Computer Repair: When Your Computer Doesn't Work, Some Fixes to Try

When your computer stops working it can feel like the end of the world. Your work, your pictures, your essays, your saved games are all on it. Often your only solution is to take your computer into the shop and hope it doesn't cost too much. Here are a few solutions you can try at home before you bring your computer in. First and foremost, it's important to degrade your computer and make it feel bad about itself. If you do not break its spirit, it will not conform to your wishes. I recommend playing Beethoven to it, as Beethoven is very emotional music, which will break the computers spirit as it knows it can never be one of us. Do not play the computer Death Metal. The term Death Metal makes the computer combative and uncooperative as a computer is made out of mostly metal. Sometimes your computer will not turn on at all. You push the power button, all the lights and fans turn on, but you see nothing but a blank screen. In these cases a potential simple fix is to clear the capacitors. If you unplug the computer and push the power button around 10 times that clears any extra electricity from the computer that may have been causing issues. Plug the computer back in and try to power it on again. You would be amazed how often this fixes your issue. You'd also be amazed at how often computer technicians use this technique in the shop. If it doesn't you might have some bad hardware that will need to be replaced such as your power supply or ram. In other situations where the fans and lights turn on, but the computer does not, the BIOS has become corrupted. The BIOS is responsible for many tasks, but in this case it helps turn on and initialize all the hardware on the computer and if corrupted can cause issues during power on. If you were wondering, yes the BIOS would be the most dangerous part of the computer if it were to become self-aware. For this fix we need to open up the case. First unplug the computer. Every case is a little different, but often there are screws on the back of the computer on the left hand side that hold the left side panel in place. Remove those screws and see if you can slide the side panel away. Others have a lever or large button that needs to be slid or pushed to one side. Once you can see inside the computer look for a small watch battery that should be on the opposite wall, attached to the motherboard. If you are not sure what I am talking about it may be best to take the computer into a shop, but if you can see the battery use a small screwdriver to release the latch holding it so you can remove the battery. Leave the computer unplugged for ten minutes, press the power button 10 times, and then place the battery back onto the motherboard. Close your case, plug the system back in, press the power button and see if anything has changed. If your computer crashes when trying to load windows you can use a few of the built-in auto repair options to try and get the computer limping. When the computer is starting up press the F8 Key repeatedly and by repeatedly, I mean really press it several times over and over. If that doesn't work the first time, restart the computer and try again. This will bring you to the windows startup recovery page. Once on this menu you can try the option "Boot my computer using last known good configuration". This will load the computer back to known good settings and try to start the system. This is the best option if you are aware of a change. If you attempted to update a driver or you installed a new program and the next time you turned the computer on you had startup errors this option should undo all those changes and allow the system to start. Do not worry about modifications you made to any files however. Any documents, saved games, e-mails, or other user generated content will be unaffected by this step. Only computer operating system files will be restored. Now if that does not work on that same F8 menu you can also try an option called "Safe Mode With Networking". This is designed to start a limited version of windows without any additional devices configured allowing you to back up your files, run repair programs, re-install drivers, or even use windows system restore to return your computer to an earlier point where it worked. Repairs in safe mode can be complicated, so if you are not comfortable with the steps listed here you may need to take the computer into a shop. In some cases even starting the computer in safe mode can resolve issues, so after safe mode has started try re-starting the computer normally to see if anything has changed. If you do end up needing to find a shop to fix your computer, a great way to find a good one is Google. On another computer either at work, a library, or at a friend's house go to Google and search for a repair shop in your city. For example, I live in Calgary Alberta Canada, so I would look for "Calgary Computer Repair". This type of search will bring up hundreds of results, but keep an eye at the top few and see how the website feels. Often you will find a smaller shop that is local to the community, rather than a large chain store. You will often receive better service from the small local well established shops as they will be focused on return customers, and will have higher skilled technicians. These are only a few of the tools that Calgary Computer Repair shops use to fight the evils of viruses and computer corruption. Sometimes hardware or software failures make it impossible to repair the computer yourself without parts or help from outside sources, but by following the few tricks listed above you can potentially save yourself, and your friends valuable time and money.

Cathie Dunklee-Donnell is the owner of a Calgary Computer Repair shop called Ducktoes Computer Services in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

How to Set Up and Configure Samba

The following tutorial will show you how to set up samba on a Linux system allowing you to share files and folders with either a Linux or a Windows client. All the following steps work on Linux Mint 11 but should also work on any other distribution using gnome. For kde the only thing which differs is defining shares (usually through the kde control center). On the Samba Server First thing is to check samba is installed. Open up a terminal and type: sudo apt-get install smbd Type your root password when prompted. Then install smbfs by typing: sudo apt-get install smbfs and then type your root password again. Now open up your smb.conf file by typing: gksu gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf Locate the line WORKROUP = WORKGROUP and change it to the name of your network. So for instance mine would be changed to WORKGROUP = MINT_HOME. Save the file and exit. Now we have to add users to the smbpasswd file which is located at /etc/samba/smbpasswd. Only users specified in the smbpasswd file will be able to access your samba shares. Open a terminal as root and type: smbpasswd -a user (where user is the name of the person allowed to access the shares). When prompted enter their new password twice. Next we have to define the samba shares. Type: gksu shares-admin When prompted enter your root password. Previously in earlier tutorials I set the shares by editing the xorg.conf file, however most people would rather have a GUI to do this as it is easier. With the GUI open add your samba shares, save and exit. Note, every time you update the xorg.conf file you must restart the samba service so type: gksu service smbd restart Now we have to check the configuration so far. Type: testparm If there are errors in the xorg.conf file testparm will tell you. If everything is Ok then type: smbclient -L 192.168.1.10 (where 192.168.1.10 is the ip address of your samba server). This will show you the list of all your available samba shares. At this point if you have no errors your server is configured correctly. Linux Clients Install smbclient and smbfs either using the package manager or apt-get install. Now we have to mount the available shares. First decide where you are going to mount them. I will mount them in /media/dev/share but first I will have to make the directory dev so: cd /media gksu mkdir dev and then ls which should show us the new dev directory in media. Now time to mount the shares. gksu mount -t smbfs //192.168.1.10/(share name) /media/dev/share where 192.168.1.10 is the ip address of your samba server. This will mount the share but only as long as you are logged in. To make the link persistent you need to enter the following line into /etc/fstab. //192.168.1.10/(share) /media/dev/share cifs username=user,password=pass,user,rw,noatime 0 0 Windows Clients We have to change the workgroup to MINT_HOME and then add the ip address of the samba server to the hosts file (must open as administrator). Once this is complete map the shares to your computer. Word of warning here about firewalls. Either turn them off or add exception rules for traffic on ports 137-139 and 445.

Here at ComTech I love Linux. I use it for my own systems in the office and 'pass on the good word' to clients when appropriate. I can sort out any Linux queries you might have or offer advice if needed. Please go to http://www.comtech247.net for more information.

What Is the Gray Market?

I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me what the term "gray market" really means. Everyone seems to know what "black market" means. Most people would agree with Merriam Webster that bottom line, black market trading equals illegal trade practices of buying and selling. What is not as well-known is the legal arena of "gray market." According to Webster, the term gray market rolled out around 1946. They define it as: a market employing irregular but not illegal methods; especially: a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer. Gray market trading is not illegal trading. There is a "good" side of legally circumventing distribution, namely it is the great savings in purchase prices resellers can offer their customers. However, because this market is not subject to the guidelines of distribution, it is also a market which can be subjected to potential abusive and counterfeit selling practices. This is why many companies have partnered with the ASCDI/NATD (Association of Service and Computer Dealers and the North American Association of Telecom Dealers.) Their Anti-Counterfeit Task Force works together with the "good companies" who are offering quality products at a discount from distribution's pricing and work to prevent them from procuring equipment from unproven or suspicious new companies attempting to enter the business. It is from alliances such as the ASCDI/NATD of brokers and resellers who are like-minded in their desire to offer quality products at a reduced price that the gray maket is so successful. None of us benefit from counterfeit equipment entering the supply chain. For more information on the efforts of the ASCDI/NATD, please feel free to visit their website at http://www.ascdi.com/asna/. Bottom line - as with any other industry and arena, there are methods of buying and selling equipment that are considered "white market" and legal. I would never encourage any illegal or unethical sales practices. The focus of working in the gray market space is not to work outside of the law. In fact, it is a way to work within the confines of the law and provide additional cost savings to your customers. Please feel free to do research of your own. Call these companies. Ask them questions about how they procure their equipment, where it is tested, and confirm actual stock before you consider placing an order. (Merriam Webster, January 2012. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray%20market )

http://www.altatechnologies.com

Brand Marketing - The Digital Way

Brand marketing online has become the need of the hour. With the increasing number of netsurfers who regularly visit search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN etc for their smallest needs and also to gain knowledge on various subjects it has become a necessity for every business to keep its presence in the web world. Similarly every individual and companies wants their identity to be recognized through various social media sites and want all the public who are related to their business to visit their respective websites. Thus comes into picture the trend of digital brand marketing As marketing is already a competitive field and it mode through digital world makes it even more challenging. The brand manager or the media agency who is promoting the brand name of the business online needs to do several activities in order to pull the traffic of these netsurfers towards your own websites/brand name. One of such processes is known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For the same the brand manager has to initially do some research which involves a few steps i.e: 1. Understand the kind of work the business is handling. 2. Look into the competitors of the business and their websites. 3. Build a strategy for digital brand marketing. 4. Find the most searched keywords which can be used in the website so that the results of searching by netsurfers will be the business website/link. 5. Build upon the content of the website in accordance to the keywords analyzed. 6. Post links on various websites. 7. Submit blogs, articles on most visited websites. 8. Do social bookmarking and press releases. 9. Gather the feedback and improvise on the process followed. 10. Upgrade the website with the feedback gathered and also form strategies for doing digital brand marketing in accordance with the changing trends in the web world. Through the steps followed by Search engine optimizer (the person who runs this process) the website of the business/individual is ranked ahead of its competitors so that there is business generated through this brand promotions online. Therefore it is very important for the search engine optimizer to have indepth knowledge about website designing and the various modules that are included to develop a website i.e. Photoshop, flash, HTML, XML, CSS. As this demand for digital brand marketing is increasing there is an increase in demand for the employment of Search Engine optimizers and Website developers wherein web designing jobs and graphic designing courses need to be done. If you are looking for a professional learning institute for Web site designing and SEO training please visit our site: http://edit.co.in/courses.html

The writer of this article is a student of Digital brand marketing and has provided the insights about the same.

