How to Bridge the Digital Divide?

The digital divide is a global problem, which several states have to face in their efforts to implement more e-governance. This article focuses on how a state can work to raise the level of the citizens' IT-skills so that citizens can become an active part of the information society. The focus is on how the digital divide is defined in accordance to a theoretical framework, present empirical data and a political perspective. In addition the existing political initiatives to bridge the digital divide in relation to the empirical findings and the theoretical definition will be assessed. This article illustrates the gap between the current public initiatives and the theoretical understanding of the digital divide.    
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Surfing the Web Anonymously – Questions to Ask

When you surf the web it is possible to learn information about you even when you don't want to advertise who you are. This is true even if your system contains no virus or malware software. Specifically information that is easily available online includes your IP address, your country (and often more location information based on IP address), what computer system you are on, what browser you use, your browser history, and other information. It gets worse. People can get your computer's name and even find out your name if your machine supports programs like finger or identd. Also, cookies can track your habits as you move from machine to machine.

How do people get this basic information about you?

When you visit another web site, information about you can be retrieved. Basically, information is intercepted and used by others to track your Internet activities.

How do you stop this from happening?

First of all, it is possible to serf the web anonymously and thereby stop leaving a trail for others to find. Note that this is not fool-proof, but it makes it much harder for people to know who you are. There are products called anonymous proxy servers that help protect you. The anonymous proxy server replaces your Internet address for its own. This has the effect of hiding your IP address and making it much harder for people to track you.


How do I get an anonymous proxy server?

There are many vendors who sell anonymous proxy servers. There are also free proxy servers available to you. Two such products are ShadowSurf and Guardster. Guardster (http://www.guardster.com/) offers various services for anonymous and secure access to the web, some paid as well as a free service. ShadowSurf (http://www.shadowsurf.com/) ShadowSurf provides anonymous surfing at their site for free. Go to it and you will find a box to enter a URL that you want no one to track. There are many others, but here are two that are frequently used.

Another interesting product, given the recent news about the Google search engine filtering its findings for the Chinese government, is Anonymizer (http://www.anonymizer.com). This company, among others, recently (Feb 1st, 2006) pressed that it "is developing a new anti-censorship solution that will enable Chinese citizens to safely access the entire Internet filter-free" (http://www.anonymizer.com/consumer/media/press_releases/02012006.html).

Does an anonymous proxy server make you 100% safe?

No. Still, you are much better off if you use such technology.

What other things should I be concerned about when trying to keep my private information private?

Three other items come to mind when trying to keep your information private. First, you can use an encrypted connection to hide your surfing. This article does not go into detail on this, but search the web and you will find a lot of information on this. Secondly, delete cookies after each session. Third, you can configure your browser to remove JavaScript, Java, and active content. This actually leads to limitations, so you need to think about the cost/benefit of this course of action.


Anything else?

Wishing you happy and safe surfing!




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3 Quick And Easy Ways To Build A Profitable Opt In List

You finally realize that you need a good opt-in list. After reading countless articles and sought expert advices and have read many success stories of people creating a small fortune with opt-in lists you finally decide to have one of your own. Then it happens, you think you have known everything there is to know about opt-in lists and have followed their advices to the T and you still weren’t able to make a profit.

In fact, you may be losing money. You maybe hiring writers to help you out, or there are some expenses incurred, even if you have a big list, but only a very small percentage actually buys from you, your still losing profit. You’ll realize that after a few months when you see your statistics and sales figures.

So what could have gone wrong? Why have others succeeded where you have failed? The most common mistake is that you dived straight right in. You chose a topic where you think could be quite popular and would earn you money. This just not the case. Just because you wrote people from the list doesn’t mean they are going to buy instantly.

Here I will offer more advice, for those who have started an opt-in list and have failed, you can rejuvenate your failed venture. For those who are starting, here are three quick and easy ways to build a profitable opt-in list.

1) Get your customers to trust you and your products first. Just launching your opt-in list would not make you an expert and a believable seller. Put many articles first before you start an opt-in list. Write about the topic you know and have started and used for your site. Try to put forums first to gain knowledge about your customers about their wants and needs and target those wants and needs.

Join forums from other sites as well. Provide expert advices and recommendations. When you feel that people trust you already, you will be able to start your own opt-in list. You can build a base as well with other forum users. You can ask them to join your list. Friends are always good customers. Put up a link to your site so that they may be able to see what you're business is all about.

The certain truth is, the money will only come in when the consumers and subscribers believe and trust in you. They want a product or service that could be a good exchange for their money. People are not going to buy something out of your recommendation if they don’t know you.

2) Find a product or service that people want and need. Although it may not be your forte, if you provide a service and product that you have researched and learned about well, you can carry it on forward. Invest your time, effort and money that you could sell as well as the buyers or subscribers of your opt-in list can use.

While it is true that it is best to sell something that you have interest in, there are not many people who have the same interest as you if you decide to sell something that is not entirely popular or profitable. Do your research well and you would see the profits come in. Also provide your subscribers with promotional material that they could actually use and spread around.

3) Make friends with other opt-in list users. This is basically beneficial especially if it is someone who has already launched a successful opt-in list. These are people that have the experience in this venture and experience is still the best teacher. While there are many articles available for you in the internet to use, there is nothing like getting a first hand account from someone you trust.

Experienced opt-in list users will be able to tell you what to do and what not to do because they have gone through it. While different situations occur for different people, the general concept can still be very helpful. There are many things to avoid and these people will be able to tell you which ones.

