Love story: video games

How To Choose A Reputable Online Casino

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjVbmAoMjTVF0-FoeuICCFxVewSS3k_-_XnHtYml-UoM6_VtgsDJHjhDUy0szfdJNhaZxh_ZwYjcbMSJlu5gZRXs3MQ0oXfsz-cFKriS6OFmj-0gN1ZMTzaIL-d3e4oqDRO6qjYPOOA8/s1600/online-casinon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjVbmAoMjTVF0-FoeuICCFxVewSS3k_-_XnHtYml-UoM6_VtgsDJHjhDUy0szfdJNhaZxh_ZwYjcbMSJlu5gZRXs3MQ0oXfsz-cFKriS6OFmj-0gN1ZMTzaIL-d3e4oqDRO6qjYPOOA8/s1600/online-casinon.jpg" width="400" /></a>With literally thousands of online casinos on the internet, it can sometimes become very confusing as to which ones are safe and reputable, and which casinos are not. So many of them are beautifully designed, look very professional and offer great signup bonuses, so how does one go about choosing the "reputable" online casinos while avoiding the "dodgy" ones? When choosing an online casino to play at, one should always take into consideration the following points: Licensed casino Is the casino licensed? While many online casinos are licensed, a significant number of casinos are not. There are plenty of unlicensed, illegal gambling casinos which are nothing more than money scam operations. One should always avoid these casinos at all costs. Where is the casino licensed? While online casinos licensed in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Kahnawake, Netherlands Antilles, United Kingdom and the West Indies are recommended, online casinos licensed in Eastern Europe should be approached with extreme caution. 24/7 Support Does the casino offer 24/7 phone, fax, live chat and email support? Test the casino's customer service department by asking them a few questions about their games, bonuses, etc and measure how long it takes to receive a decent response. Professional Recogition Is the online casino officially recognised by various gaming bodies and authorities? For instance, are the payout percentages of the online casino independently reviewed by auditors such as PricewaterhouseCoopers? Is this information made publicly available? Blacklisted Is the online casino blacklisted for any reason? There are many casinos which have been blacklisted by several gambling portals for one reason or another. Although not all blacklists are credible sources of information, one should avoid online casinos which appear in several blacklists. Software Casino software providers such as iGlobalMedia, Microgaming, Playtech, Random Logic, Real Time Gaming and WaterLogic are very popular and have excellent reputations in the online gambling industry. With so many online casinos coming and going, and with so many cons and scams surfacing on the internet everyday, one needs to be especially careful when registering one's credit card with or transferring money to an online casino. The above set of guidelines may not completely safeguard the player, but they are nevertheless a good set of common sense points to go by when choosing an online casino to play at. </div>

How To Choose A Reputable Online Casino

With literally thousands of online casinos on the internet, it can sometimes become very confusing as to which ones are safe and reputable, ...

How to get repeat visitors to your site

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">When you have a website online it is important for you to try and get new visitors to your site, but it’s also important to take care of the visitors that you actually already have. This is because you will want your existing visitors to keep returning to your site again and again. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dZkhw3m0MdNkp3aKEdN_IHhio004xHaptY_g3vxh7Ww-WRvur8CsgQja124mwVA57GPH09PEfStY58AV87r04-nf3U3F2GYcNIOhWHJIc4WwcVW30Ep2Ls5TFaa6bd9G2wFA4N7oQxk/s1600/visitors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dZkhw3m0MdNkp3aKEdN_IHhio004xHaptY_g3vxh7Ww-WRvur8CsgQja124mwVA57GPH09PEfStY58AV87r04-nf3U3F2GYcNIOhWHJIc4WwcVW30Ep2Ls5TFaa6bd9G2wFA4N7oQxk/s1600/visitors.jpg" width="320" /></a> There are many ways that you can do this. Some of these include the following: 1. Updating your Website content continuously This is an important factor to consider if you want your visitors to keep returning to your site. This is because if you keep on updating your sites content, then every time your visitors come back to your site they will see something new every time, which should then interest them even further. If you don’t update your content on a regular basis, then your visitors will end up getting bored of your site and will then go elsewhere. 2. Making your site more sticky Giving your site more stickiness will make it more addictive to your sites visitors, which will in return make them want to come back to your site. This can be done by many different approaches. For example, you can add games to your site like http://www.simplysearch4it.com/games/gamdir.html You can even give free things away on your site. For example, you can give away free coupons, free scripts, free web hosting, etc. You can even offer your visitors free re-printable articles so that they can add them to their own site like http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/articledir.php 3. Checking your site for broken links This is very important when having a site. If your site does not function properly, then your visitors will not even bother with it. One of the most annoying things when visiting a site is when it has continuous broken links. If you find it hard to manually check your site for broken links, then a good piece of free software to use would be the REL Link Checker Lite, which can be downloaded from http://www.relsoftware.com/ 4. Getting other people’s opinions When having a site, other than your own thoughts, it is also a good idea to get other people’s opinions. For example, the colours of your site, what parts people like on your site the most, what parts people dislike the most, etc. Getting opinions from your visitors like this will help you to find out what most people dislikes about your site, which means you can then improve these parts, making it better for your visitors in return. <div> </div></div>

How to get repeat visitors to your site

When you have a website online it is important for you to try and get new visitors to your site, but it’s also important to take care of the...

