0.75 X) or even better yet (0.66 X), original manufacturer adapters will give you best optical compatibility.
* LCD Screen - The bigger the better, Flip out & twist, Anti Glare, High Resolution.
* ISO Rating - Preferable range 50 - 800, settle for 80 - 400, Test It!
* Optics - well known manufacturers will give you better quality output.
* Auto Focus - The more points the better - (9 Points is very good).
* External Flash option via hot shoe a big plus.
* Lens Protective Hood - Better Light input + physical protection of the lens.
* Well-known leader and experienced Camera manufacturer with good service backup.

A list of major camera manufacturers web sites:

* Canon USA
* Casio-USA
* Nikon USA
* Fuji-Film-US
* Hasselblad
* HP-US
* Kodak Photo
* Konica-Minolta-US
* Mamiya
* Leica-Camera
* Olympus-America
* Panasonic-Cameras
* Pentax
* Samsung-camera-usa
* Sigma-Cameras
* Sony-US

In my view the best place to look for Information on Digital Cameras Is the DpReview web site at: www.dpreview.com. Here you can Read the Latest Digital Camera news, In depth reviews of specific models, Compare side by side cameras, see picture samples, forums with specific Sections of Manufacturers and cameras models. In addition you get final professional Conclusions. This article can be obtained Free of charge at: www.1st-Photography-World.com.

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Home Theater's 3 UGLY Secrets!

by: Bob Wood

Secret #1: WHAT YOU BUY TODAY WILL BE OBSOLETE TOMORROW, IF IT ISN'T ALREADY.

What you should do about it:

Don't sweat it. Just read what you can before you buy to educate yourself so you don't make a terrible mistake. If you shop wisely, you can get a tremendous leap over what you have come to know as television. The good news is the better stuff coming down the pipe is knocking prices down on the stuff out now.

Plus, consumer surveys SCREAM to the electronics companies that people WANT these new, slim, high resolution Home Theater setups. There are billions of dollars to be made. Those surveys snapped the head of every exec in the biz. They geared up to make more. "Make more" equals "economies of scale" equals "make MORE money," even at lower price points! The first one costs a bazillion dollars: research, tooling up, marketing. Then, with volume, the cost per unit plummets. The guys who want to have very latest get to pay the most. Why be that person?

If you’ve already purchased a particular technology – Plasma, DLP, LCD, front or rear projector, whatever, ENJOY it. It IS important to realize that wide screen aspect ratio does not equal high-definition TV, though. Some think if the picture is wide, they’re there. That might be FAR from there. I hate to say this because I’m a guy and guys hate this – you might want to read the instructions.

Secret #2. And this is really, really big: YOU CAN'T TELL WHAT THE PICTURE LOOKS LIKE FROM WHAT YOU SEE IN THE STORE.

What you should do about it:

What you are doing now. Research. The hard part is cutting through the opinions of weenies who want to see a feather clearly, blowing in the wind at 50 yards. I'll help you there. Read on.

There are three reasons why Home Theater Ugly Secret #2 is true.

1- The sets aren't adjusted right. They are turned way up to dazzle you. The dazzle will bother you when you get home. Worse, it drives the set to what you'd call distortion. The better picture happens when the picture is turned down in brightness, sharpness, contrast, and whatever else has been goosed. Why do they let this happen? It's like a conspiracy that everyone is in on - except you. Because when they are all lined up, 40 sets in a row, the manufacturers know you might think theirs is different and better. But they ALL do it, so it's a wipe. And if a store is a little bit shady, with some hi-def sets to move at a higher profit margin, well, now, those might have been "optimized" to look better than the others.

Yes, most of the hi-def sets CAN be adjusted correctly for you in your home. MAYBE by you.

Did I mention that Bubba the shopper-doofus was there, just before you browsed in, that he found the remote control and screwed up all the settings anyway?

So, you can't trust what you see in most stores. But wait, there's more.

2- Many of the sets are being fed video poorly. A distribution amp or humungous splitter shares the picture among the displays. That hurts the picture. A store might have 40 sets on one distribution, but the ones they really want to move on a purer source, showing a better picture. You'll never know.

3- What you see may or may not be high definition or even good quality. Just as bad, it might be super fidelity you won't likely ever see again. Because, what you watch at home might not be broadcast or cablecast with a good picture. So, you can see misaligned sets fed bad pictures that bear little resemblance to anything you'd see at home. Ready to drop several THOUSAND on that? Didn't think so. But tens of thousands of people do. Probably WILL this weekend. Eager commissioned salespeople will confide that THIS unit is the superior one. No hidden agenda there, do you think, huh?!