Advantage Of Managed IT Services And How Can You Be Benefited From Them

At the dawn of this 21st century, we stand on the brink of the flourishing progress of modern technology that has not just made our day-to-day life simpler but also much more productive. We now have nanotechnology, android phones and even holographic mastering devices that once famous authors like H. G. Wells and Asimov imagined through their fictional works. Speaking in much simpler terms, it's even possible now to cure AIDS, via Gene therapy. All these achievements were only possible because of the incredible progress in the field of Information Technology (IT) that we have in present. Information Technology is nothing but a huge arena of information management for commercialized purpose that contains all the known form of knowledge ever obtained by the mankind for the beneficial use in the present and as well in the future. We now have several well-managed IT services that not just enable people to gather resources but also help them to globalize within the restricted perimeter of their comfort zone. Now, let's have a look at how can you be benefited from a well-managed IT service. Managed IT services can be of various types. At present there are well-managed IT services of bio-informatics, computer networking, hardware and software technology and various other innumerable prospects of concern, that are at your very own doorstep to help you make your life much comfortable. If you are a student, there are various well-managed educational IT firms that would help you in finding your destined educational institutions or for instance give you the correct information regarding studies concerning your respective fields in abroad. There are also several other managed IT services that would create useful software for your companies and create a powerful security system for round the clock watch of your valuable assets. You can even find several online based IT systems that are there to assure you safe money transactions and make your online business experience much more amusing. Pharmaceutical IT firms let you know about their recent drug trials and updates and also let you know about their job sectors. well-managed IT services do act as an effective source for finding you jobs and let you make some big money. Not only that but professional IT services run on an effective administrative network and are capable of offering you big posts even if you do not have a science background. You can even invest on the stocks of well-managed IT services and surely expect to come up with good profits on selling them. All In all, managed IT systems can benefit you in several ways. You just need to stick to the right and the reputed IT companies to obtain the best of what you are truly looking for. The importance of managed IT systems in terms of benefits is countless but before consulting with any managed IT services just go through their terms and conditions. That way you will have a better understanding of their working procedures.

If you are looking for Managed IT Services, Please visit Managed IT Services London.

What Does The Brother HL 4150CDN Printer And Toner Products Have To Offer a Home Office?

Many printers today are style-oriented. This is due to the fact that they are a lot of the times meant for the home office or other places that people will be able to see them out in the open. The sad part is that often times style comes before substance. The nice curves and the dynamic flashy visuals will distract buyers from the ordinary performance, unfortunately. However, Brother has come up with a way to get around that by giving style AND top-notch performance for the home office setting so every aspect of the machine looks and performs to standard. It doesn't have an overflow of features but the ones it does have count. The button driven control panel is simple and the LCD screen has two line text to navigate. The printer is effective as can be. Just to scratch the surface there are loads of features. The abundance of prints you can make from just plugging your flash drive in to the USB port is uncanny. You can use the programs attached to the printer with a password protection feature which will allow you to keep everything safe and secret. It can be told to not print blank pages and also can restrict the use of certain features upon general command. Making multiple copies can be prevented; scaling and printing in color are some of the features that can be blocked by the administrator with the simple use of a password. This printer is intended to be that printer that fills the gap between cheap printers that are used for light workloads, and others who are aimed toward more heavyweight print jobs. The paper handling facilities are ok. It has the ability to hold 250 sheets in the input tray as the main paper source with a 50 sheet multi-purpose tray which is capable of pushing the total paper handling to 300 sheets. It doesn't need to be upgraded but of course it is encouraged as your workloads increase. Upgrades are always an option. Decent sized jobs are going to be easier with an upgraded sheet tray. You can upgrade to a tray of 500 sheet holding, and 800 total sheets held by the printer in total. Home offices can greatly benefit from the low costs and the high quality of this unit. It is intended for smaller areas and is equipped with the ability to keep up with high demand output.

Brother 4150CDN Toner Discount Printer Toner

Tech Jobs and Cloud Computing

Being able to access information from your home, office, school, etc. is something that is becoming more and more of a reality. It's a result of cloud computing. This innovation makes it possible for people to access whatever is important them without being tied to their computer. So, if you want to share a document, photo, video, or even music clips with friends and family, you can do so no matter where you are. If you are trying to make a decision on a future career choice, becoming proficient in the cloud-computing field can make your search for tech jobs even easier. That's because there aren't many people that can say they have extensive experience with this quickly emerging industrial science. Careers of the past, such as help desk technician are quickly fading. Many people are familiar with computers, the Internet, social media, and more, and the need for someone to walk you through computer basics is becoming obsolete. People want information quickly and almost immediately. Deciding to pursue tech jobs in cloud computing can set you on a path to a bright future. More and more companies will be requesting individuals that can manage cloud projects. The good thing is that many industrial science experts already possess some of the skills needed in order to work well in the cloud-computing field. Some of these skills involve making sure business systems are set up with secure information systems, data integrity, proper networking and more. In addition, the right candidate will understand the importance of aligning business and information technology to ensure things run smoothly. Also, when pursuing tech jobs in the cloud-computing field, a company's needs can vary greatly. This means, some businesses may look for someone that has worked as a system's analyst and also knows coding. Or, on the other hand, another company may be in need of a technical writer that can help get the process down step by step because it doesn't matter how great the idea is if it can't be implemented properly. Knowledge of the business, as well as good communications skills, are needed to succeed in this field. Since you'll be working with an assortment of people on different levels, you need to know more than the bare minimum of what's required for tech jobs in this industry. It's essential that you truly understand how everything works together. Furthermore, being able to grasp all the virtualization that goes into cloud computing is a must. At the end of the day, the point of working in cloud computing for business is to help everyone work easier and provide a better user experience.

If you're looking for New Orleans tech jobs, be sure to check out this resource: http://archoninfosys.com.

4 Tips for Everyday Google Doc Users

Google Docs are used today by a wide range of users - from students to businesses and many in between. Those who rely heavily on it for different reasons will find the following tips very useful. If you are one of them, read on! Auto-Correct Typos Just like Microsoft, Google Docs corrects typos that you make. In addition to the typical mistakes that every other speedy type-r makes, such as typing 'the' as 'the', there are person-specific mistakes too. You can tell Google Docs about the mistakes you make, and what to turn them into. This way you won't have to do it yourself every time. To do so, follow the steps below. 1. Select 'Tools' 2. Go to 'Preferences' 3. A dialog box will appear. Check the box next to 'Automatic Substitution'. 4. Then fill in the boxes under the 'Replace' and 'With' with the mistakes that you make and their substitutions. Share Google Docs There are people who don't use Google and they might not be able to view the documents they are meant to read. To enable them to do so, follow the instructions below. 1. Click on the icon 'padlock' on the top left of the site. 2. A dialog box will appear. Click 'Change' next to 'Private'. 3. Another dialog box will appear. You can click 'Everyone' or 'Anyone with the Link' depending on what your requirements are. 4. You can also allow non-Google users to edit the document. You can do so by checking the box next to 'Allow Anyone to Edit'. 5. Click 'Save'. 6. Share away the documents by messaging, emailing or any other medium you like. Bookmark the Document Just like you bookmark parts of books that are reading in different sittings and have sections that you would later want to re-visit, you can bookmark Google Docs documents too. This can be helpful for a number of situations. Bookmarks can help you recall things that you might require later, make table of contents and other purposes. There are two ways of bookmarking one of these documents. You can insert a bookmark by clicking 'Insert' and then clicking 'Bookmark'. Also, you can create a link by selecting text in the document and then pressing 'Clt+K'. A dialogue box will appear. Click on the radio box labeled 'bookmark'. Preview a Google Document in Gmail There are times when a document needs a very brief glance. To save time, instead of opening the entire page, you can simply review it by activating the Google Docs Preview option in your Gmail account by doing the following: 1. Go to 'Settings' 2. Click 'Labs' 3. Find 'Mail add-on' and move on to Google Docs Previews 4. Click the check box next to 'Enable' 5. Click 'Save' The tips above can revolutionize the utility of Google Docs. However, use them carefully. You don't want to give everyone around access to your private documents or the authority to edit it.

