Sunday, July 26, 2009

How to Plan and Build a Business Part-Time

At first, most potential entrepreneurs can't afford to quit their jobs to start a business full-time, so they "moonlight" their business on nights and weekends. Here are some tips on how to do it.


Instructions

Prepare

Step 1

Select a hobby you'd like to convert into a profitable business or a passion that you'd like to learn more about.

Step 2

Research, research, research. Read books and talk to people who have worked in the industry you're considering.

Step 3

Get a sense of how much income you can make in the first year or two, and what kind of financial investment you'll need to make.

Step 4

Prepare a plan to determine how much money you will need to make before you can quit your job, and how long it will take you to reach that goal.

Step 5

Be careful not to inappropriately use your employer's time and resources for your own business.

Step 6

Avoid telling your boss before you are ready.

Step 7

Keep your standards of performance up to protect your primary source of income.

Take Care of Family

Step 1

Take an occasional break from your work and devote yourself fully to your spouse and family.

Step 2

Remember to take vacations. You might not need it, but your family will.

Step 3

Budget money to help take care of your kids and housework, if you won't be available.


Tips & Warnings

* Let your spouse share in your dreams of entrepreneurial success--it will make him or her much more supportive.

* Starting a business part-time will create an unexpectedly large amount of hard work.

via ehow

10 Healthy Foods You NEED to Fall in Love With

Here's 10 of the healthiest foods you can find. Have additional foods you would like to add? I would love to hear from you!


1. Bananas
According to The Georgia State of Health "What's for dinner tonight?" program, Bananas are a remedy for upset stomachs and help strengthen stomach lining against excess acid and ulcers. The pectin in bananas may be helpful in fighting colon cancer as well as lowering blood cholesterol.

2. Potatoes
According to the CDC, potatoes are a rich source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C. Like other fruits and vegetables, potatoes are a low calorie food and are free of fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

3. Acai Berry
They are calling it a "miracle food" and its benefits range from being high in protein and omega 6 and 9, to having dietary fiber and antioxidants.....and most importantly the Acai Berry is becoming a popular anti-aging source.

4. Brocolli
Broccoli is high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C and folate. Cup for cup, broccoli has as much Vitamin C as an orange and almost as much calcium as milk. Including broccoli in your low-fat diet along with a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables will help you to maintain a lower risk of some cancers, vision health, and strong bones and teeth. TIP: Purchase tight, compact florets with an even green or purple-green color. The size of broccoli heads does not indicate eating quality. Avoid yellowing florets and tough or woody stems.

5. Flaxseed
According to GA Healthinfo.gov, flaxseed is high in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and phytochemicals called lignans. Flaxseed can help reduce total blood cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels - and, as a result, may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Flaxseed oil also contains omega-3 fatty acids, but it doesn't have the beneficial fiber that the seeds have.

TIP: Most nutrition experts recommend ground flaxseed because your body is better able to digest it. Whole flaxseed may pass through your intestine undigested, which means you won't get the health benefits of flaxseed.

6. Whole Grains
No other food group delivers numbers the same way whole grains do:

• Up to 36 percent lower risk of stroke
• Up to 30 percent drop in type 2 diabetes risk
• Up to 28 percent drop in heart disease risk

Plus, whole grains reduce the risk of colon cancer and obesity, maintain healthy gums, and reduce the buildup of dental plaque. (Source: The Whole Grains Council)

7. Quinoa
The 2,000yr-old "Mother Grain." Pronounced (Kin-Wa) Quinoa is highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12-18%) making it a healthy choice for vegetarians and vegans. It is a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. (Source: California School Board for Nutritional Education)

INTERESTING FACT: Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long duration manned spaceflights.

8. Fennel
Fennel, the "sleeper" vegetable, is an excellent source of potassium, making it effective for lowering blood pressure. Typically associated with spicing up an Italian or Mediterranean dish, Fennel is also a very good source of fiber, and may help to reduce elevated cholesterol levels. Since fiber also removes potentially carcinogenic toxins from the colon, fennel bulb may also be useful in preventing colon cancer.

9. Avocado
Avocados are loaded with nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate. They're also cholesterol and sodium free. This fruit is an excellent source of monounsaturated fat, which is good for heart health. Including avocados in your low-fat diet along with a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables will help you to maintain a lower risk of some cancers, vision health, and strong bones and teeth.

TIP: A ripe avocado is firm, yet yields to gentle pressure.

10. Soy
Eating 25 grams or more of soy protein daily can help lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Plus since it's low in saturated fat, soy is also a great source of lean protein. Look for natural sources of soy protein, like edamame, tempeh, or organic silken tofu. (Source: KingCounty.gov)

TIP: But watch the amount of salt in your soy. Some processed varieties like soy dogs can contain added sodium, which boosts blood pressure.

by Jeff Hopeck | ezinearticles

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

New "Sexy View" Malware Targets Mobile Devices



The eventual creation of botnet(s) based on mobile devices rather than PCs has been theorized about for years, but no such malware has ever appeared in the real world—at least, not until now. Security researchers believe they may have found the first true mobile worm, dubbed "Sexy View" or "Sexy Space" depending on which version of the program one encounters.


The infected payload displays many of the characteristics of PC botnet software and is now more sophisticated than other handheld attacks that have appeared to date. The "now," in this case, is important, as Sexy View first hit the radar six months ago or more. The program has evolved considerably since it debuted, and is now capable of downloading and updating its SMS templates without user input. Such capability is considered a core component of a modern botnet; its new functionality elevates Sexy View/Space into a more severe threat category.

Sexy View exploits the same basic attack vector as PC-based malware. The program (identified as SymbOS.Exy.C by Symantec) spreads via a text message that invites viewers to download an apparently legitimate application. The badware's hook reportedly consists of the phrase "A very sexy girl, Try it now!," thus proving that human stupidity creates far more security problems than even the buggiest of operating systems. Once installed, the new application digs through one's personal details and contact list. The former data is forwarded on to a set of predetermined addresses, while the latter is used to bait a fresh series of hooks for users whose only thought processes occur below the belt.

The defining characteristic that elevates this little darling from "worm" to "malware," is that the malware is capable of phoning home and receiving new instructions from a command-and-control (C&C) server. Sexy View was written specifically to target Symbian OS, which is quite popular outside the United States. In another troubling twist, the Sexy View payload has earned signed application status, despite the fact that the signed application process is meant to prevent malicious software from garnering such authentication.

The nasty question at hand is how device manufacturers and mobile OS developers should guard against such attacks in the future, given the near-certainty that we'll only see more of them from this point forward. It would be nothing less than gobsmackingly surprising if the PC antivirus/antimalware industry didn't have some of its own ideas about that, but it's hard to see mobile users wanting to sacrifice the memory and performance (to say nothing of the battery life) necessary to keep an AV scanner resident and active on a smartphone.

In the meantime, don't open strange texts that link to programs claiming to offer sexy girls in broken Engrish.

Joel Hruska | hothardware

How to Choose a Reliable Mechanic on the Road



Nothing can wreak havoc on a road trip like car trouble, but a good mechanic can take much of the anguish out of an untimely breakdown. Here are some tips on tracking down a reliable auto mechanic when you’re away from home.


Instructions


Step 1

Prepare in advance so you won’t be caught off guard and desperate if trouble does arise. For example, if you know you’ll be visiting the L.A. area in a few weeks, do some online research now to obtain some decent possibilities in that region.

Step 2

Check with the concierge or other staff members at the lodging where you’re staying. There’s a good chance they have helped other guests with the same problem, or will just know of someone through their own automotive needs in the past.

Step 3

Ask for some references, even if you don’t plan to call them. The fact that they provide you with some will be a pretty good sign to begin with.

Step 4

When calling around to garages, also ask about credentials, such as membership in ASE or good standing with the Better Business Bureau. Another good question to ask is whether they back up their repair work with warranties. Similarly, while visiting a garage, look for certification reflecting the training and knowledge of the shop’s mechanics.

Step 5

Consider the attitude and professionalism of the staff on hand. Are they helpful and courteous, or surly and off-putting? Trust your instincts if you get a bad feel based on the staff.