Secret #3. THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH EVERYTHING.

What you should do about it:

Relax. Don't obsess. It's more a matter of things being done different ways by different designers. For example, on this set, the colors are spot on, but the resolution is a little off. On that set over there, the resolution is incredible, but the red... You are still going to love the setup you buy - and remember - you just might have it for 10 years or MORE! You'll look at it more than you look at your wife, husband or kids. I'm talking face time. Relax. We'll get you through this.

A personal note to THE OBSESSIVES:

If you haven't already left this article, I want you to think about the fact that there are millions of screen dots to go wrong. Not that they will, but the 317th one from the left and 119th from the bottom IS a little shaky, don't you think? Time to take a deep breath. One, two, three. Exhale. Even though there's something wrong with everything, if you embrace that thought and LET IT GO you'll be able to enjoy the - uh - big picture. The state of the Home Theater art - even if it IS yesterday's art, is very very nice.

Relax.

Why a Home Theater? And what's it MEAN anyway? Good questions. A Home Theater is simply the natural; evolution of the TV experience. Now that we can, we do. It's how it goes. Basically, you get a shorter, wider picture (more like a movie in a... theater) and the picture is much clearer than the TV you sat too close to as a kid – remember Mom yelling? And you can have better sound too. It can be all around you, or just in the front. You choose. You can have a box that plays the deep notes - fun things like car crashes, earthquakes, whale farts, cannons. You get to experience them like never before. It's not essential, but it's there if you want it.

A Home Theater is just like going to the movies. Except the screen isn't that big, but you can get a good seat. You don't have to endure advertisements in the ‘pre-show entertainment’ if you don't want to. You can go to the bathroom and touch the door handle on the way out. No paying $5.75 for a bag of stale popcorn. No popcorn bagging zomboid teenagers. No lines. No sticky floors (unless that's the way you live, not that there's anything wrong with that.)

There. Now you know the top 3 Ugly Home Theater secrets.

But, it isn’t quite that simple. At http://www.GreatHomeTheater.com/ there are 9 more secrets revealed. I promise you won’t get neurotic or your hands dirty, and I won’t talk you out of what can be a tremendous and highly enjoyable leap forward in home entertainment.

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Finding A Cheap Digital Camera

by: Steve Gargin

There are a number of great websites that are dedicated to helping you find a cheap digital camera. Some of these can help you save a lot of money on your camera purchases. A lot of these websites will take the effort out of finding a cheap digital camera as they search the Internet and physical stores for the best deals for you.

There are so many sales, bargains, coupons and deals available to enable you to get a truly cheap digital camera that it can seem impossible to choose between them so it is important to find a website that gives reviews on the products as well as the vendors themselves. A cheap digital camera may not be such a good deal if it turns out that the vendor has poor levels of customer service.

Obviously, a lot of the cheap digital camera deals are constantly changing and having the latest information can be the difference between getting the camera you want and having to pay more because the offer has ended. Many websites have a number of services to help get the information about current cheap digital camera offers to you as fast as possible. You can choose to have specific cheap digital camera deals sent to you via email, mobile phone or palm text message or RSS feed amongst others. These alerts can be customized so that you can choose to only receive cheap digital camera offers that relate a particular vendor, brand of camera or area if you want to. You can also set the parameters that you would class as being cheap digital camera prices because everyone has a different budget.

Many people underestimate the influence that coupons and rebates can have on their search for the best cheap digital camera deal. It is a good idea to take the time to check through those available as they can make a big difference. Again, check to make sure that these are not subject to an expiry date or you may miss out on cheap digital camera offers.

At the end of the day there is nothing better than finding other shoppers who have bought a particular cheap digital camera. They can give you truly unbiased views about the camera itself and the place where they purchased it. You may want to pay a few dollars more to get a relatively cheap digital camera from another supplier if they have a lot of bad reviews from customers.

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Features To Look For In A Camcorder

by: Richard Gazzo

If you're on the look out for a new digital camcorder then you need to know what type of features to look for. It's easy to get confused and hard to make sense of all the specifications. Looking for the right features is the key in finding the best camcorder for your needs. While you compare digital camcorder reviews and ratings, there are some items to consider.

You should have a general idea of what you need the mini dv camcorder for. Do you need a video camera for home movies? Or are you looking for a professional camcorder, for your next feature film? Think about what you are looking for so your camcorder comparison shopping won't take as long.

