Most equipment related accidents can be decreased a great deal if people would only learn to use the equipment properly and recognize signs of malfunctioning equipment. The advances in technology have brought about highly sophisticated electronic equipment in many houses hence the need for more education to help decrease equipment related accidents. Below are a few tips on how you can reduce accidents of this nature in the home.
There is a saying that says that, "A bad man quarrels with his tools." With due respect always use equipment only for the use to which it was intended and do not operate equipment with which you are unfamiliar. To prevent damaging it, handle equipment with care. Damaged equipment can malfunction and injure you.
For electric equipment, use three-prong electric plugs whenever possible. Do not twist or bend the electric cords because the lines inside may break.
To further protect yourself, be alert to signs that indicate equipment is faulty for example breaks in cords, sparks, smoke, electric shocks, loose or missing parts, and unusual noises or odors and report any signs of trouble immediately or take it for repairs, do not try to be a superhero.
It is also very important to make sure that electric cords are not in a position to be trapped as a vacuum is pulled or beds are raised or lowered and any other electric equipment because this can strip insulation covering the electric wires. Electric equipment can present a safety hazard to anyone in the family when safety measures are ignored. So always be alert for wet surfaces on areas where electric cords or connections are present. Inspect your home regularly to identify areas where there may be a high risk of accidents.
In conclusion, many accidents in the home frequently result from careless use of equipment or from malfunctioning or poorly maintained equipment. All these can be prevented when families work together to prevent accidents. Involving every member of the family will even reduce accidents further since everyone will be aware of the consequences and advantages when they are properly used and signs of malfunction recognized in good time. Finally, a good home aims at prevention and not treatment.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Accidents in the Home - Safety and Prevention of Accidents at Home
Safety and the prevention of accidents in the home are some of the areas that are considered to be very important. Often, we incur injuries that can easily be prevented. It is even more important to take the two factors into considerations when there are children and the elderly at home. Following are a few tips on promoting safety and preventing accidents.
The first step is to identify the age groups that are present and modifying the environment accordingly to help decrease or eliminate accidents that may result in injuries. Education is an important factor. This includes showing children simple procedures such as washing hands after using the bathroom (toilet) and before touching any food. During this teaching process it is very important to take into account the age groups in the home because some educational materials may not be suitable for certain age groups.
Improving safety at home may also include enforcing the regulations or laws that can modify the behavior of the age group or people at risk the most. Looking at the risks involved individually can help a great deal.
Another factor is that it is very vital to have all the most important phone numbers in readily accessible locations. This includes the emergency number, poison control number, your family physician number and other important numbers.
Parents and children can recognize dangerous items in the home by using childproofing products. Many factors should be considered such as falls, infection, injuries, burns, suffocation, drowning, and inhalation, ingestion of poison/foreign bodies, guns and substance abuse. Statistics show that each of these factors is predominant in one individual age group and not others.
For example, infections are high in neonates and can easily be prevented by washing hands frequently. Falls are also a highest risk in infants and can be prevented by closely supervising children. Burns are the highest risks among the school-aged children and teaching them about prevention of accidents can promote safety in this age group. Drowning is another safety risk highest among adolescents. Teaching adolescents about responsibilities, about the new world of freedoms that accompany being a teenager, can help equip them with the knowledge they need to face the dangers and risks when they are on their own.
The first step is to identify the age groups that are present and modifying the environment accordingly to help decrease or eliminate accidents that may result in injuries. Education is an important factor. This includes showing children simple procedures such as washing hands after using the bathroom (toilet) and before touching any food. During this teaching process it is very important to take into account the age groups in the home because some educational materials may not be suitable for certain age groups.
Improving safety at home may also include enforcing the regulations or laws that can modify the behavior of the age group or people at risk the most. Looking at the risks involved individually can help a great deal.
Another factor is that it is very vital to have all the most important phone numbers in readily accessible locations. This includes the emergency number, poison control number, your family physician number and other important numbers.
Parents and children can recognize dangerous items in the home by using childproofing products. Many factors should be considered such as falls, infection, injuries, burns, suffocation, drowning, and inhalation, ingestion of poison/foreign bodies, guns and substance abuse. Statistics show that each of these factors is predominant in one individual age group and not others.
For example, infections are high in neonates and can easily be prevented by washing hands frequently. Falls are also a highest risk in infants and can be prevented by closely supervising children. Burns are the highest risks among the school-aged children and teaching them about prevention of accidents can promote safety in this age group. Drowning is another safety risk highest among adolescents. Teaching adolescents about responsibilities, about the new world of freedoms that accompany being a teenager, can help equip them with the knowledge they need to face the dangers and risks when they are on their own.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
How To Build A Lamp Out Of Rocks
A lamp out of rocks?...Am I crazy? Actually, I have been doing this for a few years now and when done correctly, the final product is beautiful and extremely unique. If you decide to take this venture on, be prepared for your family and friends to be in awe of your new wonderful creation. A stone lamp fits wonderfully in that cabin of yours in the woods or can be placed in that special rustic corner in your traditional home.
Let's get started with the tools and parts you will need. These tools are essential for getting this project done correctly and may require a little bit of a financial investment to get started.
A drill press. The press does not have to be a large, floor model...it can be a bench top type for now. It does have to have a setting on it that will enable the drill to go fairly slowly through the rock. A setting of around 200-300 rounds per minute is best.
A 3/8" mortise bit. The mortise bit for this purpose only has to be around 5" long. DO NOT buy a carbide-coated bit, as these seem to not work as well. Home Depot or Lowe's both carry a standard 3/8" mortise bit for around $5.00.
A lamp kit with a harp included. These lamp kits are easy to use and will come with everything you need to put your lamp together. You will want to make sure the kit comes with a harp also if you are planning on using a shade that requires a harp. These sell for around $8.00 at most hardware stores.
A 3/8" thread rod around 10 inches long. This rod can be bought along with your lamp kit in the hardware's lighting section. Usually, the lengths come in 24" to 36" and cost around $4.00. After you put the lamp together, you will want to cut the rod to length and I will explain how to do that.
A hack saw for cutting the 3/8" rod to length.
A good strong epoxy glue that sets within 30 minutes.
An angle grinder with a wheel suitable to grind rock.
Your Rock
The best place to get your rock for your lamp is to find a dried up riverbed. Rocks from dried riverbeds tend to be easier to drill and lend themselves more easily to making a lamp. Please note: We don't want to disturb riverbeds that are in use by our natural rivers and streams but picking up rock from dried up sources poses no harm to the environment. You will need a base to start with. Look around for a fairly flat base that when set down on a table, it won't rock back and forth but will sit stable. For this project, your base should be about 8 inches square and about 1 inch to 2 inches thick or thereabouts (any variation is ok as long it is fairly flat). After you have found your base, look for smaller rocks of different shapes and sizes and choose ones that are fairly flat on both sides too. This will make it easier to drill and fit together on your lamp. These should be around ½ " thick or so. You will need about 6 of these smaller rocks.
Drilling The Rock
Now that you have gathered your choice rock for your lamp, it is time to drill. Place the base of the rock on your drill press and roughly find the center of the rock. (You do not have to be exactly perfect in finding the center as this is a rustic lamp and if you are a little off, it only makes it more rustic and interesting). You should make sure that where you are going to drill is relatively flat so the drill bit does not dance around on you. (Before you drill, make sure you have a little water on hand to either spray the drill bit or splash some on to it as the drill bit can get very hot and could break if not kept cool). Begin drilling slowly, around 200 to 300 rounds per minute, and continue until you are completely through. Yeah....you did it! Now, repeat these steps with your remaining smaller rock until all are drilled and ready to put together.
Pre-Assembly
Take your length of 3/8" rod and cut it down to about 10" or so. Place the rod into the larger base and start stacking the smaller rock on top. Since none of these rocks are exactly flat, you may have to move them around a little to make sure they fit together snuggly so that the inner rod does not show. After you have completed this process you will most likely have extra rod on top that needs to be cut off. Taking your lamp parts into consideration, you will have to leave enough rod to hold your coupler, your piece that holds your harp, and your actual lamp fixture base. Usually, this means leaving about 1 inch or so above the last stacked rock. You can test this by getting all your lamp parts out, putting them one by one on the top of the extra rod, and then making a mark just under the first piece (coupler) to see how extra rod you need to leave protruding out. Mark your rod where you need to cut it, pull off the rock one by one keeping them in order and cut your rod to length.
Final Assembly
Put your pre-cut rod back into the base and put some of your epoxy glue around the hole where the rod fits into and around a small area where your first small rock is going to sit. Take your first small rock and slide it down over the rod and put it on top of the glued area on your base. (It is important to keep your glue area small so it is not seen after the rocks are placed together). Continue this process until all the rocks are places tightly together on the rod. Make sure the inside of your rod is clear all the way through the center without any obstructions so you can slide your lamp cord through it in the next step. You have now completed the most difficult part of making this lamp. Let your lamp sit for a couple of hours or so to let the glue set up.
Using the directions on your lamp kit box, assemble the rest of the lamp parts as shown. You will have to push your cord all the way through from the bottom of the base. (Sometimes, depending on the rock base, your cord will not sit correctly under the base and may cause the base to rock a little. This is where you will need your angle grinder with a wheel suitable to grind rock. Turn your lamp upside down and take your angle grinder and dig a small indentation from the middle of the rock where the rod is towards the back of the lamp. Just make sure the groove is deep enough to hold the lamp cord).
Finally, spray the lamp with a satin or semi-gloss clear lacquer to seal the rock and to bring out the natural colors of the stone. Apply two or three coats of the lacquer. After the lacquer is dry, you may want to put a piece of felt on the bottom of your lamp so it will not scratch the table it sits on.
Let's get started with the tools and parts you will need. These tools are essential for getting this project done correctly and may require a little bit of a financial investment to get started.
A drill press. The press does not have to be a large, floor model...it can be a bench top type for now. It does have to have a setting on it that will enable the drill to go fairly slowly through the rock. A setting of around 200-300 rounds per minute is best.
A 3/8" mortise bit. The mortise bit for this purpose only has to be around 5" long. DO NOT buy a carbide-coated bit, as these seem to not work as well. Home Depot or Lowe's both carry a standard 3/8" mortise bit for around $5.00.
A lamp kit with a harp included. These lamp kits are easy to use and will come with everything you need to put your lamp together. You will want to make sure the kit comes with a harp also if you are planning on using a shade that requires a harp. These sell for around $8.00 at most hardware stores.
A 3/8" thread rod around 10 inches long. This rod can be bought along with your lamp kit in the hardware's lighting section. Usually, the lengths come in 24" to 36" and cost around $4.00. After you put the lamp together, you will want to cut the rod to length and I will explain how to do that.
A hack saw for cutting the 3/8" rod to length.
A good strong epoxy glue that sets within 30 minutes.
An angle grinder with a wheel suitable to grind rock.
Your Rock
The best place to get your rock for your lamp is to find a dried up riverbed. Rocks from dried riverbeds tend to be easier to drill and lend themselves more easily to making a lamp. Please note: We don't want to disturb riverbeds that are in use by our natural rivers and streams but picking up rock from dried up sources poses no harm to the environment. You will need a base to start with. Look around for a fairly flat base that when set down on a table, it won't rock back and forth but will sit stable. For this project, your base should be about 8 inches square and about 1 inch to 2 inches thick or thereabouts (any variation is ok as long it is fairly flat). After you have found your base, look for smaller rocks of different shapes and sizes and choose ones that are fairly flat on both sides too. This will make it easier to drill and fit together on your lamp. These should be around ½ " thick or so. You will need about 6 of these smaller rocks.
Drilling The Rock
Now that you have gathered your choice rock for your lamp, it is time to drill. Place the base of the rock on your drill press and roughly find the center of the rock. (You do not have to be exactly perfect in finding the center as this is a rustic lamp and if you are a little off, it only makes it more rustic and interesting). You should make sure that where you are going to drill is relatively flat so the drill bit does not dance around on you. (Before you drill, make sure you have a little water on hand to either spray the drill bit or splash some on to it as the drill bit can get very hot and could break if not kept cool). Begin drilling slowly, around 200 to 300 rounds per minute, and continue until you are completely through. Yeah....you did it! Now, repeat these steps with your remaining smaller rock until all are drilled and ready to put together.
Pre-Assembly
Take your length of 3/8" rod and cut it down to about 10" or so. Place the rod into the larger base and start stacking the smaller rock on top. Since none of these rocks are exactly flat, you may have to move them around a little to make sure they fit together snuggly so that the inner rod does not show. After you have completed this process you will most likely have extra rod on top that needs to be cut off. Taking your lamp parts into consideration, you will have to leave enough rod to hold your coupler, your piece that holds your harp, and your actual lamp fixture base. Usually, this means leaving about 1 inch or so above the last stacked rock. You can test this by getting all your lamp parts out, putting them one by one on the top of the extra rod, and then making a mark just under the first piece (coupler) to see how extra rod you need to leave protruding out. Mark your rod where you need to cut it, pull off the rock one by one keeping them in order and cut your rod to length.
Final Assembly
Put your pre-cut rod back into the base and put some of your epoxy glue around the hole where the rod fits into and around a small area where your first small rock is going to sit. Take your first small rock and slide it down over the rod and put it on top of the glued area on your base. (It is important to keep your glue area small so it is not seen after the rocks are placed together). Continue this process until all the rocks are places tightly together on the rod. Make sure the inside of your rod is clear all the way through the center without any obstructions so you can slide your lamp cord through it in the next step. You have now completed the most difficult part of making this lamp. Let your lamp sit for a couple of hours or so to let the glue set up.
Using the directions on your lamp kit box, assemble the rest of the lamp parts as shown. You will have to push your cord all the way through from the bottom of the base. (Sometimes, depending on the rock base, your cord will not sit correctly under the base and may cause the base to rock a little. This is where you will need your angle grinder with a wheel suitable to grind rock. Turn your lamp upside down and take your angle grinder and dig a small indentation from the middle of the rock where the rod is towards the back of the lamp. Just make sure the groove is deep enough to hold the lamp cord).
Finally, spray the lamp with a satin or semi-gloss clear lacquer to seal the rock and to bring out the natural colors of the stone. Apply two or three coats of the lacquer. After the lacquer is dry, you may want to put a piece of felt on the bottom of your lamp so it will not scratch the table it sits on.
Prepare for the Worst - Gather All Your Vital Documents
Scenario: You came home from work only to find that the tropical storm lingering out in the Atlantic Ocean has rapidly turned into a category 3 hurricane. Your home is in the direct path of the eye of the storm and officials have called for a mandatory evacuation within 4 hours.
In this scenario, how long do you think it will take you to gather all of your important documents assuming you won't have a home when you come back? If you said an hour or more, that is way too long! It shouldn't take you more than five minutes to grab all the papers you need. You will have a very hard time trying to put your life back together if you're missing critical documents.
Start now by using this checklist to gather all of your important documents and store them in a fireproof, waterproof or safe deposit box. Use plastic covers for passports, birth and marriage certificates, etc.
Don't let another hurricane season go by without you being prepared.
Emergency Document Checklist
Copy of driver's license
Passport/ Immigration papers
Social Security Card
Certified copy of birth & death certificates/ Adoption papers
Certified copy of marriage license/ Divorce
Church records
Copy of medical & dental insurance
Home insurance policy/ Photo of valuables
Property & vehicles titles/ Deeds
Wills/ Trusts/ Power of Attorney
Income tax returns (past 3 years)
Investments/ Stocks & bonds
Credit card/ Loan information
Bank information & contact
Employer benefits statement
All account numbers & passwords
Medication list
Resume/ Address history
Cash ($2,000 if possible)
Current pictures of each family member (pets too!)
Alberta is a member of The National Association of Professional Organizers and owner of Emplayce-The Organizing Source
In this scenario, how long do you think it will take you to gather all of your important documents assuming you won't have a home when you come back? If you said an hour or more, that is way too long! It shouldn't take you more than five minutes to grab all the papers you need. You will have a very hard time trying to put your life back together if you're missing critical documents.
Start now by using this checklist to gather all of your important documents and store them in a fireproof, waterproof or safe deposit box. Use plastic covers for passports, birth and marriage certificates, etc.
Don't let another hurricane season go by without you being prepared.