Step 6

Make sure the place you’re taking your car will provide a free estimate before beginning substantial work. This is standard procedure, and any repair shop refusing to cooperate should raise serious red flags.

Step 7

Try to find out if they have extensive experience working on your particular brand of car. Failing that, see if they specialize in foreign or domestic vehicles and pick the right match.

Step 8

Determine how you’ll get to and from the repair shop ahead of time, so you won’t have your choices too restricted by your location. Having a membership with an emergency road service company can be invaluable in these situations, since they can tow you free of charge to the best possible shop.


Tips & Warnings


Making sure your car is in decent working order before a long trip can truly help you avoid more serious problems during your travels.



Zach Chouteau | ehow

5 Organic Foods Every Woman Should Eat

Here's a summary of what I consider to be the most important organic switches every woman should make, if she eats these foods.



# Daily Dairy Dose: Most women don't drink a lot of milk, but I know you're reaching for yogurt in the dairy case when you need a snack on the go. Organic yogurts don't contain added hormones and antibiotics and can have higher levels of omega-3s. Organic dairy products are not only good for our bodies - they can be much less damaging to the environment.

# Super Salads: Conventional lettuce has some of the highest levels of pesticides of any food. Choose fresh organic greens as a salad base, then slice in organic veggies to add color and vitamins. You'll benefit from almost an extra serving of fruits and vegetables a day when you choose organic greens because organic has as much as 25 percent more antioxidants.

# An Organic Apple a Day: Apples are second only to bananas on our fruit shopping lists, but most people don't know they can contain toxic pesticides and organophosphates, even when they're peeled. Choose organic apples as well as nectarines, peaches, pears, strawberries, cherries and imported grapes, as all these fruit are more vulnerable to pesticides.

# You Say Tomato, I Say Organic: The average American consumes about 90 pounds of tomatoes a year, mostly in sauces and catsup. Organic tomatoes have significantly more lycopene, an antioxidant that may lower cancer and heart disease risks and may do other wonderful things.

# Organic - It's What's for Dinner: Grass-fed beef is usually leaner than conventional beef and can contain about 5 times the good omega-3 fats. And choosing free-range beef promotes farming practices that help our environment as well.

# Bonus - Red, Red Wine: Scientists were happy to discover the health benefits of drinking a moderate amount of red wine: the antioxidant in the skin of red grapes might help slow aging, prevent cancer and do other wonderful things. Organic wines can average about 32 percent more antioxidants and go splendidly with a nice organic marinara and organic salad


Alan Greene | webmd

Ways How to Make Money Working From Home

Money is something we all need. It is something we work hard for. That is why when money is not enough we find ways to make the ends meet. Earning money seem to be a difficult task, that is for those who do not know that there is a way to earn money the easy way- and that is earning money from home. A lot of people have already found out that they can earn extra cash by going online. The internet has a lot to offer to people who are willing to work harder by using their spare time with a part-time job. It is of great comfort to have part-time jobs being offered online. Many men and women are bale to earn cash without having to leave their home, and without sacrificing their time for their family.


What are the ways on how to make money from working from home?

There are actually so many ways. You may discover these ways by browsing through the internet. Many job opportunities online are being suggested and tackled by many websites hoping they could help people like you to find a job opportunity that will not require them to leave their homes.

These are just some of the online job opportunities that you can find.

Earning through writing blogs, becoming a freelance writer, writing poetries and e-books, writing web contents, or ads for products and services is one. If you are a good writer, these jobs fit you. Imagine earning money doing the thing that you love to do. If you are good enough, this would not take so much of your time. You can easily write excellent articles about certain topics.

You can sell online by having your own website or becoming a member of eBay. What do you have to sell? Again that is up to you. You can sell anything under the sun. You can sell different hand-made products; you can sell second hand books, gadgets, collectibles, furniture etc. You can even make crafts and attract the attention of buyers worldwide. The internet is surely a good marketplace.

You can also advertise your services online. You can do jobs for other people and get paid for it. You can arrange parties and events if you can. Think of something you can do for other people and post that in your website and start earning money from it.

You can also different online contests, answer surveys and questionnaires about a company's product or services. More and more companies are willing to pay for the ideas, opinions, and feedbacks you have in mind.

You can also put up a virtual business like a candle-making business or any business you have in mind. It is easier to put up a business online than because of the lesser start-up cost.

There are still more job opportunities that you can find online, most of which are very easy to do. You can even start immediately once you've chosen the job that you want to have.


By Brock Hamilton |ezinearticles

Home theater speaker buying tips



First thing, determine your system's priorities. Will you watch movies or listen to music? Most folks do one or the other.

Since more home theater speaker buyers watch movies than listen to music, I'll start there.

It's hardly an overstatement to claim movie-oriented home theater systems succeed or fail based on their center channel's performance and sound quality. The center speaker delivers virtually all the dialog and it can, depending on the mix, convey upward of 80 percent of a movie's soundtrack. The center speaker has a big job.


So invest 30 percent of your 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 system budget on the center speaker, the Center Centric HT approach. As always, when it comes to sound quality, size matters. Bigger centers tend to sound better than small ones.

The subwoofer is the next most important player in a home theater sound system. Invest the next 30 percent of your dollars on the sub. The sub is largely responsible for home theater impact and power.

That leaves 40 percent of the budget for the front and surround left and right speakers. Of that, I'd put more bucks into the front speakers than the surrounds.

What I'm describing here is a little unconventional, but it's predicated on the belief that the best possible sounding center and sub are crucial for home theater performance. I'm also assuming all the speakers and probably the sub are from the same manufacturer.

For more music oriented home theaters the priorities are reversed. Fifty percent or more of the budget goes for the front left and right speakers, which should be large enough to produce bass without the aid of a subwoofer. The remaining budget is spent on the center and surround speakers (more on the center than surrounds). It's the "Stereo Plus Three HT" approach.

After all, music is mostly stereo, so it makes sense to put the lion's share of your dollars where they'll do the most good: The left and right front speakers.

Lastly, the 50/50 movies and music system. Evenly distribute your budget and buy the more typical "matched" system. Thing is, it won't sound as good as either the movie or music systems described above, when doing what they were designed to do.

I make my living writing about audio and reviewing tons of gear every year. My opinions about speaker sound quality are covered in the reviews. Asking advice from me or anybody else about speaker sound quality is like asking what's better, chocolate or strawberry? There's no definitive answer, it's a matter of taste.

With speakers and subs you really have to listen for yourself. That, or buy the ones I like the most.

Steve Guttenberg
[via news.cnet]

Friday, July 17, 2009

6 Ways to Start a Business with Bad Credit

Times are tough - especially for those budding entrepreneurs looking to get their business off the ground. While the state of the economy should never be a deterrent in starting a small business (regardless if the economy is up or down - people and businesses still need to consume goods and services); down economies do have some effect on the business owners ability to find and obtain capital for their ventures.


But, all is not lost if your personal credit is a bit lacking.

Most business owners usually have some types of capital to put into their business - be it from personal savings, retirement accounts or loans from friends and family. But, they usually do not have all the funds necessary to launch their business and tend to struggle with allocating the money they do have to the numerous start-up expenses they will encounter.

Plus, bad credit (or even no credit) will make it very difficult for business owners to obtain unsecured working capital for items like marketing, payroll, or even office supplies.

I have always believed that whatever liquid capital (cash on hand) a business owners has walking into a new venture should be used for the overall development and growth of the business - it's essentially like putting in your own venture capital. However, this method of allocation usually leaves little if not 'no' additional money for other items businesses need for their operations to include tools and machinery to provide their goods or services, inventory, rent, or even office equipment including computers, copiers or even vehicles - items used in the day to day life of all businesses.

But, there are other ways that business owners can get these items even if the entrepreneur has bad credit.

For unsecured working capital, business owners can use the numerous social lending sites that have proliferated the Internet over the last decade or so. Social Lending is essentially where member borrow and lend to each other. Gaining access to capital for these sources tends to be easier to obtain as you get to tell your story directly to funders. Further, rates of these types of loans are usually lower than traditional bank lending. While considered personal loans, the funds received here can be used for any purpose including starting and running your business.

