Why do I need a digital photo frame: If you are similar to me you more than likely capture a large amount of photos of the relations and friends. The conventional method that people displayed these images was by buying photograph album after photograph album. Yet, with the revolution of digital cameras, photography straight away became noticeably more affordable therefore meaning a lot more photos are being captured than ever. An electronic photo frame permits you to display 100s or possibly 1,000s of photos inside one piece of technology that appears more or less the same as an original photo-frame.

What sizes are on offer when it comes to digital picture displays: At the moment you can procure photo frames from 5 inches through to 13″ in size. Digital picture displays can be bought in a selection of looks to accompany any flat and any requirement. They are transferable and can easily be transported wherever you may want them. Taking pictures of your children and the grandparents has never been simpler.

What qualities should I look out for in a digital photo frame: Basic qualities you will need from your digital picture display are a large amount of amount of incorporated memory alongside a memory card slot capable of working with high-capacity storage cards. Normal displays are capable of using SDHC, MMC, SD, MS, CF, XD storage sticks on top of a USB interface that can be used with the internal memory and installed memory card. You are also advised to look for a durable battery and high-speed charging unit. A lot of the modern photo frames contain the facility to play videos and include integrated speakers. The resolutions of the displays are increasing and with each development of picture frames you should definitely acquire the highest resolution to be had in order that your pictures continually appear their best.

Which picture frame must you decide one: Which make and what size photo frame you eventually opt for depends completely on what you wish to use it for. If you require a compact frame to transport in your handbag you might want to look into buying something like one of the small sized photo frames as they typically are smaller and much easy to carry. If you happen to be searching for a showpiece frame for your mantle then you are certainly going to want the biggest one that can fit on top of your mantle. Regardless of what the style within your house, you will still be able to get a digital picture frame that fits in nicely.

What price should I look to shell out for a digital frame: Price generally is dependant on size therefore you could discover prices spanning from £30 through to three-hundred pounds. As with any technology items if you buy cheap, you may buy twice so focusing on the cost of the frame now might well result in frustration later on.

Lord Carter has high expectations from the summit, and commented that he is looking forward to participation from the communications sector. He is hoping for sharing of thoughts on how to go about further development of infrastructure, and the content and creative industries. He is also expecting to come up with ways and means to help the UK broadband providers in getting an edge over international competitors.

The list of important delegates who will be speaking at the summit includes PM Gordon Brown, culture secretary Andy Burnham, trade secretary Lord Mandelson, and communications minister Stephen Carter, who is in charge of the whole Digital Britain project

The Digital Britain summit is expected to create more interest as compared to the Digital Britain report, which was released earlier. Lord Carter is confident that the discussions will be useful in developing a conclusive strategy regarding the future of Britain’s communication.

Hopefully, this meeting would be more useful than the report, which was a failure. Most of its promises are hanging in the air, including 2Mb broadband access across Britain before 2012, work on which has not even started since the government and Ofcom are embroiled in a battle over spectrum allocation.

So let us say that water tripled in price? Is that a big deal really? No, because we already use twice the water we need average household uses 20-40 units of water and if they were more conservative with the water they would use only 10-20 units thus instead. Thus their bill would be in half and if you doubled that well there you are again; no big deal really. And now you have unlimited supply and people up river do not have to supply people who choose to live in dry arid places where water is piped or canal it in from far away. Los Angeles area for instance sits on the water yet takes water from the Bay Delta, Mono Lake and Colorado River, when PHX and Las Vegas both need the water. On the East coast same thing you have the megalopolis from Boston to D.C. that needs incredible amounts of water yet nearly every major city including NYC sits within miles of the ocean. Come on people Duh? Critics say it costs too much to build, it will never pay itself back and it will kill areas of wetland, which host at least four hundred species of rare mosquitoes. (Yah the kind that carry West Nile virus with big stingers). Desalination is the answer it always has been and we can build water canals to deliver this water to almost every Major Southern US City, problem solved. We can also use this to balance out the planet in places where gravity is uneven due to our taking oil or water out of the ground, open spaces under the surface. This will also cause the Earth to spin more evenly chill out the weather patterns, slow global warming and solve hundreds of other issues. You say I am crazy, oh yah check this out;

http://static.howstuffworks.com/pdf/express-v1n1.pdf

and this is a known fact lets see if you score a 100% on this quiz smarty pants;

http://intergate.sdmesa.sdccd.cc.ca.us/staff/sievers_j/fall%2097%20exams.htm

http://caliban.physics.utoronto.ca/neufeld/myposts.txt

and perhaps pick up a copy of Feburary edition of Scientific American.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/pdf/express-v1n1.pdf