How To Upgrade Your PC

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Before you upgrade your PC hardware it’s best to search all options and ask for advice. Only after this you can go and buy a new component. It’s also useful to check if you really need an upgrade. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgBUhJxS11X4RrBTRiLUvimt_q7nOMYCBQHAZh6Y4zDATzm_Pk3b536_ri-lyqKntd-1i7z_PgfDXOmnIkaStJhCWGC8eRHQ12cENIJ8iPqkxuJvcLyHPqsQndV1tyKawK3zMo_qotHo/s1600/upgrade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgBUhJxS11X4RrBTRiLUvimt_q7nOMYCBQHAZh6Y4zDATzm_Pk3b536_ri-lyqKntd-1i7z_PgfDXOmnIkaStJhCWGC8eRHQ12cENIJ8iPqkxuJvcLyHPqsQndV1tyKawK3zMo_qotHo/s1600/upgrade.jpg" width="391" /></a>Do not upgrade your very old PC because it would cost a lot of money. It’s cheaper to buy a new computer in such cases because they are easier to upgrade later. Upgrading the hard drive: The majority of people do not really need to upgrade their hard disk, unless they use it for playing a lot of music, movies, and games. A 20 GB hard drive is sufficient to keep new office and internet applications, and all your files and data. A medium sized hard drive would be around 40 GB and the maximum would be around 60 – 80 GB. Before upgrading your hard disk it’s best to do a complete disk checkup including disk scan, defragmentation, etc. If you happen to be an average user and need more storage you can add an additional drive to the existing one. Before an upgrade, be sure to back up your files. Upgrading the RAM: RAM or Random Access Memory is the short-term memory of the PC. It keeps data that is being worked on now and may or may not be transferred to the hard drive that represents the long-term memory of the computer. Current processors can perform an enormous number of operations per second. The hard drive, on the other hand, is significantly slower to handle so much information. This is where a high-speed RAM memory comes in. RAM needs a power supply to keep data. Once the power is turned off the data is lost. Almost all PCs have 64 MB RAM and often 128 MB. If you want to run newer applications on your PC then you must upgrade to 128/256 MB RAM. A lot of people who upgrade from 98 to Win 2000 discover that their computers lock up very often. This is because they don't have enough RAM. CPU upgrade: If you choose this upgrade, you will have faster execution of instructions but it leaves the RAM and hard drive capacity unchanged. This sis the most cost effective upgrade and can increase the efficiency of your computer considerably. Seek a professional help before you take a decision. Motherboard: Upgrading motherboard is not such a good proposition unless you replace the CPU and the RAM as well to achieve greater performance levels. You upgrade the motherboard either because the current one doesn’t support a faster CPU or the CPU requires a different socket. It could be very expensive. Think about buying a new PC. Ports: Ports are sockets at the back of your computer where you plug in external devices. Older PCs work on “parallel” ports. If you need to work a lot on peripherals such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, CD burners, and scanners then you need to upgrade to USB and Firewire ports if you are not using them already. Both tend to be cheaper than the “parallel” and SCSI devices they replace. Always make sure that there are no compatibility problems with other devices in your PC when you plan to upgrade any hardware on your machine. </div>

How To Upgrade Your PC

Before you upgrade your PC hardware it’s best to search all options and ask for advice. Only after this you can go and buy a new component. ...

How To Stop Spyware From Robbing You

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Booting up the computer in the morning seems to be taking longer and longer. The pauses between asking for a web page and it loading increase. Suddenly, even keystrokes aren't registering on the screen as quickly as normal. Is your PC on the verge of a breakdown or has some version of spyware made a nest for itself on your machine? The average user doesn't contemplate that the numerous websites, free offers, giveaways or games they surf in a day will damage their computer. And, nor does this average surfer believe they could be downloading potentially hazardous software that is going to cause their computer to go on the blink, eternally. The Internet is teeming with fantastic websites, information, tools and interactive activities. Some of these cost real money and some don't. It's easy to take a freebie and feel like you got the better deal, but when a lot of freebies come packaged with spyware to infect your machine, the free price tag isn't really worth it in the long run. Spyware is an umbrella term covering malware, adware, viruses and worms. Virtually any type of software (benign or malicious) will track, record and send your activities (online and off) back to its source. Similarly, in the beginning, adware was designed with the idea of preventing end users from being besieged by unwanted advertisements. However, those more interested in harvesting your personal data, whether it is credit card numbers or other personal information, have unfortunately warped the idea. Prevention is the best remedy for all of these ills. Good anti-virus software, effective firewalls and reputable anti-spyware tools can save you time, money and a lot of headaches later. Most users don't think it can happen to them, yet the best viruses and worms are so insidious, you don't even realize it is happening at first. Benign programs that just want to know the type of items for which you like to shop, can interfere with your Internet connection, overwork your CPU and even tie up valuable RAM. While it may not 'mean' harm, it will become a nuisance when left unchecked. With the numerous anti-spyware tools available on the Internet and in your software stores, it doesn't make sense to stick your head in the sand. Ignoring problems on your computer doesn't make them go away. Because spyware can come in so many forms and be potentially fatal, it doesn't make good sense to allow it the opportunity to inflict damage before doing something about it. Comparison-shop the various available anti-spyware tools. There are many sites that cover current information on the anti-spyware upgrades and latest problems. Educate yourself to your options so that you can invest in the type of software that will work for you. =========================================================== Discover all you ever wanted to know about spyware. Latest discovery methods, latest incoculation treatments, latest removal techniques. Click for useful info and daily updated blog of spyware news and articles. Click http://www.spyware-revealed.com/ <div> </div></div>

How To Stop Spyware From Robbing You

Booting up the computer in the morning seems to be taking longer and longer. The pauses between asking for a web page and it loading increas...

Internet 'Grey Areas'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Internet has opened up whole new avenues of freedom for people: freedom of information, thoughts and the ability to achieve anonymity while still being active in a community. This freedom has been latched onto by a large proportion of the Internet user base and has fuelled a desire for even more liberties. This in turn has given rise to the 'Internet Grey Areas', those little things that 'everyone' does but which aren't quite legally correct. A few examples are Abandonware, MP3 downloads, warez and their kind. Abandonware is the label applied to games that have been 'abandoned' by their original developers. The standard rule has become that if the games are more than four years old and no longer freely available for purchase, or if the developer has closed and hence the game is no longer supported, then it can be called Abandonware and distributed freely. Some developers willingly release their older software titles into the public domain making them legally Abandonware but a large number of titles labelled as such are not technically free for public access. The licences are still owned by someone and the distribution of their software titles could be harming their licence validity. Abandonware justifies itself by preserving gaming history in a 'living' way. It allows people to play the games they used to love long after they're available to purchase. In many cases the only hope for finding older games is to trawl second hand shops and online stores such as Ebay in the slim hopes of coming across a particular title. Sometimes when you finally get hold of the old software it simply won't run on your PC leaving you with a pretty box but no closer to actually playing the game. Several times I've purchased an old game and then downloaded a copy off the Internet so that I can actually play it due to the fact that old disks are either damaged or the wrong type (I don't have a 5 1/4" floppy drive on my PC any more...). MP3 downloads have a less honourable ideology. Simply put, people want free music so they download it. It is said that the activities harm no one and that the downloading process doesn't adversely affect artists' profits. Who can say for sure? At the time of writing this article the RIAA's site is down and I'm not able to find any accurate figures that estimate the amount of revenue lost due to music piracy. I believe that it was estimated at around $5 billion in 1997 and that's sure to have increased with the advent of broadband. However, these figures are said to be highly inaccurate. A standard argument against them is "I wasn't planning on buying the CD anyway so they haven't lost any money out of me downloading it", an argument that is ridiculous at best. The Movie downloading scene is almost identical. I'm not going to swing one way or another here, but I will say that I can think of several films that didn't receive the box office takings from a number of associates of mine after they had gotten to experience the film before its release date. The quality of the films almost justifies the stealing, but that's a whole different issue! The Internet community gets riled up over companies asserting their rights on the Internet (which is odd... companies asserting their legal rights being seen as evil while individuals illegally attempting to assert what they believe should be their rights are forces for good...) but the simple fact is that it is damaging for a company to allow the theft of their licences to go unnoticed. In the case of Abandonware, if it can be proven that a company knew their products were being illegally distributed but did nothing about it then the copyright over that particular licence can be lost. The revenues lost due to piracy in its many forms are surprisingly enough, damaging to companies. I think that it's unfortunate that the freedom provided by the Internet has lead to such abuse but I can see the validity of both sides of the arguments. Companies want and deserve their revenue for the services they provide. Abandonware infringes on a company's copyright and can lead to them losing their licences if they don't hunt down offenders. The consumers on the other hand have to pay increasingly steeper and steeper prices for the products, something that is often blamed on the increasing rate of piracy, which is blamed on the continuous increase in prices and the whole thing becomes a vicious cycle. CDs are very expensive if you only want one or two songs off the CD, which is where online music stores can come into play. There you can purchase the licence to a song relatively cheaply without having to pay a lot for an entire CD you that don't particularly want (and they have the added upside of having more of the money make it back to the artists who created the music as opposed to the corporations that distribute it). I guess in the end everyone has to make their own decision about where they stand between the concepts of 'Morally Correct' and 'Legally Correct'. Me personally, I like to stand a little closer to 'Legally Correct' than most. It's been my experience that 'morals' tend to change and warp a lot sooner than the law does, and not always for the better. If we restrain ourselves on the Internet then maybe authorities won't see the need to attempt to restrain us. The freedom that is relished so much on the Internet may in fact be increased with just a little self-control. </div>