There are also Micro-Credit organizations whose whole purpose is to help new and growing businesses obtain capital after they have been turned down by traditional lenders like banks. These organizations are typically non-profit groups, backed by the SBA, and understand the trials that business owners face when trying to get their business venture off the ground. Plus, they offer a plethora of guidance to help ensure your long-term success.

Many new small businesses need all types of equipment for their business - from standard office equipment like computers and copy machines to tools and machinery that allow them to make or provide their products and services. There are equipment lenders that only provide these types of loans. They work with new start-ups and are extremely flexible in developing programs that can meet these businesses specific needs and while these loans and leases are secured by collateral (the equipment) there is less emphasis put on personal credit histories.

Further, a start-up business is considered a business in operation under one year. During this time, many businesses generate financial assets - but still find themselves lacking working capital as they grow. However, these assets can be used to secure financing, either to speed up the flow of payments, to complete current jobs or orders, or to get the funding needed for payroll or additional marketing.

These capital resources include factoring a business's receivables (why wait 30, 60 or 90 days to get paid by your customers- when you have bills that need to be paid now) or purchase order financing where your business can receive cash to complete jobs that are already in the works or funds to bid on jobs that would have otherwise eluded your business due to lack of working capital. And lastly, business cash advances for businesses that accept credit card payments from their customers allowing them to leverage future sales for growth capital today. The real bonus about there types of financing options is that they are not focused on the business owner's personal credit history but more on the strength of the asset.

Moreover, given our government's propensity to help people get back to work (most new jobs are created by small businesses) there has been an influx of new government and private grants to help people in need - including business owners.

Lastly, should a business owner still face difficulties due to credit issues - then the only step remaining is to eliminate those issues. While bankruptcy and credit counseling will continue to harm your credit after you complete these programs, there are other ways like debt consolidation that can reduce your unsecured debt (including credit card debt) into one, low, affordable payment. Allowing the business owner to free up current cash flow as well as improve their credit scores.

While most lenders tend to weed out potential borrowers through credit profiling - leaving many new business owners in limbo - the resources listed above are design to fill the lending gap that is crippling our nation and geared to help all business owners - regardless of past credit mistakes.

Joseph Lizio | businessknowhow

Tips in Writing Effective Blog Posts

Blogs are a means of communication in which people can exchange information, ideas and insights toward things. An individual can write a blog post that tells a story about a travel experience, and share the article to other Internet users. A business entrepreneur can write a blog post about marketing tips for small and medium businesses, and promote the article to other business entrepreneurs. More and more individuals and businesses are creating weblogs to get their companies known to the customers. Here are a few tips in writing creative blog posts for personal or business purposes.


Use Simple Words – A key to an effective communication is simplicity in writing. Use simple words to make people understand the article’s point. Don’t make things complicated by using long, unfamiliar terms in your articles. Every individual who wants to write an effective blog post must consider that the choice of words is important.

Use Examples – Citing examples can help a writer elaborate his or her point. Blog posts can be more understood if writers provide examples to make their points clearer.

Use Images and Photos – Insert images and photos on the blogs to make the articles appealing and attractive to the eyes of target readers. Moreover a visual form of communication can be more effective than plain texts. For example, an article for UPrinting blog can include photos of business card designs. Online companies can make use of images and photos in making their blogs more attractive and professional to the target niche market.

Break Paragraphs – Break paragraphs and divide an article into several sections so that a blog post can look nice and neat. For example a paragraph can be written for introduction, then three separate paragraphs for three different points, and a separate paragraph for the conclusion. It is also recommended to use headings to emphasize the main points of an article.

Giving Emphasis to Words – Writers can emphasize their article titles, headings and subheadings by changing the font type, size and color. Headings can be set in boldface or italic face for emphasis.

These helpful tips can let individuals to write blog posts that have the potential to communicate with readers. Moreover, writers can be able to create blog posts that can be perceived as valuable source of information.

Kat Nocom | articlesbase

How to Maintain a Weight Loss Program

Maintaining a weight-loss program can be tough, but not impossible. One just need to have discipline and positive attitude to acheive your goal. Here are more suggestions on how to make sure that you are on the right track in losing weight.

Change your mentality. Stop thinking of your weight loss program as a diet. It’s just a lifestyle change that you are undergoing to make you a healthier and fitter person.


Think positive and set realistic goals. Accept that things won’t happen overnight. Don’t go to the dark side if you see slow progress. Many people eat when they are depressed. This just takes time and did say that patience is a virtue.

Chart your progress. This will keep you stay focused on your goals. It will also serve as a good moral boost when you see that you’re steadily losing weight. However, allow plateaus and don’t forget to take into account water weight gain.

Choose one day of the week when you can eat whatever you want. This is to reward yourself of a job well done. This also allows the body to burn more calories in the 24 hour period after indulging.

Pick an exercise program that you will enjoy. Vary your activities once in a while. This will keep you from getting bored.

Have a support system. There will be times when you feel blue or stuck and you think that no progress has been made. During these moments of weaknesses, you will need someone who can encourage you and talk you out of the blues. This can be a friend, family, or your partner. Why not all?

via tipz

How to Start Writing Children's Books

Children's books are extremely popular and sell in huge numbers even when traditional adult fiction seems to be dropping in sales. Books for children range from educational nonfiction to fictional stories that are both entertaining and educational. Classics such as "Alice in Wonderland," "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and the Mother Goose Classics continue to enchant children decades after they were written. Writing books for children can be a profitable and satisfying career for a writer who has the skill to reach a young audience. Learn what it takes to get started writing books for children and how you can turn your ideas into something that will be read for generations to come.


Instructions


Step 1

Create a short outline for your book, and keep it age appropriate. Books written for children 5 and under should have plenty of room for an artist to interpret the material and illustrate it. Children older than 5 years old are more capable of understanding a story with little or no illustrative assistance.

Step 2

Create stories and characters that children can relate to. Try to stick with universal issues. Use your stories as a means of teaching without preaching. Be aware of how you write. You don't want to talk down to your readers because they're young. In fact, keep the writing level slightly above the reading level to challenge children to expand their reading and comprehension abilities.

Step 3

Illustrate your books if you have the ability to do it. If not, children's book publishers have artists on staff that can illustrate for you. Feel free to suggest ideas you may have for illustrations.

Step 4

Study the markets before you pitch your children's book. The Writer's Digest Children's Book Market is a good place to start (see Resources below). You can also consult an online market database for children's books (see Resources below). Target the markets that accept the type of material you've written, and follow their submission guidelines when sending your manuscript for review.

Step 5

Don't wait for a response from your first submission before you begin another project. Start writing your next book while you wait. If you feel the first book deserves a sequel, this may be a good time to start it. Series books are popular in children's fiction, and a solid central theme and likable characters could very well lead to a contract to do several children's books with the same publisher.


Carl Hose via ehow

Google AdSense Made Easy!

If you are looking to monetize your Website or Blog then Google AdSense would be one of best options for revenue generation through text, image and video advertisements. Just type "AdSense" in any search engine and you would be amazed to find numerous websites which give quality information on this topic. It also signifies the importance of making money online, many Internet marketing experts and intellectuals have made abundant blog posts and written ebooks on the same topic. This article would be of great use for rookies and people who want to get into Google AdSense.


We can find many discussions on AdSense on almost all major discussion boards, forums and blogs. AdSense has become a buzz for teenagers who want to meet their personal expenses by running blogs of their personal interests. Even fulltime webmasters research to find various techniques for consistent revenue generation without any copyright infringement and violations of copyright laws.

Ironically many authors who claim to be the authority on AdSense and other advertisement media are still thriving to generate consistent revenue online. For this reason, there is no point in buying ebooks on this topic. All the information that you ever needed can be found online and especially at Google's own pages. AdSense is a Google owned program that allows webmasters to display pay per click ads on their webpages. These advertisements are content sensitive (or contextual). This means that if you have a website on computers, advertisements displayed will be about computers. AdSense ads are highly relevant and it is because of this reason it is more successful. In fact, in the 3rd quarter of the year 2007, Google made a whopping $1.45 billion just from AdSense alone.