For more information about Google Docs visit Ancoris, who are a UK based Premier Enterprise Reseller of Google Apps, providing comprehensive deployment, migration, support and training services for Google Apps, Google Sites, Google Docs and everything related to Cloud Computing.

Smart Card Reader

A smart card reader is a data input device that operates and reads smart cards to help you get the data stored in that card and perform transactions. It is also a card programmer because it lets you write to a card acceptance device (CAD), card terminals, and interface device (IFD). There is only a slight difference between the terminal and the card reader. A terminal is a self-contained device that can process. A reader is generally used to describe the unit that connects with the computer and enables it to function or process its requirements. Smart cards are portable data cards that requires it to connect with another device for it to gain access to a display device, network or computer. It is required that you plug your smart cards into readers. Sometimes they can operate with radio frequencies (RF). The function of the chip inside the card can be categorised in two. The smart card could be used as memory or it could be a microprocessor It does not follow that the moment a card and a reader come in contact your data will immediately be open. Each device is required to identify itself with the other by sending and receiving messages. If the information that they exchanged do not match, it stops functioning and no further processing takes place. The advantage of this smart technology over ordinary bank cards is its ability to defend itself against unauthorised users because it uses very innovative security measures. The smart technology or sometimes as it is referred to, the chip card technology is now becoming more prominent in the techno scene and society as a whole.Apart from this security measure there are also more advanced ways of protecting your smart cards. The smart card reader gives a path for the application to send and receive commands from the smart card. There are many types of readers available since the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) group was not able to provide a world standard for communicating with the different readers. Hence, there is no one size-device that fits all approach to the smart card communication technology. Examples of different readers are serial, PCCard, and standard keyboard models. However, even with all these choices available most computers now come with a built-in smart card reader. Although there are many readers available out there we need to keep in mind that there are features that we all should look for that is desirable for a card reader to have. Card Contact types refer to how the contact between a card reader and a smart card is physically made. There are two types of contact and they are landing contact and friction contact. For the card reader that features friction contact, their contact part is already fixed. The contact wipes the chip and the card surface when a card is inserted. For landing type contact readers the contact part is movable. The contact only lands on the chip after the card is wholly inserted. Generally, card readers that uses a landing type of contact offer more protection to the card compared to the friction type. It will not take long before smart card readers become an integral part of every computer. Card readers are also accessible as a USB dongle. Check out our store for low priced quality card readers and swipe card machines.

Keith Carasco, I am a writer and domain name entrepreneur encompassing a wide range of subjects and niches. I just love building new blogs with all the intense reading and researching that goes with that task. An example being. http://swipecardmachines.com/category/iphone-credit-card-reader/ You have full permission to reprint any of my articles provided the box is kept unchanged.

 

The History and Legacy of Steve Jobs

Few people can ever claim to have changed the world. Famous people, in this age of 24 hour news channels, Twitter and the internet can come at a dime a dozen, actors, musicians, authors, politicians, activists, among many others that were successful in getting the attention of many people. Innovators and pioneers on the other hand are hard to come by. People who go against the odds and make a difference, those who leave legacies that advance their own field. And the legacy of Steve Jobs will surely endure, even after many of have gone. Before we even measure how much the legacy of Steve Jobs has affected us, we must first look into the history of the man. The legacy of Steve Jobs after all becomes all the more impressive when you consider how he became one of the most famous men in the history of technology. Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 to two unwed University of Wisconsin students and was then adopted at birth by Paul Reinhold, and Clara Jobs, Paul a machinist for a laser manufacturing company, and Clara an accountant for a high tech company in what would later be known as Silicon Valley. His adoptive mother taught him to read early, even before he went to school, and his adoptive father taught him in basic electronics, developing skills that, unknown to them at that time would contribute to the great legacy of Steve Jobs. Steve frequented after school lectures at the Hewlett-Packard company during his days in Homestead High School in Cupertino California, it is here where he would meet Steve Wozniak during his tenure as a summer employee. Wozniak, along with Ronald Wayne would, in the future, join Jobs to co-found Apple Computer Co., the company that, more than anything else, embody the legacy of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs never attended college for long. Staying for only one semester, he later dropped out and basically lived the life of a transient for some time, and considering how far reaching the legacy of Steve Jobs eventually became, made his accomplishments all the more impressive. After a stint in Atari, Steve Jobs would join Steve Wozniak after his invention of the Apple I computer, and along with Ronald Wayne and funding from Mark Markkula, would found the Apple Computer Co. in 1976, a flagship company where the legacy of Steve Jobs would be built upon. Originally created in the garage of Job's parents, the company would soon grow to establish the standards on how personal computers would become, and establish the legacy of Steve Jobs and his colleagues. Steve Job's initial stay at Apple would not be smooth sailing. He resigned from the company in 1985 after disagreements between management policy caused rifts between him and John Sculley, then CEO of the company. This departure would not last however. After Job's resignation, he founded NeXT computers, and eventually bought The Graphics Group (now named Pixar) from Lucasfilms in 1986. In 1996 Apple bought NeXT computers for a sum of $429 million, returning Jobs to the company that he co-founded, and eventually becoming the CEO in 1997. With Steve Jobs back in Apple, his brand of management and his demand for aesthetically appealing products brought back profitability to the company's portfolio. Revolutionizing the way we listen to music in the form of the mp3 player, and bringing smart phones and tablet pc's into the tech race, the legacy of Steve Jobs is hard to miss in our everyday life. His drive to create innovative products changed the way that we view mobile computing, and will probably affect what we expect of mobile media for years to come.

Kalon Willis University of Findlay/College of Business CEO/ Founder of ElectroniConnection.com ElectroniConnection@rocketmail.com http://www.ElectroniConnection.com Here at ElectroniConnection.com, we sell every kind of name brand electronic you can imagine at the lowest prices possible. Everything in our webstore includes Free Shipping and great customer service from our loyal employees. Come and visit us soon!

Who Uses The Brother MFC 9970CDW?

The Brother MFC 9970CDW multifunctional color laser printer is used in offices everywhere that are looking for the most professional looking prints for the lowest cost. This machine doesn't only do the functions but it does them the best. The machine is durable and rarely needs to be repaired. When it does need to be repaired it is easily fixable by those in the office. If the toner cartridges need to be replaced it is a simple switch out between individual colors or entire cartridges all together. The power of this device allows all of the functions to work professionally at higher speeds than other brands. The color is high-impact every time a print comes out whether it is printed from a computer, the USB on the back of the printer or a cell phone. Each print looks exactly the same and wears the same great quality that will last for years and years. You can print up to 30 pages per minute and the connectivity is so flexible that you can do wireless, Ethernet or USB quickly easily and efficiently. The color screen display helps the process be as even and equal as possible for the easiest printing and in the simplest quickest time. The cartridges can withstand major printing jobs and allow you to lower your operating costs by getting the jobs done in a fraction of the time. This will save energy and also allow you to save time so there will be more time for other work to be done or you will be paying out less because the work will be done in less time. The cartridges can last for a long time with their energy saving mode but doesn't take away from the quality. The duplex capability works in color too. You can print color prints on both sides of a page which will allow you to save on paper cost too. You can save up to 50 percent of your original cost if you want to. The printer allows for automatic multi-page copying scanning and faxing. This model has a 50 page capacity auto document feeder for copying, scanning and faxing up to legal sized documents. Everything will be done in luscious beautiful high quality color. The scanning has a high quality too that will transfer exactly on to the computer for email, or to copies that will be printed out. You will spend less time worrying about supplies and how everything works with this printer, and spend more time doing what you need to do. It's almost simple enough where you don't have to read the directions.

Brother MFC 9970cdw MICR Toner

Is It Different Working For A Graphic Design Agency?

A graphic designer is vital to the smooth operation of your graphic design agency and the design process. Now there is a much increased use in computer graphics, however, there is still a need for the designers. They are expected to meet the needs of their clients whilst presenting their work in an effective and attractive manner which will benefit the client. A designer is an artist; however unlike an artist they mostly only create art for a purpose. This is because they have to meet the needs of the clients so they can be some restrictions sometimes. This is usually because they are working towards a marketing campaign so it is important that it looks good in order for the graphic designer to get paid and also the marketing techniques of the client. This is where the difference lies, fine art and other types of art do not always have a point and the artist will have free reign to explore their work, however there are often limitations as to what a designer can do with regards to this. Working for a design agency means that a designer will have to ensure that all their work meets the standards of the client and will be fit for purpose. One of the good things about working for a design agency is the amount of variation you will get when it comes to your work, no two projects will ever be the same meaning it will always be new. Every client that you work for will have different needs and requirements and it will be your job to tailor your work in order to suit these needs, this means that you will always have something new to work on keeping your job varied and interesting. It is however vital that the designer understands what their work is intended to achieve in order to meet the needs of their clients, if they do this well then they could find that they are encouraging repeat trade. Two of the key talents a designer will need of they want to be employed by a design agency is imagination and talent. These are the most valued attributes in a graphic designer. You need to be able to have a good imagination in order to come up with fresh ideas that will entice the clients into coming back. Even if it is something as boring as double glazing sites. the best thing about being a graphic designer however, is the freedom you get to use your imagination every day with something different. Some projects will require them to work to certain criteria but for the most part they have free reign to play around with a site, particularly entertainment media. There are few job that can be as varied as a graphic designer working for agraphic design agency.