Now we can figure out where to put these surface canals and reservoirs and straighten out the wheel like weights when you balance your tires and we get for that effort less intense weather, like Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, typhoons, Tornados, etc.

http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~afrei/pg130_fall01_14_climatechange.htm and

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/pseudosc/flipaxis.htm and

http://freespace.virgin.net/benkins.uk/Chap1.htm .

What we are talking about is taking a need for water for humans and balancing out the gravity of the planet simultaneously. So lets just say we will never perfectly balance out the planet. So what if we can add salt water canals in areas, which will be closer to a balanced spinning of Earth, we have accomplished two objectives and we will gain much from this. For instance if Mono Lake were filled up with water would that extra weight be in a good spot? If yes do it; if no do not; if you do, use that as the reservoir to make your fresh water with. If you look closely at the topography of the US you will see many places were building a saltwater canal is very simple and really costs less than building a highway.

http://www.srpnet.com/community/heritage/srphistory.asp and

http://www.srpnet.com/water/newsletters/pdf/irrigreswinter01.pdf

and as you can see from this PHX project the fees are not overly costly to do this as one would predict, also check out the plant being built in Tampa Bay, FL;

http://www.water-technology.net/projects/tampa/

http://www.water-technology.net/projects/tampa/specs.html

http://www.tampaelectric.com/TENWCommNewsDesal.html

and the fees are not going to be that bad, our technology is so much better than it was before. And whereas you may turn on your TV set and see the latest floods around the world rest assured that this is a global issues now, and we will have over 60,000,000,000 people on this planet by 2045. And you know what that is really not that far away, isn’t that the year the ponzi scheme called Social Security will implode? It is not really that far from now and certainly not long in the history of our species.

If we want to continue on this path, we must pay attention to the needs of human life. The children born today, yes today in August of 2005 will have a life expectancy of 120 years, they will live until 2125, much longer than 2045, for 2045 is right around the corner. And this is without all the latest drugs, artificial limbs and components grown from stem cells such as hearts, kidneys, liver, bone marrow, brain tissue and lungs. All this is in the works my friend and no fundamentalist religious endeavors are going to stop the pursuit to find the cure for cancer, Alzheimer’s or heart disease either. So you may plan on being around for a while and watching your grandkids become grandparents. And see all the people you helped make that have infested the planet. Now without condemning you for creating all these people, you need to think about what you are doing here. If we all decide to follow our destiny and that of our ancestors to procreate, we must be wise enough to figure out a way to feed them all, house them and look after them, and one thing above all they will need is water.

The air should clean itself as we develop different ways of transportation through free enterprise and innovations such as fuel cell technologies and alternate energies. So let’s concentrate on solving these drought issues by coming to a long term understanding of the real problems and then work towards those technologies which serve the entrepreneur and free market best short term, and simultaneously solve a greater need to serve the future of mankind, because it does appear that we are all congregating in the same locations and over taxing such fundamental needs as water supply.

We need to control the weather and the best way to do that is to balance the planet and eliminate the variables in our weather first. The wobbling can stop, we can have drink, control the weather, have jobs, and off springs, as it appears to be one of the strongest innate needs of man and live long and fulfilling lives without risk of starvation by millions, agricultural disaster in entire continents and unpredictable weather. How serious is all this. Well there is ample time, but crisis management predicts that the best time to solve a problem is clearly before it happens. Building salt water canals is really easy, really simple and we could have them all completed in less than four or five years, plenty of time to curb any major calamity.

http://www.nrdc.org/water/conservation/cabay/fcabay.asp

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hod/SHManual/SHMan026_OtrAgc.htm

http://www.ciesin.org/docs/006-238/006-238.html

http://www.ciesin.org/docs/006-238/006-238.html

http://md.usgs.gov/publications/wsp-2375/md-dc/

Tell me when you had enough evidence of what I am saying. Stop reading only the newspapers and realize the droughts today are going to be worse in the future as we add more people, more golf courses, more lawns, more houses along the same over taxed, over worked and under supplied rivers of an Earth whose temperatures still rising even after the height of the last three years ago high of the solar maximum and yet the cool temperatures have never recovered.