Emergency Document Checklist
Copy of driver's license
Passport/ Immigration papers
Social Security Card
Certified copy of birth & death certificates/ Adoption papers
Certified copy of marriage license/ Divorce
Church records
Copy of medical & dental insurance
Home insurance policy/ Photo of valuables
Property & vehicles titles/ Deeds
Wills/ Trusts/ Power of Attorney
Income tax returns (past 3 years)
Investments/ Stocks & bonds
Credit card/ Loan information
Bank information & contact
Employer benefits statement
All account numbers & passwords
Medication list
Resume/ Address history
Cash ($2,000 if possible)
Current pictures of each family member (pets too!)
Alberta is a member of The National Association of Professional Organizers and owner of Emplayce-The Organizing Source
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Small Business Information Center - Your Information Gateway
Starting up a small business is really a testing time for any entrepreneur; one has to undergo a lot of stress full with so much to do in so less a time. The initial phase before starting up a business is also characterized by toiling under pressure to find out what is right and what is wrong.
The major issue of concern before starting up any small business is the availability of right resources. Do you have the right kind of guidance? Do you have enough small business information? What is the source of your information?
Internet is one of the best resources for searching for small business information. You can also get some practical information on ‘how to start your home business’ and can also search for some small business opportunities that suit your taste and budget.
However, the best thing would be to visit a small business information center. You can also find out about the addresses of some government based small business information centers and administrations.
There are many local Business Information Centers which provide the small business owners and the prospective entrepreneurs with important information. The small business centers also provide contacts for state regulatory requirements for people wanting to start up small businesses.
The primary objective of any small business information center is to facilitate sustainable small business development. You also find information about licenses and permits you need to obtain and maintain in order to run your business smoothly.
Small business information you need before starting up a business:
• Information for obtaining the necessary licenses and permits
• Availability of different financing options for your short term or long term goals
• Information on some copyright and trademark issues.
• Information on how you can get some guidance from external sources.
Some of the organizations that can help you to set up small businesses are the following:
Small Business Administration (SBA)
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business owners. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.
There are many SBA programs and services which support your small business. You can also get SBA-backed loans and find government contracting opportunities. SBA also provides disaster assistance and training programs to help your business succeed.
There are around 25 million strong small businesses providing strength to America’s economy. Despite their immense contribution to the economy, small businesses are heavily burdened by the costs of government regulation and excessive paperwork.
Office of Advocacy within the U.S Small Business Administration helps to reduce the burdens that federal policies impose on small firms and maximize the benefits small businesses receive from the government. It encourages policies that support the development and growth of American small business.
The major issue of concern before starting up any small business is the availability of right resources. Do you have the right kind of guidance? Do you have enough small business information? What is the source of your information?
Internet is one of the best resources for searching for small business information. You can also get some practical information on ‘how to start your home business’ and can also search for some small business opportunities that suit your taste and budget.
However, the best thing would be to visit a small business information center. You can also find out about the addresses of some government based small business information centers and administrations.
There are many local Business Information Centers which provide the small business owners and the prospective entrepreneurs with important information. The small business centers also provide contacts for state regulatory requirements for people wanting to start up small businesses.
The primary objective of any small business information center is to facilitate sustainable small business development. You also find information about licenses and permits you need to obtain and maintain in order to run your business smoothly.
Small business information you need before starting up a business:
• Information for obtaining the necessary licenses and permits
• Availability of different financing options for your short term or long term goals
• Information on some copyright and trademark issues.
• Information on how you can get some guidance from external sources.
Some of the organizations that can help you to set up small businesses are the following:
Small Business Administration (SBA)
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business owners. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.
There are many SBA programs and services which support your small business. You can also get SBA-backed loans and find government contracting opportunities. SBA also provides disaster assistance and training programs to help your business succeed.
There are around 25 million strong small businesses providing strength to America’s economy. Despite their immense contribution to the economy, small businesses are heavily burdened by the costs of government regulation and excessive paperwork.
Office of Advocacy within the U.S Small Business Administration helps to reduce the burdens that federal policies impose on small firms and maximize the benefits small businesses receive from the government. It encourages policies that support the development and growth of American small business.
Choosing A Security System for Your Home and Office
Over the last few years, many home security companies have started to combination plans that will cover your home and your business. This can let you deal with a single company for all your security needs - both home and office.
In the past, it may have been necessary to deal with two different companies or at least two different accounts at a single company - one for your home and one for your office.
It wasn't so much a matter of needing different types of alarm systems as it was a matter of policy. Most security companies treated business security different than home security. By combining the two into a single plan, it simplifies things for the customer and it simplifies monitoring for the security outfit.
The basic security requirements are not really any different between a home and a business. The alarm system can be wired or wireless, monitored or stand-alone. These are decisions that you would make for either your home or your office, depending on your budget and your needs.
The difference between home and office systems lies mainly in the way the monitoring is handled. Both home and office systems offer central monitoring so the alarm company can alert you and the authorities in case of an alarm. Office systems are handled a little differently though.
Many businesses have security guards that keep track of things after hours - either hired by the business directly or supplied by the building management in rental offices. The alarm company can work with these security guards in case of an alarm, which is not something that is common in the case of home alarms.
Office alarms generally cover more than just break-ins too. They often include fire and smoke detection and the alarm company can alert the fire department in case of a fire.
In the past, it may have been necessary to deal with two different companies or at least two different accounts at a single company - one for your home and one for your office.
It wasn't so much a matter of needing different types of alarm systems as it was a matter of policy. Most security companies treated business security different than home security. By combining the two into a single plan, it simplifies things for the customer and it simplifies monitoring for the security outfit.
The basic security requirements are not really any different between a home and a business. The alarm system can be wired or wireless, monitored or stand-alone. These are decisions that you would make for either your home or your office, depending on your budget and your needs.
The difference between home and office systems lies mainly in the way the monitoring is handled. Both home and office systems offer central monitoring so the alarm company can alert you and the authorities in case of an alarm. Office systems are handled a little differently though.
Many businesses have security guards that keep track of things after hours - either hired by the business directly or supplied by the building management in rental offices. The alarm company can work with these security guards in case of an alarm, which is not something that is common in the case of home alarms.
Office alarms generally cover more than just break-ins too. They often include fire and smoke detection and the alarm company can alert the fire department in case of a fire.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Free Network Monitoring Software
Are you looking for a free solution for all your network monitoring needs? Then you should be really looking for free Linux networking status monitoring software online.
Today, businesses are seeking solutions for monitoring their networks and protecting them from unauthorized visitors. Software like Big Brother, Bandwidth Monitor and FreePing helps you protect your network from the unwarranted use of office software by the employees.
Free network monitoring software would help you to not only prepare reports on the uptime, downtime, and virus attacks, take backups of documents and passwords but also show online and offline time. Networking status monitoring can be done both internally as well as through remote controlling devices.
Free network monitoring software can help you find the complete status of your network and all your systems, and help you encrypt your emails and documents. Such software can also help you trace the routes of unauthorized visitors and debug their connections to your systems and network.
Before you can purchase network monitoring software, you need to get a thorough compatibility check done by a reliable third-party vendor. It could be from your own computer vendor or the manufacturing company.
Network status monitoring software usually comes for a nominal price of about $55 or more. The software is still priceless, since it serves multiple purposes and it all comes in one package. This would save a lot of your time you would have spent looking around, and give you maximum value for your investment.
Some free network monitoring software is also available in various languages (foreign or local). You could get reviews of various free networking monitoring software beforehand in some computer magazines online as well as offline. Finally, be choosy about the software you purchase.
Today, businesses are seeking solutions for monitoring their networks and protecting them from unauthorized visitors. Software like Big Brother, Bandwidth Monitor and FreePing helps you protect your network from the unwarranted use of office software by the employees.
Free network monitoring software would help you to not only prepare reports on the uptime, downtime, and virus attacks, take backups of documents and passwords but also show online and offline time. Networking status monitoring can be done both internally as well as through remote controlling devices.
Free network monitoring software can help you find the complete status of your network and all your systems, and help you encrypt your emails and documents. Such software can also help you trace the routes of unauthorized visitors and debug their connections to your systems and network.
Before you can purchase network monitoring software, you need to get a thorough compatibility check done by a reliable third-party vendor. It could be from your own computer vendor or the manufacturing company.
Network status monitoring software usually comes for a nominal price of about $55 or more. The software is still priceless, since it serves multiple purposes and it all comes in one package. This would save a lot of your time you would have spent looking around, and give you maximum value for your investment.
Some free network monitoring software is also available in various languages (foreign or local). You could get reviews of various free networking monitoring software beforehand in some computer magazines online as well as offline. Finally, be choosy about the software you purchase.
Associate Your Company With A Registered Office Address And Reap Business Benefits
It is mandatory (from legal perspective) for UK registered companies to use a registered UK address where the Government agencies can send official documents, such as statutory letters, court documents and so on. The registered office address will be recorded at Companies House.
A company when incorporated is assigned a registered office address that gets recorded in the public record, such as Companies House. All the official correspondence (letters and reminders) takes place at this address.
However, there are numerous small companies/business set-ups that do not wish to use their addresses as a registered address for official communication. This is because an effective and prestigious company address plays a crucial role in creating a good image of a company in the eyes of the customers. In addition, an effective registered office address ensures prompt and reliable delivery and receipt of official mails. All the office documents received at the registered address is forwarded to the designated address of the client. The small companies can use this address on their business stationary.
There are many firms that offer registered office address service to such small companies. For example, a small company run by a single director from his/her home can avail this service to enhance the efficiency of the business by ensuring reliable official correspondence. The director can use this separate company address to receive routine paperwork from Companies House and Inland Revenue.
The registered office address service is useful for the UK companies owned by people residing outside the UK. It is a legal requirement of a UK company to have a UK-registered address. So, such companies can avail this service and run their businesses smoothly.
The companies availing the registered address service should take care of not using the address as a 'trading address' for their general mails.
A company when incorporated is assigned a registered office address that gets recorded in the public record, such as Companies House. All the official correspondence (letters and reminders) takes place at this address.
However, there are numerous small companies/business set-ups that do not wish to use their addresses as a registered address for official communication. This is because an effective and prestigious company address plays a crucial role in creating a good image of a company in the eyes of the customers. In addition, an effective registered office address ensures prompt and reliable delivery and receipt of official mails. All the office documents received at the registered address is forwarded to the designated address of the client. The small companies can use this address on their business stationary.
There are many firms that offer registered office address service to such small companies. For example, a small company run by a single director from his/her home can avail this service to enhance the efficiency of the business by ensuring reliable official correspondence. The director can use this separate company address to receive routine paperwork from Companies House and Inland Revenue.
The registered office address service is useful for the UK companies owned by people residing outside the UK. It is a legal requirement of a UK company to have a UK-registered address. So, such companies can avail this service and run their businesses smoothly.
The companies availing the registered address service should take care of not using the address as a 'trading address' for their general mails.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Is Your Wireless Network a Home Security Breach?
Wireless networks for home computers are becoming more and more popular but do you know how to protect your Wi-Fi network?
A recent survey from www.wi-fi.org shows that protecting your wireless network has become one of the top three issues in home security. According to the survey the top three concerns about home security was:
* Locking windows and doors
* Installing a home alarm system
* Securing your wireless network.
More than 40 percent of the survey respondents felt that a protected Wi-Fi network was an important part of creating a safe home.
Is your neighbor using your Wi-Fi network?
Did you know that 17 percent of Americans thinks it's ok to use someone else's network. The wast majority thinks using your neighbor's Wi-Fi is like stealing. They don't like their neighbors borrowing their signal without their knowledge.
Most new laptop computers have access to Wi-Fi networks as a standard feature. Try taking your laptop for a drive in the neighborhood and you'll probably discover that your computer can connect to several networks - especially if you live in the city. Some "Wi-Fi snatchers" even put small graffitti marks on walls indicating where your can find an open network.
Only seven out of 10 respondents in the survey had activated their Wi-Fi network security - that leaves 30% of networks wide open. Securing you network does require a little technical knowledge, but most systems come with an easy step-by-step guide for setting up the network security. When you have secured your network you can really enjoy the freedom of Wi-Fi without worrying about bandwidth theft.
Have you checked if your Wi-Fi network is secure?
Can you take your laptop computer across the street and still access your home network? Does using your network require you to logon to the network? If not your network is probably wide open so everyone in the neighborhood can use your network. Maybe it's time to find the manual to your system and start doing something about your Wi-Fi security before someone starts stealing your bandwidth or worse - gets access to you computer.
A recent survey from www.wi-fi.org shows that protecting your wireless network has become one of the top three issues in home security. According to the survey the top three concerns about home security was:
* Locking windows and doors
* Installing a home alarm system
* Securing your wireless network.
More than 40 percent of the survey respondents felt that a protected Wi-Fi network was an important part of creating a safe home.
Is your neighbor using your Wi-Fi network?
Did you know that 17 percent of Americans thinks it's ok to use someone else's network. The wast majority thinks using your neighbor's Wi-Fi is like stealing. They don't like their neighbors borrowing their signal without their knowledge.
Most new laptop computers have access to Wi-Fi networks as a standard feature. Try taking your laptop for a drive in the neighborhood and you'll probably discover that your computer can connect to several networks - especially if you live in the city. Some "Wi-Fi snatchers" even put small graffitti marks on walls indicating where your can find an open network.
Only seven out of 10 respondents in the survey had activated their Wi-Fi network security - that leaves 30% of networks wide open. Securing you network does require a little technical knowledge, but most systems come with an easy step-by-step guide for setting up the network security. When you have secured your network you can really enjoy the freedom of Wi-Fi without worrying about bandwidth theft.
Have you checked if your Wi-Fi network is secure?
Can you take your laptop computer across the street and still access your home network? Does using your network require you to logon to the network? If not your network is probably wide open so everyone in the neighborhood can use your network. Maybe it's time to find the manual to your system and start doing something about your Wi-Fi security before someone starts stealing your bandwidth or worse - gets access to you computer.
Office Printing Solutions
Every office has different needs when it comes to their printing solutions. Most companies will grow from a home based business into a larger office will require a change in their printing solutions. It doesn't make sense for a business to have several small ink-jet printers running all at the same time each serving as individual employee. Ink-jet printers are notoriously expensive to maintain and can only serve one or two people at a time without causing a huge backlog of print jobs. A larger office should have a singular large format laser-jet printer that will process jobs more quickly and more efficiently than smaller individual printers can. In the long run this will be much better for your business as it will lower many of the costs your business will incur. Converting from individual printers to one central unit will require several things and you should be aware of them before moving forward with this process.
Your office will have to establish a network of some sort for all the machines in your office to print to a single machine. This could mean bringing in a computer expert to establish your network, or simply setting it up yourself. Setting up a network for your office is really quite simple and can be done in any office outfitted for DSL, which most already are. All you will need to do is to route the DSL through one central router and out to the individual machines and setup the central printer either through your router or one of the computer's on the network that can grant access to all the computer's on the network.
Once you have a network in place you should do plenty of research before purchasing the printer you are going to place on your office network. There are plenty of models out on the market from companies like Brother, Hewlett Packard, Epson and Lexmark. You should choose a machine that gives you the options you need and has the print capacity that fits your company.
Your office will have to establish a network of some sort for all the machines in your office to print to a single machine. This could mean bringing in a computer expert to establish your network, or simply setting it up yourself. Setting up a network for your office is really quite simple and can be done in any office outfitted for DSL, which most already are. All you will need to do is to route the DSL through one central router and out to the individual machines and setup the central printer either through your router or one of the computer's on the network that can grant access to all the computer's on the network.
Once you have a network in place you should do plenty of research before purchasing the printer you are going to place on your office network. There are plenty of models out on the market from companies like Brother, Hewlett Packard, Epson and Lexmark. You should choose a machine that gives you the options you need and has the print capacity that fits your company.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Understanding The True Cost Of Corporate Office Space
How do I assess my true office accommodation costs?
We have been asked by a number of clients to help them identify the true cost of an office or location. Here is a guide to the factors you should consider to assess total accommodation costs.
The UK Department of Trade and Industry commissioned a report into remote working in 2005 and found that a significant operational cost reduction was achieved.
In a recent report the following figures were published from a study of 13 large corporations, spanning some 30 teams (1.0)
• 86% of managers and 74% of staff spend time out of the office during any month.
• An average office worker spends 10-20% of time away from their desk.
Taking the above we can calculate, in rough terms, the expected usage of accommodation to staff ratio. (This is only a guide and further study of any organisation will be required.)