Building a profitable opt-in list don’t just happen overnight. There are many preparations and effort to do. Opt-in lists are built from scratch, as your list grows, you should also maintain the quality of your list. Keep it organized and manageable. Get or hire help if need be, just make sure that your subscribers are happy and satisfied and they will be willing to buy from you.

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Name, Rank and Social Security Number

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S. The U.S. Secret Service has estimated that consumers nationwide lose $745 million to identity theft each year. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the average victim spends 607 hours and averages $1,000 just to clear their credit records.

Identity thieves employ a variety of methods to gain access to your personal information. They may get information from businesses or other institutions by stealing it; by bribing an employee who has access to records; hacking into records; or conning information out of employees. Once identity thieves have your personal information, they may use it to commit a fraud or theft in your name.

How can you tell if you have become a victim of identity theft? Some signs include unexplained charges or withdrawals from your financial accounts; bills or other mail stop arriving (the thief may have submitted a change of address); a credit application is denied for no apparent reason, or debt collectors begin calling about merchandise or services you didn’t buy.


Your computer can be a goldmine of personal information to an identity thief. To protect yourself and your computer against identity theft consider:

• Updating virus protection software frequently. Consider setting your virus protection software to update automatically. The Windows XP operating system also can be set to check for patches automatically and download them to your computer.
• Not opening files sent to you by strangers, clicking on hyperlinks, or downloading programs from people or companies you don’t know.
• Using a firewall program, especially if you use a high speed Internet connection like cable or DSL that leaves your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.
• Providing your personal or financial information through an organization’s secured website only. While not fool proof, a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for secure), may provide additional security.
• Not storing your financial information on your laptop, unless absolutely necessary.
• Deleting all the personal information stored on a computer before disposing of it. A wipe” utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive is recommended.
• Checking with an anti-fraud education organization such as CardCops (www.cardcops.com). Card Cops runs a web site designed to help consumers determine whether their credit card numbers may have been stolen. They monitor Internet "chat rooms" where identity thieves illicitly trade and sell stolen credit card numbers. CardCops turns the information over to law enforcement authorities, but also allows consumers to access their database to see whether individual card numbers may have been stolen. In the first two months of operation, the site identified more than 100,000 stolen credit cards.

As with any crime, you can not completely control whether you will become a victim, but you can take steps to minimize your risk by remaining diligent and by minimizing outside access to your personal information.

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About Encryption and Making Your System Secure

What does encryption do for me?

Encryption and cryptographic software has been used in many different ways to make systems more secure. This article discusses only a few ways that such software can make your system more secure, including:

1) Encrypting your email
2) Encrypting your files

To programs are mentioned that will help encrypt information. There are many more programs out there that will help, but these programs are good and a good place to start as any. They have the added benefit of both being free with source code available.

Will encryption stop people from accessing my information?

Encryption simply makes it harder for people to gain access to important information, like passwords or sensitive information in a file. The first thing you should know about encryption is that the algorithm that is used to encrypt can be simple or more complex and that affects how securely what you have encrypted is protected. Encryption systems have been broken when the method of encryption is understood by hackers and is easy to break.

Why bother to encrypt my email?

It should be noted that email is far less secure than paper mail for two very good reasons: first, electronic data can be accessed easily over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is really simple to copy. There is a very good chance that someone has snooped around in your email despite your best intentions to stop it.

How do I go about encrypting my email?

There are many programs out there that can help you encrypt your email. A very popular one is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or its Gnu offshoot GPG.

PGP (http://www.pgpi.org/) self-describes itself this way: This "is a program that gives your electronic mail something that it otherwise doesn't have: Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that nobody but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters. PGP has proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most sophisticated forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted text."

Why bother to encrypt my files?

The answer to this boils down to what you store on your computer. If you have financial data with important information like social security numbers, email addresses, account numbers and passwords, then you open yourself up to losing very valuable information. Most corporate Internet security employees will attest to the widespread theft of very valuable information. As long as you are connected to the Internet you are vulnerable.

How do I go about encrypting my files?

AxCrypt File Encryption Software (http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/) Self-described as "Free Personal Privacy and Security for Windows 98/ME/NT/2K/XP with AES-128 File Encryption, Compression and transparent Decrypt and Open in the original application."


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How to Easily Create, View, Modify, and Print All Your Pdf Files--without Paying for Acrobat

I've noticed that you'll often have a PDF file that you need to modify, only to discover that you can't change a PDF with the ease that you can a Word or Excel file. You realize that the only way to really do anything to a PDF is to get the full version of Acrobat. Unfortunately, that costs quite a bit of money. Money you don't have.

Fortunately, I came across a site recently in some dark corner of the internet. On this site, you can take any file, and quickly turn it into a PDF file that's incredibly easy to print and modify.

Not only can you turn any file into a PDF, but you can also format the text, insert images, even insert sounds. That's something Adobe Acrobat just doesn't let you do. And when dynamic, colorful documents are crucial in just about every facet of business and study, having access to those features are essential.

As PDFs are the most popular as well as the most reliable and recognized international standard for viewing and managing PDF documents in the world, we all want to be able to easily create and print them for easy sharing. Now, opening, creating, writing and printing PDF files has never been easier.

Membership with this service is lifetime, and the cost is quite insignificant.

This is the greatest tool I've found in a long time. Now for all of that have wondered, here is a new way to create, view, print, and modify PDF files. See it here.