The planet did not cool back down yet, and even if it did, there is not enough of the current water in many parts of the country to accept more people. So if you are waiting for the down side of a short-term cycle of a heated planet it ain’t happening anytime soon. Face it as it is we do not have enough water to continue this rate of population growth. Maybe in the wettest of years it can handle a few more, but not without some serious consideration to conservation, some continued excellent planning by developers, who by the way should be congratulated on their incredible success in sustainable housing and positive sharing of resources in energy conservation and use of materials.

We must look at all levels of this situation. The time is coming when every year will be a drought year, simply due to predictable usage and reasonable assumptions in supply and demand. We need a solution, we need to work together and we better plan for tomorrow, because it was yesterday recently and we knew we would be here today. What say you?

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Once such item is Voice over Internet Protocol, also known as VoIP. This innovation renders the whole concept of long distance virtually obsolete. It bypasses the traditional telephone company infrastructure and delivers phone service over a broadband internet connection to a regular phone. Similar to cell phones, this service is purchased based on a fixed and/or unlimited number of minutes. However, geographical divisions are generally made by country or continent, rather than by local calling areas or area codes. For example, a typical VoIP contract in the U.S. would stipulate unlimited calling to North America and 300 monthly minutes for calls to everywhere else. Unlike cell phone service, you are not charged for incoming calls. With VoIP service, area codes are not much of an issue, although you still must have one. However, some providers offer plans in which you can select any area code in your country or continent! The area code you choose mainly comes into play for those with traditional phone service who make calls to you. If you pick a California area code, for example, someone calling you from a traditional phone line would be billed as if they called California, even if they lived next door to you in New York.

One of the major advantages of VoIP is that it is less expensive than traditional phone service. Since it bypasses most of the phone companies’ infrastructure, it also bypasses many of the taxes associated with it. So far, Congress has maintained a hands-off approach when it comes to taxing VoIP services. Most of the major phone companies are either now offering VoIP or plan to start by mid-2005. However, there are some smaller companies that are offering it at a much lower cost. Vonage (www.vonage.com) is a small company that was one of the pioneers of VoIP. Lingo (www.lingo.com) and Packet8 (www.packet8.com) are two other small companies offering VoIP at a cut-rate price.

Another such technology is Broadband over Power Line, or BPL. Already in wide use in many other countries and currently being tested in the U.S., BPL is the delivery of broadband internet service over traditional power lines. A computer is connected to a special modem which is simply plugged into an electrical outlet. This kind of service could prove useful for those who cannot get traditional broadband services like cable modem or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), as almost everyone has access to electricity now. Once refined, BPL could eventually prove to be cheaper and faster than these more established services and attract away some of their customers. By the way, be careful when you’re discussing BPL and make sure people don’t think you’re saying, “VPL.” Otherwise, you might encounter quite a bit of snickering!

While we’re on the subject of broadband internet services, several technologies just around the corner are going to make them much faster than they are today. The typical download speeds for broadband ranges from 1.5 to 10 megabits per second (mbps) today. Within the next year, speeds of 15-20 mbps will be available to the average consumer. Then, shortly thereafter, speeds of up to 25, 50, 75, and even 100 mbps will be available in some places. In the not-so-distant future, speeds of 25-100 mbps is will be quite common. “Fast TCP”, which is currently being tested, has the potential to turbo-charge all forms of currently available broadband internet connections without requiring any infrastructure upgrades. It will better utilize the way in which data is broken down and put back together within traditional internet protocols.

All the major phone companies are currently in the process of replacing their copper wires with high capacity fiber optic lines. One example is Verizon’s Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) initiative. Fiber optic lines will greatly increase the amount of bandwidth that can be delivered. Fiber optics will allow phone companies to deliver video, either via a cable TV-type platform or a TV over Internet Protocol (TVIP) platform (see my October 7 column), and faster DSL speeds. At the same time, the phone companies are working with Texas Instruments to develop a new, more technically efficient form of DSL, called Uni-DSL. Eventually, the current internet as we know it will be scrapped and completely replaced with a whole new internet called “Internet 2.” This new internet is expected to provide speeds of up to 6000 times faster than current broadband connections!