Total cost of location – In order to calculate the exact costs of providing a desk, a number of factors need to be considered. A recent report from The City University Business School calculated the average desk cost as follows;
• Central London - 20K per desk per year
• Other major UK cities - 13k to 8k per desk per year
The above is inclusive of all service costs to the desk and space such as corridors or larger personal enclosed office space. We can use these figure to show wastage costs per office or team.
Example:
100 staff with 10 managers
100 staff of which 74 are out of the office 10% of the time = 7.4 empty desks
10 managers of which 8 are out of the office 10% of the time = 0.8 of an empty desk.
Total yearly cost = 8.2 desks at 8k per year 65.6k
(This does not include sickness or holidays)
(Remember that unless you maximise the space left, savings will not be made in direct accommodation costs.)
Conclusion - It is recommended that a short study is commissioned to look at potential within the organisation and identify an appropriate project that will bring cost savings and increased productivity.
We have been asked by a number of clients to help them identify the true cost of an office or location. Here is a guide to the factors you should consider to assess total accommodation costs.
The UK Department of Trade and Industry commissioned a report into remote working in 2005 and found that a significant operational cost reduction was achieved.
In a recent report the following figures were published from a study of 13 large corporations, spanning some 30 teams (1.0)
• 86% of managers and 74% of staff spend time out of the office during any month.
• An average office worker spends 10-20% of time away from their desk.
Taking the above we can calculate, in rough terms, the expected usage of accommodation to staff ratio. (This is only a guide and further study of any organisation will be required.)
Total cost of location – In order to calculate the exact costs of providing a desk, a number of factors need to be considered. A recent report from The City University Business School calculated the average desk cost as follows;
• Central London - 20K per desk per year
• Other major UK cities - 13k to 8k per desk per year
The above is inclusive of all service costs to the desk and space such as corridors or larger personal enclosed office space. We can use these figure to show wastage costs per office or team.
Example:
100 staff with 10 managers
100 staff of which 74 are out of the office 10% of the time = 7.4 empty desks
10 managers of which 8 are out of the office 10% of the time = 0.8 of an empty desk.
Total yearly cost = 8.2 desks at 8k per year 65.6k
(This does not include sickness or holidays)
(Remember that unless you maximise the space left, savings will not be made in direct accommodation costs.)
Conclusion - It is recommended that a short study is commissioned to look at potential within the organisation and identify an appropriate project that will bring cost savings and increased productivity.
HughesNet Is The World's Leading Broadband Satellite Service For All Consumers
HughesNet offers several service plans to meet a variety of needs. From surfing the Internet at super-fast speeds, to managing a small business from home, HughesNet has solutions for home users and home businesses. HughesNet’s business-class service plans offer companies the ability to securely connect their locations with broadband Internet in areas where fiber, cable or DSL are not available.
HughesNet Speeds
Maximum download speeds are not guaranteed. Actual upload speed will likely be lower than speed indicated during peak hours. Download speeds may also be temporarily slowed in cases when patterns of system usage exceed the download threshold for an extended period of time. See the HughesNet Fair Access Policy for more information. If you choose to run VPN over satellite, your data speeds may be reduced by as much as 50-75%. Despite the high speeds, time-sensitive applications, such as multi-player “twitch” games, are also not recommended over HughesNet due to signal latency.
Dynamic IP Address (NAT – Network Address Translation)
HughesNet provides a dynamically allocated IP address to the DW7000 modem with each service plan except Business Internet. IP addresses are assigned via Network Address Translation which enables dynamic assignment of private IPs to devices, keeping them private from users outside of the network.
Static IP Addresses
Static IP Addresses are available for all service plans. With the exception of the Business Internet service plan, static IP addresses must be ordered separately.
A static IP address is a permanent Internet address for a computer, much like a telephone number. Static IPs make managing Internet connections more secure and email access easier. Generally, a subscriber’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) determines the type of IP address (static or dynamic) the subscriber uses. Because there are a limited number of static IP addresses available, most residential subscribers use dynamic IP addresses.
Dynamic IP addresses (also referred to as a NAT or Network Address Translation) are randomly assigned IP addresses from a pool of available addresses. When connecting to the Internet, users with a dynamic IP addresses use a new IP address each time they connect to the Internet. Static IP addresses are necessary for some Internet uses such as:
• Accessing some applications remotely
• Using video conferencing services
• Accessing home computers remotely
• Operating a home email or web server
• Using some applications requiring Internet access
• Accessing some protected or secure web sites
• Offering e-commerce transactions using SSL (Secured Socket Layered) encryptions
Dial Up Account
HughesNet provides dial up accounts for accessing the Internet and HughesNet email when traveling. HughesNet also provides web-based access to HughesNet email.
Warranty Extension
HughesNet offers a 15-month warranty extension for customers who select either the Home or Professional service plans with the upfront purchase option. The warranty extension is included in the cost of the Home or Professional service plans under the promotional payment plan option. Small Office and Business Internet service plans have a 24 month extended warranty that is included in the cost of both service plans.
Onsite Maintenance
HughesNet offers next-day onsite service for the Small Office and Business Internet service plans for an additional monthly fee.
HughesNet Speeds
Maximum download speeds are not guaranteed. Actual upload speed will likely be lower than speed indicated during peak hours. Download speeds may also be temporarily slowed in cases when patterns of system usage exceed the download threshold for an extended period of time. See the HughesNet Fair Access Policy for more information. If you choose to run VPN over satellite, your data speeds may be reduced by as much as 50-75%. Despite the high speeds, time-sensitive applications, such as multi-player “twitch” games, are also not recommended over HughesNet due to signal latency.
Dynamic IP Address (NAT – Network Address Translation)
HughesNet provides a dynamically allocated IP address to the DW7000 modem with each service plan except Business Internet. IP addresses are assigned via Network Address Translation which enables dynamic assignment of private IPs to devices, keeping them private from users outside of the network.
Static IP Addresses
Static IP Addresses are available for all service plans. With the exception of the Business Internet service plan, static IP addresses must be ordered separately.
A static IP address is a permanent Internet address for a computer, much like a telephone number. Static IPs make managing Internet connections more secure and email access easier. Generally, a subscriber’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) determines the type of IP address (static or dynamic) the subscriber uses. Because there are a limited number of static IP addresses available, most residential subscribers use dynamic IP addresses.
Dynamic IP addresses (also referred to as a NAT or Network Address Translation) are randomly assigned IP addresses from a pool of available addresses. When connecting to the Internet, users with a dynamic IP addresses use a new IP address each time they connect to the Internet. Static IP addresses are necessary for some Internet uses such as:
• Accessing some applications remotely
• Using video conferencing services
• Accessing home computers remotely
• Operating a home email or web server
• Using some applications requiring Internet access
• Accessing some protected or secure web sites
• Offering e-commerce transactions using SSL (Secured Socket Layered) encryptions
Dial Up Account
HughesNet provides dial up accounts for accessing the Internet and HughesNet email when traveling. HughesNet also provides web-based access to HughesNet email.
Warranty Extension
HughesNet offers a 15-month warranty extension for customers who select either the Home or Professional service plans with the upfront purchase option. The warranty extension is included in the cost of the Home or Professional service plans under the promotional payment plan option. Small Office and Business Internet service plans have a 24 month extended warranty that is included in the cost of both service plans.
Onsite Maintenance
HughesNet offers next-day onsite service for the Small Office and Business Internet service plans for an additional monthly fee.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The Billows Family Name - Famous George Billows
The Billows Family name is not that common and there are no nobility links that can be found in the historical record. Billows Family name appears to have come from those who worked as bellowers in the 16th century and for the most part many were peasants although in more recent times a few have risen to the ranks of bureaucrats and paper work government workers. Others have become union workers and such.
In past periods some Billows were sent to the Australia Prison Colonies. Some Billows rose to the ranks of assistant engineers, although most were low-level worker bees who contributed at least some needed grunt labor. There was a George Billows who married into the Baker family in 1772, which up lifted that family lineage quite a bit, but their offspring did not make the any significant impacts on the forward progression of human civilization.
George Billows in 1772 who married Mary Baker, married well and this has been about the best records we have found to any real strength of the family name. To this date there have been no real major accomplishments or notices in the public record of the Billows Family name as achieving any thing of major significance other than a few named bureaucrats of government and industry.
Some of the records seem to indicate that the Billows family name was once Willows, but since the uneducated line of the family in the 1600s could not read, write or spell and it is hypothesized that the name was inadvertently changed, although this is merely speculation. If you have information on the Billows family name or if you can find anything, which can help show that this is a worthy name of note; please post it on ancestry.com bulletin boards at your earliest convenience to help.
In past periods some Billows were sent to the Australia Prison Colonies. Some Billows rose to the ranks of assistant engineers, although most were low-level worker bees who contributed at least some needed grunt labor. There was a George Billows who married into the Baker family in 1772, which up lifted that family lineage quite a bit, but their offspring did not make the any significant impacts on the forward progression of human civilization.
George Billows in 1772 who married Mary Baker, married well and this has been about the best records we have found to any real strength of the family name. To this date there have been no real major accomplishments or notices in the public record of the Billows Family name as achieving any thing of major significance other than a few named bureaucrats of government and industry.
Some of the records seem to indicate that the Billows family name was once Willows, but since the uneducated line of the family in the 1600s could not read, write or spell and it is hypothesized that the name was inadvertently changed, although this is merely speculation. If you have information on the Billows family name or if you can find anything, which can help show that this is a worthy name of note; please post it on ancestry.com bulletin boards at your earliest convenience to help.
How to Get Affordable Individual and Family Health Insurance
An affordable individual and family health insurance plan is an insurance plan provided only to individuals and their families, unlike the group insurance plans offered to employers or other organizations. Not everyone has the option of getting an employer-sponsored group health insurance plan, and not everyone belongs to an organization that offers group health insurance plans to their members. When this is the case for individuals with families, an affordable individual and family health insurance plan is ideal.
Affordable individual and family health insurance plans are often offered through an indemnity or managed care organization. With an indemnity, the policyholder – you – pays for all health care costs upfront. The individual and family health insurance plan will reimburse you once they receive a doctor or hospital bill. With a managed care plan, you usually only have to pay a co-payment at the time of your medical service. The doctor or hospital will then bill your individual and family health insurance company for the rest. Managed care organizations include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) and Point of Service (POS) plans, and they do not always provide the wide selection of doctors and other health care professionals offered by indemnity plans.
You may feel health insurance is too expensive for you, but there are affordable individual and family health insurance plans out there. Being without adequate health insurance is too risky – for your health and your bank account. Thanks to individual and family health insurance plans, it’s possible for you, your spouse, and your children to obtain affordable health insurance.
If you and your family are currently without affordable health insurance, act quickly. After you apply for an individual and family health insurance plan, the time between application and the date the plan actually starts varies. The speed of the process usually depends on the underwriting process of the insurance company, so it’s best to apply as soon as possible.
Affordable individual and family health insurance plans are often offered through an indemnity or managed care organization. With an indemnity, the policyholder – you – pays for all health care costs upfront. The individual and family health insurance plan will reimburse you once they receive a doctor or hospital bill. With a managed care plan, you usually only have to pay a co-payment at the time of your medical service. The doctor or hospital will then bill your individual and family health insurance company for the rest. Managed care organizations include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) and Point of Service (POS) plans, and they do not always provide the wide selection of doctors and other health care professionals offered by indemnity plans.
You may feel health insurance is too expensive for you, but there are affordable individual and family health insurance plans out there. Being without adequate health insurance is too risky – for your health and your bank account. Thanks to individual and family health insurance plans, it’s possible for you, your spouse, and your children to obtain affordable health insurance.
If you and your family are currently without affordable health insurance, act quickly. After you apply for an individual and family health insurance plan, the time between application and the date the plan actually starts varies. The speed of the process usually depends on the underwriting process of the insurance company, so it’s best to apply as soon as possible.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
7 Costly Mistakes You Need To Avoid When Networking
It is a fact that companies who do not network are missing tapping into a rich stream of new contacts and new business that can make them more successful, profitable and help them to understand their customers and the marketplace better whilst testing their message and its effectiveness. The other fact is that many people who do network make mistakes which can cost them winning new business in volume. Now we all make mistakes, so what can you look out for and how can you maximize your networking activities by avoiding costly errors?
1. Prejudging People.
You cannot afford to prejudge people; you simply do not know who they know or who they can connect you and your business to. I have had some of my best referrals from people who I initially thought could not help me. We've all heard the saying, never judge a book by its cover, but many of us do. Instead, give people time and your attention. It is also worth mentioning on the flipside that all that glitters is not gold, be open-minded and don't jump to conclusions.
2. Not Following Up
People go out there, get the contacts, business cards and introductions but fail to follow up or when they do follow up they are trying to sell. Top referral achievers know how to follow up and they follow up on all contacts and keep in regular contact. The people you meet at business networking forums are their as equals, they do not want to be sold to and they definitely do not want to be treated as prospects however they may become customers or clients in time and that is fine but your objective is to find out about them and build rapport with the view to becoming an advocate of their business. It is also worth remembering that in business, as in the sporting arena, top performers develop skill and success through persistence and a focus on continuous improvement. Please understand that networking is a marketing tool and not just an event that you go to. I would implore you to follow up, don't hesitate don't even allow that little voice in your head to put you off, JUST DO IT.
3. No Clear Objective
You want quality business, right? So your objective should be to build relationships on the following 3 criteria: know, like and trust.
*Know - getting to know your contact first is vital, a good way to get the conversation going is to ask open-ended questions in which the person cannot easily answer yes or no. For example, how did you get into this business? What type of businesses are you looking to be referred to?
*Like- this is all about building rapport and getting on well. Many business referral clubs have an annual membership investment fee of £500 to £600, which is great. However, too many people undervalue the unique opportunity that this investment can give them and their business. You should be looking to get a return of 40 to 50 times your investment and then some.
*Trust - mutual beneficial business relationships must be built on trust as we are talking about your reputation there must be no hidden agendas.
4. Not Listening
Your ability to listen is one of the most important skills to have and it will give you the edge if you can learn, develop and cultivate it. This isn't about just hearing what is said it is about understanding and taking in what people really mean. Real listening will require your complete focus and attention. What are people really looking to achieve? What do people think is important about their business, job, personal ambition, and family, what is important to them? Usually people don't listen because they are too busy focusing on what they want to say next in a conversation. Remember practice and write down key areas of importance so the next time you speak or follow up you can ask them about their interests. You have 2 choices you can be an interesting person or you can be an interested person, you decide!
5. Talking about what you do
Talk in terms of what benefits you deliver to your clients, suppliers, customers and contacts. Talk enthusiastically and be specific do not go into detail at an initial first meeting at a networking event. Try to get over, What is unique about you? Why do you do what you do? How do you deliver more value than others in your sector? Please do not fall into the trap of saying that it is your service or quality of your product that differentiates you, this is far too common and generic, explain how, and explain why. Explain any guarantees. Also let people know who you want to be referred to specifically, NEVER say anybody or everybody as you will usually get referred to nobody, because this is not specific enough.
6. Short Term Thinking
Don't be a hunter or a deal chaser to get the best results from your networking activities you need to take a long term approach you cannot afford to have an attitude of What's in it for me or what can I get out of this, you must replace this with the mantra How can I help you or How can I serve. Go out there to make a positive impact on someone's day. Effective people take a farming approach to networking, they focus on cultivating relationships for mutual long term benefit and they definitely do not chase deals or instant sales. You may attend a networking forum and do business initially that's great.
However, this should not be your primary objective as referral's work best if you develop a know like and trust strategy as mentioned, When you get a referral you want to know, that it is the type of business you want and importantly you want to know that you are going to get paid for your product or service so to protect yourself follow these 3 simple steps;
Step one get to know your networking colleagues know what they do, know what they like and don't like, know what they stand for and what they are about.
Step two get to like them, get them to like you and build a relationship whilst developing rapport.
Step three build trust and make sure they're reliable and test their reliability on little things first. I cannot stress how important it is to know like and trust your networking colleagues, because you cannot afford to introduce the wrong person, solution or Company to your valuable network, clients, contacts or customers if they cannot perform and also more importantly you cannot expect others to put you in front or introduce you and your company to their valuable contacts if you cannot perform and successfully deliver on your promises. People who you recommend represent you so don't cut corners.
7. Letting Fear Get The Better Of You
So you feel nervous about going up to a complete stranger and introducing yourself, you feel apprehensive, this makes you normal. We were all taught as children not to talk to strangers. As a kid this strategy was given to you to protect you. In certain situations or circumstances today this may be advisable however in most cases it definitely does not apply now. In business, however, talking to complete strangers is a way to generate interest and contacts for your products and services.