Internet 'Grey Areas'

The Internet has opened up whole new avenues of freedom for people: freedom of information, thoughts and the ability to achieve anonymity wh...

Online Games' - Most Relaxing Experience Want to Unwind - Play Online Games Increasing Audience for Online Gaming

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Recently, many new online gaming services have been introduced. The world is having a visible affect on the online gaming industry, as more and more people turned towards playing and enjoying online games. Games on net were once an imaginary phrase, but since the introduction of thousands of user friendly and easy operating games on the Internet, people are finding that fiction has become reality. But, now you can read about what you want to learn and play free online games at paying no money. This is the ultimate playing way for anyone frightened by the complex layout of games. To play online games, read introduction to the games and play along. Another main reason people want to play free online games is to get refreshed from the monotonous and hectic routine. With games on net, all of that excitement can be put into action. The people may choose to play free online games for recreation. Many people just want to chill out at the end of a day, and playing with a pool or slot machine etc. doesn't provide sufficient amusement. According to a leading company's survey on online gamers, women around or above age 40 are the informal gaming hardcore, playing games at an average of nearly nine hours a week. As far as men of all age group are concerned, they spend nearly six hours gaming while women of all ages average to around seven hours per week. This show increasing urges to play online games in all age groups and both genders. The report also unveils an interesting point, 54 percent of adults said that they play games to wipe-off stress and the 20 percent of teens who play for just relaxation. With free online games one can experience the excitement of playing, without the fear of losing any single cent. Many sites on the Internet also let you to post messages in forum and even facilitate to chat with friends while you play. This is excellent news for gaming authors and websites, as the more-n-more people are moving towards playing online games on net, the more excitement around the globe will be. All in all, it can be pretty relaxing experience and certainly it is becoming very popular time-pass. </div>

Online Games' - Most Relaxing Experience Want to Unwind - Play Online Games Increasing Audience for Online Gaming

Recently, many new online gaming services have been introduced. The world is having a visible affect on the online gaming industry, as more ...

Internet Marketing Technique for Links

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The world of search engine optimization for persons new to the game can be confusing and mysterious. Building a marketing campaign through the use of an Internet marketing technique such as linking can sometimes cause more harm than good if you’re not careful. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrvm8ZVY0LMUAvX9hg44KSdnY7qqZ00nOKDmCgFum9oeCHOK4Sl3S1U6g6Csfj2M-rn05QMZdbuk3h0m7EPODeIaTSGuUcNy33Tv7veDc0rFnv_lZsedXoPNjL-rEqVwxKHak7x3YwbFC/s1600/fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrvm8ZVY0LMUAvX9hg44KSdnY7qqZ00nOKDmCgFum9oeCHOK4Sl3S1U6g6Csfj2M-rn05QMZdbuk3h0m7EPODeIaTSGuUcNy33Tv7veDc0rFnv_lZsedXoPNjL-rEqVwxKHak7x3YwbFC/s1600/fb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> In order for linking to be effective you must fully understand how this internet marketing technique works. First, be aware that building up a series of links all over the internet is not effective. It is far better to create a few quality links than an abundance of links that do nothing for you. Never, ever place links on your web site that connect to a competitor’s web site. While this may seem patently obvious, it is a mistake that is made far too often. There are much better ways to drive your target audience to your site. Think about who you want to visit your site. What is their lifestyle like, what are they interested in, what kinds of websites are they likely to visit? Think in terms of complementing similarity not competition. For example, if you sell children’s educational toys and games, you wouldn’t want to link to another site that sells the same type of product. However, your demographic audience is likely going to be interested in visiting parenting sites and other sites that provide information that is valuable to parents or those interested in the educational development of children. Another concept to keep in mind regarding the internet marketing technique of linking is that it is always better to link up rather than down. What this means is that you want to check out the hits of any website you are considering linking to and only allow a link to your site to be placed on a website that has at least as many hits as your own site. More is always better. It simply doesn’t make any sense to link to a site that has significantly less hits than your own site. Finally, consider reciprocal linking. This internet marketing technique is simply a matter of exchanging links with another website. In fact, many sites make reciprocal linking a requirement before they will accept a link from your own site. Placing links to other websites on your site can actually be advantageous, if done in the correct way. You don’t want to have links all over your pages in an unattractive jumble. Consider dedicating one page, or a section of a page to links. You might even have a pointer that will direct readers to those links. If you are linking to other websites that will provide beneficial information to your readers, they are more likely to consider this a benefit than an intrusion. </div>

Internet Marketing Technique for Links

The world of search engine optimization for persons new to the game can be confusing and mysterious. Building a marketing campaign through t...