Another technology item that you’ve probably heard a lot about recently is digital television. Digital TV uses a different wavelength than traditional analog TV and has a much wider bandwidth. It also has a picture that never gets “snowy” or “fuzzy.” If the signal is not strong enough, you get no picture at all, rather than the fuzzy picture you sometimes get with analog. In order to receive digital signals over the airwaves, you must have a digital TV set (one with a digital tuner inside) or an analog TV with a set-top converter. Cable and satellite TV also use digital formats, but unlike broadcaster signals, their non-High Definition digital signals are automatically converted to a format an analog TV can process, so a digital TV or converter is not needed. High Definition Television formats, even on cable to satellite, require a digital TV or a converter (more on High Definition later).

All broadcasters are now doing some broadcasts on their digital channels in addition to their normal broadcasts on their analog channels, but they were originally supposed to completely convert over from analog signals to digital signals by the end of 2006. However, there is an exception that allows them to wait until 85% of the television sets in their market are digital. This could take 10 years or more to happen. Congress and the FCC are now looking at imposing a hard deadline on all broadcasters to convert to digital signals by 2009. Once they all convert to digital signals, their analog channels will taken back by the FCC and used for other purposes like emergency signals.

High Definition Television (HDTV) is one possible use of digital signals. HDTV uses the entire digital bandwidth and is the crystal clear format you’ve probably seen on TVs in electronics stores. It has no visible lines on the screen. Someone once described it as being like “watching a movie in the theater.” Keep in mind that all HDTV is digital, but not all digital is HDTV. Along those same lines, not all digital TVs are HDTVs. Since digital TVs are very expensive and those with HDTV capability are even more expensive, consumers really need to keep this in mind.

The other possible use of digital signals is channel compression, often referred to as “multicasting.” Non-HDTV programming does not utilize the entire width of a digital signal. Therefore, it is possible to compress two or more channels of programming into one digital signal. Satellite and cable operators do this all the time with their non-HDTV digital channels, but this process is transparent so many people don’t realize it. Many broadcasters plan to use their digital signals this way during times when they are not being used for HDTV programming. For example, some plan to air all news and all weather channels in addition to their regular channels of programming.

TV recording and playback technology is changing as well. DVD recorders, which debuted about four years ago, have now become affordable to the average family. A couple of years ago, they were priced above $1000, but now you can get them for around $250, in many cases. The main sticking point now with DVD recorders is that not all of them will record/play all three of the competing formats: DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW. They will have difficulty gaining wide acceptance from the public until one format is settled on or all recorders can record and play all three formats.

One the other hand, digital video recorders (DVRs) and personal video recorders (PVRs), just two names for something that is really the same thing, seem to be gaining quickly in popularity. DVRs/PVRs utilize a hard drive to record programs, without the need for discs or tapes. DVRs/PVRs with larger hard drives are becoming available and less expensive all the time. These devices can record one show while you are watching another. They can record more than one show at a time. They allow you to watch the part of a show that has already been recorded while the remainder of that show is still being recorded. They allow for easy scanning, searching, and skipping through recorded programs and even allow you to skip commercials with one touch of a button. They allow you to pause live programs while you answer the door or go to the restroom and then pick up where you left off when you get back. With these devices, recording can be automatic, i.e., you can program them to automatically record every episode of your favorite shows, no matter when they air. You can also have them automatically find and record programs that match your interests. In addition, video can be automatically downloaded to the device via a phone connection. TiVo, the leading brand in the industry, has announced that it will be teaming up with Netflix next year to allow downloading of movies on demand via a broadband internet connection (see my October 7 column for more details).

DVRs/PVRs are becoming so popular that cable and satellite TV providers have begun including them as add-ons to their receivers, either at no extra cost or for a small additional monthly fee. About the only shortcoming of DVRs/PVRs is the fact that they can’t play pre-recorded DVDs or tapes, so you would still need your DVD player or VCR if you rent or purchase movies. However, hybrid devices which combine DVRs/PVRs with a DVD player/recorder and/or VCR are now hitting the market. Those devices would not only get rid of that problem but would also give you the option of permanently transferring a recorded show/movie from a hard drive to a recordable DVD.