If you only talk to the people you already know and deal with, you will miss out on opportunities to make new connections. Set a target for yourself before you attend any networking event. Decide how many new contacts you want to make or how many strangers you want to meet. Above all make it fun, turn it into a game and take yourself out of your comfort zone and I promise you that with practice, determination and action you will look back and think what was I worried about, you will also find it to be one of the best business decisions you've ever made.
1. Prejudging People.
You cannot afford to prejudge people; you simply do not know who they know or who they can connect you and your business to. I have had some of my best referrals from people who I initially thought could not help me. We've all heard the saying, never judge a book by its cover, but many of us do. Instead, give people time and your attention. It is also worth mentioning on the flipside that all that glitters is not gold, be open-minded and don't jump to conclusions.
2. Not Following Up
People go out there, get the contacts, business cards and introductions but fail to follow up or when they do follow up they are trying to sell. Top referral achievers know how to follow up and they follow up on all contacts and keep in regular contact. The people you meet at business networking forums are their as equals, they do not want to be sold to and they definitely do not want to be treated as prospects however they may become customers or clients in time and that is fine but your objective is to find out about them and build rapport with the view to becoming an advocate of their business. It is also worth remembering that in business, as in the sporting arena, top performers develop skill and success through persistence and a focus on continuous improvement. Please understand that networking is a marketing tool and not just an event that you go to. I would implore you to follow up, don't hesitate don't even allow that little voice in your head to put you off, JUST DO IT.
3. No Clear Objective
You want quality business, right? So your objective should be to build relationships on the following 3 criteria: know, like and trust.
*Know - getting to know your contact first is vital, a good way to get the conversation going is to ask open-ended questions in which the person cannot easily answer yes or no. For example, how did you get into this business? What type of businesses are you looking to be referred to?
*Like- this is all about building rapport and getting on well. Many business referral clubs have an annual membership investment fee of £500 to £600, which is great. However, too many people undervalue the unique opportunity that this investment can give them and their business. You should be looking to get a return of 40 to 50 times your investment and then some.
*Trust - mutual beneficial business relationships must be built on trust as we are talking about your reputation there must be no hidden agendas.
4. Not Listening
Your ability to listen is one of the most important skills to have and it will give you the edge if you can learn, develop and cultivate it. This isn't about just hearing what is said it is about understanding and taking in what people really mean. Real listening will require your complete focus and attention. What are people really looking to achieve? What do people think is important about their business, job, personal ambition, and family, what is important to them? Usually people don't listen because they are too busy focusing on what they want to say next in a conversation. Remember practice and write down key areas of importance so the next time you speak or follow up you can ask them about their interests. You have 2 choices you can be an interesting person or you can be an interested person, you decide!
5. Talking about what you do
Talk in terms of what benefits you deliver to your clients, suppliers, customers and contacts. Talk enthusiastically and be specific do not go into detail at an initial first meeting at a networking event. Try to get over, What is unique about you? Why do you do what you do? How do you deliver more value than others in your sector? Please do not fall into the trap of saying that it is your service or quality of your product that differentiates you, this is far too common and generic, explain how, and explain why. Explain any guarantees. Also let people know who you want to be referred to specifically, NEVER say anybody or everybody as you will usually get referred to nobody, because this is not specific enough.
6. Short Term Thinking
Don't be a hunter or a deal chaser to get the best results from your networking activities you need to take a long term approach you cannot afford to have an attitude of What's in it for me or what can I get out of this, you must replace this with the mantra How can I help you or How can I serve. Go out there to make a positive impact on someone's day. Effective people take a farming approach to networking, they focus on cultivating relationships for mutual long term benefit and they definitely do not chase deals or instant sales. You may attend a networking forum and do business initially that's great.
However, this should not be your primary objective as referral's work best if you develop a know like and trust strategy as mentioned, When you get a referral you want to know, that it is the type of business you want and importantly you want to know that you are going to get paid for your product or service so to protect yourself follow these 3 simple steps;
Step one get to know your networking colleagues know what they do, know what they like and don't like, know what they stand for and what they are about.
Step two get to like them, get them to like you and build a relationship whilst developing rapport.
Step three build trust and make sure they're reliable and test their reliability on little things first. I cannot stress how important it is to know like and trust your networking colleagues, because you cannot afford to introduce the wrong person, solution or Company to your valuable network, clients, contacts or customers if they cannot perform and also more importantly you cannot expect others to put you in front or introduce you and your company to their valuable contacts if you cannot perform and successfully deliver on your promises. People who you recommend represent you so don't cut corners.
7. Letting Fear Get The Better Of You
So you feel nervous about going up to a complete stranger and introducing yourself, you feel apprehensive, this makes you normal. We were all taught as children not to talk to strangers. As a kid this strategy was given to you to protect you. In certain situations or circumstances today this may be advisable however in most cases it definitely does not apply now. In business, however, talking to complete strangers is a way to generate interest and contacts for your products and services.
If you only talk to the people you already know and deal with, you will miss out on opportunities to make new connections. Set a target for yourself before you attend any networking event. Decide how many new contacts you want to make or how many strangers you want to meet. Above all make it fun, turn it into a game and take yourself out of your comfort zone and I promise you that with practice, determination and action you will look back and think what was I worried about, you will also find it to be one of the best business decisions you've ever made.
MLM Training - Would You Perform Your Own Surgery?
Did you consider MLM training before you dove into your new Network Marketing Business? Training is absolutely essential to your MLM success.
Assuming you have no knowledge of electricity, would you decide to wire your brand new 3700 square foot home yourself?
How about surgery? Would you sit at the kitchen table with a steak knife and just get instructions from your surgeon over the phone on how to perform your own surgery? I doubt it. Yes that is a commercial.... hilarious once the guy realizes this might not be such a brilliant plan after all.
I realize it is hard to know what type of MLM training will help you succeed. The training takes time away from the building process in some ways, but just as it is essential to lay a strong foundation for your new home before beginning to frame the home.
It is equally important to lay a solid foundation of knowledge about the MLM industry, the company, MLM marketing and management skills before diving headlong into promoting.
My first few years in Network Marketing, my up-line didn't have the same definition of what training meant as I did. I was looking for practical MLM training tips and marketing ideas with substance I could use to build my Network Marketing business.
Those first few years, the training I received was focused mostly on product knowledge, which you do need to a certain extent. Basically they had no other marketing suggestions except to call my 50 friends and family again and again, sit in the mall and cold call.
They never considered my family and friends might not be my target market. I had no duplicable system to follow. My up-line's personality allowed for 99 "no's" to get that one "yes". My personality does not.
I needed a duplicable system. Cold calling in the mall, calling family and friends over and over is not a duplicable system. The rest of the MLM training I received was related more to "how to give a presentation" and "sell the prospect".
Network Marketing is not about "selling" the prospect on your "deal". Network Marketing is a teaching and mentoring business built on building relationships with others and truly trying to help others meet a need.
Helping others meet their needs and goals will help you to meet yours as well! The Golden Rule is quite applicable: "Treat others as you would have them treat you."
MLM training should be as individual as it is essential to the success of the distributor. Each person comes to the MLM industry with different needs, MLM goals and skills. All people can be successful in this business if they understand a few things:
1) They will NOT get rich quickly. (The average time it takes to make a desirable income is 3 to 5 years. Can it be done quicker? Of course!)
2) They WILL be required to WORK in their business. (It will not fall in their lap!)
3) Network Marketing Training and Up-Line support is essential to your business (Most of us can't succeed alone!)
4) The business model of the chosen MLM Company is crucial to the success it's distributors
5) Do you have a duplicable system for attracting prospects to your business?
Assuming you have no knowledge of electricity, would you decide to wire your brand new 3700 square foot home yourself?
How about surgery? Would you sit at the kitchen table with a steak knife and just get instructions from your surgeon over the phone on how to perform your own surgery? I doubt it. Yes that is a commercial.... hilarious once the guy realizes this might not be such a brilliant plan after all.
I realize it is hard to know what type of MLM training will help you succeed. The training takes time away from the building process in some ways, but just as it is essential to lay a strong foundation for your new home before beginning to frame the home.
It is equally important to lay a solid foundation of knowledge about the MLM industry, the company, MLM marketing and management skills before diving headlong into promoting.
My first few years in Network Marketing, my up-line didn't have the same definition of what training meant as I did. I was looking for practical MLM training tips and marketing ideas with substance I could use to build my Network Marketing business.
Those first few years, the training I received was focused mostly on product knowledge, which you do need to a certain extent. Basically they had no other marketing suggestions except to call my 50 friends and family again and again, sit in the mall and cold call.
They never considered my family and friends might not be my target market. I had no duplicable system to follow. My up-line's personality allowed for 99 "no's" to get that one "yes". My personality does not.
I needed a duplicable system. Cold calling in the mall, calling family and friends over and over is not a duplicable system. The rest of the MLM training I received was related more to "how to give a presentation" and "sell the prospect".
Network Marketing is not about "selling" the prospect on your "deal". Network Marketing is a teaching and mentoring business built on building relationships with others and truly trying to help others meet a need.
Helping others meet their needs and goals will help you to meet yours as well! The Golden Rule is quite applicable: "Treat others as you would have them treat you."
MLM training should be as individual as it is essential to the success of the distributor. Each person comes to the MLM industry with different needs, MLM goals and skills. All people can be successful in this business if they understand a few things:
1) They will NOT get rich quickly. (The average time it takes to make a desirable income is 3 to 5 years. Can it be done quicker? Of course!)
2) They WILL be required to WORK in their business. (It will not fall in their lap!)
3) Network Marketing Training and Up-Line support is essential to your business (Most of us can't succeed alone!)
4) The business model of the chosen MLM Company is crucial to the success it's distributors
5) Do you have a duplicable system for attracting prospects to your business?
Friday, December 14, 2007
How To Network Your Way To Success In Any Industry
You have no doubt heard the expression: "It's not what you know, it's who you know."
Your ability to quickly and effectively transform yourself from a perfect stranger into the perfect ally in a matter of minutes will give you a tremendous advantage over your reserved peers and competitors. It is through successful networking that you gain access to the people and resources you need to achieve your goals. But what exactly does networking mean? Webster offers the following definition:
"A process by where people who have common interests and concerns come together to exchange ideas and information, for the purpose of professional development and accomplishment."
If you have a product, service, talent, or company to market and you are fully prepared to do business with others, the following steps will help you network your way to success.
1.) Upgrade Your Appearance: Humans are visually oriented creatures. We develop impressions, form judgments, and make assumptions (right or wrong) based upon what we see. Take time to pay attention to the details of your appearance and look the part that you want to play (e.g. consultant, accountant, marketer, lawyer, etc.). This does not mean that you need to be decked out in designer clothes. It means you need to understand the importance of putting together a visual presentation that says you care about how you are perceived.
2.) Be Objective Oriented: Before you set out to network ask yourself, "What do I have to offer of value to others?" It's in helping others fulfill their objectives that your services, products, and talents are utilized. Your mission is to make sure that the information you share with others is applicable to the fulfillment of those objectives. Keep this in mind as you navigate your way through conversations.
3.) Be Tactful: In this reality tv-driven era that we live in where everything is bold and crass, those tactics don't work in networking situations. People are more likely to be offended by brash, over-the-top personalities. Don't let your personality quirks blind people to the benefits of doing business with you.
4.) Have A Mental Script: Practice your introductions and be able to clearly and concisely explain who you are, what you do. It's also crucial that you supply supporting facts and details to give people a deeper understanding and greater appreciation of what you have to offer as an ally. And be consistent with the professional information that you publicly divulge. People often share notes with each other about who they meet. When those notes are compared, you want to make sure that an accurate and authentic picture of you is painted.
5.) Provide Business Reasons: Why should anyone care about what you have to say? They don't - until you make your conversation beneficial to them and provide the business reasons to take interest in what you are saying. The real interest people have is not in you, but what you can offer or do for them. Cater to it at every turn.
6.) Qualify Your Contacts: This is done by done by asking questions. Asking questions allow you to get clarification or amplification of details which will confirm or diminish interest, and reflect your comprehension of what your contact is saying.
7.) Listen More Than You Talk: This rule applies no matter who you are networking with. Through active listening we can evaluate what our potential business ally has to offer and identify their needs and concerns. Talking too much reduces your chances of getting this vital information and makes you come off as self-centered. It's also annoying. You will discover that asking questions will help you to balance your conversations in both directions.
8.) Issue A Call To Action: After you have qualified your contact as a potential business ally, you should issue a call to action. This can be an invitation to meet with you at a future date to incorporate yourself into the equation for their (greater) success, to offer services that provide solutions to challenges/problems, negotiate the sharing of resources, or discuss business ideas, plans, or opportunities. This is usually done over lunch or dinner, but you can think outside of the box and invite people to activities and events that afford you the opportunity for one-on-one dialogue with minimal distraction. This is why golf has become the networking activity of corporate America. Rule of thumb: if you issue the invite, you pay the tab.
9.) Follow-Up & Follow-Through: Once you obtain your new contacts, it's imperative that you follow-up with them. Send an email to say hello, or to arrange for the aforementioned lunch or dinner date. It's important to note that it's during this critical stage which most people stop their networking efforts when in fact, the greatest effort and energy utilized in the networking process should be used to convert your contacts into profitable relationships. By profitable I mean relationships that yield beneficial dividends - financially or otherwise.
10.) Deliver The Goods: We network as a means to an end. Often that end is the delivery of a product or a service, but it's also being able to deliver on potential or a promise. Ultimately, when we network, we are seeking those opportunities. At the end of the day, that's what networking your way to success is all about.
Your ability to quickly and effectively transform yourself from a perfect stranger into the perfect ally in a matter of minutes will give you a tremendous advantage over your reserved peers and competitors. It is through successful networking that you gain access to the people and resources you need to achieve your goals. But what exactly does networking mean? Webster offers the following definition:
"A process by where people who have common interests and concerns come together to exchange ideas and information, for the purpose of professional development and accomplishment."
If you have a product, service, talent, or company to market and you are fully prepared to do business with others, the following steps will help you network your way to success.
1.) Upgrade Your Appearance: Humans are visually oriented creatures. We develop impressions, form judgments, and make assumptions (right or wrong) based upon what we see. Take time to pay attention to the details of your appearance and look the part that you want to play (e.g. consultant, accountant, marketer, lawyer, etc.). This does not mean that you need to be decked out in designer clothes. It means you need to understand the importance of putting together a visual presentation that says you care about how you are perceived.
2.) Be Objective Oriented: Before you set out to network ask yourself, "What do I have to offer of value to others?" It's in helping others fulfill their objectives that your services, products, and talents are utilized. Your mission is to make sure that the information you share with others is applicable to the fulfillment of those objectives. Keep this in mind as you navigate your way through conversations.
3.) Be Tactful: In this reality tv-driven era that we live in where everything is bold and crass, those tactics don't work in networking situations. People are more likely to be offended by brash, over-the-top personalities. Don't let your personality quirks blind people to the benefits of doing business with you.
4.) Have A Mental Script: Practice your introductions and be able to clearly and concisely explain who you are, what you do. It's also crucial that you supply supporting facts and details to give people a deeper understanding and greater appreciation of what you have to offer as an ally. And be consistent with the professional information that you publicly divulge. People often share notes with each other about who they meet. When those notes are compared, you want to make sure that an accurate and authentic picture of you is painted.
5.) Provide Business Reasons: Why should anyone care about what you have to say? They don't - until you make your conversation beneficial to them and provide the business reasons to take interest in what you are saying. The real interest people have is not in you, but what you can offer or do for them. Cater to it at every turn.
6.) Qualify Your Contacts: This is done by done by asking questions. Asking questions allow you to get clarification or amplification of details which will confirm or diminish interest, and reflect your comprehension of what your contact is saying.
7.) Listen More Than You Talk: This rule applies no matter who you are networking with. Through active listening we can evaluate what our potential business ally has to offer and identify their needs and concerns. Talking too much reduces your chances of getting this vital information and makes you come off as self-centered. It's also annoying. You will discover that asking questions will help you to balance your conversations in both directions.