J2ME developers and programmers: The mobile game industry winners

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Who could have predicted that the 80’s game of Pong would spawn a multi-billion dollar gaming industry complete with PCs, PDAs, and wireless phones that are specifically designed to handle the speed and graphics that today’s games demand? If you think that current gaming technology is hot then, as they say, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.” Wireless or mobile gaming is the future and the future is now. 2004 saw an explosion in mobile gaming technology which redefined the mobile phone as a gaming device. Handsets capable of displaying graphics equal in quality to the GameStations and GameCubes of the 1990’s were available everywhere, and game developers like Synergetix and It's Alive! were on everyone’s radar screen. Now, just a year later, Real-time multiplayer games, some offering high-quality, 3D graphics, can be played over most telecom networks at prices that won’t put you in the poorhouse. Never one to be too far behind the bleeding edge, even the Adult Entertainment industry is turning out PDA and cell phone-based games including gambling programs and a variety of role-based and action games where lots of sexy women end up losing their clothes. The graphics are, shall we say, stunning. A peek under the technology hood While the average gamer may be ignorant of the technology that is driving the wireless gaming industry, the geeks among us are very familiar with terms like J2ME, Symbian, and Brew; the development and distribution platforms upon which the wireless gaming industry has built its success. J2ME (Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition) is a derivative of Sun Microcomputer’s JAVA development platform. J2ME is specifically designed to build applications that run on portable and wireless devices including cell phones and PDAs. It’s also finding wide acceptance among companies that develop applications for TV boxes and many of the new embedded devices which are flooding both the consumer and industrial markets. BREW, another development language from QUALCOMM, provides a development platform that’s also suited for the wireless industry. BREW’s claim to fame is that fact that the developer can write device-independent applications which do not need to be recompiled for different phone manufacturers. SYMBIAN is probably the most commonly used OS in the game-enabled wireless telephone market. Embraced by all major phone manufacturers, SYMBIAN supports J2ME, BREW, C++, and JAVA. So, what does the future hold for this high-tech blockbuster that’s still in its infancy? According to industry analysts Frost & Sullivan, the “global mobile game industry, which generated US$436.4 million in 2002, will balloon to US$9.34 billion by 2008.“ Asia is at the epicenter of the wireless gaming explosion where an estimated 500 million people are wireless Internet subscribers and two out of five are wireless gamers. Some gaming fortune tellers predict that the convergence of GPS and wireless gaming technology will result in live-action and role playing games that will adapt themselves to the player’s physical location and include geographic-specific scenarios that change as the player moves to new locations. Judging by the progress that’s been made in the last two years alone, the future of wireless gaming may be the most revenue and employment-generating technology of the 21st century. </div>

J2ME developers and programmers: The mobile game industry winners

Who could have predicted that the 80’s game of Pong would spawn a multi-billion dollar gaming industry complete with PCs, PDAs, and wireless...

Internet Monitoring, Safety And Security

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Internet monitoring is a necessary part of having internet service. Whether you allow your children to surf the web or if you have the need to monitor employees, effective programs can be used to help you to do this simply. There are many aspects that can be monitored and the results can be delivered to you privately. No one needs to know that you are using internet monitoring technologies either. There are many options when it comes to internet monitoring. No matter what your need is in these products, you can expect to use high tech gadgets and software. But, they are simplistic to use. Many software programs that monitor internet usage will tell you such things as how long the individual was online as well as what websites they visited, who they chatted with in instant messages, as well as anything that they input into the web. Emails can be tracked as well as a number of other things. Why should you use internet monitoring? If you are not sure your employees are using their time on the job for job related tasks, this can help you know for sure. If you are unsure of who your spouse is chatting with at night, consider the use of these monitoring solutions. Do you know if someone is stalking your child as they play games on the web? If they use instant message software, find out who they are talking to and what they are saying. Internet monitoring is really a necessary part of keeping people safe and your business under control. Effective internet monitoring software products can be purchased and installed quickly and discreetly. Be in the know. There are also many information portals now devoted to the subject and we recommend reading about it at one of these. Try googling for “internet monitoring” and you will be surprised by the abundance of information on the subject. Alternatively you may try looking on Yahoo, MSN or even a decent directory site, all are good sources of this information. </div>

Internet Monitoring, Safety And Security

Internet monitoring is a necessary part of having internet service. Whether you allow your children to surf the web or if you have the need ...

Malicious Advertising

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Advertising is a necessary irritant in the world today. You can't drive down the street without coming across an ad, either a billboard suspended over a road or a large poster plastered down the side of a bus. If you walk into a shopping centre it doesn't matter where you look, you see an advertisement of some kind. Even the tables in the food court now have ads embedded in them, and on my last trip to Melbourne I noticed that they were starting to embed flat screen TVs into the tables to deliver the full commercial experience to your meal. If you jump on the Internet you have to contend with pop-ups and banner ads, with some advertising agents being ruthless enough to write malicious code that embeds the ad into your computer so that you still receive the pop-ups even when you're not at the original site. In the past, pop-ups and banner ads have been easy enough to avoid with the right software installed (incidentally, am I the only one who finds pop-up ads that advertise pop-up blockers tremendously amusing?) but now the software developers have worked their way around that little problem. The solution was simple; sell advertising space in your software, not just on your web page. As much as I like to complain about this new idea, it does come with a significant upside. These days, not all Shareware applications drop out after a limited period of use, nor do they constantly remind you to register. Having ads in the software provides the application developers with the necessary funding to live but leaves the user free from having to pay to use the software. It ends up being in the developer's best interest to ensure that the user continues to use the software for as long as possible, because that means an increased income. In my opinion this was a brilliant idea, and I wholeheartedly supported it until they started building unblockable pop-ups into the software. The gaming world is getting in on the act as well, which could be both positive and negative. The Internet provides the functionality for games to constantly update the virtual world with new billboards, TV ads, clothing and so on, keeping the content fresh and the ads current. From an advertising standpoint it's an amazing idea, people are spending less and less time watching TV and more and more time immersed in virtual worlds. The interactive nature of the ads means that they will remain in a player's mind for a lot longer than the TV ad break that can be walked away from, flicked over or simply ignored. The game developers on the other hand now have an added source of income, meaning that they can take more risks without the fear of losing money. Advertising in games is not a new idea, the soft drink '7-Up' created a game many years ago called 'Cool Spot', which had the player controlling a red dot with sunglasses in his quest to collect 7-Up logos. The game was remarkably solid, leaving the players to enjoy the game while still getting its message across. I played it a long time ago as a child, but I still remember how much fun it was and exactly what product it was pushing. Pepsi released a Playstation game called 'Pepsi Man' that involved a blue and white striped super-hero running around collecting cans of Pepsi. Red Bull got in on the game with 'Wipeout' featuring 'Red Bull' banners and a loading screen bearing the phrase "Increase your reaction time with Red Bull". 'Worms 3D' featured Red Bull as a power up. 'Crazy Taxi' had customers jump in the player's taxi and holler "Take me to KFC!" or any of the numerous other licensed locations in the game. 'True Crime' had the characters dressed in 'Puma' attire, with the main character changing his outfits several times throughout the game. Until now I've always thought that the ads in games were amusing and, so long as they didn't interfere with the playing of the game, I was all for them. However, there are new ideas afoot that seem set to change my mind. The main problem I have with ads in games now is the same as my issue with Pay TV. You're shelling out a lot of money for a product (new games being sold for upwards of $50.00 U.S.) and you're still getting ads. If developers are going to start flooding my entertainment with advertising, I'd like to see a significant drop in the price of games. The other big issue is that of spyware. Until now, spyware has been a hated part of existence. This malicious software digs its way into your system and collects information about you: your Internet surfing habits, the contents of your hard drive(s) and even the unblocked ports available on your computer. This has lead to the necessity of loading a system with anti-spyware utilities to run alongside the pop-up killers, anti-virus programs, firewalls, registry guards and whatever other protective measures a paranoid PC user has to implement. Now paradoxically, someone has had the 'fantastic' idea of building spyware into software, and games in particular. In the future the games that you've just paid such a high price for will sit there monitoring you in the background, watching your every virtual move. Then they can target ads that are more likely to have an impact on you based on the contents of your hard drive or your Internet surfing habits. The best part about it is that as soon as you click 'I Agree' and install the software, it becomes legitimate and you've agreed for them to access information about you. Many software products already feature clauses in their license agreements that have the user permitting the developers to collect 'anonymous information in order to provide the customer with a better experience'. The other part of this that irks me is the fact that I'm going to have to have my computer connected to the Internet and chew through my download limit just to play a single-player game. In the end, I suppose that there's no way to avoid advertising in our current world. Having it implemented into software and games was simply the next logical step. I suspect that I will be looking to download the inevitable 'Ad Blocker' cracks that I imagine will appear shortly after the wholesale introduction of advertising into the gaming industry, but I do believe that with appropriate tact and respect for privacy, advertising could turn out to be a positive addition to the interactive experience. <div> </div></div>