Flat screen and flat panel TV technology is also starting to boom. Many people are confused about the difference between flat screen TVs and flat panel TVs. Flat screen TVs use the old cathode ray tube (CRT) technology for their picture tubes and are therefore bulky like traditional TV sets. However, they are different from traditional TV sets in that they have a flat screen. They deliver a picture that doesn’t have as much glare as traditional, more round screens. Also, the picture will look the same to everyone in the room, no matter where they are sitting. The picture on a traditional screen looks distorted when viewing it from an angle.

Flat panel TVs, on the other hand, utilize either liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma technology instead of the old CRT technology and are generally just a few inches thick. Many of them can be hung on a wall. In fact, flat panel TVs that are flatter than a credit card will be coming soon! What’s the difference between LCD and plasma? LCD is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of less than 30 inches and usually has a brighter picture and better contrast than plasma. LCD is used for flat panel computer monitors as well. Plasma is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of more than 30 inches and has a better color range than LCD. Plasma is becoming more common as TVs get bigger and flatter.

Although I’m not so sure about this one, I will include “entertainment PCs” because of their tremendous potential to revolutionize home entertainment. The concept of “entertainment PCs” is being hailed right now by both Microsoft and Intel. In fact, Microsoft has developed a special operating system for them. They could be used as the hub for all home entertainment and could enhance a family’s experience of television, radio/music, and internet and actually help to combine all of these into one. They could be used to download content from the internet and play it on a TV. They could provide such sophisticated TV recording interfaces that VCRs, DVDs, and DVRs/PVRs could all eventually become obsolete. In addition, they could be a better source for photograph and home video editing and processing than regular PCs. With that being said, I’m not so sure that people will be willing to accept PCs as a source of home entertainment. Bill Gates begs to differ and is willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Obviously, not all of the cutting edge electronics technologies mentioned above will meet with great success. Some of them might actually go the way of Betamax, digital audio tape (DAT), and DIVX. However, many of them are sure to catch fire and become such an intricate part of our everyday lives that we’ll wonder how we ever got along without them. Which ones will they be? Only time will tell.

Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Virginia, USA. He operates a website – http://www.commenterry.com – on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in meanstream media.

If you are working diligently away on a document or spreadsheet in Microsoft Office and the power goes out, you may still be able to recover the documents you were working on when the lights come back on. This type of data recovery is relatively easy and straightforward. Software manufacturers recognize that power outages are inevitable and unpredictable and most office applications incorporate what is known as autosave features. At set intervals, the documents you have open are saved to a cached file. They remain in that cached state and should be accessible once your power is restored. Simply opening Microsoft Word or Excel will usually bring these documents back.

For instance, when you open Word after a power failure or a software error, you will be presented with a document followed by the word recovered in parentheses. This is the document you were working on at the most recent autosave point. You may still lose a couple minutes worth of work this way, but it sure beats having to go back and retype the entire document.

If the recovered document does not appear automatically, search your hard drive for files ending with tmp. Look for one created close to the time of the power failure or software error and open it. This is most likely the document you had open at the time. If this method of data recovery does not work, you may need to follow the steps listed below.

Of course not all data recovery is so easy and so straightforward. If you delete a file accidentally, it is a simple matter to recover it from the recycle bin. Once you empty the recycle bin, however, things become more difficult. The deleted file still resides on your computer somewhere, but the pointer that tells the program where to find the file is now gone. There are various software tools available that promise to help recover deleted files, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the major players are Norton, McAfee and Computer Associates. There are a great many smaller vendors as well.

Even if all these products fail to recover your data, you may not be completely out of luck. Data recovery services specialize in recovering data from failed and corrupt hard drives. These data recovery services have tools and equipment not available to the general public.

Government and law enforcement forensic teams will often make use of these advanced data recovery techniques to investigate cases of computer crime. Businesses also will turn to a professional data recovery service to recover mission critical data from damaged hard drives.

It is important to choose a reputable firm any time you need to have data recovery services performed. The firm you choose should be able to provide references from previous clients. You should make sure to follow up with the references they provide.