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Off the Wall Ideas for Your Plasma TV

Anyone with a plasma TV will tell you it's not small. Usually they are mounted to a wall to save space and prevent damage. With most models measuring in at over 37" across, they do take up a significant amount of wall space. Not to mention the fact that they need special mounting gear to keep them on the wall without damaging the TV or the wall. Rest assured that many have been destroyed by improper installation. This is not the ideal situation.

What can you do then? Should you get rid of the expensive TV that you've worked so hard for? That would be silly and, of course, unnecessary. Rest assured that there is an answer for your dilemma. A plasma TV lift is a device that will allow you to raise and lower your expensive set in and out of a beautiful cabinet while taking up only minimal space. Not only will you not have to worry about damaging your wall, your expensive TV will be out of the way until you want to watch it. Real artwork can adorn the walls once again.

How big a set can a plasma TV lift handle? They can handle sets up to 65". You may wonder how strong one of these lifts can really be. On one manufacturer's website they decided to put one of these lifts to an unusual and difficult test: they had one of their managers sit on the cabinet and press the button. The lift raised both the TV and the manager with seemingly little effort. There was no loud noise coming from the motor that would indicate that this was causing a strain to the equipment. This is an example of the strength of the TV lifts that you can find on the market today.

The various manufacturers of this type of product have a variety of cabinets available complete with the TV lifts already installed. There are many styles available to suit any decor, from classic to modern. There are also a wide variety of price ranges available to fit most budgets. You can also purchase a kit that can allow a lift to be placed into a cabinet of your choosing. This is especially important if you have a matching furniture suite that you don't want to distract from. You can also find a full range of accessories, from component shelves for DVD's and VCR's, to extra heavy-duty mounting brackets and anything else you might need to make this type of set-up work for you.


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5 components of an IT economic model

One of the steps identified in Real Time Enterprise Blog "9 Steps to a Virtual Oriented Utility" was the requirement to create an economic model. As we have been working with many CIO’s, we are finding that the discipline of creating and managing an economic model does not exist or is not understood.

The Economic Model for IT can be thought of as the Business & IT linkage of demand and supply. In particular, it is the interactive dynamics of consumption of IT resources by the business and the fulfillment behavior of processing by IT.


We coach CIO’s and their organizations to relate their service delivery (people, process and technology) as a digital supply chain. This supply chain must adhere and be managed against the IT economic model. Our experience in building a real time infrastructure led us to standardize 5 key components of our operational model to ensure we adhere to our economic model similar to how our business has to. Below outlines the 5 key components:

Demand Management – the continuous identification, documentation, tracking and measuring of day in the life of the business, what they expect, where there are problems today, and understand sensitivities to cost, bottlenecks, and timing constraints. In particular, service contracts defined in natural language that identify users, entitlement, expectations, geography, critical time windows, special business calendar events, and performance defined in terms of user experience.

Supply Management – the continuous identification, documentation and tracking through instrumentation to capture “objective” factual data of which users, using what applications, consume what app, server, network bandwidth, network QoS and storage resources for how long. Ensure you trend this over a period of time to accurately identify peaks, valleys and nominal growth.

Fit for Purpose Policies – It is essential that organizations trying to build a real time infrastructure or at least a more responsive IT platform and operation, incorporate an operating level of policy management of how the IT platform matches supply and demand at runtime. This should include factors of wall clock, trends, and service contract requirements matched optimally against runtime supply management trends. It is this operating level discipline that can radically reduce waste, unnecessary costs, lower capital investment WHILE improving service levels. It is here that most organizations fail to implement, execute or adopt such a granular discipline, instead firms standardize infrastructure from bottom up, use rule of thumb sizing and define service levels in terms of recovery time objectives or availability only.

Role of ITIL/ITSMF – ITIL 3.0 and the IT Service Management Framework are excellent guides for creating consistent end to end processes related to delivery IT as a service. They are not in themselves the sole answer to resolving IT service problems or quality of delivery. Firms must still resolve issues of alignment and strategy, define sound architectures, implement dynamic infrastructures BEFORE ITIL can have its ultimate impact on end to end process delivery.

Sustaining Transparency - Many IT organizations miss the mark when it comes to meeting and exceeding business expectations due to lack of transparency. The key components outlined above can contribute significantly to creating transparency with the business related to IT delivery of service on their behalf. It is critical that IT organizations institute a discipline of tooling, data capture and reporting procedures that consistently and accurately communicate to the business a complete transparent view of what, how, who related to the consumption of IT by the business and the delivery of service by IT.

We can’t emphasize how important this kind of playbook is instituted by the CIO’s office and executed by the leaders of the IT organization – if they want to enhance the collaboration with the business and become a more strategic and integral part of building the business.


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FIFO and LIFO differences

LIFO and FIFO are terms commonly used in inventory control, in cost accounting and in computer science. They all stand for literally the same phrases, but it means something different in each application.

In inventory control, they simply mean how you handle your merchandise. Do you restock the shelves by pushing the old items back to make room for new items of the same kind? Then the last items stocked will be the first items sold, or LIFO. This would be a typical stocking method for items that have no 'sell-by' date associated with them, or at least one that is in the distant future, such as canned good. Perishable items such as milk and eggs are restocked from the back, so that the old items are pushed to the front and are the first selected by shoppers; this is a FIFO restocking method. This is why most convenience stores have walk-in coolers behind their cold displays, so that they can stock from the rear.