8.) Issue A Call To Action: After you have qualified your contact as a potential business ally, you should issue a call to action. This can be an invitation to meet with you at a future date to incorporate yourself into the equation for their (greater) success, to offer services that provide solutions to challenges/problems, negotiate the sharing of resources, or discuss business ideas, plans, or opportunities. This is usually done over lunch or dinner, but you can think outside of the box and invite people to activities and events that afford you the opportunity for one-on-one dialogue with minimal distraction. This is why golf has become the networking activity of corporate America. Rule of thumb: if you issue the invite, you pay the tab.
9.) Follow-Up & Follow-Through: Once you obtain your new contacts, it's imperative that you follow-up with them. Send an email to say hello, or to arrange for the aforementioned lunch or dinner date. It's important to note that it's during this critical stage which most people stop their networking efforts when in fact, the greatest effort and energy utilized in the networking process should be used to convert your contacts into profitable relationships. By profitable I mean relationships that yield beneficial dividends - financially or otherwise.
10.) Deliver The Goods: We network as a means to an end. Often that end is the delivery of a product or a service, but it's also being able to deliver on potential or a promise. Ultimately, when we network, we are seeking those opportunities. At the end of the day, that's what networking your way to success is all about.
Pump Up Those Business Networking Genes to Increase Sales
Business networking is one of the most effective marketing strategies. The more people you meet the greater likelihood of increasing leads and putting them into your marketing funnel.
Since people buy from people they know and trust, business networking event provide opportunities for people to meet you , to begin to know you and hopefully start to trust you.
How good you are at business networking is a reflection of how well you unite your marketing skills, selling skills and self leadership skills. All of these skills are necessary when you are actively marketing yourself through networking event.
So the question is: How good are you at meet and greet? And, more importantly what are your results from these business events? Do you have stacks of business cards accumulating on or near your desk? What process do you have in place to start capturing some of the hidden wealth within these cards?
Networking as defined by Lillian Bjorseth in her book Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last is:
A mutually beneficial relationship
Unfortunately, many in business see networking as a one way relationship - What's in it for me? They forget to view people as people, because they are viewing them as objects. This perspective is well explored in the book by the Arbinger Institute Leadership and Self Deception.
When you meet and greet people with the attitude (habit of thought) that you are there to help them, you can begin to develop authentic relationships that will last. Then you will learn if they have a need for your products or services. The more they talk, the more you will discover and be able to overcome any future stalls and objections if and when you make that sales presentation.
One indicator of how much your networking gene is really pumped is when people start asking you about this person or that person. When you are authentically connected, people will know and you will not have to tell them.
Since people buy from people they know and trust, business networking event provide opportunities for people to meet you , to begin to know you and hopefully start to trust you.
How good you are at business networking is a reflection of how well you unite your marketing skills, selling skills and self leadership skills. All of these skills are necessary when you are actively marketing yourself through networking event.
So the question is: How good are you at meet and greet? And, more importantly what are your results from these business events? Do you have stacks of business cards accumulating on or near your desk? What process do you have in place to start capturing some of the hidden wealth within these cards?
Networking as defined by Lillian Bjorseth in her book Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last is:
A mutually beneficial relationship
Unfortunately, many in business see networking as a one way relationship - What's in it for me? They forget to view people as people, because they are viewing them as objects. This perspective is well explored in the book by the Arbinger Institute Leadership and Self Deception.
When you meet and greet people with the attitude (habit of thought) that you are there to help them, you can begin to develop authentic relationships that will last. Then you will learn if they have a need for your products or services. The more they talk, the more you will discover and be able to overcome any future stalls and objections if and when you make that sales presentation.
One indicator of how much your networking gene is really pumped is when people start asking you about this person or that person. When you are authentically connected, people will know and you will not have to tell them.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Business Card Do's and Don'ts
The business card is one of the most used and least understood tools in business today. Whether CEO of a Fortune 500 Company or founder and part-time CEO of a web-based start-up, the business card is an effective communication and marketing tool. But like any tool, it must be used properly. The do's and don'ts of business card etiquette, while not the key to wealth and success are helpful to prosper in a business or organization of any size.
The Business Card
If you work for a mid-sized to large company or organization, the style and format of the business card will have been decided for you. If you have your own company or organization, then keep the business card traditional in size and shape. Have them printed with all your key contact information in additional to you company or organization's name, logo and tag line.
When to Carry Business Cards
Unless you are going swimming or otherwise actively engagement in sports, carry your business cards. Do no limit carrying them to work days, the office or business functions. Some of the best opportunities for business networking are at the least likely events or times.
How to Carry Business Cards
Some people carry business cards loose in their pockets or their purse. The best thing to carry them in is a business card case. These are available in metal and leather. I carry the leather one made by COACH and it has served me well. The metal ones are acceptable also as long as they are no bigger than the business cards.
When to Offer Your Business Card
Some people whip out their business card every time they meet someone at work or at a work related function. The best times to offer your business card are:
- When someone asks for your card.
- When you ask someone for their business card.
- At the END of a meeting with a client or potential client before they leave.
- If someone asks for your contact information (business or otherwise).
- At the end of an air flight if you have talked with the person sitting next to you.
- If you dine next to someone outside of your company at a professional or networking function (business-related), you may tell them that it was enjoyable talking with them and offer them your card as you shake hand and leave.
Business Card "Don'ts"
- Don't give your business card to people who work with you. If you are that unmemorable you may need a professional coach.
- Don't give your business card to people at a reception or networking function unless they ask for yours or your contact information.
- Don't drop them in bowls for raffles as you will only be contacted by someone trying to sell you something.
- Don't give them to others to hand-out for you.
- Don't leave them on bulletin boards or in stacks at any place other than your own desk - and only then if you meet face-to-face with customers or clients.
- Don't hand them out to anyone at a church service (social functions are acceptable) or at funerals.
Old Business Cards
Old business cards make great book marks and also work well for "to do" lists.
Business cards are both a blessing and a curse. Until everyone passes all contact information through technology, we will still have a tool called the business card. Know when and how to use them as an effective business development and communication tool remains essential to success.
The Business Card
If you work for a mid-sized to large company or organization, the style and format of the business card will have been decided for you. If you have your own company or organization, then keep the business card traditional in size and shape. Have them printed with all your key contact information in additional to you company or organization's name, logo and tag line.
When to Carry Business Cards
Unless you are going swimming or otherwise actively engagement in sports, carry your business cards. Do no limit carrying them to work days, the office or business functions. Some of the best opportunities for business networking are at the least likely events or times.
How to Carry Business Cards
Some people carry business cards loose in their pockets or their purse. The best thing to carry them in is a business card case. These are available in metal and leather. I carry the leather one made by COACH and it has served me well. The metal ones are acceptable also as long as they are no bigger than the business cards.
When to Offer Your Business Card
Some people whip out their business card every time they meet someone at work or at a work related function. The best times to offer your business card are:
- When someone asks for your card.
- When you ask someone for their business card.
- At the END of a meeting with a client or potential client before they leave.
- If someone asks for your contact information (business or otherwise).
- At the end of an air flight if you have talked with the person sitting next to you.
- If you dine next to someone outside of your company at a professional or networking function (business-related), you may tell them that it was enjoyable talking with them and offer them your card as you shake hand and leave.
Business Card "Don'ts"
- Don't give your business card to people who work with you. If you are that unmemorable you may need a professional coach.
- Don't give your business card to people at a reception or networking function unless they ask for yours or your contact information.
- Don't drop them in bowls for raffles as you will only be contacted by someone trying to sell you something.
- Don't give them to others to hand-out for you.
- Don't leave them on bulletin boards or in stacks at any place other than your own desk - and only then if you meet face-to-face with customers or clients.
- Don't hand them out to anyone at a church service (social functions are acceptable) or at funerals.
Old Business Cards
Old business cards make great book marks and also work well for "to do" lists.
Business cards are both a blessing and a curse. Until everyone passes all contact information through technology, we will still have a tool called the business card. Know when and how to use them as an effective business development and communication tool remains essential to success.
How To Network Your Way To Success In Any Industry
Your ability to quickly and effectively transform yourself from a perfect stranger into the perfect ally in a matter of minutes will give you a tremendous advantage over your reserved peers and competitors. It is through successful networking that you gain access to the people and resources you need to achieve your goals. But what exactly does networking mean? Webster offers the following definition:
"A process by where people who have common interests and concerns come together to exchange ideas and information, for the purpose of professional development and accomplishment."
If you have a product, service, talent, or company to market and you are fully prepared to do business with others, the following steps will help you network your way to success.
1.) Upgrade Your Appearance: Humans are visually oriented creatures. We develop impressions, form judgments, and make assumptions (right or wrong) based upon what we see. Take time to pay attention to the details of your appearance and look the part that you want to play (e.g. consultant, accountant, marketer, lawyer, etc.). This does not mean that you need to be decked out in designer clothes. It means you need to understand the importance of putting together a visual presentation that says you care about how you are perceived.
2.) Be Objective Oriented: Before you set out to network ask yourself, "What do I have to offer of value to others?" It's in helping others fulfill their objectives that your services, products, and talents are utilized. Your mission is to make sure that the information you share with others is applicable to the fulfillment of those objectives. Keep this in mind as you navigate your way through conversations.
3.) Be Tactful: In this reality tv-driven era that we live in where everything is bold and crass, those tactics don't work in networking situations. People are more likely to be offended by brash, over-the-top personalities. Don't let your personality quirks blind people to the benefits of doing business with you.
4.) Have A Mental Script: Practice your introductions and be able to clearly and concisely explain who you are, what you do. It's also crucial that you supply supporting facts and details to give people a deeper understanding and greater appreciation of what you have to offer as an ally. And be consistent with the professional information that you publicly divulge. People often share notes with each other about who they meet. When those notes are compared, you want to make sure that an accurate and authentic picture of you is painted.
5.) Provide Business Reasons: Why should anyone care about what you have to say? They don't - until you make your conversation beneficial to them and provide the business reasons to take interest in what you are saying. The real interest people have is not in you, but what you can offer or do for them. Cater to it at every turn.
6.) Qualify Your Contacts: This is done by done by asking questions. Asking questions allow you to get clarification or amplification of details which will confirm or diminish interest, and reflect your comprehension of what your contact is saying.
7.) Listen More Than You Talk: This rule applies no matter who you are networking with. Through active listening we can evaluate what our potential business ally has to offer and identify their needs and concerns. Talking too much reduces your chances of getting this vital information and makes you come off as self-centered. It's also annoying. You will discover that asking questions will help you to balance your conversations in both directions.
8.) Issue A Call To Action: After you have qualified your contact as a potential business ally, you should issue a call to action. This can be an invitation to meet with you at a future date to incorporate yourself into the equation for their (greater) success, to offer services that provide solutions to challenges/problems, negotiate the sharing of resources, or discuss business ideas, plans, or opportunities. This is usually done over lunch or dinner, but you can think outside of the box and invite people to activities and events that afford you the opportunity for one-on-one dialogue with minimal distraction. This is why golf has become the networking activity of corporate America. Rule of thumb: if you issue the invite, you pay the tab.
9.) Follow-Up & Follow-Through: Once you obtain your new contacts, it's imperative that you follow-up with them. Send an email to say hello, or to arrange for the aforementioned lunch or dinner date. It's important to note that it's during this critical stage which most people stop their networking efforts when in fact, the greatest effort and energy utilized in the networking process should be used to convert your contacts into profitable relationships. By profitable I mean relationships that yield beneficial dividends - financially or otherwise.
10.) Deliver The Goods: We network as a means to an end. Often that end is the delivery of a product or a service, but it's also being able to deliver on potential or a promise. Ultimately, when we network, we are seeking those opportunities. At the end of the day, that's what networking your way to success is all about.
"A process by where people who have common interests and concerns come together to exchange ideas and information, for the purpose of professional development and accomplishment."
If you have a product, service, talent, or company to market and you are fully prepared to do business with others, the following steps will help you network your way to success.
1.) Upgrade Your Appearance: Humans are visually oriented creatures. We develop impressions, form judgments, and make assumptions (right or wrong) based upon what we see. Take time to pay attention to the details of your appearance and look the part that you want to play (e.g. consultant, accountant, marketer, lawyer, etc.). This does not mean that you need to be decked out in designer clothes. It means you need to understand the importance of putting together a visual presentation that says you care about how you are perceived.
2.) Be Objective Oriented: Before you set out to network ask yourself, "What do I have to offer of value to others?" It's in helping others fulfill their objectives that your services, products, and talents are utilized. Your mission is to make sure that the information you share with others is applicable to the fulfillment of those objectives. Keep this in mind as you navigate your way through conversations.
3.) Be Tactful: In this reality tv-driven era that we live in where everything is bold and crass, those tactics don't work in networking situations. People are more likely to be offended by brash, over-the-top personalities. Don't let your personality quirks blind people to the benefits of doing business with you.
4.) Have A Mental Script: Practice your introductions and be able to clearly and concisely explain who you are, what you do. It's also crucial that you supply supporting facts and details to give people a deeper understanding and greater appreciation of what you have to offer as an ally. And be consistent with the professional information that you publicly divulge. People often share notes with each other about who they meet. When those notes are compared, you want to make sure that an accurate and authentic picture of you is painted.
5.) Provide Business Reasons: Why should anyone care about what you have to say? They don't - until you make your conversation beneficial to them and provide the business reasons to take interest in what you are saying. The real interest people have is not in you, but what you can offer or do for them. Cater to it at every turn.
6.) Qualify Your Contacts: This is done by done by asking questions. Asking questions allow you to get clarification or amplification of details which will confirm or diminish interest, and reflect your comprehension of what your contact is saying.
7.) Listen More Than You Talk: This rule applies no matter who you are networking with. Through active listening we can evaluate what our potential business ally has to offer and identify their needs and concerns. Talking too much reduces your chances of getting this vital information and makes you come off as self-centered. It's also annoying. You will discover that asking questions will help you to balance your conversations in both directions.
8.) Issue A Call To Action: After you have qualified your contact as a potential business ally, you should issue a call to action. This can be an invitation to meet with you at a future date to incorporate yourself into the equation for their (greater) success, to offer services that provide solutions to challenges/problems, negotiate the sharing of resources, or discuss business ideas, plans, or opportunities. This is usually done over lunch or dinner, but you can think outside of the box and invite people to activities and events that afford you the opportunity for one-on-one dialogue with minimal distraction. This is why golf has become the networking activity of corporate America. Rule of thumb: if you issue the invite, you pay the tab.
9.) Follow-Up & Follow-Through: Once you obtain your new contacts, it's imperative that you follow-up with them. Send an email to say hello, or to arrange for the aforementioned lunch or dinner date. It's important to note that it's during this critical stage which most people stop their networking efforts when in fact, the greatest effort and energy utilized in the networking process should be used to convert your contacts into profitable relationships. By profitable I mean relationships that yield beneficial dividends - financially or otherwise.
10.) Deliver The Goods: We network as a means to an end. Often that end is the delivery of a product or a service, but it's also being able to deliver on potential or a promise. Ultimately, when we network, we are seeking those opportunities. At the end of the day, that's what networking your way to success is all about.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
How To Set Up a Wireless Network
How To set up a Wireless Network
This article is aimed at helping you to set up a wireless network in your home. We will assume you already have a broadband connection to a modem which connects directly to your computer.
Equipment Required
1. A Wireless Router
2. A Wireless PCI Card for any desktop PC's
3. A PCMCIA wireless card for any notebook computers you have
Setting Up the Wireless Network
Step 1...Set up the router
It is always best to have one computer on the network hard wired into the router. This is because if the security settings are lost you always have one computer that will allow you access to the router and recover them. To set up the router unplug the modem from its power and turn off the computer. Plug the modem directly into the router with Ethernet cable into the WAN port. Then plug the router directly to your Desktop PC via the LAN port. Plug in the modem and allow it to return to the status ready. Plug the power into the router and turn it on. Turn on the computer and let it boot into windows. Take the setup CD and place it into the Desktop machine and run the setup wizard. Change the administrators default password to one you will know as hackers tend to know the default passwords. Change the SSID of the network (network name) hackers also know the default SSID and can use it to gain access to your network. Refer to the printed guide with your router and set up WEP/WPA encryption to provide security on the network.
IMPORTANT: Write down the key that the router produces you will need this to gain access to your network from other machines.
Step2...Adding other computers to the network
To add a desktop PC unplug the computer and install the PCI card into the machine. Turn the computer on after you have installed the wireless card. Insert the CD and run the setup program to install the drivers for the wireless card. Once this is done restart your computer and wait for windows to load. When windows loads you should see a small icon in the system tray that says wireless network detected. Click on this and view the wireless network available and select the one you have set up on the router. The computer should be able to connect to it, adjust the security settings to match those of the router i.e. the encryption key your router produced should now be entered.