There have been other ways of online advertising like popups and banner ads. However, these are not so profitable and efficient when compared to pay per click ads. When was the last time you clicked on a banner or waited to see what a popup was about to display? The answer would be rare. However, the case is different with pay per click ads. As, these ads are contextual thus they can easily blend in with the content of the web page. Users click on the ads only when they are interested in the ad, this proven result generates huge targeted traffic to the advertiser. Targeted traffic means more conversions in return of investment and profits.

Being a webmaster or an active blogger you might have already known that "To increase revenue from AdSense earnings we have to place multiple ads on rich content web pages. Here are some tips in maximizing your revenue with multiple advertisements.

Make sure the ad unit with the highest CTR is the first ad unit in the HTML code of your page. We've heard that there may be some confusion on this, so here's some clarification on how we serve ads to a page once we know which ads win the auction.

First we would start with selecting the ad unit on our main web page. I got some amazing results when I selected an ad size of 300x250 rectangle. Apart from selecting the right size, it is also important to select the right place and color of the ad unit.

I went through a survey on how a person uses the Internet. The results were remarkable, most of the users move the cursor in the centre or on the extreme right corners of a web page. Considering these facts it would be sensible to place the ads in the middle of the page or on the right hand side of the web page.

Selecting the ad color is also important. We can select the ad units which match the web page color and start placing them in between the content.

How about selecting the keywords which yield good money! It is always important to write a quality content which the visitors find valuable. If the content is based on high frequency keywords then it would be great!

Now that you have known few tips on AdSense, let us try these tips and watch your earnings grow!

Most of the Google AdSense publishers commit mistakes naively which could ban their AdSense account.

These AdSense tips are derived from Google Program policies, Terms & Conditions and FAQ's.

1. Never click your own AdSense ads or get them clicked for whatever reason.
2. Never change the AdSense code.
3. Do not place more than 3 advertisement units or 2 AdSense search boxes on any web page.
4. Do not disclose confidential information about your AdSense account like the CTR, CPM and income derived via individual ad units.
5. You do not need to create 5 accounts for 5 different websites. One account will do.
6. Label headings should be "sponsored links" or "advertisements" only.
7. Do not add it on web pages with MP3, Video, News Groups, and Image Results. Also exclude any pornographic, hate-related, violent, or illegal content.
8. Avoid excessive advertising and keyword stuffing
9. Ensure the Language is Supported
10. Do not confuse with adjacent images

Prevention is better than cure, so whenever you are in doubt it is better to ask AdSense for help.

By Charles Jeyalins
via ezinearticles

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

5 handy free tools to speed up your website

Want to speed up your website? It's well worth the effort.

The faster your pages load, the happier your visitors will be, and the longer they'll stick around.

Removing unnecessary or oversized content can help reduce your bandwidth requirements and save you money, too.

Of course you'll need advice on which parts of the site need optimisation, but that's surprisingly easy - we've uncovered free tools from Google, Yahoo, MySpace, AOL and more that will analyse any web page and point out how it can be improved. So which one is best? Keep reading for everything you need to know.


1. YSlow


Yahoo!'s YSlow is an excellent Firefox add-on that will analyse a web page and deliver a list of helpful suggestions on how to improve its performance. It's integrated with the Firebug development tool, though, so you must install that first before adding YSlow itself.

Once set up clicking Tools > Firebug > Open Firebug will display load times for every part of the current page, so if one image or external link is particularly slow then it'll be immediately obvious.

A couple more clicks and YSlow will return plenty of recommendations on how your page can be optimised. Try it on the YSlow download page, say, and you'll see that it's using four external JavaScripts. These should be combined into one, YSlow says, if possible. And because browsers won't start other downloads while scripts are downloading, any that are deferrable should be moved to the bottom of the page.

There were 20 other recommendations in the list, all graded so you can see which should be applied first. An overall page performance score provides an objective measure of speed, letting you watch how each change improves the site. And linked tools compress JavaScript, reduce the size of images and otherwise help speed up your pages.

We did notice one problem with YSlow, and it's big one: the current version doesn't work with Firefox 3.5. But once an upgrade appears YSlow will once again take its place as one of the best free web page optimisation tools around.


YSlow

HELPFUL: YSlow clearly identifies the bottlenecks slowing down your PC



2. Web Page Analyzer


WebSiteOptimization's Page Analyzer is an online service that will check whatever URL you enter, then suggest ways to improve page performance.

This all starts with a simple list of page object types and the time they took to load (including estimates for several connection speeds), which immediately highlights any problem areas.

A further table highlights page objects that are using HTTP compression, and the rest of the report is taken up with "analysis and recommendations". These provided some useful comments on our test pages, successfully picking up oversized JavaScripts, the large number of page objects and so on, but lacked the depth we saw in the YSlow reports.

The Web Page Analyzer has some good advice to offer, then, and is a simple way to get started with web page optimisation. But if you're serious about revamping your web site then you'll want to quickly move on to a more professional tool.


Web page analyzer

SIMPLE: Web Page Analyzer is easy to use, but a little short on detailed speed-up advice



3. Google Page Speed


At first glance Google's new Page Speed looks like a YSlow clone: a a Firefox/Firebug add-on that benchmarks your web page and uses a set of best practice rules to let you know how you can speed things up. Play around with the tool for a while, though, and you soon begin to spot the differences.

Where YSlow simply tells you that trimming your JavaScripts or reducing cookie size is a good idea, say, Page Speed adds details, telling you exactly how many bytes you'll save.

And Page Speed also provides more substantial analysis of your page CSS code, for example pointing out on one test page that an estimated 57% of the current CSS was unused, and listing very inefficient CSS rules that needed fixing.

The Google utility is less impressive when it comes to benchmarking your site, with awkward and limited reports in comparison to YSlow. And overall it just feels more complex and fiddly to use. Page Speed is a relatively new program, though, and we're sure it'll improve over time. It's definitely worth installing alongside YSlow to ensure you'll get the best of both worlds.


PageSpeed

IN DEPTH: PageSpeed offers plenty of good advice, but the presentation lets it down a little



4. MySpace Performance Tracker


MySpace has entered the web optimisation race with its own Performance Tracker. It promises more benchmark information than most of the competition, for instance measuring the CPU hit and memory footprint of your pages as they're rendered, as well as reporting on download times and estimating how these might vary for different connection speeds.

Sounds good, but there are problems. This is barely an alpha version and we found it simply didn't work on many systems. When we did get it to run, though, Performance Tracker provided some detailed benchmarks for our pages, which might be useful if you're looking for a way to assess the effectiveness of your own speedup tweaks.

It's also good to see someone developing a page optimisation tool for IE: like it or not, Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser around, and you really need to know how your pages perform on it.

Okay, so Performance Tracker is lacking in terms of the advice you're given at the moment, and there are some frustrating bugs. But these are early days. Performance Tracker is an interesting tool and by its full 1.0 release could be a must-have for every web developer's toolkit.

LACKING: It may take some tweaking before the pre-beta Performance Tracker will work



5. Pagetest


Initially developed by AOL as a way to benchmark its own websites, Pagetest is now being developed as an open source tool, and there's also a very easy to use online version that we decided to try out.

One immediate Pagetest advantage is the ability to choose the configuration of the system that will carry out the test, from a speedy cable connection in New Zealand to a 56K modem in the US. You can have the system repeat the test up to 10 times for more reliable results, and include logon details if your page requires authentication.

A minute or two later you'll be browsing a benchmark report that's easily the most detailed and attractive of anything we've seen. Everything you could possibly need is here, from simple details on each page object, to a complete record of every HTTP request and response header.

The optimisation advice isn't quite as good, with YSlow reports notably easier to follow, and Google's Page Speed having more depth. Still, there are useful tips here, and it's easy to scroll down the performance review table and, say, pick out text that can be compressed.

It's not perfect, then, but Pagetest has a lot to offer more experienced web developers. Try the online version first to see if it might be for you.