Obviously, you can handle some merchandise LIFO and some FIFO, depending on what it is and how fast you have to move it.

In accounting, LIFO and FIFO mean two different ways of setting a value on your existing inventory and calculating your profit. Some retailers stock an individual type of item only once and then when it has sold out, they no longer carry it; ephemeral fads and fashions are examples of stock-once items. So they pay the same price for each unit of that particular item, and have no decision to make when valuing their inventory. Most retailers, however, stock a particular item for some time, replenishing their supply as they run low. The price on the item fluctuates with time, usually going up, alas. So the newest items you purchase may cost more (or less) than the ones you have had for awhile.

Of course you may adjust your selling price on the item, but what does the increase in unit cost do to the value of your existing inventory? If you had to replace it all, you would now have to pay the higher price (or rarely, get to pay the lower price). Is your inventory system sophisticated enough to be able to determine which purchase lot each unit in stock was a part of? If not, you have to select an inventory evaluation method, either FIFO or LIFO.

The choice between LIFO and FIFO can have a significant effect your P/L (Profit/Loss) statements. It is probably wise to pick a particular method and stick to it so there are not wild fluctuations in your numbers. Also note that some evaluation methods are not allowed for tax purposes. You should obviously not make a decision to use LIFO or FIFO cost accounting and inventory valuation without first consulting with an accountant and/or a tax attorney.

In computer science - LIFO and FIFO refer to how requests or intermediate results are stored and dealt with. If requests are handled on a first-come-first-served basis, the date store is called a 'queue'. If requests are handled Last-In-First-Out, the structure is called a 'stack'. Different operations require different data handling. The LIFO-FIFO terminology, originating in business and adopted by the computer industry, led to the addition of a third term for data storage; to wit: GIGO. Garbage in, garbage out.
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What is the Difference Between GSM and CDMA?

In cellular service there are two main competing network technologies: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Cellular carriers including Sprint PCS, Cingular Wireless, Verizon and T-Mobile use one or the other. Understanding the difference between GSM and CDMA will allow you to choose a carrier that uses the preferable network technology for your needs.

The GSM Association is an international organization founded in 1987, dedicated to providing, developing, and overseeing the worldwide wireless standard of GSM. CDMA, a proprietary standard designed by Qualcomm in the United States, has been the dominant network standard for North America and parts of Asia. However, GSM networks continue to make inroads in the United States, as CDMA networks make progress in other parts of the world. There are camps on both sides that firmly believe either GSM or CDMA architecture is superior to the other. That said, to the non-invested consumer who simply wants bottom line information to make a choice, the following considerations may be helpful.


Coverage: The most important factor is getting service in the areas you will be using your phone. Upon viewing competitors' coverage maps you may discover that only GSM or CDMA carriers offer cellular service in your area. If so, there is no decision to be made, but most people will find that they do have a choice.

Data Transfer Speed: With the advent of cellular phones doing double and triple duty as streaming video devices, podcast receivers and email devices, speed is important to those who use the phone for more than making calls. CDMA has been traditionally faster than GSM, though both technologies continue to rapidly leapfrog along this path. Both boast "3G" standards, or 3rd generation technologies.

EVDO, also known as CDMA2000, is CDMA's answer to the need for speed with a downstream rate of about 2 megabits per second, though some reports suggest real world speeds are closer to 300-700 kilobits per second (kbps). This is comparable to basic DSL. As of fall 2005, EVDO is in the process of being deployed. It is not available everywhere and requires a phone that is CDMA2000 ready.

GSM's answer is EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), which boasts data rates of up to 384 kbps with real world speeds reported closer to 70-140 kbps. With added technologies still in the works that include UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Standard) and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), speeds reportedly increase to about 275—380 kbps. This technology is also known as W-CDMA, but is incompatible with CDMA networks. An EDGE-ready phone is required.

In the case of EVDO, theoretical high traffic can degrade speed and performance, while the EDGE network is more susceptible to interference. Both require being within close range of a cell to get the best speeds, while performance decreases with distance.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards: In the United States only GSM phones use SIM cards. The removable SIM card allows phones to be instantly activated, interchanged, swapped out and upgraded, all without carrier intervention. The SIM itself is tied to the network, rather than the actual phone. Phones that are card-enabled can be used with any GSM carrier.

The CDMA equivalent, a R-UIM card, is only available in parts of Asia but remains on the horizon for the U.S. market. CDMA carriers in the U.S. require proprietary handsets that are linked to one carrier only and are not card-enabled. To upgrade a CDMA phone, the carrier must deactivate the old phone then activate the new one. The old phone becomes useless.

Roaming: For the most part, both networks have fairly concentrated coverage in major cities and along major highways. GSM carriers, however, have roaming contracts with other GSM carriers, allowing wider coverage of more rural areas, generally speaking, often without roaming charges to the customer. CDMA networks may not cover rural areas as well as GSM carriers, and though they may contract with GSM cells for roaming in more rural areas, the charge to the customer will generally be significantly higher.

International Roaming: If you need to make calls to other countries, a GSM carrier can offer international roaming, as GSM networks dominate the world market. If you travel to other countries you can even use your GSM cell phone abroad, providing it is a quad-band phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). By purchasing a SIM card with minutes and a local number in the country you are visiting, you can make calls against the card to save yourself international roaming charges from your carrier back home. CDMA phones that are not card-enabled do not have this capability, however there are several countries that use CDMA networks. Check with your CDMA provider for your specific requirements.