To set up a notebook PCMCIA card refer to the printed guide with your card and install the relevant software from the CD. Turn off the notebook and plug in the card to an available slot on the side of the laptop. Turn on the notebook and the hardware should be detected and then wireless networks should be visible. Select your network and enter the Key provided by your router as you do on a Desktop PC.
Step3...Running Windows XP network setup wizard
To run the wizard click Start > My Network Places on the left you should see a column that says Set Up a Home or Small Office Network. Run the wizard and follow the onscreen instructions. Repeat this on all machines on the network entering the same information each time.
Congratulations you have now successfully set up a wireless network.
There are extra peripherals that you can install such as a wireless adapter for your sound system to stream music off your computer through your television. Setting Up the Wireless Network Step 1...Set up the router
It is always best to have one computer on the network hard wired into the router. This is because if the security settings are lost you always have one computer that will allow you access to the router and recover them. To set up the router unplug the modem from its power and turn off the computer. Plug the modem directly into the router with Ethernet cable into the WAN port. Then plug the router directly to your Desktop PC via the LAN port. Plug in the modem and allow it to return to the status ready. Plug the power into the router and turn it on. Turn on the computer and let it boot into windows. Take the setup CD and place it into the Desktop machine and run the setup wizard. Change the administrators default password to one you will know as hackers tend to know the default passwords. Change the SSID of the network (network name) hackers also know the default SSID and can use it to gain access to your network. Refer to the printed guide with your router and set up WEP/WPA encryption to provide security on the network.
IMPORTANT: Write down the key that the router produces you will need this to gain access to your network from other machines.
Step2...Adding other computers to the network
To add a desktop PC unplug the computer and install the PCI card into the machine. Turn the computer on after you have installed the wireless card. Insert the CD and run the setup program to install the drivers for the wireless card. Once this is done restart your computer and wait for windows to load. When windows loads you should see a small icon in the system tray that says wireless network detected. Click on this and view the wireless network available and select the one you have set up on the router. The computer should be able to connect to it, adjust the security settings to match those of the router i.e. the encryption key your router produced should now be entered.
To set up a notebook PCMCIA card refer to the printed guide with your card and install the relevant software from the CD. Turn off the notebook and plug in the card to an available slot on the side of the laptop. Turn on the notebook and the hardware should be detected and then wireless networks should be visible. Select your network and enter the Key provided by your router as you do on a Desktop PC.
Step3...Running Windows XP network setup wizard
To run the wizard click Start > My Network Places on the left you should see a column that says Set Up a Home or Small Office Network. Run the wizard and follow the onscreen instructions. Repeat this on all machines on the network entering the same information each time.
This article is aimed at helping you to set up a wireless network in your home. We will assume you already have a broadband connection to a modem which connects directly to your computer.
Equipment Required
1. A Wireless Router
2. A Wireless PCI Card for any desktop PC's
3. A PCMCIA wireless card for any notebook computers you have
Setting Up the Wireless Network
Step 1...Set up the router
It is always best to have one computer on the network hard wired into the router. This is because if the security settings are lost you always have one computer that will allow you access to the router and recover them. To set up the router unplug the modem from its power and turn off the computer. Plug the modem directly into the router with Ethernet cable into the WAN port. Then plug the router directly to your Desktop PC via the LAN port. Plug in the modem and allow it to return to the status ready. Plug the power into the router and turn it on. Turn on the computer and let it boot into windows. Take the setup CD and place it into the Desktop machine and run the setup wizard. Change the administrators default password to one you will know as hackers tend to know the default passwords. Change the SSID of the network (network name) hackers also know the default SSID and can use it to gain access to your network. Refer to the printed guide with your router and set up WEP/WPA encryption to provide security on the network.
IMPORTANT: Write down the key that the router produces you will need this to gain access to your network from other machines.
Step2...Adding other computers to the network
To add a desktop PC unplug the computer and install the PCI card into the machine. Turn the computer on after you have installed the wireless card. Insert the CD and run the setup program to install the drivers for the wireless card. Once this is done restart your computer and wait for windows to load. When windows loads you should see a small icon in the system tray that says wireless network detected. Click on this and view the wireless network available and select the one you have set up on the router. The computer should be able to connect to it, adjust the security settings to match those of the router i.e. the encryption key your router produced should now be entered.
To set up a notebook PCMCIA card refer to the printed guide with your card and install the relevant software from the CD. Turn off the notebook and plug in the card to an available slot on the side of the laptop. Turn on the notebook and the hardware should be detected and then wireless networks should be visible. Select your network and enter the Key provided by your router as you do on a Desktop PC.
Step3...Running Windows XP network setup wizard
To run the wizard click Start > My Network Places on the left you should see a column that says Set Up a Home or Small Office Network. Run the wizard and follow the onscreen instructions. Repeat this on all machines on the network entering the same information each time.
Congratulations you have now successfully set up a wireless network.
There are extra peripherals that you can install such as a wireless adapter for your sound system to stream music off your computer through your television. Setting Up the Wireless Network Step 1...Set up the router
It is always best to have one computer on the network hard wired into the router. This is because if the security settings are lost you always have one computer that will allow you access to the router and recover them. To set up the router unplug the modem from its power and turn off the computer. Plug the modem directly into the router with Ethernet cable into the WAN port. Then plug the router directly to your Desktop PC via the LAN port. Plug in the modem and allow it to return to the status ready. Plug the power into the router and turn it on. Turn on the computer and let it boot into windows. Take the setup CD and place it into the Desktop machine and run the setup wizard. Change the administrators default password to one you will know as hackers tend to know the default passwords. Change the SSID of the network (network name) hackers also know the default SSID and can use it to gain access to your network. Refer to the printed guide with your router and set up WEP/WPA encryption to provide security on the network.
IMPORTANT: Write down the key that the router produces you will need this to gain access to your network from other machines.
Step2...Adding other computers to the network
To add a desktop PC unplug the computer and install the PCI card into the machine. Turn the computer on after you have installed the wireless card. Insert the CD and run the setup program to install the drivers for the wireless card. Once this is done restart your computer and wait for windows to load. When windows loads you should see a small icon in the system tray that says wireless network detected. Click on this and view the wireless network available and select the one you have set up on the router. The computer should be able to connect to it, adjust the security settings to match those of the router i.e. the encryption key your router produced should now be entered.
To set up a notebook PCMCIA card refer to the printed guide with your card and install the relevant software from the CD. Turn off the notebook and plug in the card to an available slot on the side of the laptop. Turn on the notebook and the hardware should be detected and then wireless networks should be visible. Select your network and enter the Key provided by your router as you do on a Desktop PC.
Step3...Running Windows XP network setup wizard
To run the wizard click Start > My Network Places on the left you should see a column that says Set Up a Home or Small Office Network. Run the wizard and follow the onscreen instructions. Repeat this on all machines on the network entering the same information each time.
Setting Up Your Network
Configuring a LAN used to be a real pain. You had to manually assign a network address to each device on the network, and keep a record of them to make sure that you didn’t use the same one twice – if you did, both devices would stop working. However, modern LANs with routers using a system called DHCP.
DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol. It’s a fancy way of saying that when a device connects to the network, it asks the router which addresses are free, and then the router allocates one to it for a limited amount of time. This allows you to connect and disconnect things from your network whenever you want, without having to configure them. Even if your laptop has never connected to a network before, you can just plug it in, and off you go, without needing to know anything about how the network is configured.
In general, to get a modern network up and running, all you need to do is wire up each computer to the router using an Ethernet cable. Often this will be enough to get the computers to see each other, but occasionally you need some extra configuration. In Windows, the easiest way to configure a network is to go to My Network Places on the desktop or the Start menu, and then click ‘Set up a home or small office network’.
Once you’ve done that, any printers or other devices that are connected to any of the computers, or to the router itself, will be automatically shared. If you want to share individual folders between computers, that’s also simple to do – just right click them in My Computer, choose Properties then the Sharing tab, and then put a tick in the ‘Share this folder on the network’ box.
DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol. It’s a fancy way of saying that when a device connects to the network, it asks the router which addresses are free, and then the router allocates one to it for a limited amount of time. This allows you to connect and disconnect things from your network whenever you want, without having to configure them. Even if your laptop has never connected to a network before, you can just plug it in, and off you go, without needing to know anything about how the network is configured.
In general, to get a modern network up and running, all you need to do is wire up each computer to the router using an Ethernet cable. Often this will be enough to get the computers to see each other, but occasionally you need some extra configuration. In Windows, the easiest way to configure a network is to go to My Network Places on the desktop or the Start menu, and then click ‘Set up a home or small office network’.
Once you’ve done that, any printers or other devices that are connected to any of the computers, or to the router itself, will be automatically shared. If you want to share individual folders between computers, that’s also simple to do – just right click them in My Computer, choose Properties then the Sharing tab, and then put a tick in the ‘Share this folder on the network’ box.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Differences In A Home Based Network Marketing Business From A Traditional Business
A home based network marketing business is the perfect business to start if you are looking for a way to make extra money from the comfort of your own home. The beauty of starting a network marketing business and running it at home is all of the savings you will enjoy over a traditional business. Here are a few big differences a network marketing business offers in the way of saving over the brick and mortar business.
1. No outside office space to rent. Work in the comfort of your own home. You don't even need an office. Just a place for your computer and phone. Renting office space is not cheap. And you wont's have to spend time meeting with property managers finding the right location. The right location for your home based business is wherever you want it in your home.
2. No warehouse space. Most network marketing products are ordered and direct shipped from the factory warehouse. In the old days of network marketing businesses people would stock products in their basement or garages. Not anymore. All orders can be direct shipped and you never ever handle the product.
3. No sales people needed. With a network marketing business you get paid on the sales of your downline without actually hiring them as employees. You are paid in residual income to help train them to run their own business. Thanks to the internet and conference calls anyone can do that regardless of their current experience.
4. No office staff needed. All orders can be done via a 1-800 or your company provided website. As more and more people get comfortable ordering online you just refer them to your website to make a sale or recruit them as a distributor.
5.. No special equipment to buy. All you need is a computer and a phone. You don't even need to set up a separate phone line for business. Running a home based business allows you to use what you already have.
A network marketing home based business is going require you to work hard to develop retail customers and a network of distributors doing the same. You make money on your sales and the sales of your group.The beauty of this is called duplication. By helping people set up their own home based network marketing business you are able to accomplish more than if you had to do all of the work yourself or if you had to hire employees.
1. No outside office space to rent. Work in the comfort of your own home. You don't even need an office. Just a place for your computer and phone. Renting office space is not cheap. And you wont's have to spend time meeting with property managers finding the right location. The right location for your home based business is wherever you want it in your home.
2. No warehouse space. Most network marketing products are ordered and direct shipped from the factory warehouse. In the old days of network marketing businesses people would stock products in their basement or garages. Not anymore. All orders can be direct shipped and you never ever handle the product.
3. No sales people needed. With a network marketing business you get paid on the sales of your downline without actually hiring them as employees. You are paid in residual income to help train them to run their own business. Thanks to the internet and conference calls anyone can do that regardless of their current experience.
4. No office staff needed. All orders can be done via a 1-800 or your company provided website. As more and more people get comfortable ordering online you just refer them to your website to make a sale or recruit them as a distributor.
5.. No special equipment to buy. All you need is a computer and a phone. You don't even need to set up a separate phone line for business. Running a home based business allows you to use what you already have.
A network marketing home based business is going require you to work hard to develop retail customers and a network of distributors doing the same. You make money on your sales and the sales of your group.The beauty of this is called duplication. By helping people set up their own home based network marketing business you are able to accomplish more than if you had to do all of the work yourself or if you had to hire employees.
Is Your Wireless Network a Home Security Breach?
Wireless networks for home computers are becoming more and more popular but do you know how to protect your Wi-Fi network?
A recent survey from www.wi-fi.org shows that protecting your wireless network has become one of the top three issues in home security. According to the survey the top three concerns about home security was:
* Locking windows and doors
* Installing a home alarm system
* Securing your wireless network.
More than 40 percent of the survey respondents felt that a protected Wi-Fi network was an important part of creating a safe home.
Is your neighbor using your Wi-Fi network?
Did you know that 17 percent of Americans thinks it's ok to use someone else's network. The wast majority thinks using your neighbor's Wi-Fi is like stealing. They don't like their neighbors borrowing their signal without their knowledge.
Most new laptop computers have access to Wi-Fi networks as a standard feature. Try taking your laptop for a drive in the neighborhood and you'll probably discover that your computer can connect to several networks - especially if you live in the city. Some "Wi-Fi snatchers" even put small graffitti marks on walls indicating where your can find an open network.
Only seven out of 10 respondents in the survey had activated their Wi-Fi network security - that leaves 30% of networks wide open. Securing you network does require a little technical knowledge, but most systems come with an easy step-by-step guide for setting up the network security. When you have secured your network you can really enjoy the freedom of Wi-Fi without worrying about bandwidth theft.
Have you checked if your Wi-Fi network is secure?
Can you take your laptop computer across the street and still access your home network? Does using your network require you to logon to the network? If not your network is probably wide open so everyone in the neighborhood can use your network. Maybe it's time to find the manual to your system and start doing something about your Wi-Fi security before someone starts stealing your bandwidth or worse - gets access to you computer.
A recent survey from www.wi-fi.org shows that protecting your wireless network has become one of the top three issues in home security. According to the survey the top three concerns about home security was:
* Locking windows and doors
* Installing a home alarm system
* Securing your wireless network.
More than 40 percent of the survey respondents felt that a protected Wi-Fi network was an important part of creating a safe home.
Is your neighbor using your Wi-Fi network?
Did you know that 17 percent of Americans thinks it's ok to use someone else's network. The wast majority thinks using your neighbor's Wi-Fi is like stealing. They don't like their neighbors borrowing their signal without their knowledge.
Most new laptop computers have access to Wi-Fi networks as a standard feature. Try taking your laptop for a drive in the neighborhood and you'll probably discover that your computer can connect to several networks - especially if you live in the city. Some "Wi-Fi snatchers" even put small graffitti marks on walls indicating where your can find an open network.
Only seven out of 10 respondents in the survey had activated their Wi-Fi network security - that leaves 30% of networks wide open. Securing you network does require a little technical knowledge, but most systems come with an easy step-by-step guide for setting up the network security. When you have secured your network you can really enjoy the freedom of Wi-Fi without worrying about bandwidth theft.
Have you checked if your Wi-Fi network is secure?
Can you take your laptop computer across the street and still access your home network? Does using your network require you to logon to the network? If not your network is probably wide open so everyone in the neighborhood can use your network. Maybe it's time to find the manual to your system and start doing something about your Wi-Fi security before someone starts stealing your bandwidth or worse - gets access to you computer.
Friday, November 16, 2007
What I Miss Most About Dish Network
I’ve been a DIRECTV customer for a year and a half now. Overall I am happy, but everyone once in a while I remember what I miss about my old Dish Network account.
First of all there was the DVR. I think with time all DVR systems continue to improve, but what I miss most about my Dish DVR is the ability to skip ahead 30 seconds. This allowed me to press the skip button approximately 4 times and jump through all the commercials. With my current DVR, I have not other option but to fast forward through them. Even at the fastest speed it is not as fast as pressing the “jump ahead” button 4 times. Also, at the fastest speed I have to pay close attention to the scenes or I can easily go past the point I wanted to start watching again.
The second thing I miss most is the display guide. Obviously DIRECTV has a display guide, but I prefer Dish Networks. I still own the 25” TV we purchased at Costco with money we were given at our wedding nearly 7 years ago. Dish Network has a big, easy to read guide. DIRECTV is much more fancy – especially on our TiVo system. Because of this it is much slower and harder to read on our archaic TV.
My third issue always deals with the display guide. On Dish Network, we could easily see from the guide which channels we did not subscribe to. They appeared in red. I don’t know why DIRECTV doesn’t have this feature. You can select the option to only see the channels you subscribe to, but from my experience this doesn’t work very well and you still see way too many channels you don’t want to see. If you don’t have the channel, you don’t really have a way of knowing just from the guide display.