Zoom

All digital camcorders have a zoom feature. Older analog camcorders only had optical zoom, but new digital video cameras have both optical and digital zoom. There is a difference between these two types of zoom. Optical zoom physically lengthens the lens,and will still give your videos high image quality. However digital zoom basically blows up the scene in a digital format. The problem with digital zoom is that when you zoom in on a subject the video becomes pixilated and blocky with little squares giving the video a blurred and distorted look.

If you're wondering which zoom is better and more important, optical zoom. The more distance that your optical zoom can do, the more flexibility that you have when focusing in on a subject. I suggest a minimum of 10x optical zoom for most consumers.

CCD Sensors and Resolution

The video quality in a dv camcorder is dependant on the CCD, which is an abbreviation for charged-coupled device. The CCD is an image sensor that converts light into pixels to produce images; your digital camera works in the same way. You can find camcorders with one CCD or three CCDs. One CCD camcorders are less costly however you will compromise the color quality in the video. 3 CCD camcorders on the other hand provide the best color quality. The reason being is that there are 3 CCDs. Digital camcorder models with three CCDs (one each for red, green and blue) give your video the most vivid colors possible, but the price is more than 1 CCD video cameras.

Viewfinders & LCD Screens

It's important to find the best possible viewfinder when comparing camcorders. The viewfinder is the heart of the camcorder without it you can't see what you are filming. Viewfinders cam in black and white, if you buy a cheap camcorder you will be stuck with a black and white screen. Personally I like my color screen, you can see the exact color and video quality as it will appear in the video. Sizes for LCD screen range from 2 to 4 inches across.

Digital Video Editing & Still images

Almost all newer digital video camcorders have FireWire (IEEE 1394). This feature enables you to transfer digital video footage from your camcorder to your computer system in the fastest possible way. The newest models even have the ability to take digital still images and video and transfer them to your computer for emailing to friends and family.

[ Submitted with ArticleSubmitter Pro - http://www.articlecity.com/article_submitter_pro.shtml

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Denso Cell Phone Accessories - For Your Phone

by: Martin Smith

Accessorizing your cell phone is both easy and affordable with Denso cell phone accessories and among the extensive variety of accessories for you to review, there is bound to be something you want and can afford.

One thing that bothers most cell phone users is not enough power for their cell phone. This can be solved by having an extra battery and charger so that your phone is always ready to go.

Changeable cell phone covers and face plates to suit your mood, the latest holograms, flashing keypads and colorful gemlike keypads can bring a smile to your face. As can downloadable Denso ring tones.

A USB data cable enables your Denso camera phone with another way of sending an receiving photos, other than your carrier's multimedia messaging technology package. Many of Denso's cell phone accessories come as part of kits. Car kits with earphone, holders and microphone. Another set is chargers, an AC/DC for the house and one that runs off of the car's electrical system.

A desktop speaker phone is a great way to get the whole family together to talk to grandma or even a way to hold a meeting with one or more participants at a remote location. A phone set with earpiece and microphone allows you to do other things while you talk on the phone, like gardening, dishes, working at your keyboard or painting the fence - a task that we all enjoy tremendously, of course.

Among the Denso line of phones are Touch Point 2100LC, 2200LC, Touch Point 1100, 3000 or Denso 5250. These phones need some place to live when not in use and Denso has a line of colorful holders for this.

A phone strap, either for your wrist of neck, lets you keep your phone with you at all times. Other Denso accessories are pouches and covers. Some of the most popular accessories are MP3 players, FM stereo radio headset, belt clips, pagers, customizable headsets, gaming joysticks, video and digital cameras and more. The list goes on and on. And the market is so flooded with accessories that you can get really good deals on these items.

Denso prepaid cell phones can make your cellular experience easier an more fun. So can accessorizing your phone.

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» How to Build a Niche Site With a Blog

by: Linda J Bruton

Building niche sites is all the rage these days.
The basic strategy is very simple. Find a niche market that isn't oversaturated. Develop a list of related keywords people are searching on. Then write an article optimized for each one of your keywords. Once you have your articles, upload them to your site. Monitize your site with affiliate links and Adsense.

For this kind of niche site to be effective and make money, it is imperative that you get free traffic, and a lot of it. And that's exactly where a blog can be your best friend.

At its very simplest, a blog is just a structure. It's the bones of a web site. A blog is a simple way to publish and display your content online. Most of us think of blogs as a chronicle of news events, or commentary on news and items of interest. Or personal diaries.

Few people stop to think that you can build any kind of website with a blog. In reality, a blog can be used very effectively to build a niche site. The fact of the matter is, a blog is the easiest way to publish your niche site content. But the biggest reason to use a blog is that it can drive traffic to your site a lot faster than a statically-built site. A niche site built with a blog is a very powerful strategy.