Malicious Advertising

Advertising is a necessary irritant in the world today. You can't drive down the street without coming across an ad, either a billboard ...

Looking after your Computer

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">If you are going to work and do a lot of browsing on the Internet, the first thing you need to learn is how to take care of your computer. It is far better that you take the trouble to look after your computer regularly, rather than have it freeze or crash when you lose everything on it, at which time you’ll have to pay out a lot to have it fixed. Here are some tips to prevent disasters: 1) Set your virus checker to update itself automatically. This way, it is always updated with the latest protection. 2) Scan your computer daily when you finish working on it. 3) If on a certain day you happen to download many pages, software, programs, zipped files, exe files, etc., immediately after downloading everything, scan your computer. This way, just in case a virus existed in anything you downloaded, you will catch it in time before it infects your entire Hard Drive. 4) Use your online scanner to scan your computer once a week. 5) Use your adware/spyware checker once a week. 6) Do not open any attachments in emails from people you do not know. 7) Do not open any attachments even from people you do know, if you are not expecting anything from them. 8) A virus could replicate itself to everyone on the address book and send itself out by email, without the owner even knowing this has been done. 9) Do not download free music on the Internet – these free sites are always infected. 10) Do not download any free games from the Internet. 11) Adult sites are particularly prone to viruses. 12) Back up all your data on a daily basis. Use floppy disks, flash drives, memory sticks, zip disks, CD-Roms, etc. 13) Print out contracts, payment forms, agreements and all legal documents and file them away in a ring-binder. 14) Try not to keep anything to do with your finances, payment details, payment processor passwords, credit card details, etc. on your computer. 15) A hacker could easily access all these details, if they are anywhere on your computer. Sadly, despite all these precautions your computer might still get infected, as the people who invent these malicious programs are getting even sneakier. When this happens, the easiest way to rid your computer of a virus is by rebooting your computer. This is not as difficult as it may sound, and if you learn how to do this yourself you could save yourself hundreds of dollars in repair bills. Click on this link to find out how to reboot your computer step-by-step: http://www.ecourses-for-newbies.com/vp.htm </div>

Looking after your Computer

If you are going to work and do a lot of browsing on the Internet, the first thing you need to learn is how to take care of your computer. I...