And while I’m still on the topic of the guide, let me bring up another complaint. With our Dish Network system, my wife and I could have our own custom lists of the channels we like to watch most. It was easy to set up and easy to see what list you were on, and very easy to switch between those lists. It seems DIRECTV only has one custom list which we use to filter out all the pay per view and other channels we don’t get or never watch (like all those shopping channels). Plus, changing between viewing all, viewing subscribed, or viewing your custom list is a major ordeal of going into the setup menu and drilling down to the right option. With Dish Network’s system, you just press the guide button again to switch between these lists.
So with everything in life, we can’t have it all. But these four points along with the fact the Dish Network can be owned at a cheaper price make it an appealing choice for much of the TV watching population.
First of all there was the DVR. I think with time all DVR systems continue to improve, but what I miss most about my Dish DVR is the ability to skip ahead 30 seconds. This allowed me to press the skip button approximately 4 times and jump through all the commercials. With my current DVR, I have not other option but to fast forward through them. Even at the fastest speed it is not as fast as pressing the “jump ahead” button 4 times. Also, at the fastest speed I have to pay close attention to the scenes or I can easily go past the point I wanted to start watching again.
The second thing I miss most is the display guide. Obviously DIRECTV has a display guide, but I prefer Dish Networks. I still own the 25” TV we purchased at Costco with money we were given at our wedding nearly 7 years ago. Dish Network has a big, easy to read guide. DIRECTV is much more fancy – especially on our TiVo system. Because of this it is much slower and harder to read on our archaic TV.
My third issue always deals with the display guide. On Dish Network, we could easily see from the guide which channels we did not subscribe to. They appeared in red. I don’t know why DIRECTV doesn’t have this feature. You can select the option to only see the channels you subscribe to, but from my experience this doesn’t work very well and you still see way too many channels you don’t want to see. If you don’t have the channel, you don’t really have a way of knowing just from the guide display.
And while I’m still on the topic of the guide, let me bring up another complaint. With our Dish Network system, my wife and I could have our own custom lists of the channels we like to watch most. It was easy to set up and easy to see what list you were on, and very easy to switch between those lists. It seems DIRECTV only has one custom list which we use to filter out all the pay per view and other channels we don’t get or never watch (like all those shopping channels). Plus, changing between viewing all, viewing subscribed, or viewing your custom list is a major ordeal of going into the setup menu and drilling down to the right option. With Dish Network’s system, you just press the guide button again to switch between these lists.
So with everything in life, we can’t have it all. But these four points along with the fact the Dish Network can be owned at a cheaper price make it an appealing choice for much of the TV watching population.
Small Business Networks: Getting Past Small Business Networking Myopia
Many small businesses mistakenly think that they’re too small to cost-justify a "real" client/server small business network. However, because small businesses want, and in most cases, need, the same technology tools as their larger competitors, deploying a peer-to-peer network doesn’t usually make small business sense (except for the tiniest small offices).
Don’t Let Clients Underestimate Technology Requirements
When purchase decisions are based solely on the initial price, small businesses tend to underestimate their technology requirements. If your client or prospect requires a secure, reliable, scalable and flexible technology backbone, the client or prospect needs a "real", dedicated server for their small business network.
As virtual CIO, part of your responsibility is to see that "sound" decisions are made. So don’t let your small business clients invest in "dead end" peer-to-peer small business networking solutions that are difficult to support and expensive to upgrade.
If your clients value their data, productivity, uptime and technology investment, a "real" server should be a "no brainer".
The Bottom Line about Small Business Networks
In much the same way that every home begins with a solid foundation, your clients’ small business networks need a secure, scalable, rock-solid file and printer-sharing infrastructure before you can start adding value-added "bells and whistles".
Don’t Let Clients Underestimate Technology Requirements
When purchase decisions are based solely on the initial price, small businesses tend to underestimate their technology requirements. If your client or prospect requires a secure, reliable, scalable and flexible technology backbone, the client or prospect needs a "real", dedicated server for their small business network.
As virtual CIO, part of your responsibility is to see that "sound" decisions are made. So don’t let your small business clients invest in "dead end" peer-to-peer small business networking solutions that are difficult to support and expensive to upgrade.
If your clients value their data, productivity, uptime and technology investment, a "real" server should be a "no brainer".
The Bottom Line about Small Business Networks
In much the same way that every home begins with a solid foundation, your clients’ small business networks need a secure, scalable, rock-solid file and printer-sharing infrastructure before you can start adding value-added "bells and whistles".
Monday, November 05, 2007
Guide to Choosing ISP
Businesses need to look twice as hard for the right ISP than home users do. Company owners need to ensure that their ISP providers can cater for their company as well as possible expansions in the future.
Although the natural notion would be to go for the cheaper option, when considering the amount of employees you have and how valuable a tool the Internet is for them, cheaper doesn’t cut it. If paying extra means prompt service, a bigger bandwidth and fewer hassles then paying for it is better. The last thing you want is the Internet to go down and the cheaper company to take a week to get round to it. Or alternatively, the cheaper ISP company can’t handle the traffic and they themselves go down, dragging your company with it.
Ideally, all Internet problems should be the ISP company’s problems not yours and professional ISP companies might charge a bit more, but to go from month to month without a hiccup makes it worth it. Make sure that the Internet providers are able to give you exactly what your company needs. Check for features such as e-mail accounts, domain options, connection time and speed.
Most ISP companies have various servers that are assigned to the client. Check how many other clients are using your server. If the server can’t handle the traffic, then the Internet will go down. For large companies, ask which lines they are using. Ideally you will want a T3 as they are more efficient and the speed is better then a T1. T1 are good for home use or alternatively small companies.
Enquire about e-mail accounts. Although when you first register with an ISP company you might have, say, 10 people at the company. But as time goes on, they might become 15, or 20. You need to find out that the ISP can keep up and grow with your company. To be able to set-up additional accounts without a long waiting time is crucial. Also remember that more people will mean you need more bandwidth.
There are various types of ways to connect to the Internet, such as dial up, ADSL, etc. Dial up isn’t really a valuable or efficient way for a business to stay connected. It was one of the first systems in place and hasn’t revolutionized itself since. It would be similar to using a Morse code device rather than a telephone. For home use, dial up is perfect to download and send e-mails and occasionally surf the net. For an entire company to use this system isn’t practicable.
ADSL is fast becoming the ideal way for businesses to connect to the web. ISP providers offer a different amount of bandwidth and the speed is generally smooth and quick. Wireless is also becoming a decent option, but is more suitable for laptops then PCs.
Although the natural notion would be to go for the cheaper option, when considering the amount of employees you have and how valuable a tool the Internet is for them, cheaper doesn’t cut it. If paying extra means prompt service, a bigger bandwidth and fewer hassles then paying for it is better. The last thing you want is the Internet to go down and the cheaper company to take a week to get round to it. Or alternatively, the cheaper ISP company can’t handle the traffic and they themselves go down, dragging your company with it.
Ideally, all Internet problems should be the ISP company’s problems not yours and professional ISP companies might charge a bit more, but to go from month to month without a hiccup makes it worth it. Make sure that the Internet providers are able to give you exactly what your company needs. Check for features such as e-mail accounts, domain options, connection time and speed.
Most ISP companies have various servers that are assigned to the client. Check how many other clients are using your server. If the server can’t handle the traffic, then the Internet will go down. For large companies, ask which lines they are using. Ideally you will want a T3 as they are more efficient and the speed is better then a T1. T1 are good for home use or alternatively small companies.
Enquire about e-mail accounts. Although when you first register with an ISP company you might have, say, 10 people at the company. But as time goes on, they might become 15, or 20. You need to find out that the ISP can keep up and grow with your company. To be able to set-up additional accounts without a long waiting time is crucial. Also remember that more people will mean you need more bandwidth.
There are various types of ways to connect to the Internet, such as dial up, ADSL, etc. Dial up isn’t really a valuable or efficient way for a business to stay connected. It was one of the first systems in place and hasn’t revolutionized itself since. It would be similar to using a Morse code device rather than a telephone. For home use, dial up is perfect to download and send e-mails and occasionally surf the net. For an entire company to use this system isn’t practicable.
ADSL is fast becoming the ideal way for businesses to connect to the web. ISP providers offer a different amount of bandwidth and the speed is generally smooth and quick. Wireless is also becoming a decent option, but is more suitable for laptops then PCs.
Holiday Networking, Santa-Style
It’s that special time of year again. Odds are that very soon you’ll be mingling with people you barely know (or know all-too-well) at some sort of holiday get-together. Whether you’re attending out of courtesy, tradition, or business desperation (it’s been a tough year for many) doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that you understand how holiday networking differs from the networking you’ll be doing in January.
Holiday networking is less aggressive, slower-paced and more subtle. Think “market research” instead of “close the deal” and you’ll have the right mindset. Yes, making connections that lead to sales is still a primary reason for attending social functions, but around the holidays it’s less obvious. The social “dance” is longer.
So when preparing for your holiday party “performance,” practice the role of Santa instead of Scrooge, and you’ll do just fine.
How would Santa act at that lavish bash in your office building next week?
First, remember that Santa is friendly and approachable to EVERYONE. He’s not a snob or someone who’s solely focused on influential, powerful people. You’d do well to adopt that attitude yourself. You’ll enjoy yourself more, feel less stressed, and who knows? You may meet someone with unexpected influence or connections.
If you’re one of the many people who’d rather have teeth pulled than talk to strangers, rehearse a few “safe” opening lines. “So how do you know (the host/hostess)?” or “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” are non-threatening ways to begin a conversation, with the added benefit of allowing you to look for connections. And “How has your day been?” is much more likely to initiate small-talk than the usual “How are you?” (“Fine, thanks.”) exchange.
Second, Santa is a great listener who’s really focused on other people’s wants and needs and not his own. He invites confidences and listens more than he speaks. Can you imagine Santa thrusting his business card on someone he’s barely met? (I DO have one of his cards, by the way. See it here.)
So ask a lot of “who, what, where, when and why” questions. Try to spend the first five minutes of any conversation talking about the other person. You already know about yourself; you want to gather information and make friends with others. Besides, it’s very flattering. Someone who’s interested in others is invariably seen as someone worth knowing. (So tuck a few business cards in your pocket beforehand!)
Finally, Santa is welcome and appreciated at any gathering because he brings gifts. No, you don’t need to carry in a large red bag filled with personalized company pens or magnets. But before the party, think about who you’re likely to meet and what you can offer them.
Have you read a great book? Do you know what’s being built across the street? Did you discover a helpful new product or service? Then don’t be a Scrooge! Spread the news. Offer the information.
Better yet, do you have a personal connection to someone party attendees would like to meet? Then be prepared to offer their name and/or business card.
And when talk does turn to business, keep it light and keep it brief. If you have helpful ideas to pass on, or discover a connection you’d like to strengthen, ask for a business card and permission to call at work. Then steer the conversation back to more fun, personal topics. (Just remember to follow up afterwards!)
With preparation, you can enjoy meeting new people and reconnecting with old colleagues in mutually profitable ways. And you might just become as popular as Ol’ Saint Nick.
Holiday networking is less aggressive, slower-paced and more subtle. Think “market research” instead of “close the deal” and you’ll have the right mindset. Yes, making connections that lead to sales is still a primary reason for attending social functions, but around the holidays it’s less obvious. The social “dance” is longer.
So when preparing for your holiday party “performance,” practice the role of Santa instead of Scrooge, and you’ll do just fine.
How would Santa act at that lavish bash in your office building next week?
First, remember that Santa is friendly and approachable to EVERYONE. He’s not a snob or someone who’s solely focused on influential, powerful people. You’d do well to adopt that attitude yourself. You’ll enjoy yourself more, feel less stressed, and who knows? You may meet someone with unexpected influence or connections.
If you’re one of the many people who’d rather have teeth pulled than talk to strangers, rehearse a few “safe” opening lines. “So how do you know (the host/hostess)?” or “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” are non-threatening ways to begin a conversation, with the added benefit of allowing you to look for connections. And “How has your day been?” is much more likely to initiate small-talk than the usual “How are you?” (“Fine, thanks.”) exchange.
Second, Santa is a great listener who’s really focused on other people’s wants and needs and not his own. He invites confidences and listens more than he speaks. Can you imagine Santa thrusting his business card on someone he’s barely met? (I DO have one of his cards, by the way. See it here.)
So ask a lot of “who, what, where, when and why” questions. Try to spend the first five minutes of any conversation talking about the other person. You already know about yourself; you want to gather information and make friends with others. Besides, it’s very flattering. Someone who’s interested in others is invariably seen as someone worth knowing. (So tuck a few business cards in your pocket beforehand!)
Finally, Santa is welcome and appreciated at any gathering because he brings gifts. No, you don’t need to carry in a large red bag filled with personalized company pens or magnets. But before the party, think about who you’re likely to meet and what you can offer them.
Have you read a great book? Do you know what’s being built across the street? Did you discover a helpful new product or service? Then don’t be a Scrooge! Spread the news. Offer the information.
Better yet, do you have a personal connection to someone party attendees would like to meet? Then be prepared to offer their name and/or business card.
And when talk does turn to business, keep it light and keep it brief. If you have helpful ideas to pass on, or discover a connection you’d like to strengthen, ask for a business card and permission to call at work. Then steer the conversation back to more fun, personal topics. (Just remember to follow up afterwards!)
With preparation, you can enjoy meeting new people and reconnecting with old colleagues in mutually profitable ways. And you might just become as popular as Ol’ Saint Nick.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
True Love and Happiness Family
Family means warmness place to stay, happiness time to share, and understanding persons around you. It is also a base of society. If a child comes from the happy family, it is sure that he or she is going to be a good people in the country. Some families are small; maybe have only a couple of lovers. Some are big families; maybe have father, mother, suns, daughters or grand parents stay together.
The beginning of a family comes from love of a man and a woman, which design to spend the life together. Love is a descriptive word. The power of love can make everything miracle, you can do the thing that you never do before. Moreover the power of it makes you forgive someone with out any commitment. In the opposite way, hot or ardent love can damage anything neither. So it is hard to find true love and stay with someone for ever and ever. Before love somebody you have to learn each other for long time. This part is helping manual for you to know what the true love is and who truly love you.
1. He/she takes heed on you every time not only the early time of love beginning.
2. He/she will do everything that makes you feel happy although it will trouble or hardship to him/her.
3. He/she will beside and listens to you every time you need somebody.
4. He/she will forgive you although you make him/her disappointed.
5. He/she should be not gives you up whenever you have any problem or to be down on your luck.
6. He/she will understand what you think and should be share the opinions to the right way.
7. He/she will accepts everything that is yours; characteristic, habit, property or personality.
8. He/she should be persuades you to do the right or good thing and protest you when you go on misguided way.
9. He/she should be kind to your parents and your cousins.
10. He/she should be open heart and disclosed to you.
After you find the true love and get married with someone. It is sure that you and your lover will have a resent or angry in some days because nobody can not agree with you everything in ten or twenty years that live together. This part is helping manual for you to understand how to handle your love and stay with someone with the less offend.
1. You have to listen to him/her much before speaking.
2. You have to understand what his/her attitude before decisions everything.
3. You have to patient to the bad satiation, bad even or bad temperature that may crash to your family.
4. Trustfulness is the important base of family. You have to trust him/her.
5. Beside with him/her every time he/she need someone to understand.
6. Try to please him/her in everyday.
7. Do not forget the important day such as his/her birthday or anniversary and give him/her a special present.
8. Forgive him/her when he/she has mistake, try to explain and develop to the good habits.
9. Go outside together for dinner or picnic in some times for change the environment, join the activities and spare time together such as planting flowers and find a puppet to feed.
10. Although you stay with him/her for a long time but do not forget to add the sweetening agent everydays for your life by KISS and say "I LOVE YOU".
The beginning of a family comes from love of a man and a woman, which design to spend the life together. Love is a descriptive word. The power of love can make everything miracle, you can do the thing that you never do before. Moreover the power of it makes you forgive someone with out any commitment. In the opposite way, hot or ardent love can damage anything neither. So it is hard to find true love and stay with someone for ever and ever. Before love somebody you have to learn each other for long time. This part is helping manual for you to know what the true love is and who truly love you.