According CDG.org, CDMA networks support over 270 million subscribers worldwide, while GSM.org tallies up their score at over 1 billion. As CDMA phones become R-UIM enabled and roaming contracts between networks improve, integration of the standards might eventually make differences all but transparent to the consumer.

The chief GSM carriers in the United States are Cingular Wireless, recently merged with AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile USA. Major CDMA carriers are Sprint PCS, Verizon and Virgin Mobile. There are also several smaller cellular companies on both networks.


source: wisegeek.com
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Advantages of a LCD TV

LCD TV's (liquid crystal display) are on of the most popular types of HDTV's on the market today. LCD technology has been in use for several years. Many of us remember the days of CRT computer monitors but most people have moved on to LCD computer monitors. The technology used for computer monitors has evolved to high definition televisions and they are growing fast.

LCD HDTV's main competition is plasma television. Up until recently, plasma was shockingly more expensive tha LCD but with advances in technology, their prices are becoming more similar. So if pricing is pretty similar, then which TV is the better option? Each has its advantages and disadvantages. For now, we will be focusing on the advantages of LCD televisions.


Advantage 1: Screen Glare. Plasma TV's have a reflective, glass looking screen. LCD screens have more of a matte finish. Because of this, you don't have to worry as much about having too much light in your room. LCD TV's are a great option for theater rooms, kitchens, living rooms and just about anywhere else. You don't have to be stuffed in a cave to see the picture.

Advantage 2: Energy Use. LCD TV's use much less energy than plasma TV's. Running a plasma TV could cost you several hundred dollars more per year just to own. With the recent "green" movement, you will be helping the environment by avoiding plasma.

Advantage 3: Size. LCD is available in a very wide size range. You can get LCD screens anywhere from 5 inches to 65 inches or higher. Plasma screens are usually only available in the 40 inch or greater range.

Advantage 4: Price. Even though plasma's are getting cheaper, you will still save a few bucks by going with a LCD. Most people can't even tell the difference between LCD and plasma so save a few bucks and go LCD. With our current economy, who doesn't want to save money?

Advantage 5: Wall Mounting. You can wall mount most LCD or plasma HDTV's. Wall mounting is a great option for several reasons. First, it looks very styling and modern. Second, it frees up space in small or cluttered living rooms. Lastly, you can mount them with a swing arm so you can position the TV in any direction that you want.

These are some of the most common advantages listed for LCD TV's over other types of high definition TV's. Each has its pro's and con's but these advantages may persuade you to buy LCD.

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Apple MacBook Air Review

If you are looking for a very small, very fragile, very light laptop, then Apple MacBook Air is for you. A slight tap on the screen will close the system down completely.

Apple MacBook, being the lightest MacBook in its category, sets in in the spotlight, surpassing other MacBook. The depth from the back (at .76 inches) tapering towards the front bezel (at .16 inches), makes this the slimmest.


The curved design of the Apple MacBook Air makes it stand out in the crowd. Other laptops have look thicker due to a flat level of thickness all around, where as Apple MacBook Air has a thickness of .04 centimeters at most parts, and is curved.

Absence of connectivity ports and an optical drive contributes to the limitations of this laptop. There are many innovative features, such as standard voltage processing parts and a full size keyboard, that make up for all limitations. The utility of an optical drive is reduced by having an internet connection.

Apple MacBook Air does have pre installed software, including Mac OS Xv10.5 Leopard operating system, Safari, Time Machine, iTunes, Xcode, iMovie, and many more.

Apple has always been an active participant in environmental group Greenpeace in recent years. Apple has enclosed its MacBook Air to suit all environmental concerns. This laptop sports a completely recyclable aluminum case. All circuit boards are BFR and PVC free. Apple has been the first to have a mercury-free display with arsenic-free glass. The retail packaging uses fifty-six percent less packaging material than MacBook packaging. Apple MacBook Air is Energy Star 4.0-certified and EPEAT silver-compliant.

If you are in the market for cheap laptops or dell laptops ,visit www.laptopbrokers.com. they are a business that prides themselves on quality and value.

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Data Center Build and Manage IT In House vs Outsourcing

Too Big for a Small Business As businesses began to increase their focus on having reliable and available data centers, data centers began to grow in size and complexity. No longer a single room housing a comparatively simple computer system, businesses now required very large Internet data centers. These large data centers are expensive to run, expensive to maintain, and expensive to staff.

These huge data facilities were out of the reach of many small businesses. These smaller organizations also needed managed services like high speed Internet connectivity and high availability of data, but they did not have the resources to build such physically large and expense data centers. Even the equipment required for such an endeavor was often out of the financial reach of a small business.

The Adventage of Data Center Outsourcing Private data centers became the go-to solution for small to medium business information technology needs. Data center outsourcing grew in popularity, largely because it was a practical and financially more viable solution to the problems created by huge, on-site data centers.

Not only are outsourced data centers more affordable, they also lift much of the heavy responsibility from the business. Disaster recovery, adhering to industry standards, ensuring a secure and hospitable environment for information storage and management, and many other practical concerns can make in-house data centers a logistical nightmare. When organizations place their trust in an off-site data center, they do not need to shoulder this burden alone.