M-Commerce Twice the Cash Value of E-Commerce

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Do you even know what M-Commerce is? Well you better learn fast. Predictions in Europe for M-Commerce, the second largest market behind Asia, are for a spend of €7.4 Billion in 2006 that's over $8 Billion. That's twice the predicted spend of traditional web services! So what is M-Commerce? It's very simple, mobile / cell phone based sales. Usually relating to content such as games, wallpaper, ringtones etc. But there's much more to it than that. Keep reading. What's the big deal? More people own a mobile phone than a PC, they're better integrated in to daily life. People are very comfortable using them. They are now in fact heavily relied upon, as the phone feature is only a small part of what can be perceived as a miniature multi-purpose multi-capable portable computer. Mobile Growth Mobile growth already outstrips all other communication channels. Half of all Americans are mobile phone subscribers. In the UK the ownership of a mobile phone is equivalent to 1.5 phones per head of population. According to research, mobile content services will be worth $121 Billion worldwide by 2008. White label distribution of ringtones, images, games and other promotions will drive up to 1/5th of the revenue generated. It's estimated 1.5 Billion people worldwide own a mobile phone. With more and more technology add-ons to tempt the consumer these devices are now Cameras, MP3 players, game consoles, voice notepads, picture albums, diary organiser, PDF readers etc etc. In fact I'm writing this article on my PDA / Phone whilst sat in the sunshine in the garden. With two taps on the screen I can hook up to my home wireless network and check my emails, browse the net, update my Blog or edit and publish article submissions on one of my sites all via broadband. We are not that far away from always on Net connections. Once this arrives it will allow anyone to do this almost wherever they are. Certainly in the major cities around the world. When this happens there will be a third Internet boom as Joe public try's out the Net connection again that was always too shoddy to use in the past. And what will they want? Content! ringtones, wallpaper, games, MP3's etc But I'm getting ahead of myself. The real money isn't even going to be made via a Net sale. The real money will be made via SMS(Short Message Service), MMS(Multimedia Messaging System) and this ones a goldmine...Micro payments. Recent research has shown a doubling of worldwide revenue from streaming TV and sports bulletin subscriptions. 380 million people worldwide are expected to subscribe to similar services in 2005. Including TV show bulletins particularly from 'reality TV' shows, News bulletins or Soap updates. Big deal you're not a TV network how can you make some money out of this boom? I'll go into that in a second but first I want to go back to those Micro payments I mentioned earlier. The real gold dust. Micro Payment Profits Micro payments have been around for a while here in the UK. A smaller land mass has allowed for a quicker rollout of mobile technologies here. Nationwide Network coverage is easier to achieve. I believe the first example in the US to take it mainstream was by the 'American Idol' show. Viewers voted for the acts on the show via their mobile phone. They where then charged a small premium for their vote on top of their networks regular SMS charge. Think of the millions of votes that the show attracted and the revenue generated. That's micro payments in action. The beauty of this is that people don't feel like they're spending money because they don't need to whip out their credit card, it's an easier payment method, usually involving a simple text to a small number and the payment is small. They also trust their mobile for making payments unlike an online transaction. Any payments made will appear on their next phone bill. People are already used to paying in this way, they're comfortable with it. Whether it's to vote for an act on a TV show, for a game download or to grab the latest ringtone. What have you got that you could take micro payments for? You should be considering how you can utilise your current website network to tap into this market. Do you offer subscriptions? Is there a service you offer that you could convert to subscriptions. How Can You Make Some Money? Here's a quick example. Your newsletter. Would your subscribers be willing to pay a small premium to have your newsletter delivered directly to their mobile? Wherever they are, without the need to be sat in front of a PC. Thus bypassing the SPAM filter problem and guaranteeing they receive your valuable content. You could sell it as valuable service for your customers with added content not available on your site or via your regular newsletter. Or offer them up to the minute breaking news in their industry, which they receive as it breaks and not when they check their email five hours later when it's to late to take action. Digital artists sell your wallpaper designs direct to the consumer via the mobile phone. New bands forget the record company contract sell your music via MP3's direct to the consumer. Investment advisors get subscribers to your 'Hot Tips' bulletins. Store owners offer a sale bulletin service etc etc The Future The omnipresent Google are moving forward with major mobile initiatives. Spending vast amounts of money to stake a claim in this fledgling market. There's the mobile version of Froogle for one and they've also developed mobile business listings specifically for the potentially huge 'local search' market. They also offer a free SMS based information service http://www.google.com/sms/ and http://www.google.co.uk/sms/ Another major company Real Networks, creators of Real media Player, recently bought Finnish mobile phone game developers Mr Goodliving for $15M. Essentially buying a back catalogue of high profile mobile games. NTL a cable TV company here in the UK recently streamed the Grand National, the biggest race horse meet here in the UK, live to Nokia owning subscribers. This is early days and that's a small glimpse of the future. The M-Commerce Market is very different from the online market in terms of what content consumers are currently paying for. The biggest revenue generators online, 70%, are porn and dating sites. A similar percentage via mobile is for games, music and video. Films, that's another one, Nokia are now distributing Hollywood movies via memory card! The technology specifically 3G, an always on network with transfer rates of 384kbs a second, is here and trickling into mainstream culture. These devices are in fact capable of 1920kbs. Compare that to GPRS at 56kbs. You don't need these speeds to take advantage of this market but you should keep them in mind to realise the full potential of where mobile communication is going. Here's a brief, eye opening, wish list from consumers for future mobile phone payment abilities:- 10 Use your mobile as a key 9 Marketing communications 8 Retail checkout payments 7 Vending machine payments 6 Flight check in 5 Credit / debit cards 4 Season tickets 3 Loyalty cards 2 Parking Meter payments 1 Mobile Coupon redemption Getting Started How do you Accept Payments? Reverse SMS is very popular at the moment. It provides the ability for you to direct consumers to secret download links on your site whilst taking payment through a premium SMS message. Another method known as 'WAP Push' sends a link via SMS that automatically launches when the message is opened. You will need to set up your own WAP / SMS Gateway on your server which will require server administrator access to use both these solutions. But there are other easier solutions a number of websites are springing up that allow you to upload your content available for download, games, video, wallpaper, MP3's etc . A small fee is taken from each paid download by the SMS Gateway company.. I've compiled a list of useful links to a number of the above solutions and I've also thrown in a couple of links to 'mobaphile' websites were you will find some interesting predictions for the future development of mobile phones along with some real off the wall ideas for making money with mobiles. http://www.how-to-make-money-online.info/m-commerce-resources.php To paraphrase a strap line 'The future's bright the future's mobile'. </div>

M-Commerce Twice the Cash Value of E-Commerce

Do you even know what M-Commerce is? Well you better learn fast. Predictions in Europe for M-Commerce, the second largest market behind Asia...

Mobile phone accessories – both fancy and technical – enhance user experience of cellular devices

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Aside replacement and ornamental purposes, mobile phone accessories boost or enhance the use of our cellular devices. There are several types of accessories when it comes to mobile phones. We have operational accessories that helps users to safeguard their phones or enhance their operations. These include battery chargers, hands free kits antenna boosters and batteries. Some accessories come in the form of attachment which are devices that enable you extend your phone to some other object. An example is speaker phone kits that enable you to drive whilst receiving calls and car phone holders that serve as carrying cases for drivers. Cases form another category of accessories and are purchased to hold the phones. They come in various shapes and there are some that can be worn around the belt. Then come the technical accessories like games, radiation shields, antenna boosters and ringtone downloads which have more to do with the technical functionality of the device. Next comes the most common of all accessories – phone covers and face plates which can be found in various fancy designs. That said, do we really need phone accessories? Yes we do – whether for fun or for protection of our mobile phones. A Bluetooth device enables you to receive calls with just a small piece of cordless device in your ear. Will you risk driving by trying to reach your phone from the dashboard of you got a call? While traveling, a travel charger may be needed in addition to the regular one. If you are hard pressed for time to charge the phone but still need to keep it running, you can plug the phone to the car charger whilst on the road to save time and to get the capacity to make and receive calls. You need that case to protect your phone from scratches. Tech people are in constant interaction with hard objects like tools which can scratch their phones. So getting a case to protect the phone can save you the headache of buying a new phone too soon because of scratches. If you make or receive a lot of calls, you may wish to keep a spare battery in case you lose power from the current one and not in a position to immediately recharge. Lastly, if your mates have the same kind of phone as yours, you may want to get a customized ringtone to differentiate yourself. You can’t always be reaching for your phone when you hear that ringtone – it may be someone else’s ringing. Accessories can be fun or a necessity depending on who is buying. Nevertheless, we should be very careful to buy right. Before you make a purchase, you have to triple check to make sure that the product or service is compatible with your phone. It should fit the phone with ease and if the accessory is electronic in nature, refer to the owner’s manual to check if that’s the right thing you are putting inside the phone. </div>

Mobile phone accessories – both fancy and technical – enhance user experience of cellular devices

Aside replacement and ornamental purposes, mobile phone accessories boost or enhance the use of our cellular devices. There are several type...