1. He/she takes heed on you every time not only the early time of love beginning.
2. He/she will do everything that makes you feel happy although it will trouble or hardship to him/her.
3. He/she will beside and listens to you every time you need somebody.
4. He/she will forgive you although you make him/her disappointed.
5. He/she should be not gives you up whenever you have any problem or to be down on your luck.
6. He/she will understand what you think and should be share the opinions to the right way.
7. He/she will accepts everything that is yours; characteristic, habit, property or personality.
8. He/she should be persuades you to do the right or good thing and protest you when you go on misguided way.
9. He/she should be kind to your parents and your cousins.
10. He/she should be open heart and disclosed to you.
After you find the true love and get married with someone. It is sure that you and your lover will have a resent or angry in some days because nobody can not agree with you everything in ten or twenty years that live together. This part is helping manual for you to understand how to handle your love and stay with someone with the less offend.
1. You have to listen to him/her much before speaking.
2. You have to understand what his/her attitude before decisions everything.
3. You have to patient to the bad satiation, bad even or bad temperature that may crash to your family.
4. Trustfulness is the important base of family. You have to trust him/her.
5. Beside with him/her every time he/she need someone to understand.
6. Try to please him/her in everyday.
7. Do not forget the important day such as his/her birthday or anniversary and give him/her a special present.
8. Forgive him/her when he/she has mistake, try to explain and develop to the good habits.
9. Go outside together for dinner or picnic in some times for change the environment, join the activities and spare time together such as planting flowers and find a puppet to feed.
10. Although you stay with him/her for a long time but do not forget to add the sweetening agent everydays for your life by KISS and say "I LOVE YOU".
Creating and Maintaining a Visually Stimulating Landscape
Creating an effective landscape is a significant task. However, landscaping is a continuous process that requires constant attention. Planting and setting a landscape makes your area look presentable, but maintaining the area furthers the quality of the landscape over time. There are several key points in maintaining the scenery that you have invested time and money in.
First and foremost, with the growing of your plants and shrubbery in your scenery comes the growing of weeds. There is a variety of options that you can pursue to minimize the amount of weeds in your setting. If your layout is small enough, hand pulling the weeds is an effective method for removal. Organic fertilizer is another option that can be looked at when reducing the amount of weeds in your landscape. Regular household vinegar or corn gluten meal contribute to weed control, and are not as harsh for the environment as chemical fertilizers.
In addition to reducing the amount of unwanted growth, another step in maintaining a scene is a process known as deadheading. This simply means that you should manually remove the flowers that are dead and worthless to the appearance of your landscape. The removal of these useless flowers not only adds to the overall appearance of the plant, but also provides an outlet for more flowering.
An effective landscape allows for continuous appeal. Unfortunately, some plants' lifespan will come to a close at the end of the season. This is the optimal time to replant or replace various types of plants.
Mulching your landscape will also benefit the overall effect of the piece. Fall is the best time to apply the new two inch layer of organic mulch. Too much mulch can be bad for the landscape, because it can block the oxygen barter between the air and the earth. Using mulch will serve a number of purposes; it will help in weed control as well as provide a temperature moderator when the plant needs it most.
One final piece of advice for maintaining a visually stimulating landscape is pruning. Pruning the various plants in the scenery maintains the overall appeal that viewers will have for the landscape. Organic fertilizers will allow your plants to grow in more of a controlled manor. This is not the case with a synthetic fertilizer. As a result, the organic mix will require less pruning, and consequently will require less work for you as the landscaper.
First and foremost, with the growing of your plants and shrubbery in your scenery comes the growing of weeds. There is a variety of options that you can pursue to minimize the amount of weeds in your setting. If your layout is small enough, hand pulling the weeds is an effective method for removal. Organic fertilizer is another option that can be looked at when reducing the amount of weeds in your landscape. Regular household vinegar or corn gluten meal contribute to weed control, and are not as harsh for the environment as chemical fertilizers.
In addition to reducing the amount of unwanted growth, another step in maintaining a scene is a process known as deadheading. This simply means that you should manually remove the flowers that are dead and worthless to the appearance of your landscape. The removal of these useless flowers not only adds to the overall appearance of the plant, but also provides an outlet for more flowering.
An effective landscape allows for continuous appeal. Unfortunately, some plants' lifespan will come to a close at the end of the season. This is the optimal time to replant or replace various types of plants.
Mulching your landscape will also benefit the overall effect of the piece. Fall is the best time to apply the new two inch layer of organic mulch. Too much mulch can be bad for the landscape, because it can block the oxygen barter between the air and the earth. Using mulch will serve a number of purposes; it will help in weed control as well as provide a temperature moderator when the plant needs it most.
One final piece of advice for maintaining a visually stimulating landscape is pruning. Pruning the various plants in the scenery maintains the overall appeal that viewers will have for the landscape. Organic fertilizers will allow your plants to grow in more of a controlled manor. This is not the case with a synthetic fertilizer. As a result, the organic mix will require less pruning, and consequently will require less work for you as the landscaper.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Buying Guide: Color Lasers for Small Offices
No matter how much you rely on e-mail and document files instead of paper, the inevitable fact of office life is that everyone needs to print. In most offices, small or large, that means printing a lot, which in turn means you need the speed you can get only from a laser printer.
When you think of lasers, you probably think of monochrome printers first, but it's getting harder to ignore color. With prices for color lasers coming down and starting at just $300, any small office can afford one—even a busy home office. And unlike early color lasers, today's printers don't cost more per page than monochrome lasers when printing in monochrome. Unless you literally never need color, color lasers are the preferred choice for a small office with only one printer.
When you're shopping for a laser, keep in mind that although some printers in the laser category technically aren't lasers, they perform just as well as laser printers. Instead of using a laser, such printers have a different light source—an LED—and are sometimes referred to as such. Either way, all you need to know is that they are essentially identical to lasers for all practical purposes.
As with any printer, speed is an important issue. Comparing speeds, however, isn't always easy. Some color lasers print all four toner colors in one pass. Others print one color at a time, meaning that they need four passes for each page when printing. Which printer will be faster in real-world use depends on what types of jobs you regularly print. If you print mostly monochrome pages, the four-pass printer will be swiftest overall. But if you print mostly in color, the single-pass printer will be faster.
Also, be sure to examine the paper-handling capabilities of any printer you're considering, including options you can add later if your needs grow. Of course, the less often you fill paper trays, the better. If your printing averages 50 sheets a day, a 250-sheet paper tray will hold enough for about a week. If you average more than that, you'll probably want a higher capacity. Also look for a multipurpose tray to let you load a second kind of paper, like letterhead or envelopes, without having to touch the main tray. You may also want to decide whether you need a duplexer, a feature that makes printing double-sided pages easy.
Finally, choosing a connection for the printer is simple but important. If only one person in your office needs to print, a USB connection—which any printer should offer—is just fine. For those who have a home or office network, however, and need to print from more than one computer, an Ethernet network connection is the best choice. And with today's installation routines, installing a printer to operate over a network is usually no harder than setting it up to run over a USB connection.
When you think of lasers, you probably think of monochrome printers first, but it's getting harder to ignore color. With prices for color lasers coming down and starting at just $300, any small office can afford one—even a busy home office. And unlike early color lasers, today's printers don't cost more per page than monochrome lasers when printing in monochrome. Unless you literally never need color, color lasers are the preferred choice for a small office with only one printer.
When you're shopping for a laser, keep in mind that although some printers in the laser category technically aren't lasers, they perform just as well as laser printers. Instead of using a laser, such printers have a different light source—an LED—and are sometimes referred to as such. Either way, all you need to know is that they are essentially identical to lasers for all practical purposes.
As with any printer, speed is an important issue. Comparing speeds, however, isn't always easy. Some color lasers print all four toner colors in one pass. Others print one color at a time, meaning that they need four passes for each page when printing. Which printer will be faster in real-world use depends on what types of jobs you regularly print. If you print mostly monochrome pages, the four-pass printer will be swiftest overall. But if you print mostly in color, the single-pass printer will be faster.
Also, be sure to examine the paper-handling capabilities of any printer you're considering, including options you can add later if your needs grow. Of course, the less often you fill paper trays, the better. If your printing averages 50 sheets a day, a 250-sheet paper tray will hold enough for about a week. If you average more than that, you'll probably want a higher capacity. Also look for a multipurpose tray to let you load a second kind of paper, like letterhead or envelopes, without having to touch the main tray. You may also want to decide whether you need a duplexer, a feature that makes printing double-sided pages easy.
Finally, choosing a connection for the printer is simple but important. If only one person in your office needs to print, a USB connection—which any printer should offer—is just fine. For those who have a home or office network, however, and need to print from more than one computer, an Ethernet network connection is the best choice. And with today's installation routines, installing a printer to operate over a network is usually no harder than setting it up to run over a USB connection.
Buying Guide: Network-Attached Storage
Small business that have mission-critical data or home users who download a lot of MP3 files, shoot and save digital photos, or edit videos need to understand what a network-attached storage (NAS) device is. Eventually, anyone who keeps a large amount of important data starts thinking about repositories less vulnerable than PC hard drives, and that means something external. Often the best, most cost-effective solution is a NAS. So what is it, why do you need one, and how do you buy and use it?
A NAS isn't simply an external hard drive. It's a computer, with an OS and one or more hard drives, that's dedicated to storage tasks and can connect to a network. Most communicate over wired Ethernet, but some, such as the Iomega StorCenter, can do so wirelessly. The OS, generally just a Linux or Windows kernel, handles volume and drive management, networking, security, and user access. It often has extended features, such as backup capability. The functions are usually managed through a Web-based graphical user interface.
For a small business, centralizing data on a NAS is a good management practice. If information isn't dispersed on separate PCs, accessing it is simpler, as is managing security. And when storage needs increase for one or more employees, maintaining a single device is far easier than adding and managing locally attached external drives, putting a new server online, or installing drives in existing servers. In addition, prices have dropped: A 1TB NAS costs well below $1,000.
Selecting a NAS for your home or small business isn't rocket science, but there are a few important basics to keep in mind. Stay away from single-drive solutions—especially for business applications. If your one-drive device's drive dies, not only do you lose all your data, but employees who depend on it are sidelined. You want something that supports at least two drives in a configuration called RAID 1, which mirrors data—keeps the same information on different drives to preserve it if one crashes. Also, check that you can easily remove the drives from the front or back—the best cases have slide-out trays and allow for a tool-less exchange of drives.
If multiple users share data, make sure the NAS has share-level and user-level security and lets you assign users read-only access, not just full privileges and none. For organizations with more than ten users, look for a system that lets you change permissions for groups, so you can easily make changes for multiple users. A NAS with good access-rights management can be a good alternative to a file server in the home and in a small business. It can also be useful for a home office that shares space with home users. If you have remote offices or several small workgroups, you want an appliance that can double as print and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) servers. Many devices in this guide can.
After these considerations, for entry-level devices, choose based on price, capacity, and physical size, not performance (it's not significantly different among products at this level). The Linksys EtherFast Network Attached Storage EFG250, for example, offers a good combination of the three. Buffalo and Infrant Technologies make units with greater capacity and even more features.
Businesses that have 25 to 100 employees or bigger storage needs will find several boxes in the $2,500 to $5,000 range that offer robust data protection, flexible RAID options, and more advanced backup and restore capabilities. Some good examples are the Adaptec Snap Server 4200 and the Aberdeen AberNAS 211, which hold up to eight drives and let you replace failed drives in RAID configurations on the fly. The units are rack-mountable and rugged, and they include server-class processors and more memory. They also provide detailed logging and reporting tools, as well as antivirus and versioning software and flexible backup. Many of these products handle online archiving and backup of content stored on file servers.
A NAS isn't simply an external hard drive. It's a computer, with an OS and one or more hard drives, that's dedicated to storage tasks and can connect to a network. Most communicate over wired Ethernet, but some, such as the Iomega StorCenter, can do so wirelessly. The OS, generally just a Linux or Windows kernel, handles volume and drive management, networking, security, and user access. It often has extended features, such as backup capability. The functions are usually managed through a Web-based graphical user interface.
For a small business, centralizing data on a NAS is a good management practice. If information isn't dispersed on separate PCs, accessing it is simpler, as is managing security. And when storage needs increase for one or more employees, maintaining a single device is far easier than adding and managing locally attached external drives, putting a new server online, or installing drives in existing servers. In addition, prices have dropped: A 1TB NAS costs well below $1,000.
Selecting a NAS for your home or small business isn't rocket science, but there are a few important basics to keep in mind. Stay away from single-drive solutions—especially for business applications. If your one-drive device's drive dies, not only do you lose all your data, but employees who depend on it are sidelined. You want something that supports at least two drives in a configuration called RAID 1, which mirrors data—keeps the same information on different drives to preserve it if one crashes. Also, check that you can easily remove the drives from the front or back—the best cases have slide-out trays and allow for a tool-less exchange of drives.
If multiple users share data, make sure the NAS has share-level and user-level security and lets you assign users read-only access, not just full privileges and none. For organizations with more than ten users, look for a system that lets you change permissions for groups, so you can easily make changes for multiple users. A NAS with good access-rights management can be a good alternative to a file server in the home and in a small business. It can also be useful for a home office that shares space with home users. If you have remote offices or several small workgroups, you want an appliance that can double as print and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) servers. Many devices in this guide can.
After these considerations, for entry-level devices, choose based on price, capacity, and physical size, not performance (it's not significantly different among products at this level). The Linksys EtherFast Network Attached Storage EFG250, for example, offers a good combination of the three. Buffalo and Infrant Technologies make units with greater capacity and even more features.
Businesses that have 25 to 100 employees or bigger storage needs will find several boxes in the $2,500 to $5,000 range that offer robust data protection, flexible RAID options, and more advanced backup and restore capabilities. Some good examples are the Adaptec Snap Server 4200 and the Aberdeen AberNAS 211, which hold up to eight drives and let you replace failed drives in RAID configurations on the fly. The units are rack-mountable and rugged, and they include server-class processors and more memory. They also provide detailed logging and reporting tools, as well as antivirus and versioning software and flexible backup. Many of these products handle online archiving and backup of content stored on file servers.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
USA Small Business Start up Success
1. U.S. Small Business Association
http://www.sba.gov
Maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by aiding, counseling, assisting and protecting the interests of small businesses and by helping families and businesses recover from national disasters.
2. SOHO America
http://www.soho.org/
Find Out How SOHO Online can help you manage the challenges of working in a small office/home office environment. SOHO is for SME, small business, home office, small office, business events, conferences, networking, seminars, presentations, keynotes, event planning, and membership.
3. Internet Retailer
http://www.internetretailer.com/
Site complete with Internet Retail news, resources, experts and upcoming events in several areas and industries.
A second important area is marketing and PR. A few good online resources follow:
Logoworks
Quality logos give your business an immediate air of professionalism. Even if your business is new or less established, a customer will often give the benefit of doubt to a company that looks professional. Every business eventually competes with others. A unique and professional logo will help your customers distinguish your products and services and help them remember who you are.
Publicity Hound
Joan Stewart, publicity resource expert for small business and people that need advice with publicity design and background with seminars in U.S.A. available.
Meetup
Expanding your network. There are opportunities now to expand you current local business network to include partnerships in other cities or gain access to similar experts in your field without having to go there.
Google Adwords
Online Marketing. Numerous online marketing programs such as video, radio, banner and one of the best, pay per click. Pay per click has changed the advertising world and so has the fact that more consumers search for product information online and generations have grown up with Internet technology.
http://www.sba.gov
Maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by aiding, counseling, assisting and protecting the interests of small businesses and by helping families and businesses recover from national disasters.
2. SOHO America
http://www.soho.org/
Find Out How SOHO Online can help you manage the challenges of working in a small office/home office environment. SOHO is for SME, small business, home office, small office, business events, conferences, networking, seminars, presentations, keynotes, event planning, and membership.
3. Internet Retailer
http://www.internetretailer.com/
Site complete with Internet Retail news, resources, experts and upcoming events in several areas and industries.
A second important area is marketing and PR. A few good online resources follow:
Logoworks
Quality logos give your business an immediate air of professionalism. Even if your business is new or less established, a customer will often give the benefit of doubt to a company that looks professional. Every business eventually competes with others. A unique and professional logo will help your customers distinguish your products and services and help them remember who you are.
Publicity Hound
Joan Stewart, publicity resource expert for small business and people that need advice with publicity design and background with seminars in U.S.A. available.
Meetup
Expanding your network. There are opportunities now to expand you current local business network to include partnerships in other cities or gain access to similar experts in your field without having to go there.
Google Adwords
Online Marketing. Numerous online marketing programs such as video, radio, banner and one of the best, pay per click. Pay per click has changed the advertising world and so has the fact that more consumers search for product information online and generations have grown up with Internet technology.
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