PageTest

DETAILED: Red crosses in the performance table highlight areas where speed improvements can be made


Conclusion

MySpace Performance Tracker has made an interesting start, but is too buggy for serious use just yet.

And although the online Web Page Analyzer is quick and easy to use, it doesn't quite have the detailed advice that you need to properly speed up your web site.

Pagetest and Google Page Speed offer far more specific recommendations, and if you're an experienced developer then they're both worth trying.

But the best optimisation tool around, at least once it provides a version that works with Firefox 3.5, is still YSlow. It provides professional reports and high quality advice, yet in a straightforward way that's good for both experts and beginners.



[via techradar]

5 ways to save money, boost IT value with PC power management

U.S. organizations waste approximately $2.8 billion annually and emit 20 million tons of carbon dioxide by not powering down idle PCs, according to the PC Energy Report 2009, issued by the Alliance to Save Energy, together with 1E, an energy management software company. For a company with 1,000 PCs, it means wasting $26,000 yearly, whereas an enterprise with 10,000 PCs would waste $260,000 and emit 1,871 tons of CO2 annually.



PC power management software can reduce the energy consumption of PCs as well as attached monitors during periods of inactivity. Using this software, IT can manage PC power settings over a network to drastically reduce power consumption, energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions.

Consider the following five business and technology best practices to slash your desktop power bill for greater operational efficiency and environmental impact:



1. Understand the business case.

“The first step is to create a business case and understand how much money you are spending,” says Doug Washburn, an analyst with Forrester Research. He recommends running scenarios by using Microsoft® Excel and performing simple modeling to determine potential cost savings.



Available tools include Forrester’s Online Green IT Baseline Calculator

and EnergyStar’s online calculator.



2. Understand your users.

“Users won’t tolerate downtime,” says Washburn. “It’s important to be smart about when to enforce power management.”



A successful program incorporates people and processes as well as technology. Map power management savings to user business requirements and the amount of downtime the specific business function requires. For instance, during the workday, power management may not be suitable for front-line employees, whereas in back-office locations, turning off monitors or placing PCs in standby mode after 30 minutes of inactivity may not be a problem.

3. Implement EnergyStar-standard Windows and Macintosh OS power management features.


Today’s desktops and notebooks incorporate many built-in power-saving capabilities such as “sleep” and “hibernate” modes that can significantly reduce the amount of energy consumed during inactive states.



The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends placing monitors and computers into a low-power “sleep mode” after a period of inactivity. Simply touching the mouse or keyboard awakens the computer and monitor in seconds. Activating sleep features saves energy and money and helps protect the environment.



To maximize power savings, the EPA recommends setting computers to enter system standby or hibernate after 30 to 60 minutes of inactivity. The lower the setting, the more energy is saved: Set monitors to enter “sleep mode” after 5 to 20 minutes of inactivity; on laptops, activate these settings in the AC power profile, not just the DC (battery power) profile.



The average desktop PC wastes half of the energy it consumes,” says Pat Tiernan, executive director of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. “By turning on a single computer’s energy-saving features, you can save up to $75 per year in energy costs and reduce your CO2 emissions by nearly half a ton.”



4. Evaluate PC power management software.

Evaluate power management software from vendors such as 1E, Symantec’s Altiris, BigFix, Avocent’s LANDesk, ScriptLogic and Verdiem. Determine pricing structure, features and functionality, including administration, reporting functionality and support for advanced power management such as “scheduled” or “always on.”



5. Communicate to the business.
A well-designed PC power management program provides an opportunity for IT to showcase its value to the business. Because 55 percent of IT energy consumption comes from outside of the data center, enterprise IT organizations are expected to turn to PC power management software, according to Forrester Research findings. [Source: Doug Washburn, “TechRadar for I&O Professionals: Green IT 1.0 Technologies,” Q2 2009, Forrester Research, June 12, 2009]

By Paula Jacobs
[via accelerateresults]

How to Stop E-Mail From Ruining Your Summer Vacation



Does your summer vacation checklist include sifting through hundreds of e-mails the day before you return to the office? Will your BlackBerry be as essential as your swimsuit? Do you fear your "staycation" will turn into writing e-mails each day?

It's hard to cut the e-mail dependency when we take a vacation. Half of the workforce checks business e-mail on weekends and 34 percent while on vacation. Work overload-before, during and after vacation-can deter many from even taking their allotted days off. In fact, 56 percent of Americans fail to take all their vacation days.

While the prospect of going "e-mail cold-turkey" during vacation is daunting, what if you detached from e-mail while working?

More than a year ago, I did just that at my job as an IBM consultant. Receiving an average of 30 to 40 e-mails a day meant spending a couple hours reading and crafting responses. Instead of a means to accomplish my priorities, my inbox had become a "to-do" list for others.

So I made the leap to give up business e-mail, shifting the bulk of my communication to social media platforms like Twitter, blogs and wikis. Sound hard? Not really.

There were challenges. I report to a manager in the U.S. but live and work on the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Most people thought I'd give in after a couple of months or be fired. But quite the opposite has happened.

Social Software Tools = Better Collaboration

Now my daily e-mails are down to five or so a day-taking about 15 minutes. This has freed me to tap social software tools to create richer collaboration with colleagues.

I'm not alone in the move to embrace social networking in the workplace. Now more than ever, companies offer employees a range of social networking tools to work smarter and faster, and collaborate with colleagues who live a world apart.

Here are some lessons learned on how to take control of productivity outside of the inbox:

Begin by taking a step back and evaluating how you use e-mail. Group your inbox by activities and target more efficient ways to accomplish those tasks.For example: 1. Probably the biggest productivity gain you can make is to avoid e-mail for filesharing. Having multiple people comment on a draft creates version control. Instead, use fileshare software or a wiki so everyone can see the most current version and review the prior comments. 2. Put your project status reports in a wiki. That way everyone can have access, make comments, ask questions and feel involved. Collective intelligence and team action items are saved there. 3. Are people asking you the same question again and again? Create a blog about your area of expertise. Organize it on different topics and provide updates on the current projects there. This allows people to "self-serve" on areas of your expertise. 4. Do you e-mail a newsletter? Instead, make a blog or wiki. Just like a status report, you can get others to contribute to it directly. 5. This may sound tricky, but avoid e-mail for thank-you notes. Instead make your thank you's in a more public forum like LinkedIn, Twitter or your company's social software system. It's better for the employee's reputation management and can build loyalty from that individual. 6. Avoid "flame" e-mails altogether. In general, escalate issues using the phone, not e-mail. Have the courage to express more complex feelings or communications using a one-on-one discussion, which is typically less misunderstood and a better use of time. 7. Train people around you to follow these hints. That way you can help shape the team's responses and increase productivity for others.

The bottom-line is that transparency in your work builds trust with your colleagues and partners. We probably don't even have much of a choice either anymore. That's the kind of impact that social software is having within the corporate world. Social computing is empowering knowledge workers to be much more in control of with whom they connect, collaborate and share expertise.

Building your personal brand online is a journey and not without a learning curve. Follow your company's social media guidelines to start developing online expertise using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and others.

Allowing others to "self-serve" on your blog and wikis for their own projects means no one has to wait on you to send a file or give an update. With your expertise accurately captured, this can also give you some peace of mind when you unplug and relax on your vacation this summer.

Luis Suarez is a social software evangelist for IBM. IBM social software evangelist. Read more about his work here

Luis Suarez | pcworld

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

How to Know If a Car Dealer Is Cheating You



The infamous car dealers. Everyone has heard of the bad reputations of car dealers, so how can you not get cheated by the con. There are ways to find out for yourself how much you should be paying for a certain vehicle, and then you can tell if your dealer is just taking you for a ride.


Instructions

Step 1

Don't limit yourself. Go to a few different dealerships, this gives you more options and prices. Whatever you do, do not make a hasty decision, you will regret it.

Step 2

Write notes, if you like a car write it down. Be sure to include the make (chevy, ford, etc..), model (Toyota Camry, ford focus, etc..), year the vehicle was made, if it is a sedan (4 door), coupe (2 door), hatchback, etc.. and get a vin number. Also be sure to write down the place of the vehicle, and the price wanted.