The cost for the data recovery service will vary according to the type of equipment and the difficulty of the job. You should get several estimates to make sure you are paying a fair price for the service you receive.

Barry Stein is the owner of aWebBiz.com where he offers cutting-edge tips on all aspects of business. To find more advice, tools and resources to help you succeed in your business, visit: http://www.aWebBiz.com

Barry’s Internet Marketing Blog: http://awebbiz.com/blog

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You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your e-book or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included with an active hyperlink to the aWebBiz.com website.

A Contest of a Different Sort

The solar decathlon is an interesting strategy for promoting research and development on solar technology by the Energy Department. The Department selects 20 teams from a bevy of applicants to take part.

To win the competition, the teams are given the goal of creating and manufacturing a home that runs completely on solar power. The home must function as a residence as well as a home-based business and all typical transportation needs typically found with a residential home. The teams are not only required to design and build the home, but they must construct the homes on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for all to see. The most energy efficient home wins the competition and the university is awarded $100,000 for research and development of solar technologies.

In 2005, the University of Colorado was the winner of the competition with Cornell and Cal Poly finishing second and third. It was the second win in a row for Colorado over such schools as MIT and Cal Poly. The teams for the 2007 competition have been selected and are currently working on their projects:

California Polytechnic State University

Carnegie Mellon University

Cornell University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Kansas State University

Lawrence Technological University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

New York Institute of Technology

Team Montreal

Technische Universitt Darmstadt,

Texas A&M University

Pennsylvania State University

Universidad de Puerto Rico

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

University of Cincinnati

University of Colorado

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Maryland

University of Missouri-Rolla,

University of Texas at Austin

The teams are due to build their homes on the National Mall on October 7, 2007. With the new interest of the Bush Administration in solar power, perhaps the contest will get a Presidential visit.

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on solar power and renewable energy.

In the recently concluded Mobile World Congress, the consensus seemed to be that investments will not see a slow down, but already there are reports that companies like Orange and Vodafone are not keen to rush towards 4G, given the current situation.

This is contradictory to what the GSMA (an association of the worldwide mobile industry) had been confidently expressing so far. At a recently held meeting, it insisted that the mobilebroadband industry could act as a potent tool in lifting the economy out of recession. However, most major mobile broadband providers do not seem too courageous at the moment and as profits shrink, the companies are holding back their capital expenditure plans. 3G upgrades and 4G developments have been put on the backburner, and with the situation worsening, more projects could be shelved in the near future. There is also a question mark over how much demand any new service can generate, and mobile companies may be justified in holding back any upgrades in this scenario.

It is quite cleat that any optimism about the industry will evaporate very quickly. The assumption that the industry will not be affected by the severe economic downturn, being witnessed through out the globe, does not seem to hold water.

Businesses and individuals alike have all grown to rely on computers. The reliance is never more apparent than when something happens to the horrid little box that makes our lives easier. We expect computers to react a certain way, in certain situations. It nearly always comes as a surprise when the beloved little box, know as a computer, refuses to boot up. Probably even more shocking, is the dawning that we’ve neglected to backup or prepare for the unforeseen disaster that has just been thrust upon us.

Regardless of the number of times you have experienced the dread of being unable to access the information trapped in the god-awful computerized contraption, we are always invariably unprepared.

The reality of it is that computers, not only contain moving parts, but they like other machines, they are prone to failure at some point in their lives. Not only can hardware failures occur, but viruses can also corrupt data making it impossible to retrieve. Regardless of the litany of words used to bully the box into behaving, the truth is that the only offence is a good defense.

So how do you prepare for a computer tragedy?

Prepare for the Worst

In structuring an offense it’s important to realize the power of reinforcements: backups are invaluable and will save countless hours of shameless degradation. Be sure that you backup data and files on a regular basis, there are a number of tools that will automate the process.

It is critical that you check the backup log to ensure that a backup was completed properly. I cannot begin to describe the devastation felt when it is realized that though there was a backup process in place, the backup never actually occurred. Realizing this during a restore is likely to push any computer lover over the edge. It is a good idea to store a weekly back up off site. This is especially helpful, if an unforeseen fire or a natural disaster strikes.

Protection is critical!