What to Look For in Outsourcing Data Storage When you outsource your data center responsibilities, you want to be selective in your choice of a data storage partner. Every moment that you network is not up and running, your business is being affected. A high availability data center will place a great deal of emphasis on the following:


- Skilled IT Professionals: A data center is only as good as its staff. Security and networking teams need to be well-trained, skilled, and experienced. Network technicians need to be trained to the highest industry standards. - Proper Environment: The environment of a data center is of the utmost importance. There must be an uninterruptible power supply or backup generator, a highly sensitive HVAC system to filter air, a fire suppression system, and proper installation of equipment. - High Level of Security: Your data needs to be protected, and the first level of defense is the physical security of the building. There should be controlled access, video surveillance, and extensive employee background checks. - Top of the Line Equipment: Network infrastructure is one of the most important aspects of data center planning. When selecting a data center, make sure equipment selection and infrastructure set-up receive the emphasis they deserve. - Strict Adherence to Standards: Industry standards are around for a reason. They help make sure data centers provide high quality service, maximum availability, and top-shelf security measures.

The Advantage of Outsourcing In house data centers simply cannot offer the same kind of reliability and economic viability as off-site data centers. An organization must allow its focus to remain on the health of its business operations, rather than getting bogged down in the details of managing data. Outsourcing your data center allows you to keep your focus where it should be: on your own organization.

The complicated and expensive nature of today's data center needs make it impractical for a company to expend huge amounts of resources on an in-house data center. It just doesn't make good financial sense. Instead, outsourcing your data center allows you to put those resources back into your company, further strengthening your organization.

SAS 70 certified Data Centre in Toronto provides businesses with solutions for managed hosting, business continuity services, managed security, disaster recovery.
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Why You Should and How to Use Proxy?

Nowadays Internet is becoming one of the major needs of this contemporary world. Almost every work can be done online and it is preferred by people because it is time and cost efficient. It is one of the greatest blessings of technology.

However, there are a lot of online web sites, which are not safe to your computer, your personal info could be hijacked through them. Therefore, in order to save your personal info you can use a proxy. So do you have the right knowledge of how to use a proxy server?

Using a proxy server to surf online safely can be very simple and everybody can avail its benefits in a convenient way. For a novice user it is much easier to understand how to use a proxy.

Proxies are very essential as they help in visiting the online websites safely. Anybody can easily protect his or her personal information by using a proxy. Proxies are used to hide your IP address, operating system, and other personal information. When you visit any of the online sites, it is seen that all the traffic is surfacing from the proxy server and your computer's identity and location remains hidden. Therefore, before visiting any of the online sites it is essential that you know how to use a proxy.


The process of using a proxy is easy and convenient. Neither you have to install any software nor have you to download anything when you use a web proxy. Make some configurations to your browser and you all set to use the proxy configured.

Then all you have to do is type the URL addresses of any web proxy site in your browser. After you typed the address, the connections will be redirected via the proxy thus revealing that all the transfer is coming from the proxy server as filtering firewall traces only the proxy server. You can easily download any files, or you can play games or even download them, you can do chatting, sharing videos and so many things more when you know how to use a proxy.

However, if you want to avail different facilities of internet safety, what you have to do is to learn how to use a proxy. It is important as it helps in hiding your personal information and avoids personal information in getting into the wrong hands.

About the Author:

Have no idea how to use a proxy? Be sure to checkout our proxy tutorial site & get your unlimited proxy Q&A for free.

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Social Networking Website Software Proves To Be Safe and Secure

Most of the internet users of today are members of one social networking website or the other. There are many popular social networks like MyTube, Face Book and MySpace which has maximum members in them, which is attributed to the safe and secure social networking website software it uses on the website.

With so many people becoming members of social networks, the quest to find out if the information and data provided to the social networks is actually in safe hands goes on and on. And the answer these people always receive is an affirmative one.

This is because this social networking website software is constantly updated to ensure that people on the site are safe. This does not come as much of a surprise, considering the fact that the sudden rise in people being blackmailed through such information has made it important that safety and security is a priority on the sites.


Social networking sites are a great way of teaching children to keep in touch with family members and friends. However, this can be made possible only if you teach your children all the security features and restrictions available on the site to the child. If the child is not aware of these steps that have to be taken to protect private and personal information, the child may jeopardize this information. As the social networking website software offers all these tools on site, it does not prove difficult to teach your child the basic security features of the site.

However, there is no point in having security features in the social networking website software, if you are not careful in using the computer. There are many people who leave their email addresses, home address, full name and phone number on pages that are open for public to see. Remember it is important that you restrict strangers from accessing your personal information to be successful in the internet, and especially social networks.

It is only on visiting a social networking site do you realize the amount of security the social networking website software maintains in the site. The security features of the software includes encryption, CAPCHA codes, spam filters and even passwords that are used to ensure your safety in the site.

Of course, these safety features may not prove to be something special as practically all websites have these features. However there is some additional security provided with the social networking website software which is, providing users with the ability to block and restrict access to the site by people who are not known or recognized by the site.

One of the most popular social networking sites successfully using this software to day is Facebook, which is presently one of the largest social networking sites catering to high school and college students.

Basically, access to any profile page on the site is restricted unless and up till you are added as a friend in the site. Once you are declared and added as a friend, you can view the pages of your friend, leave comments when required and even send messages. It is also possible to see other friends of your friend; and by registering yourself as their friends, you will be able to see their private pages too. With all this security, personal information remains private and personal.