The author of this article is an employee at a graphic design agency and knows his stuff. For graphic design, Newcastle is the best place to look. This is where you will find some of the best graphic designers in the country.

How to Choose Office Equipment

Are you opening a new office? Or do you feel it is time to replace some old office equipment? The problem that people have when doing this is trying to choose the best equipment. There are certain aspects of your business that you need to look at when choosing your equipment. What to look for in office printers Office printers are very important if you need to print anything in your office. You want to have a printer that can cope with the volumes that you will need to print in a fast and efficient manner. If you do have to print a lot then you should look for high capacity printers. You will also want to have a printer that can print quickly as there is nothing worse than having to wait a long time for all your pages to print. Of course if the department does not have to print much a smaller printer is also an option. Network printers should also be looked at if you have many people in your office. You should also look into the price of cartridges and how many pages you can get from a cartridge. It is also best to have a printer that can print in both monochrome and colour for document headers. What kind of computers should you get? Technology is always advancing and you don't want to be left behind. However, you don't want to have to replace your computers too often either. The things to look at when deciding on computers are their speed, the memory and whether they will be able to connect to your network and work properly. What about all in one devices? The device that you should seriously consider is all in one devices. These devices will incorporate a printer, copier, scanner and often a fax machine. By getting one of these devices you will not only save space but also money as you only have to buy one device. The costs of cartridges will also be lowered as you only have to buy cartridges for one machine. It is best that your all in one device is able to connect to a network. As with all machines you have to see that the one you get covers all the need of your business. Getting a shredder Another piece of equipment that you may overlook is a shredder. If you are dealing with documents that have information about your business of any of your clients you need to dispose of them in a secure manner. For your office you will need to have a shredder that can cope with larger quantities than a personal one. Shedders will also shred in different ways so you should look into what kind of shredding you want done. Office equipment can be a nightmare to choose. The best idea is to create a plan of what your business needs from the computer use to the amount that you have to print. Once you have this plan you will be able to find the equipment that can handle the correct capacity and amount of work.

This article was submitted by Simona Rusnakova, SEO consultant of 3R, on behalf of Office Technology who sell photocopiers, office printers, it support and office furniture in Dublin, Ireland.

Dell 1135n Printer and Toner Features

In order to have confidence when purchasing a new electronic it is important to be aware of all your options. Analyzing specific printer models is the best way to find the perfect match for your home or office. One printer in particular, being the Dell 1135n, has a lot of extra features to offer a user. This model can be found in stores or online along with the toner needed to keep the device producing premium quality outcomes. The differences between the Dell 1135n and a standard printer include everything from their capabilities to their compact size. It allows users to make the most of their money from the beginning to the end of their printer's lengthy lifetime. One of the reasons the Dell 1135n is able to save money is because it is created to have a low overall cost per page. Savings might not be noticeable on a small scale, but over time these single decimals add up to noticeable sums. A part of the interworking that contributes to lowering the page costs is the printer's ability to maximize the use of toner. This doesn't mean images and text will be less vibrant, rather excessive amounts of toner aren't unnecessarily used. After nearly 700 pages have printed, toner levels will begin to fall short and the printer will notify you directly to prevent further problems. Replacing the cartridges, whether they are brand new or compatible, can be accomplished quickly in this easy use model. In addition to the listed, mentioning the different functions is crucial to understanding the printer's positive reputation. In fact, it would be nearly wrong to classify this multifunction "printer" as simply that. The 1135n is more than this, but a scanner, copier, and fax machine too. Each option performs just as good as the last and can be accomplished on nearly any style of paper from thick to transparent sheets. This allows for your creativity to run free when making labels, envelopes, or photos. Since the device is able to perform many tasks one might wonder if it is possible to "over use" the machine. The printer does have a recommended monthly limit; however, it brims a large number of 12000. When you have your pages arrive promptly, exceeding 20 per the minute, you can always expect your next request to be equally successful. It's the perfect device for smaller groups of people needing various things from the machine. You can't go wrong with this model while its warranty won't let it go wrong on you.

Dell 1135MFP Toner Toner Store

An Introduction to Supernetting

For those who do not know it yet, supernetting is actually a type of internet protocol that is actually based on 2 or more networks through a CIDR prefix. CIDR, or Classless Inter-Domain Routing, is actually the protocol that allows the subnets to connect together to form a super network. In such a network, any other prefixes should not be in the same routing zone or path since it might cause conflicts within the system. In a nutshell, the process of netting the computers together is actually a strategy to prevent any fragmentation especially on the part of the IP addresses. It is actually a block of several subnetworks that are addressed together in a single subnet that is connected over a larger group of networks. A supernet provides a hierarchical sharing and allocation of the system through providing optimum control over the addresses of regional network providers. Such a process also helps in regional route connection through preventing aggression within connected hardware devices. Using supernetting has a lot of benefits. One of its major benefits is that it allows conservation of addresses or address spaces. Since subnets always have subnet masks that hide the component networks, safety is also promoted within the network. Another benefit that is gained through it is that networks would become more efficient because memory storage is optimized and route information is also efficiently shared. Since the size of routing groups have been exponentially increasing in the internet, it is imperative that subnetworks should be used. Since subnet route aggregation is applied, several computers would be shared to smaller networks which then save the storage space for routing tables. The subnets would also receive lesser advertisements from other gateways. Another benefit is that complex groups would be able to isolate topology especially in terms of several routers. This would in turn provide a stable connection of the network by limiting routing traffic especially when a link fails to work. In order for supernetting to work, it actually needs several routing protocols that actually act in CIDR. CIDR or Classless Inter Domain Routing is used as the chief protocol. Of course, there are other protocols that can be applied in making subnetworks including Routing Information Protocol or RIPv1 and Interior or Exterior Gateway Protocol. In using subnetworks, the best example would always be the large scale corporations that would want to instantaneously share data while at the same time provide a stable connection through the system. Subnets are best applied in companies that have over 150 services offered and connected to several branches within the system. Without route aggregation, the company would need to provide several accounts for over 150 routers over various branches with over a thousand networks. If the company suddenly decides to apply route aggregation, then they would be able to solve the provlem through several interconnection points. The company would also be able to monitor closely the activities that are applied by employees by simply checking on each individual's computer through the use of each distinct address.

Need more information on supernetting? Then visit Firewall.cx, a globally recognized site covering networking topics, protocol analysis, Cisco routing, switching, security and VoIP technologies.

An Introduction to Supernetting

For those who do not know it yet, supernetting is actually a type of internet protocol that is actually based on 2 or more networks through a CIDR prefix. CIDR, or Classless Inter-Domain Routing, is actually the protocol that allows the subnets to connect together to form a super network. In such a network, any other prefixes should not be in the same routing zone or path since it might cause conflicts within the system. In a nutshell, the process of netting the computers together is actually a strategy to prevent any fragmentation especially on the part of the IP addresses. It is actually a block of several subnetworks that are addressed together in a single subnet that is connected over a larger group of networks. A supernet provides a hierarchical sharing and allocation of the system through providing optimum control over the addresses of regional network providers. Such a process also helps in regional route connection through preventing aggression within connected hardware devices. Using supernetting has a lot of benefits. One of its major benefits is that it allows conservation of addresses or address spaces. Since subnets always have subnet masks that hide the component networks, safety is also promoted within the network. Another benefit that is gained through it is that networks would become more efficient because memory storage is optimized and route information is also efficiently shared. Since the size of routing groups have been exponentially increasing in the internet, it is imperative that subnetworks should be used. Since subnet route aggregation is applied, several computers would be shared to smaller networks which then save the storage space for routing tables. The subnets would also receive lesser advertisements from other gateways. Another benefit is that complex groups would be able to isolate topology especially in terms of several routers. This would in turn provide a stable connection of the network by limiting routing traffic especially when a link fails to work. In order for supernetting to work, it actually needs several routing protocols that actually act in CIDR. CIDR or Classless Inter Domain Routing is used as the chief protocol. Of course, there are other protocols that can be applied in making subnetworks including Routing Information Protocol or RIPv1 and Interior or Exterior Gateway Protocol. In using subnetworks, the best example would always be the large scale corporations that would want to instantaneously share data while at the same time provide a stable connection through the system. Subnets are best applied in companies that have over 150 services offered and connected to several branches within the system. Without route aggregation, the company would need to provide several accounts for over 150 routers over various branches with over a thousand networks. If the company suddenly decides to apply route aggregation, then they would be able to solve the provlem through several interconnection points. The company would also be able to monitor closely the activities that are applied by employees by simply checking on each individual's computer through the use of each distinct address.

Need more information on supernetting? Then visit Firewall.cx, a globally recognized site covering networking topics, protocol analysis, Cisco routing, switching, security and VoIP technologies.