Step 3

Get on the internet. Go to kelley blue book, http://www.kbb.com/ and enter in the vehicles that you are looking at. The purpose of kelley blue is to give you three prices, trade-in value (value of your car if you are trading it in), private party value (if you were buying a vehicle from a person rather than a car dealer), and suggested retail value (what the price should if you were to buy it from a car dealer). This website will give you a lot of your information.

Step 4

After you have narrowed your search for a vehicle down. You can go to www.carfax.com if you are planning on buying a used vehicle. Here you can use the vehicle's vin number and search the car's history. It gives you any title problems, ownership history, and more. However the car fax does cost money usually $30 to $40.

By vaptori | ehow

Top Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaigns

One of the best and effective modes of creating traffic towards you website is pay per click search engine. The best among top per-click are Yahoo search marketing and Google. The PPC campaigns or also known as PPC search engine internet marketing is the extremely efficient way by which your site can get more traffic and acquire awesome exposure to the world's top search engines like AOL, MSN, Yahoo, AltaVista, Google and many more. A huge series of services sell paid listing on PPC (pay per cost search engine) which is usually known as Cost per click search engine. The common rule for advertising is that advertisers have to pay for each and every click the search engine forwards them.


The use of technology to satisfy human's hunger is not a new story. With the advent of the internet and advancement in technology, business has been turned into new shape with some awful means of advertisement and marketing. The PPC (Pay Per Click) is said to be the strongest mode of advertisement. There are many pay per click search engines, among which top 5 rankers are discussed here. Google AdWords is another PPC search program that connects people, searching for services and products, with the new consumers within no time. The advertiser has to pay when someone visits their website. Sending as $1 per day, businessmen are satisfied with their sales. Currently more than 1, 50,000 advertisers use Google AdWords. Just select the required text and drive traffic towards their site.

Overture

This is said to be the major search program that distributes the listings to different search engines including yahoo which allows the overture. The page of search engine provides the basic training tips on getting started with paid listings at Overture. MSN is another Pay Per Click search program which has created partnership with overture providing some better opportunities to the people, driving in better traffic to their sites.

Yahoo! Search Marketing

Whenever there is a discussion about the top rankings search engines then Yahoo comes first. The secret of success of Yahoo search marketing is the fact that it contains highly organized phenomena that provides the customers with the targeted traffic to his website. The most appealing truth about this PPC search program is that a bidder can, at any point and from anywhere he wants, control his bid on the quality basis of the result of the bidder. The search area tool is so powerful that it can provide a statistics as how often people search a specific phrase. The advantage is that advertiser has to pay every time when a visitor enters his site. When more number of visitors enters his site, the advertiser has to pay more.

Junk PPC search engines

A junk PPC is a type of junk email. Their purpose is to spam sites with useless traffic instead handy ones. PPC (Pay per click) junk search engines create many websites with no content and just apply the top general words for specific groups, then drive traffic to your website.

By Faizan Rana | ezinearticles

10 Funding Solutions for Starting a Business

Why don't more people start their own business?

If you answered, "lack of funds" you're right on the money.

In various ways, money - getting enough to start the business and worry about not making enough money to replace the income and benefits from a full-time job - is one of the biggest deterrents to would-be business owners.

Nevertheless hundreds of thousands of individuals start businesses each year. How do they do it? Where do they get the money to get started? Here are ten solutions for startup funding for a micro-sized business. Some are nearly risk-free. Others involve significant financial risk and should be used with caution.


1 - Start part-time. If you need a steady source of income to meet your financial obligations (and keep your family covered by health insurance) start the business as a part-time venture. Don't quit the day job until the part-time business has a steady flow of customers and profits.

2 - Start the business from home. You can start your business for much less money if you don't have to foot the bill for office space and utilities for an out-of-the-home office. While you may not want to advertise the fact that you work from home, you will have plenty of company. According to the findings of a US Census Bureau study of small businesses, nearly half of all businesses in the US are homebased.

3 - Get advance commitments for work. Line up one or two sources of business before you take the plunge. Former employers, if you left on good terms, are often a source of start-up work, or sometimes funding. Big companies that can send you their overflow work or small jobs that they don't want to do can also provide the initial stream of work and income.

4 - Get a part-time job. Work part time and save up your earnings until you have enough money to start the business. Or, as an alternative, work part- or full-time in your own business and take a part-time job to supplement the income from your new business.

5 - Live frugally - and invest the savings in your business. You don't have to live like a pauper or waste hours searching for 50 cent-off coupons to live frugally. A few simple changes may save you $200 a month or more.

Depending how much coffee you drink, for instance, making it at home or in the office instead of buying it at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts could save you $10 or $15 a week. Bringing your lunch to work instead of ordering it out could save you another $15 or more a week. Eating a home-cooked meal instead of bringing home fast foods or eating out on week nights could possibly save you another $20 or $30 a week. Turning your thermostat down a degree or two during the heating season, and turning it up a degree or two when you have the air conditioning cranking away will save you significant amounts of money during the year. If you're determined to save money, you can probably find a lot of other ways to cut back on your spending.

6 - Use a credit card. Using a credit card - if you have good credit - is the easiest way to get money to start a business. Equipment, suppliers, advertising and postage (for mailings) can all be purchased with a credit card. And if your credit card gives you a line of credit, you can give yourself an instant loan (up to your credit limit). But using a credit card to start your business bears some significant risk, too. If you're not careful you can quickly run up a huge credit card bill - a bill you'll be responsible for paying whether your business is successful or not.

7 - Apply for a home equity line of credit. Some banks offer home equity lines of credit that let you borrow up to as much as 85% of the appraised value of your home. Depending on the value of your home and what you still owe in other mortgages, that can put a significant chunk of money at your disposal for starting your busness. The downside: you're putting your home at risk. If the business fails and you can't repay the loan, you could lose your home.

8 - Apply for business loan instead of a home equity loan. Information you'll need to give the bank includes the: purpose of the loan, projected opening-day balance sheet (new businesses), lease details, amount of investment in the business by the owner(s), projections of income, expenses and cash flow, signed personal financial statements and your resume. You may also need a formal business plan. (If you’re trying to get funding to grow a business you've already started, you'll also need business financial statements for the last three years, and information on receivables, payables, and outstanding debt.) Don't be surprised if the bank turns you down, though. Banks are often leery of lending money to startups.

9 - Ask Your Bank About an SBA-guaranteed loan If the bank turns you down for a business loan, ask them if they'll consider your loan through the SBA guaranteed loan program. If they agree to do so, they'll forward your loan application and credit information to the nearest SBA district office, for a decision.

10 - Borrow from family and friends. Family and friends are a frequent source of funding for small businesses. But remember, you have to live with your family for a long time - and you probably want to stay friends with your friends. So don't borrow from unless you have a business plan and have done enough research to know there is a market for what you want to sell. Be sure your plans provide a way to also pay interest on the money borrowed from family and friends.

by Janet Attard | businessknowhow

5 Reasons You Can't Lose Weight



Even if you skip breakfast, drink too many calories, or just don't have time to plan, you can still fix your weight-loss problems.

You haven't had a bite of pizza or a lick of ice cream in, like, forever, but you still can't lose a pound. What's up with that? Here's the real what, plus some expert fixes.



1. Consciously or not, you're clueless

"Very few Americans tell the truth about what they eat," says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. In one USDA study, more than 80 percent of women underestimated their daily food intake by a whopping 700 calories! Part of the problem is visual: Most people don't have a clue about what a true portion looks like, Somer says.

The fix

Find your measuring cups and spoons. And if you don't have one, buy an inexpensive kitchen scale.
Measure out the recommended portions of everything you eat for a week. You'll quickly learn to accurately identify a 1/2-cup serving of pasta, a 2-ounce muffin, a teaspoon of butter, a cup of cereal, or a 4-ounce portion of chicken.
2. You skip breakfast

Successful dieters share a common habit: They eat breakfast, say University of Colorado researchers who monitor people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a year or more. The benefits are big. As well as preventing 10 a.m. attacks on the vending machine, eating breakfast boosts your mood, memory, and work performance.