In the case of another site, MySpace, security issues are handled differently. Here the access to your page can be tailored for only friends and in some situations, let everyone else have a look at your page too. You can also place limitations on who can request making friendships with you. With this feature, it is possible to not only avoid spammers, but also prevent inappropriate people visiting or gaining access to your profile page.

All this does not imply that you have to take this software for granted. Remember that hackers will always look for ways to hack into accounts and gain access to information. This is why no matter how safe a social networking website may seem you should never disclose too much personal information on your profile page.

Remember that if you cannot actually control your personal information on the web, you are the one who will suffer from its consequences. Never actually rely only on the security measures found on social networking website software. It is better to consider them to be additional tools that you can use with your common sense for your own safety.

So it can be said that these features, with the safety steps and etiquette you have to maintain when on the internet all leave you with a social networking website software that is not only safe, but will keep you secure at all times.

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Oracle launches computer hardware

Enterprise software firm Oracle is to sell computer hardware for the first time in partnership with Hewlett Packard (HP). The firm has launched an HP-designed, co-branded database system, as well as a smaller storage system, both of which go on sale this week.

The hardware is designed to speed up data retrieval via Oracle's software products and marks the firm's efforts to offer more comprehensive business software solutions, reports Associated Press. The move expands on a long-standing engineering agreement between Oracle and HP.

The HP Oracle Database Machine is configured for data warehousing, uses 64 Intel processor cores and can store 168 Terabytes of data. It will retail for USD650,000, but excludes the cost of Oracle software, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, the HP Oracle Extradata Storage Servers is aimed at enterprise customers with existing data warehouses. This hardware is designed to enhance data processing and offers 12 Terabytes of storage.

The launch was unveiled by company CEO Larry Ellison during a keynote speech at the Oracle Open World event in San Francisco. The move follows Oracle's USD8.5bn buyout of software rival, BEA Systems, last April. Read More...

3 Theories on Why Fewer eBay Listings Are Showing Up on Google

Ever since 9/16 when fp30 rolled along with a bunch of finding bugs, we have seen sales plummet in many categories with apparel and jewelry being hit the hardest.

While most sellers are focusing in on some of the eBay (eBay) finding wackiness, one seller noticed Google (Google) had all but disappeared as a 'source' of traffic in their advanced store reports.

Based on that tip, we started doing some looking and saw some very unusual behavior.

Here's a search for a popular Nike product's model number:

Notice that the second, third and fifth search results are all for eBay international sites and not ".com".

I've run literally hundreds of searches and you have to really work now to find eBay in the organic (and even paid) Google results. Interestingly enough, when I did find the occasional eBay listing in the index, it was an FP30.

Note that eBay's pagerank [PR] doesn't seem to have changed - it's at 8/10.

Theories on what is going on...
I have a couple of quick theories on what's going on:

• Given their track record in the last couple of weeks, it's possible that eBay has done something to mess up the crawlability of the site.
• It could be that eBay has asked Google to not crawl anything but fp30 dramatically reducing the number of eBay listings in the google index (this doesn't seem very smart, but hey anything's possible I guess)
• It could be that Google is using this tough spot for eBay to kick them in the ribs and has decided that eBay listings are 'not relevant' and yanked them from the index.

Personally I think the last theory is the most probable given the near overnight disappearance of eBay's listings from the Google index.

Readers - any insights into what you are seeing/think is going on

Disclosure: Author is long eBay and Google.

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Welcome to the Future

by: David Ewing Duncan

With a little help from Google, secretive Silicon Valley startup 23andMe is betting you’ll want to Web-surf your own DNA. But is the science ready?

Graphic by: Martin Krzywinski
This just in: Illumina C.E.O. Jay Flatley has the “sprinting” gene, a cluster of DNA that is associated with professional athletes and Olympic track stars, those human beings whose muscles twitch fast instead of slow. Flatley, a stocky 55-year-old industrial engineer, chuckles at this discovery.


On the other hand, he lacks a fairly common gene variant linked to Type 2 diabetes. That’s good news, he says, zooming in on a virtual human body that’s now floating on his computer screen. He clicks on the figure’s leg, and up pops a page describing the gene for restless legs syndrome, a malady that causes some people to flail around at night, resulting in sleeplessness. The webpage includes graphics, descriptions, and links to studies and references, including PubMed, an online health science library. “This site will tell me if I have a gene for obesity,” he says, “or whether my earwax is wet or dry. I’m not kidding.”

My fast but fantastic voyage through the inner Flatley comes during a visit to his company’s San Diego headquarters, where he has allowed me to peek at an early version of the site being developed by a Silicon Valley startup, 23andMe, which is named after the number of paired chromosomes in every human. In stealth mode until a launch planned for later this year, 23andMe is using Illumina’s powerful gene-reading chips to build a company that is among several hoping to cash in on personalized genomics—the tailoring of an individual’s health care and lifestyle based on DNA and biomarkers.

When 23andMe goes live, customers will be asked to spit into short plastic tubes or to swab cells from inside their cheeks and mail in the sample. 23andMe will then analyze the data in relation to reams of information about ailments, treatments, diet, and ancestry and compare the results with those of thousands of others who have been tested for genes associated with diseases and other traits.

The cybersynthesis will be channeled into a customized DNA diary on the website. The company is considering a feature that would allow people to then link their personalized pages to those of others who share their DNA—fellow sprinters, say, or people at risk for Alzheimer’s—just as you can now link to college chums on Facebook. 23andMe has not discussed pricing, but competitors are talking about charging upwards of $2,000 a person.