Importance Of Wireless Network Solutions

As a famous corporation leader, you understand the significance of your employees being mobile, as they are necessary to concentrate numerous meetings plus meet by customers out of the office. Nowadays, where all is digitalized, it becomes extremely significant that your workers are ready by wireless technologies. Hire wireless network specialist services plus make sure your employees are forever linked. For the achievement of your solid it is extremely significant that your workers make a faultless primary feeling. How awkward would it be if one your well-organized executives is on a lunch gathering by one of your potential clients plus when they button on the laptop to show your company's achievement, they cannot even access the internet? Surely, not creation use of the superior standards wireless network will make your corporation negative points plus this could still lead to you behind out on the explanation. In your proposal to increase the mobility of your workers you experiment by various quick techniques for quick solutions. However, there are improved chances of them not operational for you. An additional difficulty by installing perfect wireless network is it requires completion of numerous events that balance one more, making it a very time consuming plus quite complex procedure. So how do you make a decision which exact answer will most excellent suit your commerce plus get you in the high-quality books of your potential customers? A perfect answer is to rope in the services of a specialist wireless network service, as they will assure that the WLAN is intended to turn into an essential plus a rather rational part that contributes to your hard network communications. Also make sure they offer the efficient normal boost next to by other fully tenable wireless networks that are simple to measure plus managed distantly. Thus ensuring you get improved return on your investment. Installing it is not simply simple plus quick but it also obviates the obligation to drag wire wires through ceilings plus walls. The systems linked by this skill are able to be simply configured into a broad diversity of network topology in order to convene the supplies of exacting installation plus applications. One can easily modify plus range configurations from peer-to-peer networks suitable for little users. Using it, users have a simple right of entry to in order anywhere in the corporation or association or exterior. Thus, this mobility very much supports improved output plus novel service opportunities that were before not likely because of aged technologies.

If you are looking for Network Solutions, Please visit Network Solutions London.

Migrants: Stranger In A Strange Land - How To Cope

You have just migrated to a new country and are faced with many challenges. Things were tough back home, so you made the enormous decision to move your family to a new country for a chance at a better life. Things are going well even though there are many challenges to overcome. You are excited at the prospect of your new life, but you have an overwhelming ache in your heart for the people you left behind. As you settle in to your new life, there are many challenges to overcome: language barriers, employment, re-education, and basic services that most people take for granted. You can cope with these challenges, and overcome them as best as possible. Even though you were excited at the prospect of starting a new life, and were eager to migrate because of the possibilities that move would provide for your family and future generations, you find yourself missing your old life. You know your old life and home country could never provide you with a decent future, but you are homesick just the same. The important thing is to find strategies to help you cope and overcome feeling homesick. The best strategy is to keep in touch with family and friends. Sending emails regularly helps you to stay in touch, but doesn't really give you that feeling of being truly connected. Phone calls provide a much better way to have a conversation and connect. You may need to monitor the frequency though, as the costs can be quite prohibitive. You may have to settle for calling only once a fortnight or even once a month as you still have many expenses to overcome. The time between calls can seem to be an eternity, and the overwhelming sense of homesickness can set in again and have you feeling very depressed. What you really need is a solution that provides you with an option that allows you to see your family every single day, and truly connect without ever having to worry about the expense. You may think that the only way for this to occur is if you moved back home. Not so. Today's video phone technology allows you to connect with friends and family around the world, anytime, with true digital clarity, and the best part, is that video phone calling can be completely free. The video phone makes you feel as though you are right there with your family, sharing every single moment and every special occasion. Free calling with a video phone, means you can pick up the phone anytime you want to have a quick chat or a long conversation. And you can see the expressions and emotions, so you feel as though you are right there with your family. Imagine never having to worry about a phone bill again. The video phone allows you to talk as long as you want, whenever you want. Laugh, joke, share the everyday moments of your new life and surroundings, and still enjoy the everyday moments of your old home. Forget about being homesick. The video phone allows you to see the people you miss the most in real-time. Whether you have moved across the country or across the globe, the video phone provides a true solution for migrants everywhere. Lieneka Tollnar

Lieneka draws on her 20+ years of business experience to help people utilize the power of the video phone, and more importantly choose the right one. Her team has assisted over 75000 people globally, to solve their telecommunication challenges and stay in touch with the people that matter. To get her free report on how to choose the video phone that's right for you, simply click here. If you are interested in finding out how the video phone can keep you connected with your family and friends around the world, and save you money, download your copy of Telecom Insider Secrets now.

What Kind Of Printing Are The Brother HL 4570CDWT Printer And Toner Products Best For?

The HL 4570DWT is certainly at the top of the list for maximizing productivity at a low cost. There are many things that are good to use this model printer for along with the toner products made for this design because of the quality and longevity of the toner and durability of the machine. The outcome impresses everyone that sees it. The prints come out with a thick looking coat of toner while at the same time saving on the actual toner cost because of its ability to go into a toner saving mode. The toner is so rich in pigment that it doesn't need the entire amount to look just as bold and vivid as a regular printer that uses more toner. The fibers of the paper have a better chance of being clung to by the toner particles because of the heat and the procedure of the printer that they go through. This printer focuses on the functions that are high in demand so you can get all your communication and document printing finished quickly and with quality. The performance is steady and holds high worth at all times; even in large quantities. One of the unit's biggest features is that it can print in color, as well as scan copy and fax all in color too. The features will save you time by their updated data and their streamlined designs which cut out all the fat so you are getting directly what you need. Document printing can be done quickly as well as communication tasks with the functions available on this printer. It's user friendly LCD screen allows you to navigate through the commands to easily print scan and copy as well as fax easily. The machine has other features such as auto-duplex printing which means that both sides of the paper can be printed automatically which can save you lots on paper cost. You can save up to 50 percent on paper cost by using duplex features. In conjunction with the energy saving mode and the toner saving mode you will be saving up to 30 percent on your entire cost of running your printer than you would with a different one. The fact that the entire printer in general is a less start up cost because of its high quality while being low priced and low maintenance cost means that you are getting this printer for a significant chunk less.

Brother HL4570CDWT Toner Discount Printer Toner

New Version of ColdFusion Is Zeus

ColdFusion Zeus is the code name for the next version of ColdFusion but not yet called CF10. The document mentioned below does not specify all that is new/updated in Zeus rather mentions only the things that are publicly announced by Adobe regarding Zeus. CF typically tries to remain backwardly compatible. So, in Zeus Tomcat will be replacing JRun as underlying Java container which provides us with the following benefits: • Much more modern container. More robust, lightweight, faster. • Many benefits, extended features of Tomcat could be leveraged • Multiserver form of deployment still supported Verity will finally be removed (in favor of Solr, added in CF9) and the document and also removed are the document limits Verity imposed. ColdFusion Zeus: NEW ENHANCEMENTS NEW ADMIN ENHANCEMENTS • Automated Hotfix Mechanism • View available updates in the administrator / notification • Download updates • One-click install, even to multiple instances • Supports normal and security hotfixes • Also Admin API and Server Manager Updates to support this • Installer for 8, 8.0.1, 9, 9.0.1 (w/o notification) • Clear template cache for given folder • Clear query cache • Restricting Admin Access by IP Address • CF Admin secure by default in various ways NEW SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS • XSS Protection (cross-site scripting: putting code on page via input fields) • New functions to check and clean input strings (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and URL) • Based on ESAPI from OWASP • CSRF Protection (cross-site request forgery: causing unexpected authorized acts) • New functions to generate, verify tokens • Session Improvements • New control over session cookie properties (timeout, security features) • New sessioninvalidate () and sessionrotate () functions • Verification of Mime type on CFFILE uploads (optional strict attribute) • Also new fileGetMimeType to check type for given file or object • Also: CRLF ("http response splitting") protection, Hash/HMAC support, cflogin strengthened, other Services improved, protections tightened • Dedicated Security Czar NEW SCHEDULED TASK ENHANCEMENTS • Powered by Quartz: http://www.quartz-scheduler.org/ • Supports task chaining (task interdependencies) • Attaching listeners to tasks • Setting priorities for tasks • Cron-style format for scheduling • Ability to group tasks (assign to a group name) for management of grouped tasks • Better error handling (refire, pause, invoke exception handler) ColdFusion Zeus: UPDATES FROM EARLIER VERSION • CF Admin Java applet for file/folder choosing • Replaced with jQuery control • Application-specific in-memory file system (VFS) • CF9 introduced, but was system-wide (shared by all) • Can now be set to per-application (in admin or in app), and can set limits • Exchange 2010 support, including EWS (web svcs) • Also folder operations, user scheduling, conversation-based ops • Web Services now Axis 2 (adds REST, WDSL 2.0 and much more) • Create and publish REST-based services (using JSON, XML) • SOAP 2 can be specified at component, application, or server level • Backwards-compatible (always a goal for CF)

http://cf.etisbew.com

What Does The Brother HL 4150CDN Printer And Toner Products Have To Offer a Home Office?

Many printers today are style-oriented. This is due to the fact that they are a lot of the times meant for the home office or other places that people will be able to see them out in the open. The sad part is that often times style comes before substance. The nice curves and the dynamic flashy visuals will distract buyers from the ordinary performance, unfortunately. However, Brother has come up with a way to get around that by giving style AND top-notch performance for the home office setting so every aspect of the machine looks and performs to standard. It doesn't have an overflow of features but the ones it does have count. The button driven control panel is simple and the LCD screen has two line text to navigate. The printer is effective as can be. Just to scratch the surface there are loads of features. The abundance of prints you can make from just plugging your flash drive in to the USB port is uncanny. You can use the programs attached to the printer with a password protection feature which will allow you to keep everything safe and secret. It can be told to not print blank pages and also can restrict the use of certain features upon general command. Making multiple copies can be prevented; scaling and printing in color are some of the features that can be blocked by the administrator with the simple use of a password. This printer is intended to be that printer that fills the gap between cheap printers that are used for light workloads, and others who are aimed toward more heavyweight print jobs. The paper handling facilities are ok. It has the ability to hold 250 sheets in the input tray as the main paper source with a 50 sheet multi-purpose tray which is capable of pushing the total paper handling to 300 sheets. It doesn't need to be upgraded but of course it is encouraged as your workloads increase. Upgrades are always an option. Decent sized jobs are going to be easier with an upgraded sheet tray. You can upgrade to a tray of 500 sheet holding, and 800 total sheets held by the printer in total. Home offices can greatly benefit from the low costs and the high quality of this unit. It is intended for smaller areas and is equipped with the ability to keep up with high demand output.