The fix

Adopt the gold standard: Top 1 cup of whole-grain cereal with berries and fat-free or low-fat milk. Add OJ and coffee and you'll be good to go for hours.
Try the make-ahead version: The night before, put these into a preheated wide-mouth thermos: 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal, a few chopped dried apricots, a pinch of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, a drop of almond extract, and 1 cup of hot fat-free or low-fat milk. Close tightly. In the morning, just open the thermos, sprinkle with slivered almonds, and spoon out a warm, delicious, ready-to-eat breakfast!
3. You eat without thinking

Do you nibble off the plates of others? Constantly taste while cooking? Feed small fry in "one for you, one for me" bites? Each mindless nibble averages 25 calories, and with only four mindless bites a day, you gain a pound a month!

The fix

Turn mindless eating into mindful eating, says Somer, by keeping a food journal and writing down every single thing you eat. You'll be amazed.
Eat food only when served on a plate to avoid overindulging.
Eat sitting at a table, not watching TV, driving, or flipping through magazines. And don't rush meals—enjoy each bite.
4. You drink more calories than you realize

Sugary sodas, teas, and juice drinks don't fill you up, yet they pack on pounds. So do happy hours. For example, a bottle of sweetened green tea has 140 calories, the equivalent of a chocolate chip cookie. And a large margarita can have up to 800 calories—more than four cake doughnuts!

The fix

Can't give up regular soda? Make it an occasional treat.
Nix supersized cocktails and drinks made with high-calorie mixes or cream.
At parties, alternate a glass of wine with a glass of sparkling water.
Make your own iced green tea, and sweeten lightly (1 teaspoon of sugar has only 16 calories). The plus: Home-brewed tea usually has more healthy antioxidants, which often get lost in commercial processing.
Cut juice calories by mixing 1/3 cup of OJ, apricot nectar, or your favorite juice with 2/3 cup sparkling water.
5. It's not you, it's your life

You swear you want to eat well, but in the next breath lament how hard it is to find the time, money, or mental energy to make it happen.

The fix

Try tough love: Stop blaming others, the weather, your job, your life, the dog, etc. Focus on reaching your goal. "People lose weight every day, often despite overwhelming odds," Somer says.
List your excuses, and then brainstorm solutions. Lack of time? Cook large quantities and divide into single portions to eat throughout the week. Keep meals simple, and buy prepared foods, including sliced veggies and fruit.
Finding ways to eat right makes you not only slimmer and healthier but also physically younger: Maintaining a desirable weight can take 6 years off your RealAge.

[via health.msn]

Office 2010 looks solid and smooth

Microsoft's technical preview packs a streamlined look and feel, co-authoring and collaboration hooks, and numerous refinements, with the promise of Office Web apps to come

Say what you will about the Windows monopoly, it was Office that made Microsoft's fortune. After all, what's an OS without applications? Over the years, Microsoft evolved a humble word processor and spreadsheet into a tightly integrated suite of groupware and productivity applications. Today you'll scarcely find a business desktop without Microsoft Office installed.

At the same time, competition has never been tougher. Open source alternatives, such as OpenOffice.org, now offer the basic functionality of business productivity software for free. And Web-based productivity software, including Google Apps and Zoho Office, threatens to subvert the traditional desktop software model altogether.


[ A public beta of Office 2010 could begin later this year. In the meantime, brush up on the latest features in InfoWorld's Office 2010 screenshot slideshow. ]

But Microsoft is no slouch. Office 2010, the next version of the software suite, is not expected to arrive until next year, but a technology preview shows it to be another solid effort from the Redmond-based giant. With this release, Microsoft has polished and expanded upon the groundwork it laid with Office 2007, while continuing to add new capabilities, particularly in the area of networked collaboration.

Love it or hate it, the Ribbon is here to stay
When Microsoft first unveiled its revamped UI concept for Office 2007, some hailed it as revolutionary. Others complained that the Ribbon was too big and too awkward, and created an unnecessary learning curve by messing around with menus that worked perfectly fine where they were.

I happen to belong to the first camp, but if you count yourself among the Ribbon haters, you'll definitely be disappointed with Office 2010. This time, the Ribbon is pervasive across all components of the Office suite, including those that lacked it in Office 2007 (such as OneNote, Outlook, and Visio). For those of us who feel more productive with the Ribbon, this consistency is a welcome improvement. Sorry, haters.

The Ribbon has undergone a slight revamp in Office 2010, however, which could help win it some new converts. Gone is the big, orb-shaped button in the upper-left corner of the screen that held (or hid) the File menu options. In its place is a more subdued, rectangular button bearing the Office logo, and this time it's aligned with the rest of the tabs on the Ribbon. There's also a button to minimize the Ribbon, which is sure to please everyone who never figured out that double-clicking would do the job in Office 2007.

Clicking the Office button brings up something that Microsoft is calling the "Backstage view," where you'll find file, print, and collaboration options. This is similar to how it worked in Office 2007, but Backstage view is even less like the traditional File menu than the older version. Instead, you can think of it as a new, explicit context for document operations. Printing, in particular, is much improved, offering a wider range of settings alongside a live preview of your document.

By Neil McAllister | InfoWorld

Monday, July 13, 2009

Asus Launches Xtreme Design Series Motherboards



ASUS today announced the Xtreme Design series motherboards featuring ground-breaking design innovations and offering the best in performance and reliability. The Xtreme Design series motherboards delivers exceptional overall system compatibility and enhanced reliability by proficiently managing and reliably controlling core processes operating in the PC. Drawing on two decades of engineering excellence, ASUS believes a genetically superior motherboard DNA will provide the winning formula to surpass current user expectations and industry benchmarks. ASUS leads the industry with designs that optimize overall performance and reliability of PC hardware. In the new Xtreme Design series motherboards, ASUS further raises the bar in motherboard designs for the ultimate in performance, reliability, and safe operations.





Xtreme Reliability for Extended Component Lifespan
Xtreme Design features innovative Stack Cool3+ to enhance motherboard component longevity. It is a feature that was re-engineered from the original copper cooling innovation of the ASUS P5E64 WS motherboard. With the perfect cooperation with Xtreme Design, Stack Cool3+ effectively cools motherboards with an enhanced PCB layer to provide a stable and low operating temperature for optimized data transmissions. By substantially improving heat dissipation, the new series offers users exceptional reliability. This innovation builds on ASUS' pioneering achievement as the first adopter of innovative cooling technology—which transformed the way motherboards were designed.

Xtreme Performance for Enhanced Power and Throughput
For the ultimate experience in performance, Xtreme Design features Xtreme phase to ensure the most stable and optimized power delivery; and Turbo V for a real-time, dynamic processing boost. Both features allow motherboard enthusiasts to experience optimal power performance under various loading conditions as well as an overwhelming boost of up to 51% in processing throughput.

P6TD Deluxe Specification:
Model P6TD Deluxe
CPU Intel® Socket 1366 Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition/Core™ i7 Processor Supports Intel® Dynamic Speed Technology
Chipset Intel® X58 / ICH10R
System Bus Up to 6400 MT/s
Memory 6 x DIMM, Max. 24 GB,
DDR3 2000(O.C.)*/1866(O.C.)*/1800(O.C.)*/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Expansion slot 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (at x16/x16/x1 or x16/x8/x8 mode)
1 x PCIe x4
2 x PCI
Multi-GPU Supports NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
Supports ATI® CrossFireX™ Technology
Storage 6 xSATA 3 Gb/s ports
1 xExternal SATA (SATA On-the-Go)
1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
LAN Dual Gigabit LAN controllers 2*Marvell88E8056® PCIe Gigabit LAN controller featuring AI NET2
Audio ADI® AD2000B 8 -Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
Other I/O ports 1*PS/2, 1*eSATA, 1*IEEE1394a, 2*LAN, 8*USB, 1*Optical S/PDIF out, 1*Coaxial S/PDIF out
USB / IEEE1394a 14 USB 2.0 ports /VIA® VT6308 controller supports 1 x 1394a ports (one at mid-board; one at back panel)
Features StackCool3+, Turbo V, Xtreme Phase, 16+3 Phase Power design, Express Gate SSD, EPU, AI Nap, Wind-Flow Heat-pipe solution, Fan Xpert, Optional Fan for Water-cooling or Passive-Cooling only, Noise Filter, Q-Shield, Q-Connector, O.C. Profile, CrashFree BIOS 3, EZ Flash 2
Form Factor ATX Form Factor, 12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )

[via asus]

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Small Business Management Principles

For any business to flourish the management needs to be innovative and creative. As a manager find an excellent role model, either an individual or a company. Establish what makes them successful and then emulate their mode of operation to your small business depending on your needs.