First, choose your niche and research your keywords. Write your first article based on one of those keywords, just as you would when building a regular site. Then set up your blog and publish that article. Your niche site is now live.

To make your site structure the most effective, be sure to choose a blog that allows the use of Categories, such as Word Press or Moveable Type. Use your 10 most important keywords as the name of your Categories. Then file all your secondary keyword articles under those Categories.

Why is this so important? If you keep building your site with keyword-rich articles, eventually you could have hundreds of pages. Each of those pages will have a link to your 10 Categories. And each of those links will use the anchor text of your most important keywords. As a result of all those internal keyword-rich links, your site will end up ranking very well in the search engines for your Category names.

Now it's time to set up your traffic strategy. This is where a blog can really shine. There are many special RSS/blog directories that are hungry for feeds. By submitting your new blog to these directories, you can start getting traffic almost immediately. Quite often these feeds will result in a lot more traffic than all the major search engines combined. This is why it makes so much sense to build your niche site as a blog. You can have twice the traffic, and get it much faster than with a static site.

Here is a list of some of the top RSS/blog directories you should submit your site to:
http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/

Once you've submitted your site to the directories, you can get it indexed by Yahoo almost immediately by adding your RSS feed to your MyYahoo page. If you don't have a MyYahoo page, just go to http://www.yahoo.com. Now click on the MyYahoo link at the top and set up your free account. Once you have your account set up, click on Add Content, then add the URL of your blog RSS feed into the Find Content box.

When you go back to your MyYahoo page, your blog plus your first post should be shown. If you go look at your web stats for your site, you'll find that the Yahoo spider has already made a visit! Your new site should be indexed in Yahoo in just a couple of days. This is a strategy that some marketers were selling for $50 just a few months ago. And it works like a charm.

Every time you add a post, you can alert the RSS/blog directories by "pinging" them. There is a wonderful site at http://www.pingomatic.com that makes this very easy. You just have to type in your blog URL and Pingomatic will send your ping to Yahoo and about 15 other large directories. That will bring the spiders back to your site almost immediately!

During the first month, I would suggest that you write and add a new article every day. Blogs that are frequently updated get the most traffic. And you'll find that the major search engines will spider your site every day. At the end of a month, you'll have a 30-article niche site that is already getting a lot of traffic. If you've monetized your site with Adsense and related affiliate programs, you should also be making money already.

Once you've started building your niche sites with a blog, you'll never go back to doing it the old way again!

About the Author
For more tips and ideas on how to make money blogging, be sure to visit my "Why Marketers Should Blog" weblog at (what else) http://www.whymarketersshouldblog.com/

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» Restore Desktop Icon Positions After Windows Rearranges Layout

More often than with previous versions of Windows, it seems Vista likes to change the desktop icon layout positions without warning after operating system updates, screen resolution changes, or new applications are installed. At first, it's not much of a problem. But as time goes by and you add shortcuts and folders, putting many icons back to where YOU want them position on the desktop, becomes frustrating.

While this problem occurs on all versions of Windows, and not just with Vista, saving and restoring your desktop layout is possible courtesy of a old resource kit utility provided by Microsoft way back in the Windows NT 4.0 days.

Thanks to this tip from jsifaq.com, you can save you desktop icon layout and restore them to the exact positions before they were rearranged by Windows, easily with a right click of the mouse.

- First, you will need to download layout.zip from PC 911 website. After download has completed, unzip layout.zip to your desktop (or folder of your choice).

- Next, copy Layout.dll to C:\Windows\System32 (for Windows XP and Vista) or C:\WINNT\System32 (for older versions of Windows).

- Now double click the file Layout.reg file to automatically add the appropriate changes to your registry.

- If not already, layout the icons on your desktop to the position you want them saved. Then right click on the Recycle Bin and select "Save Desktop Icon Layout".

The icon positions are now saved.

NOTE: Make sure you see the pop up "Desktop Icon Settings Saved" which will verify the desktop layout has been saved. If you do not see the message, right click and select "Save Desktop Icon Layout" again.

Next time Windows rearranges the icon layout again, you can restore the layout by right clicking either:

• My Computer
• Network Neighborhood (My Network Places),
• Recycle Bin

and select "Restore Desktop Icon Layout" to restore the layout back to the way you previously saved it.

You can move the icons around freely, however whenever you want them restored to their original saved positions, right click on Recycle Bin, Network Neighborhood, or My Computer again and select "Restore Desktop Icon Layout" to save the new desktop layout.

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