Brother 4150CDN Toner Discount Printer Toner

The Different Tiers of Online Computer Support

When people call for online computer support, you will find that there are levels or rather tiers. These are the levels of the people who are helping them. Each level has a different function and a different responsibility. This will go further in discussion with these different levels so they know who helps them. Tier I & II The first level or tier is tier I. This is the first line of people who they will talk to when they need help. They get the information of what is actually wrong with the things and then they go on to get the list of symptoms that they might encounter. They handle the smaller things when you look at this. They are the ones who will do password resets and other things of this nature. They will put in the most hours as they are the first ones that they are going to call. That is Tier I. That is this sort of online computer support. Then there is level two. This is said to be the most in depth level there is. The techs that do this job are said to be paid more for all that they have to do. They review what the first level has said was wrong with it. They will see that the first tier has done some things. They look at this and try to troubleshoot a bit to see if they cannot fix things. They might do onsite installations among many other tasks that need to be done. However, if they cannot fix the problem, then they pass I ton to the next tier. Tier III & IV Tier III is the next in command in terms of online computer support. This is the highest level that there is. They handle all the advanced problems that arise. They can sometimes look at this and see things that the people working with the individual in the second and third tier have missed. The thing with this is that there are some of them who might have to call back after they have looked at things. They might have to come back even with bad news. This could be hard, but it has to be done. Then, there is the last level. Tier four is usually the one that finds that they are outside the scope of what the business can handle. This is usually software or even a hardware problem of something that has come from the outside. In some cases, they might have to get a tech from that company to either take the piece of equipment or to have them come out to investigate what is going wrong. These are pretty simple fixes for them. However, there are some that might find differently. These are the different tiers that are there with online computer support.

Author is an established writer and expert in the computer and tech niche, currently writing on topics like online computer support and remote pc repair. Visit to read more information.

What Is the Gray Market?

I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me what the term "gray market" really means. Everyone seems to know what "black market" means. Most people would agree with Merriam Webster that bottom line, black market trading equals illegal trade practices of buying and selling. What is not as well-known is the legal arena of "gray market." According to Webster, the term gray market rolled out around 1946. They define it as: a market employing irregular but not illegal methods; especially: a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer. Gray market trading is not illegal trading. There is a "good" side of legally circumventing distribution, namely it is the great savings in purchase prices resellers can offer their customers. However, because this market is not subject to the guidelines of distribution, it is also a market which can be subjected to potential abusive and counterfeit selling practices. This is why many companies have partnered with the ASCDI/NATD (Association of Service and Computer Dealers and the North American Association of Telecom Dealers.) Their Anti-Counterfeit Task Force works together with the "good companies" who are offering quality products at a discount from distribution's pricing and work to prevent them from procuring equipment from unproven or suspicious new companies attempting to enter the business. It is from alliances such as the ASCDI/NATD of brokers and resellers who are like-minded in their desire to offer quality products at a reduced price that the gray maket is so successful. None of us benefit from counterfeit equipment entering the supply chain. For more information on the efforts of the ASCDI/NATD, please feel free to visit their website at http://www.ascdi.com/asna/. Bottom line - as with any other industry and arena, there are methods of buying and selling equipment that are considered "white market" and legal. I would never encourage any illegal or unethical sales practices. The focus of working in the gray market space is not to work outside of the law. In fact, it is a way to work within the confines of the law and provide additional cost savings to your customers. Please feel free to do research of your own. Call these companies. Ask them questions about how they procure their equipment, where it is tested, and confirm actual stock before you consider placing an order. (Merriam Webster, January 2012. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray%20market )

http://www.altatechnologies.com

The Best Ways To Protect Your Information

We depend on computers for almost everything in our lives. We may store a significant amount of personal information on those computers, but at the same time, we may use them for all of our business purposes as well. Regardless of what or why you store information on a computer, it is important to ensure that it is kept safe. This is not only true from a financial perspective, it is also true when you consider the sensitive nature of some of the data that we may keep on our hard drives. In order for you to make sure that your information is as safe as possible, here are some data protection suggestions that can assist you. One of the most important things for you to do when it comes to operating a computer is to safeguard against viruses and spyware. These are two completely different issues, but in most cases, they are going to be covered under a single type of protection software. Some of the bigger brand-name antivirus software will run on your computer and make sure that no damaging information is able to be added to the hard drive. It will check any download that takes place, as well as scanning your email and even websites before they are opened, to ensure that there is nothing damaging attached. If you are going to be running an antivirus program, it is also important that you make sure it is updated regularly. New viruses are coming out on a regular basis, and these can often circumvent the security of anti-spyware and antivirus programs. By keeping the programs up to date, you will be sure to catch anything new that is released. Additionally, it is a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with how to recognize problem websites and other issues that could result in a virus or spyware being attached to your computer. If you do any work on a public network, it is also important to ensure that nobody has access to your personal information. All of the information that travels across the network is going to need to be encrypted so that it cannot be read in such a way. In most cases, the build in protections for Windows is enough to take care of the problem, but in other cases, you may need to add more security. Be sure that you get what is necessary in order to protect your data on public networks. One final thing that you can do to protect your information is to employ some kind of disk encryption software. Not everyone is going to need to take advantage of encrypting their hard drive, but if you have extremely sensitive data, it is something for you to consider. By including the data on your hard drive, it is going to be unreadable by anyone who is not able to unlock the encryption code. This is beneficial, not only when you are on a network, but when you have a laptop and run the risk of having it stolen.

Franklin Dobbs is the author of this article about data protection and disk encryption software. Franklin has worked in the Tech industry for most of his professional career and enjoys blogging about it.

Why VLAN Tagging Is Important?

Most people might be wondering Why VLAN Tagging is important. Actually VLAN, which is sometimes called as Virtual LAN, is a type of connection that allows administrators to change the connectivity from other networks. VLAN allows conventional LAN the freedom to be changed. VLAN, in perspective, is actually composed of several devices that are connected to each other through a network and share access through various sections. Of course, IEEE 802.1Q is also used in terms of VLAN. A standard IEEE 802.1 workgroup has the ability to connect through multiple networks which are bridged together in a physical network. The hardware connected in the network can send several protocols and implement mechanisms over the other hardware devices. So, IEEE 802.1D provides a protocol that allows sharing using a type of switch that has layer 3 capabilities through a router. However, the true nature of VLAN actually depends according to its categories. One of the categories for VLAN Tagging is Protocol based VLAN. In this type of category, IP traffic is actually filtered through a specific protocol that communicated with other neighboring stations within the network. The communication through other networks is configured in a switch and a layer 4 protocol is applied in the connection. An example for this kind of connection is the IPX. Another type of tagging is MAC-based VLAN. This type of connection allows Individual MAC addresses to be shared within the network and VLAN membership setting is applied so that other individual devices would have access. Aside from MAC based, ATM VLAN is also one of the most famous categories for networking. This category is based on LAN type emulation or LANE protocol. Such a protocol allows packet mapping which is done through various ATM cells. ATM VLAN also delivers all the packets to their destination through conversion of the MAC address. Finally, the last type of category is the Port-based VLAN which is actually based on physical switch support through an access list which would automatically identify the members that are connected within the network. Since VLAN Tagging is based on a logical perspective rather than in total physical connectivity, it is actually very efficient when it comes to bandwidth allocation, resource sharing, optimization of data as well as host and user management which is often based in private infrastructures such as in schools and offices. Most homes can also benefit from such a connection provided that a number of computers are connected within the network otherwise such a protocol would be useless. Some of the great places where VLAN connections should be practiced would be in public groups or networks providing WiFi connection to customers and large malls. Shopping outlets that run through POS or Point of Sale programs would also benefit from using this form of connection. Since the connected hardware devices are divided for security, any intrusions as well as spread of viruses would be limited. Hence, such a connection would be the best type of sharing in any kind of public network.

Need more information on VLAN tagging? Then visit Firewall.cx, a globally recognized site covering networking topics, protocol analysis, Cisco routing, switching, security and VoIP technologies.

European Electronics Legislation in 2012 - What Are the Big News Stories?