Should you care for your Windows registry health?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">What are Windows registry? Why are they so important for your operating system? What can you do to keep them reliable? According to Microsoft site, registry are "a central hierarchical database used in Microsoft Windows ... to store information necessary to configure the system for one or more users, applications and hardware devices." You can add to that data regarding file types like what application is used to open them, what icons should be display for them and so on. I will try to explain what's happening on 2 of the most common scenarios that take place on your computer: 1. You get a new program (software or game). You want to give it a try, so you install it. At that point, new data is written in your windows registry. That data include program folder, associated files, various settings that are used by the program, whether it will run on startup (HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Run/ ) or only at the first startup (HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/RunOnce/ ). No problem so far. But what's happening if you decide to uninstall it? That's that point where things get tricky. Even if you receive a "successfully uninstall" message, pieces of data remain in your registry. Of course, this is not happening on all cases, but sadly it does in many of them. In a worst case scenario, if for instance files "*.abc" are registered to an application that you just removed and the whole registration process wasn't properly removed from registry, you will get an error when you try to run that sort of files. Those invalid registry entries won't bother you visibly all the time, but they will cause your computer to slow down or even crash in some cases. 2. You install some new hardware, like another network card or something. When you plug it in, Windows will detect it and install the best drivers for it. Of course, a significant quantity of data is written into registry. Again no problem so far. When you shutdown you computer and remove the just installed device, registry entries are not deleted. They just remain there. If you try, after a period of time, to install a similar device, conflicts may appear, because you computer might confuse them. This is happening because of the old and possibly corrupt registry entries. A solution to avoid those kind of problems is to create regular backups of your entire Windows registry. That way you can easily restore them the moment you feel something is not working right. But be careful, because an old backup might cause your newest programs or hardware devices to malfunction. Another way to solve the problems is to use a registry tool that would parse your registry and fix all invalid, missing or corrupt entries that it could find. You can visit CoreDownload, a software archive with more than 23.000 programs where you will find a variety of registry tools that can fix all your problems. </div>

Should you care for your Windows registry health?

What are Windows registry? Why are they so important for your operating system? What can you do to keep them reliable? According to Microsof...

Software For Your Kids

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Computers are all the rage today for people of all ages including children. There are many different types of software that you can choose from when it comes to picking something for your children to enjoy on the computer. Depending on the age bracket of your children youï¿½ll have to take some time to choose software that does what you want it to do. For the younger child aged three to five there is software that features some of their favorite television characters such as Dora the Explorer or Bob the Builder. Your children will be both entertained and educated as they play games, learn the alphabet, and learn to count. Software for very young children is easy for them to play so that youï¿½re not always coming to their assistance whenever they press a wrong key. Software for older children aged five to ten has even more interactive features than software for the younger child. You can buy software that is exclusively for learning and software that will only provide entertainment. Most software comes with a rating to let you know that it doesnï¿½t contain any material that is inappropriate for children. Some types of software for this age group of children include puzzle games, software for learning a second language, math and science software, video game software, software for the artist, and software that allows your child to connect with the internet and play games with other children around the world. Software for teens is something that youï¿½ll need to supervise a little more closely since much of the software on the market can be objectionable and will often test the morals and virtues that you are trying to teach your children. When you buy software for your teen make sure that you take a good long look at what the software is all about, since many of the software games can feature a large amount of violence. There are, of course, software programs for your teen that are educational as well as fun and that they can use to enhance their schoolwork. With so many different software choices out there how do you know that youï¿½re making the right choices? Check out some of the parental listings that can be found on the internet. Many parent websites will offer you advice and ratings for much of the new software that comes out each month. This way you can be assured that other parents are approving a certain piece of software before you make your purchase. Keep in mind that you should always limit the amount of time that your children spend on the computer. Children should be encouraged to spend just as much time playing outdoors as they do playing and learning on the computer. </div>

Software For Your Kids

Computers are all the rage today for people of all ages including children. There are many different types of software that you can choose f...

Should You Upgrade Your Hardware PC?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">What if you found that your computer is out of date? You probably want to upgrade your computer since you have no choice to do so. Your works depend on your hardware computer upgrade. That’s how you going to have a good result. But before you make any further step, try to learn about your computer. Search all options and ask for advice. Only after this you can go and buy a new component. It’s also useful to check if you really need an upgrade. Sure, it’s not funny if you keep your old computer but you still loose data when you do your works. Its just a matter of time before you experience a hard drive problem when you still using your old computer. You dont want to loose your data, right? Of course most people only think of backing up their data after they experience a problem. Don't set yourself up for a data loss disaster. Check what hardware you need for your computer. If you have problem with your hard disk, such as crash when you do your work, better you have it renewed. Most people upgrade their hard disk to increase the size so that they can use it for games, movies and playing a lot of music. A 20 GB hard drive is sufficient to keep new office and internet applications, and all your files and data. A medium sized hard drive would be around 40 GB and the maximum would be around 60 – 80 GB. You can choose which perfect for your work. Of course the price is also depending on the capacity of your hard disk. If you are a gamer, you may want to have high capacity hard disk such as that 60-80 GB. But if you just used it for your writing, a 20 GB is more than enough. Another hardware you may need to upgrade is the RAM or Random Access Memory. This memory keeps data that is being worked on now and may or may not be transferred to the hard drive that represents the long-term memory of the computer. Current processors can perform an enormous number of operations per second. Almost all computer have 64 MB RAM and often 128 MB. If you want to run newer applications on your PC then you must upgrade to 128/256 MB RAM. A lot of people who upgrade from 98 to Win 2000 discover that their computers lock up very often. This is because they don't have enough RAM. So, those are only some part of hardware you might want to upgrade. There are others such as motherboard, CPU or port which you can upgrade. Your action depend on your need. </div>

Should You Upgrade Your Hardware PC?

What if you found that your computer is out of date? You probably want to upgrade your computer since you have no choice to do so. Your work...

Spyware Programs Are Out To Get You

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The average computer is packed with hidden software that can secretly spy on online habits. The US net provider EarthLink said it uncovered an average of 28 spyware programs on each PC scanned during the first three months of the year. There are currently over 38,000 spyware and adware programs that are infecting innocent Internet users such as yourself through downloadable games, music, screensavers, pictures, pop-ups, emails, and the list goes on and on. Spyware and Adware can cause your PC to run extremely slow and even crash, and allow hackers and advertising companies to invade your privacy whenever they wish. What Is Spyware? Spyware is a broad term for programs that collects information from your computer without your knowledge or consent. Spyware is a software program that transmits a unique code to identify you (for tracking purposes) without your knowledge or consent. The programs collects or transmits information about your computer use, or other habits without your knowledge or consent. This internet pest which is better known as spyware installs itself on your computer without your knowledge or consent. It performs other unwholesome duties, and continue to reinstalling itself no matter how many times you remove it. Spyware! It has become so pervasive that lawmakers in the US are looking into ways to prevent or regulate it. The Spy Audit by EarthLink reflects the results of scans involving over one million computers between January and March. It uncovered more than 29.5 million examples of spyware. Why should I be concerned about spyware or adware? Passwords, credit card details and other personal information could end up in the wrong hands. Your computer could get unwanted viruses, worms or even Trojan. You would receive unwanted emails. Your computer could be used by malicious operators to do damage not only your own computer, but to other computer users too. How did I get spyware on my computer and how do I eliminate it? It usually happens when you visit a web site, and are prompted to download something that is said to be "necessary" to view or use features of that web site. Also, you might want or download a program that has some nice features, but also installs program code that can send information out without your knowledge. "By tracking and publicizing the growth of spyware, we can better educate consumers of its risks and encourage them to take steps to protect themselves and their families while online," said Christine Stevenson of Webroot, which conducted the scans. People concerned about what might be lurking on their machine can download software such as the popular ZoneAlarm Pro, Pest Patrol, and Spybot to disinfect their computer. </div>

Spyware Programs Are Out To Get You

The average computer is packed with hidden software that can secretly spy on online habits. The US net provider EarthLink said it uncovered ...