As wonderful as this sounds, 23andMe is plunging into very controversial territory. Scientists and ethicists warn that the understanding of most genes remains a work in progress—and, as a result, users could make life decisions based on incomplete or erroneous science. “Just because we have identified a gene doesn’t mean its function or its impact has been thoroughly understood or that having a gene has any real predictive value,” says Francis Collins, who led the international consortium that sequenced the human genome and now directs the National Human Genome Research Institute.

This admonition, however, has not deterred 23andMe and other online companies from entering what they believe is a potentially gigantic market. “We’ve only scratched the surface of understanding the human genome,” admits a source familiar with 23andMe. “But the company will be very responsible with the information it will make available to consumers. 23andMe is working closely with the research community.”

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New iPhone 2.1 Update!!!!

I’m starting a new positively posh post every Friday that will include some fabulous finds.

For today, we have a special guest, the iPhone 2.1 update! Not only is Apple stating that this update will fix those reputed dropped calls, but also lend a hand in that poor battery life. What could be better news on a Friday, I ask you?

Here’s a quick list of what’s included in the iPhone 2.1 update:

* Decrease in call failures & those pesky little dropped calls
* Better battery life
* Supposedly fixes crashes from third party apps! Here I come LOLCats!
* Better text messaging performance
* Faster loading of your beloved contacts
* Improved accuracy of 3G signal
* And tons more!!!

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Get Now! Email Management Via Gmail

Recently, I wanted to increase the productivity of the management of all my emails. I had been using Outlook for maybe 8 years or so, and was relatively happy. However, I wondered if there was a smoother way to deal with my emails. You see, I get 100-200 emails per day. I need a proper method in place to manage this, otherwise, I lose time which to me is of a great value.

I had switched to Google Calendar, and I was wondering if a similar switch from Outlook to Gmail would actually work. Gmail would have to have all that Outlook offers and then some for me to transfer over. Here is what I found out:

Multiple accounts & label system
I was pleasantly surprised to know that I could fully manage up to 5 accounts + the actual Gmail account from within the same account. This was very good because I happen to have 3 or 4 different email addresses. What’s different about Gmail is that it does not have folders. Within Outlook, I would save and/or arrange my emails in different folders. With Gmail, you put a label on it and then you can retrieve it by searching within that label’s category. It gives you the same result in my opinion. Labels or folders, I find my emails just the same. Labels might be a little cleaner as far as what the screen looks like since it takes less space than to have tons of folders.

Huge archive storage
It is very important for me to save emails and be able to retrieve them easily. With Outlook, the database backup was just enormous in size for what is basically text. Plus, searching through old emails in Outlook takes a embarrassing amount of time. With Gmail, you get about 7 Gigabyte of storage space. I have barely used 1% of it so far (1 month of usage). Searching within Gmail is so easy and so fast. I can easily archive all my conversations, and find what I need to find within a matter of seconds. This saves me a lot of time, because I would get very frustrated when searching for an email for a client and having Outlook take 5 min. or freeze on me.

Great spam filter
The spam filter in Gmail is really good. I was actually very surprised as to how much more accurate it is compared to the filters in Outlook or the ones installed on the web server for POP or IMAP accounts. I usually had about 30-50 spams that would still find their way into my inbox every day with Outlook. Now, after 1 month, I remember 1 or 2 spam that made it into my inbox. The difference in efficiency is clearly obvious.

Star system
One of the best features in Gmail is the fact that you can apply a “star” (or question mark, exclamation point, etc.) to a particular email, so that you can be reminded to follow up on it later. When looking at a screen of 100 emails, it’s hard to remember which ones you need to reply to or whatnot if there is nothing to make them stand out. I have found my ability to properly deal with emails where my attention was required multiple times has improved because of this star system. Sometimes I cannot reply right away, but I put a little exclamation mark next to it to remind me that I need to reply back. I put a little star next to an email where I am expecting a response back. This feature can really boost your productivity.

More features
Just like other emails, you have all the features you need. You can add a signature to your outgoing emails. There is a vacation auto-responder as well. Before, I had to set up 4 different auto-responders for each email account. Within Gmail, just one takes care of everything. What’s also great is that you can have your Gmail in sync with your Google Talk account. I use this chat service often, and it saves my chat history within my Gmail account. So if I discuss something with a client, I can easily find the information back if necessary, and I can do that extremely quickly. Plus, you get notifications on the chat when you have new emails. You can also add your own filters to incoming emails. These are very flexible and highly customizable. There is also an option to create keyboard shortcuts for common tasks that you might do within your account. These features are nothing new, but they make Gmail truly a viable alternative to Outlook.

Best of all, I can access my Gmail account from any computer. Therefore, I can deal with my emails anywhere in the world I may be. With Outlook, I was restricted to one computer. And even using IMAP instead of POP, I would still have to login to each specific email account individually on the server itself. With Gmail, it’s all under one roof, and that’s what I found so powerful. This was one of the main reasons why I switched over. I wanted my work to be more remote and be accessible anywhere. Sometimes I am on the road, traveling, or on a laptop. Sometimes I just need to check something quickly while I am at a friend’s place. In any of these cases, I have full access to my email accounts just like I would if I was at the office. Add in all the other features I mentioned above, and the decision to switch over was very easy to make! To be perfectly honest, it’s been so smooth using Gmail, that I haven’t missed Outlook whatsoever ;)

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