Manufacturers, importers and distributors both based in and exporting to the EU must take the time to review all the legislative obligations placed upon them both from the point of protecting their customers and the environment from their products, as well as themselves from the potential legal and monetary issues if they are found to be non-compliant. RoHS 2 The recast of the RoHS directive was a huge story in 2011. The legislation severely limits the use of six hazardous substances (Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, PBDE and PBB) in electrical and electronic equipment). The biggest changes were:  

• The introduction of an open scope. The new category 11 covers all products not captured in categories 1-10, unless they are specifically excluded.
• The definition of EEE. The original RoHS defined EEE as equipment which is dependent on electronic or electromagnetic fields to work properly. Now it specifies equipment which is dependent on electronic or electromagnetic fields to fulfil at least one of its intended functions.
• Four year exemption review periods have been replaced by automatic expiry of exemptions unless they are renewed. Categories 1-7 and 10 will be valid for a maximum of five year and 8,9 and 11 will be valid for seven years. Applications for renewal must be submitted at least 18 months before the expiry date.
• Equipment used solely for research and development purposes is out of scope.
• CE Mark obligations will apply to all products in the scope of RoHS when it enters force on the 2^ndJanuary 2013.
• Whilst no additional substances were added to the original six, four substances (HBCDD, BBP, DBP and DEHP) have been put forward for priority assessment with the view of adding them in the future.

  WEEE2 The second reading of the WEEE recast was voted through by the European Parliament in early 2012. Whilst the final text has not been available yet as the European Council need to finalise and publish in the Official Journal of the EU, the following details have been revealed by the European Parliament.  

• WEEE collection targets. By 2016 the majority of member states will have to collect 45 tonnes of e-waste for every 100 tonnes of EEE put on the market in the previous three years. By 2019 this will move to being 65% of EEE put on the market in the previous three years or 85% of WEEE generated (this is yet to be confirmed)
• Stepped collection targets are available for different member states. Ten member states which do not have sufficient waste infrastructures in place and need to improve will have a 40% target and may take until 2021 to reach their target.
• Small items of WEEE can be returned to larger electrical shops without the need to buy a new product to replace the one they are returning.
• Recycling rates of up to 80% will be required for some categories of EEE
• Illegal shipments will be made harder to achieve as the burden of proof moves from customs officials to those exporting and the requirements of proof are stricter.
• Registration and reporting requirements for producers will be simplified to make the process less onerous.

  So what will the future bring? It is inevitable that both RoHS and REACH will have their scopes extended, exemptions will be amended, the open scope will vastly increase the amount of products within scope and more and more substances will be added to both RoHS and REACH.

Victoria Jones is Legislation Marketing Manager at Farnell. http://www.element14.com/legislation