Switching To Broadband Internet - Is It Really Worth It?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The internet is a growing and dynamic entity. Growing in exponential rate everyday and changing as just as fast. Naturally companies try to offer access to internet in growing number of ways. Dial-up, Broadband, Wi-fi and such. But we'll talk about broadband today and is it really that necessary to switch from dial-up to broadband. Is it worth it to switch to broadband service? As most things are, it depends on you're situation. Dial-ups are cheap, today it's almost dirt cheap. That’s it's advantage, but don't expect to surf the net in cruising speed. If speed is what you want then broadband is significantly faster that dial-ups. Back to the question. What really helps in deciding if switching to broadband is a must. Is try to ask yourself "How do I use the internet for?". By the way I’m a big fan of the saying “Questions Are Answers”. If you're using the internet for: - checking and sending e-mail - chatting (without video) - surfing for text based information Then switching to broadband is a waste of money. like most people, they just use the internet for checking and sending e-mails. Dial-up will work for you just as fine. If you're using the internet for: - Downloading movies and music - Watching streaming videos - Chatting with video and voice - Playing online games Just like me. I use the internet for online games, checking my websites, downloading music and videos. So broadband was a huge help for my internet life. To conclude. The internet is becoming the wave of the future. Easy access to information and services. But switching to broadband is up to you and you're needs. So I suggest that you ask yourself "How do I use the internet for?". Knowing the answer would be a great help in deciding if broadband internet is for you. </div>

Switching To Broadband Internet - Is It Really Worth It?

The internet is a growing and dynamic entity. Growing in exponential rate everyday and changing as just as fast. Naturally companies try to ...

SVG and Flash as the same species

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We can name several technologies for displaying 2D interactive vector graphics on the web however, two names rises among other contenders. These are the Macromedia’s Shock Wave Flash (SWF) and the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). Unlike Flash SVG is not for sale. Adobe's SVG browser plug-in has achieved barely around 10% penetration, compared to Macromedia's 90% for the Flash plug-in. Flash has already established an outstanding standard nevertheless, this did not make SVG an inferior technology. In the past Flash was considered a de-facto standard under control of one single vendor. For this reason, W3C proposed a recommendation to achieve standardized 2D interactive vector graphics on the web. This resulted to the birth of SVG. Its first version was Recommendation 1.0 which was introduced in 2001. The current version though is 1.1 which was released on January 2003. Some people asserts that SVG is as powerful as Flash. Some say it is superior. But still there are others who think it’s the other way around. Which is which really?! To help you decide here are some vital facts: Use Flash in the following instances: 1. You must use Flash if you want to make a Flash-like website. To replicate it using SVG is hard to do. 2. If you want to create complex animations or games you can use any of the two. However, you must be aware that SVG’s built-in SMIL animation engine is very processor exhaustive. Conversely, good results can be achieved using JavaScript animations. 3. If your users are not that computer literate like for example children for a children’s site or a site appealing to a broad audience, you must use Flash. 4. SVG supports sound. Nonetheless, if sound involves important intricate details, use Flash. 5. Use Flash if you prefer WYSIWYG to script. SVG is advantageous in the following instances: 1. Use SVG if your task is fully scriptable. You can try DOM1 (part DOM2) interface and JavaScript. It means that you can build your empty SVG image using JavaScript. 2. SVG can effortlessly be created by ASP, PHP, Perl and extracted from a database. Be cautious though in setting mime-types on the server. 3. It is XML meaning it can be read by anything that can read XML. Flash can use XML but it has to be converted first. 4. You need not apply Flash’s action-script because SVG does not code per browser. It has a built-in ECMA-script engine. 5. SVG runs on IE/NS4+NS6/Mozilla and on PC/MAC/Linux. 6. SVG can be transformed through an XSLT style-sheet or parser. It also supports standard CSS1 style-sheets. 7. Texts used remains selectable and searchable. Graphic "objects" can be grouped, styled, transformed or composited and embedded text can be searched or indexed. 8. Features of the specification include nested transformations, clipping paths, alpha masks, filter effects, template objects and, of course, extensibility 9. You need not buy Flash since only texteditor is needed to create SVG. By now, I know you already have a choice. Take your pick and enjoy the features of your chosen technology! </div>

SVG and Flash as the same species

We can name several technologies for displaying 2D interactive vector graphics on the web however, two names rises among other contenders. T...

Understanding Spyware

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Spyware is a "malware" or malicious software that is placed on your computer without your knowledge. This can happen when you visit online web sites offering free downloads of games, when you download videos or music, or any share files, such as when you download that comic e mail from your friend. Spyware programs are piggybacked into your machine at the same time you download a file. Spyware is infecting millions of home computers today. Spyware tracks your on line computer habits. It knows each site you visit and what you have looked up on that site. Some spyware even tracks each keystroke you make, including every bit of information you fill out on a form, such as name and address, and credit card information when you make a purchase. This has some in the online world worried that this can lead to identity theft and stealing of credit card numbers. Your computer surfing habits and personal information is then sold to businesses. The spyware business is a billion dollar industry, with lots of people getting rich selling your information without your knowledge. Another problem with spyware is that unless you run anti spyware software often, you don't know that spyware been installed until your computer starts to slow down. By the time your computer slows down due to spyware you could have as many as six or seven different spyware programs running in the background. You can get rid of spyware by running any of the number of anti-spyware programs available on the market today. Run these programs often. Some suggest that after you run an anti spyware program that you re-boot your computer and run the software again to make sure there are no "ticklers". Ticklers are designed to reinstall spyware. The best way to avoid spyware is to stay away from downloading freebies. Don't open unsolicited e-mail, delete it before you open it. When downloading any software, even legitimate software programs from the internet read the end users agreement thoroughly. Some of these agreements will state that they are installing spyware type software, and by you downloading their program you are agreeing to let them put spyware on your computer. If you know this then you have the ability to say yes, or no and protect your personal information. </div>

Understanding Spyware

Spyware is a "malware" or malicious software that is placed on your computer without your knowledge. This can happen when you visi...