As you emulate avoid pursuing courses of action that are of no value to you or your business. Absorb only that which is essential to running of your business operations. Seek to improve excellence in financial management by budgeting before spending. Avoid lip service and approach your business with policies that suit you and your small business. Adopt and adapt to methods that have been tried and have proved to produce excellent results.


Problems should be confronted and resolutions found as they occur. Solutions are good for as long as they work. Being knowledgeable and well informed in your line of business will greatly improve your business performance.Significantly, consult widely on models of managing a small business. Observe your competitors closely and always stay ahead of them. Come up with innovative ideas that counter whatever your competitors are offering. It's also recommended you get a mentor whom you respect and has succeeded in his area of operation preferably in business.

Take control of your finances by coming up with a budget before purchasing or investing. This will help avoid overspending and hence invest effectively. Balance is everything, so every aspect of management has to be excellent and produce results on all key aspects of a small business. The product of excellence is excellent results, financial or non-financial.

By Stephen Kavita
[via ezinearticles.com]

Firefox 3.5 Review

The just-released version 3.5 of Firefox is a winner, offering significantly faster Web browsing, better tab handling, a host of interface tweaks and, like just about every other browser on the planet, a "porn mode." If you already use Firefox you'll want to upgrade right away. If you're not a Firefox user, this version represents a very good opportunity to give the browser a test run.


Need for speed

For many people, the browser wars are all about one thing: speed. There's no doubt that version 3.5 of Firefox is significantly faster than version 3. Pages load noticeably more quickly for a number of reasons, not least because Mozilla built a new JavaScript engine called TraceMonkey for this version of Firefox.

How much faster is open to debate. Mozilla says it ran the industry-standard SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark, which measures how quickly browsers render JavaScript, on versions 2, 3 and 3.5 of Firefox, and asserts that the newest version is more than twice as fast as Firefox 3 and more than ten times as fast as Firefox 2 on the test. Other testers have reported similar results.

Of course, rendering JavaScript quickly doesn't necessarily mean that all Web pages load faster. Microsoft, for example, argues that for most Web pages, other kinds of speed-ups are more important than rendering JavaScript quickly. I'll leave that debate to Microsoft, Mozilla and other browser makers. But putting aside any speeds-and-feeds specs, I can tell you that from the user experience, Firefox 3.5 is lightning fast -- it seems to me about comparable to the recently-released Safari 4.0 for the Mac.

Private Browsing

Any browser worth its salt these days has a porn mode, and with version 3.5, Firefox now has one as well. It's called Private Browsing (Internet Explorer's is called InPrivate Browsing), and it works as advertised. When you browse the Web using it, nothing about the session is stored -- no history, no cookies, no temp files, no forms information, no search information, nothing that can show where you've browsed or what you've done. To turn the Las Vegas tag line on its ear: What happens in Firefox doesn't stay in Firefox.

To use Private Browsing, Select Tools --> Start Private Browsing, or else press Ctrl-Shift-P. Unlike with Internet Explorer, a new instance of the browser doesn't launch. Instead, a warning appears, asking you if you want to start a Private Browsing session and telling you that Firefox will save your tabs if you want to start one.

Firefox 3.5: Starting a Private Browsing session
Starting a Private Browsing session

Firefox then closes your existing tabs, and immediately launches a private browsing window. From here, browse the Web as you normally would, and nothing of the session will remain. To end the Private Browsing session, close Firefox as you would normally, or else select Tools --> Stop Private Browsing, or else press Ctrl-Shift-P. The current session ends, and Firefox launches with all of your previous tabs intact.

There are other nice touches for those who don't want other people to know what sites they've been visiting. You can remove all the traces of a site you've visited while you were in a normal browsing session.

This eliminates it not just from the History list, but also kills all traces of the browser on your computer, including cookies and temp files, search history, forms you've filled out, and more.

To use this feature, first open your History list by choosing History --> Show All History or by pressing Ctrl-Shift-H. Then right-click the site you want to remove, and from the menu that appears, select Forget about This Site.

You can also remove all of your history and other data related to your browsing session from the last few hours or last day. Select Tools --> Clear Recent History, or press Ctrl-Shift-Del. From the drop-down list on the page that appears, choose either the last hour, the last two hours, the last four hours, today, or everything.

Firefox 3.5: Telling Firefox to remove all traces of a site from your browser
Select Forget About This Site to remove all traces of a site from your browser

You can also fine-tune what to clear by clicking the Details button; it lets you determine what data to remove -- browsing and download history, forms and search history, cookies, cache, logins, etc.

Interface tweaks

The new version of Firefox has some nice interface tweaks as well. Primary among them is the ability to re-open windows that you've previously closed -- functionality that was previously available only through add-ons.

Select History and look for two items at the bottom of the menu -- Recent Closed Tabs and Recently Closed Windows. From those menu items, select the tab or window you want to re-open. Note that this works only for tabs and windows you've closed in your current browsing session. After you end a session, you won't be able to restore them.

Firefox 3.5: New to Firefox: the ability to re-open windows that you've closed in your session
New: the ability to re-open windows that you've closed in your session

Firefox 3.5 also supports watching video and listening to music directly in a Web page, without having to launch any plug-ins, by supporting the HTML 5 audio and video elements. The Web page itself plays the video, and includes audio and video controls. You can even download the video or audio by right-clicking and saving it.

Firefox 3.5: Playing a video directly on a Web page
Playing a video directly on a Web page

For all of this to work, though, the elements have to be in the page itself, which means the developer has to code it that way. At the moment, there are very few pages that contain these kinds of video and audio elements; only time will tell whether they become popular.

Firefox 3.5 has taken a page from Chrome, letting you drag a window out of a browsing session and launch it as its own browsing session, or else drag a tab from one browser session into another to combine them. In addition, when you drag a tab to reposition it among other tabs, you see a thumbnail of the tab as you move it.

Firefox now also supports what is called Location Aware Browsing, which tells Web sites your location so that they can deliver geographic-relevant information for online maps or to help when you're searching for local information and businesses.

It works like this: Firefox finds your IP address, gathers information from any nearby Wi-Fi hot spots, and sends that to Google Location Services (its geolocation service provider), which then tries to determine your location and shares that information with the Web site you're visiting. All this happens only if you give Firefox permission; Mozilla claims that it's done in a way that protects your privacy.

Firefox 3.5: When you reposition a tab, you see its thumbnail as you move it
When you reposition a tab, you see its thumbnail as you move it.

Version 3.5 also supports downloadable fonts, and CSS support has been improved. And the "Awesome Bar," which is Firefox's name for the Address Bar, has gotten a slight change that power tweakers will appreciate: You can now more easily filter results as you type text into the bar. So, for example, if you want to see results only from your bookmarks, use the * character (as in Gralla*); if you want results only from tags, use the # character (e.g., Gralla#).

The bottom line

If you're a Firefox user, this upgrade is a no-brainer. Browsing the Web is significantly faster, the ability to re-open previously closed tabs and windows is a major improvement, and as for PrivateBrowsing ... I won't delve into your personal life, but if you've got a need to keep some of your browsing a secret, you'll want this feature.

The video is a nice-to-have, but won't be particularly useful until sites start using it. The same holds true for Location Based Browsing and some of the other improvements.

Note to current Firefox users: As with previous Firefox updates, some of your add-ons, such as Google Gears, might not work until they are updated to work with version 3.5.

Still, all in all, this is a major improvement over Firefox 3. Even if you're not currently a Firefox user, you'll want to give it a try.



By Preston Gralla
[via computerworld.com]