Understanding The Cloud

For the last couple of years the IT industry has been getting excited and energised about Cloud. Large IT companies and consultancies have spent, and are spending, billions of dollars, pounds and yen investing in Cloud technologies. So, what's uh, the deal? While Cloud is generating lot more heat than light it is, nonetheless, giving us all something to think about and something to sell our customers. In some respects Cloud isn't new, in other respects it's ground-breaking and will make an undeniable change in the way that business provides users with applications and services. Beyond that, and it is already happening, users will at last be able to provide their own Processing, Memory, Storage and Network (PMSN) resources at one level, and at other levels receive applications and services anywhere, anytime, using (almost) any mobile technology. In short, Cloud can liberate users, make remote working more feasible, ease IT management and move a business from CapEx to more of an OpEx situation. If a business is receiving applications and services from Cloud, depending on the type of Cloud, it may not need a data centre or server-room any more. All it will require is to cover the costs of the applications and services that it uses. Some in IT may perceive this as a threat, others as a liberation. So, what is Cloud? To understand Cloud you need to understand the base technologies, principles and drivers that support it and have provided a lot of the impetus to develop it. Virtualisation For the last decade the industry has been super-busy consolidating data centres and server-rooms from racks of tin boxes to less racks of fewer tin boxes. At the same time the number of applications able to exist in this new and smaller footprint has been increasing. Virtualisation; why do it? Servers hosting a single application have utilisation levels of around 15%. That means that the server is ticking over and highly under-utilised. The cost of data centres full of servers running at 15% is a financial nightmare. Server utilisation of 15% can't return anything on the initial investment for many years, if ever. Servers have a lifecycle of about 3 years and a depreciation of about 50% out of the box. After three years, the servers are worth anything in corporate terms. Today we have refined tool-sets that enable us to virtualise pretty much any server and in doing that we can create clusters of virtualised servers that are able to host multiple applications and services. This has brought many benefits. Higher densities of Application servers hosted on fewer Resource servers enables the data centre to deliver more applications and services. It's Cooler, It's Greener Besides the reduction of individual hardware systems through expeditious use of virtualisation, data centre designers and hardware manufacturers have introduced other methods and technologies to reduce the amount of power required to cool the systems and the data centre halls. These days servers and other hardware systems have directional air-flow. A server may have front-to-back or back-to-front directional fans that drive the heated air into a particular direction that suits the air-flow design of the data centre. Air-flow is the new science in the IT industry. It is becoming common to have a hot-isle and a cold-isle matrix across the data centre hall. Having systems that can respond and participate in that design can produce considerable savings in power requirements. The choice of where to build a data centre is also becoming more important. There is also the Green agenda. Companies want to be seen to be engaging with this new and popular movement. The amount of power needed to run large data centres is in the Megawatt region and hardly Green. Large data centres will always require high levels of power. Hardware manufacturers are attempting to bring down the power requirements of their products and data centre designers are making a big effort to make more use of (natural) air-flow. Taken together these efforts are making a difference. If being Green is going to save money, then it's a good thing. Downsides High utilisation of hardware introduces higher levels of failure caused, in the most part, by heat. In the case of the 121 ratio, the server is idling, cool and under-utilised and costing more money than necessary (in terms of ROI) but, will provide a long lifecycle. In the case of virtualisation, producing higher levels of utilisation per Host will generate a lot more heat. Heat damages components (degradation over time) and shortens MTTF (Mean Time To Failure) which affects TCO (Total Cost of Ownership = the bottom line) and ROI (Return on Investment). It also raises the cooling requirement which in turn increases power consumption. When Massive Parallel Processing is required, and this is very much a cloud technology, cooling and power will step up a notch. Massive Parallel Processing can use tens of thousands of servers/VMs, large storage environments along with complex and large networks. This level of processing will increase energy requirements. Basically, you can't have it both ways. Another downside to virtualisation is VM density. Imagine 500 hardware servers, each hosting 192 VMs. That's 96,000 Virtual Machines. The average number of VMs per Host server is limited by the number of vendor-recommended VMs per CPU. If a server has 16 CPUs (Cores) you could create approximately 12 VMs per Core (this is entirely dependent on what the VM is going to be used for). Therefore it's a simple piece of arithmetic, 500 X 192 = 96,000 Virtual Machines. Architects take all this into account when designing large virtualisation infrastructures and make sure that Sprawl is kept strictly under control. However, the danger exists. Virtualisation; The basics of how to do it Take a single computer, a server, and install software that enables the abstraction of the underlying hardware resources: Processing, Memory, Storage and Networking. Once you've configured this virtualisation-capable software, you can use it to fool various operating systems into thinking that they are being installed into a familiar environment that they recognise. This is achieved by the virtualisation software that (should) contain all the necessary drivers used by the operating system to talk to the hardware. At the bottom of the virtualisation stack is the Hardware Host. Install the hypervisor on this machine. The hypervisor abstracts the hardware resources and delivers them to the virtual machines (VMs). On the VM install the appropriate operating system. Now install the application/s. A single hardware Host can support a number of Guest operating systems, or Virtual Machines, dependent on the purpose of the VM and the number of processing cores in the Host. Each hypervisor vendor has its own permutation of VMs to Cores ratio but, it is also necessary to understand exactly what the VMs are going to support to be able to calculate the provisioning of the VMs. Sizing/Provisioning virtual infrastructures is the new black-art in IT and there are many tools and utilities to help carry out that crucial and critical task. Despite all the helpful gadgets, part of the art of sizing is still down to informed guesswork and experience. This means that the machines haven't taken over yet! Hypervisor The hypervisor can be installed in two formats: 1. Install an operating system that has within it some code that constitutes a hypervisor. Once the operating system is installed, click a couple of boxes and reboot the operating system to activate the hypervisor. This is called Host Virtualisation because there is a Host operating system, such as Windows 2008 or a Linux distribution, as the foundation and controller of the hypervisor. The base operating system is installed in the usual way, directly onto the hardware/server. A modification is made and the system is rebooted. Next time it loads it will offer the hypervisor configuration as a bootable choice 2. Install a hypervisor directly onto the hardware/server. Once installed, the hypervisor will abstract the hardware resources and make them available to multiple Guest operating systems via a Virtual machine. VMware's ESXi and XEN are this type of hypervisor (on-the-metal hypervisor) The two most popular hypervisors are VMware ESXi and Microsoft's Hyper-V. ESXi is a stand-alone hypervisor that is installed directly onto the hardware. Hyper-V is part of the Windows 2008 operating system. Windows 2008 must be installed first to be able to use the hypervisor within the operating system. Hyper-V is an attractive proposition but, it does not reduce the footprint to the size of ESXi (Hyper-V is about 2GB on the disk and ESXi is about 70MB on the disk), and it does not reduce the overhead to a level as low ESXi. To manage virtual environments requires other applications. VMware offers vCenter Server and Microsoft offers System Center Virtual Machine Manager. There are a range of third-party tools available to enhance these activities. Which hypervisor to use? The choice of which virtualisation software to use should be based on informed decisions. Sizing the Hosts, provisioning the VMs, choosing the support toolsets and models, and a whole raft of other questions need to be answered to make sure that money and time is spent effectively and what is implemented works and doesn't need massive change for a couple of years (wouldn't that be nice?). What is Cloud Computing? Look around the Web and there are myriad definitions. Here's mine. "Cloud Computing is billable, virtualised, elastic services" Cloud is a metaphor for the methods that enable users to access applications and services using the Internet and the Web. Everything from the Access layer to the bottom of the stack is located in the data centre and never leaves it. Within this stack are many other applications and services that enable monitoring of the Processing, Memory, Storage and Network which can then be used by chargeback applications to provide metering and billing. Cloud Computing Models The Deployment Model and the Delivery Model. Deployment Model - Private Cloud - Public Cloud - Community Cloud - Hybrid Cloud Private Cloud Deployment Model For most businesses the Private Cloud Deployment Model will be the Model of choice. It provides a high level of security and for those companies and organisation that have to take compliance and data security laws into consideration Private Cloud will be the only acceptable Deployment Model. Note: There are companies (providers) selling managed hosting as Cloud. They rely on the hype and confusion about what Cloud actually is. Check exactly what is on offer or it may turn out that the product is not Cloud and cannot offer the attributes of Cloud. Public Cloud Deployment Model Amazon EC2 is a good example of the Public Cloud Deployment Model. Users in this case are, by and large, the Public although more and more businesses are finding Public Cloud a useful addition to their current delivery models. Small business can take advantage of the Public Cloud low costs, particularly where security is not an issue. Even large enterprises, organisations and government institutions can find advantages in utilising Public Cloud. It will depend on legal and data security requirements. Community Cloud Deployment Model This model is created by users allowing their personal computers to be used as resources in a P2P (Point-to-Point) network. Given that modern PCs/Workstations have multiprocessors, a good chunk of RAM and large SATA storage disks, it is sensible to utilise these resources to enable a Community of users each contributing PMSN and sharing the applications and services made available. Large numbers of PCs and, possibly, servers can be connected into a single subnet. Users are the contributors and consumers of compute resources, applications and services via the Community Cloud. The advantage of the Community Cloud is that it's not tied to a vendor and not subject to the business case of a vendor. That means the community can set its own costs and prices. It can be a completely free service and run as a co-operative. Security may not be as critical but, the fact that each user has access at a low level might introduce the risk of security breaches, and consequent bad blood amongst the group. While user communities can benefit from vendor detachment it isn't necessary that vendors are excluded. Vendor/providers can also deliver Community Cloud, at a cost. Large companies that may share certain needs can also participate using Community Cloud. Community Cloud can be useful where a major disaster has occurred and a company has lost services. If that company is part of a Community Cloud (car manufacturers, oil companies etc.) those services may be available from other sources within that Cloud. Hybrid Cloud Deployment Model The Hybrid Cloud is used where it is useful to have access to the Public Cloud while maintaining certain security restrictions on users and data within a Private Cloud. For instance, a company has a data centre from which it delivers Private Cloud services to its staff but, it needs to have some method of delivering ubiquitous services to the public or to users outside its own network. The Hybrid Cloud can provide this kind of environment. Companies using Hybrid Cloud services can take advantage of the massive scalability of the Public Cloud delivered from Public Cloud providers, while still maintaining control and security over critical data and compliance requirements. Federated Clouds While this is not a Cloud deployment or delivery model per se, it is going to become an important part of Cloud Computing services in the future. As the Cloud market increases and enlarges across the world, the diversity of provision is going to become more and more difficult to manage or even clarify. Many Cloud providers will be hostile to each other and may not be keen to share across their Clouds. Business and users will want to be able to diversify and multiply their choices of Cloud delivery and provision. Having multiple Clouds increases the availability of applications and services. A company may find that it is a good idea to utilise multiple Cloud providers to enable data to be used in differing Clouds for differing groups. The problem is how to control/manage this multiple headed delivery model? IT can take control back by acting as the central office clearing house for the multiple Clouds. Workloads may require different levels of security, compliance, performance and SLAs across the entire company. Being able to use multiple Clouds to fulfil each requirement for each workload is a distinct advantage over the one-size-fits-all principle that a single Cloud provider brings to the table. Federated Cloud also answers the question of How do I avoid vendor lock-in? However, multiple Clouds require careful management and that's where the Federated Cloud comes in. So, what is stopping this happening? Mostly it's about the differences between operating systems and platforms. The other reason is that moving a VM can be difficult when that VM is 100GBs. If you imagine thousands of those being moved around simultaneously you can see why true Cloud federation is not yet with us, although some companies are out there trying to make it happen. Right now you can't move a VM out of EC2 into Azure or OpenStack. True federation is where disparate Clouds can be managed together seamlessly and where VMs can be moved between Clouds. Abstraction The physical layer resources were abstracted by the hypervisor to provide an environment for the Guest operating systems via the VMs. This layer of abstraction is managed by the appropriate vendor virtualisation management tools (in the case of VMware its vSphere vCenter Server and its APIs). The Cloud Management Layer (vCloud Director in the case of VMware) is an abstraction of the Virtualisation Layer. It has taken the VMs, applications and services (and users) and organised them into groups. It can then make them available to users. Using the abstracted virtual layer it is possible to deliver IaaS, PaaS and SaaS to Private, Public, Community and Hybrid Cloud users. Cloud Delivery Models IaaS-Infrastructure as a Service (Lower Layer) When a customer buys IaaS it will receive the entire compute infrastructure including Power/Cooling, Host (hardware) servers, storage, networking and VMs (supplied as servers). It is the customers responsibility to install the operating systems, manage the infrastructure and to patch and update as necessary. These terms can vary depending on the vendor/provider and the individual contract details. PaaS-Platform as a Service (Middle Layer) PaaS delivers a particular platform or platforms to a customer. This might be a Linux or Windows environment. Everything is provided including the operating systems ready for software developers (the main users of PaaS) to create and test their products. Billing can be based on resource usage over time. There are a number of billing models to suit various requirements. SaaS-Software as a service (Top Layer) SaaS delivers a complete computing environment along with applications ready for user access. This is the standard offer in the Public Cloud. Examples of applications would be Microsoft's Office 365. In this environment the customer has no responsibility to manage the infrastructure. Cloud Metering & Billing Metering Billing is derived from the chargeback information (Metering) gleaned from the infrastructure. Depending on the service ordered the billing will include the resources outlined below. Billable Resource Options: (Courtesy Cisco) Virtual machine: CPU, Memory, Storage capacity, Disk and network I/O Server blade Options will vary by type and size of the hardware Network services: Load balancer, Firewall, Virtual router Security services: Isolation level, Compliance level Service-level agreements (SLAs): Best effort (Bronze), High availability (Silver), Fault tolerant (Gold) Data services: Data encryption, Data compression, Backups, Data availability and redundancy WAN services: VPN connectivity, WAN optimisation Billing Pay-as-you-Go: Straightforward payment based on billing from the provider. Usually customers are billed for CPU and RAM usage only when the server is actually running. Billing can be Pre-Paid, or Pay-as-you-Go. For servers (VMs) that are in a non-running state (stopped), the customer only pays for the storage that server is using. If a server is deleted, there are no further charges. Pay-as-you-Go can be a combination of a variety of information billed as a single item. For instance, Network usage can be charged for each hour that a network or networks are deployed. Outbound and Inbound Bandwidth can be charged; NTT America charges only for outbound traffic leaving a customer network or Cloud Files storage environment, whereas inbound traffic may be billed, or not. It all comes down to what the provider offers and what you have chosen to buy. Pre-Allocated Some current cloud models use pre-allocation, such as a server instance or a compute slice,as the basis for pricing. Here, the resource that a customer is billed for has to be allocated first, allowing for predictability and pre-approval of the expenditure. However, the term instance can be defined in different ways. If the instance is simply a chunk of processing time on a server equal to 750 hours, that equates to a full month. If the size of the instance is linked to a specific hardware configuration, the billing appears to be based on hours of processing, but in fact reflects access to a specific server configuration for a month. As such, this pricing structure doesn't differ significantly from traditional server hosting. Reservation or Reserved Amazon, for instance, uses the term Reserved Instance Billing. This refers to usage of VMs over time. The customer purchases a number of Reserved Instances in advance. There are three levels of Reserved Instance billing, Light, Medium and Heavy Reserved Instances. If the customer increases usage of instance above the set rate Amazon will charge at the higher rate. That's not an exact description but, it's close enough. Cloud billing is not a straightforward and simple as vendors would like to have us believe. Read carefully the conditions and try to stick rigidly to the prescribed usage levels or the bill could come as a shock. The Future of Cloud Some say Cloud has no future and that it's simply another trend. Larry Ellison (of Oracle) made a statement a few years ago that Cloud was an aberration or fashion generated by an industry that was looking desperately for something, anything, new to sell (paraphrased). Others say that Cloud is the future of IT and IS delivery. The latter seem to be correct. It's clear that Cloud is the topical subject on the lips of all IT geeks and gurus. It's also true that the public at large is becoming Cloud-savvy and, due to the dominance of mobile computing, the public and business will continue to demand on-tap utility-computing, (John McCarthy, speaking at the MIT Centennial in 1961 forecast that computing would become a public utility), via desktops, laptops, netbooks, iPads, iPhones, Smartphones and gadgets yet to be invented. Cloud can provide that ubiquitous, elastic and billable utility. robb@emailinx.com 2012

Robb Kimmer is a Global Solutions Architect / Senior Consultant at Dell. He is the author of several articles about virtualisation and cloud technologies.