Build A Wall

If the computer has Internet access, either a hardware or software firewall (or combination there of) must be used. The firewall creates a barrier between a computer and the world. Without a firewall, Internet worms are capable of exploiting security holes and are able to create what are referred to as ‘back doors’. These back doors can then be used to gain access to personal information stored on the computer, including password files, and financial information.

Trust No One

If you are an avid Internet surfer or downloader be sure to scan any downloads prior to opening or installing. Up to date anti-virus software should be used to ensure, that computers do not become infected with malicious viruses that will ruin your life. Scan any email attachments prior to opening regardless of whom they are from. Files that end with .scr, .pif and .exe can contain viruses that will wreak havoc with your data and emotional well being.

Preparedness goes a long way, and a little foresight will ensure that, while a computer might be an inconvenience, you will not be defeated.

Preparation Resources

Anti-virus Software -http://www.military-software.com/anti-virus-software.htm

Firewalls – http://www.monitoring-software.net/intrusion-detection-software.htm

About The Author

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites and additional articles can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.small-business-software.net

Stewart advocates an open relationship with third party software providers so he can keep his service levels high and provide support to his installed base. “I’m happy to see an improving relationship with software providers that allow us to identify integrations issues and advise the customer,” says Stewart. “Customers grow weary of tight integration processes and the trouble they cause, both in cost and time, is unacceptable.” He also sees an evolving open standard developing across the industry that is helping ERP companies and third party providers alike. “The architecture is changing and integration is becoming easier,” says Stewart. “We are much more in the loop when it comes to upgrades and changes in software, including being invited to conferences and having access to design teams when necessary.”

Encompix has filled the manufacturing software requirements of Engineer-to-Order companies since 1992. The company name reflects the commitment to developing business application solutions that encompass the complex areas of project-based and job-based manufacturing.

Encompix www.encompix.com Roger Meloy 513-733-0066

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I’ll refrain from specifying what I got in detail, only to tell you that it rocks! It’s the smartest $750 you can spend in visual entertainment with a 30-inch diagonal and a perfectly flat Cathode Ray Tube that happens to be a pithy 16-inches. The manufacturer has labeled this a, “SlimFit” model and rightly so. (At 120 pounds, it’s still a team lift, however.)

I get the thing upstairs, unpack it, go through the first time set up and auto program to my new TV’s content. The happy surprise is that there are hidden channels your new HD tuner decodes for you! After almost cutting myself on razor-sharp pictures broadcast in proper 1080i HD resolution, I think, “now I’ll have some REAL fun and see a DVD like I’ve never seen it before.”

In went the goofy adventure of Captain Sparrow, “The Curse of The Black Pearl.” The kid in me wanted to play with the new toy… I was totally silent as I watched the opening scenes in horror: Letter box’s black-line haters haven’t seen anything yet. All of our beloved DVD’s are lacking 100% in the HD category; THEY DON’T MAKE HD DVD’s! It is the next big sell!

Remember your record albums? Yeah. Remember buying them on tape? Uh-huh. Remember buying them AGAIN on CD. Yup. Remember seeing that movie you loved in the theater? Uh-huh. Remember buying the DVD version. Your next vivid memory will be cursing your DVD collection for looking awful on your next TV which may well be properly HD compatible meaning loaded with 1080i resolution that your DVD can’t keep up with.

Briefly, here’s the current method to watch that DVD on a proper HD TV. The TV probably has five settings: 16:9, Panorama, Zoom 1, Zoom 2 and 3:4 picture settings. The first is the HD standard, lovely; and the last is the standard that’s phasing out. Everything in the middle is a fatherless child. Standard set shows on 16:9 look stretched left and right. Standard set shows on your 16:9 screen set to 3:4 get the black lines to the left and right. Your standard DVD in letterbox format get black lines EVERYWHERE: Top, bottom, left and right. The picture is ridiculously small. But mighty sharp!

Your only option? Set the TV to display at Zoom 1 which takes the DVD’s 720i and forces 1.5 pixels on your HDTV to try, fruitlessly, to display 1 pixel from the DVD. The result is a jittery, dancing image that will gray any video-phile’s hair halfway into the first film. As holidays and birthdays arrive, take care not to build that glorious DVD collection you’ve always wanted. Change is coming, like it always does. You’ve been warned.