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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Why Choose Dedicated Server Hosting?

by: Kathryn Dawson

What is dedicated server hosting?

In order to display a website online, you have to find a way to host the site. Buying a domain and designing a page are not enough. There are many ways you can choose to host a website. Dedicated server hosting is without a doubt one of the safest and most secure. A professional company will rent you a dedicated server, which means no one other than you has access to it. They will also store the server in a data centre and make sure it is completely secure. They will monitor it for you and even send you alerts if and when there is a problem.

What are the benefits?

Although this is not as cheap as shared hosting, it provides excellent value for money. With this service you don't need to buy the hardware, you don't need to plan and equip a resilient data room and you have the peace of mind that your server is safe and secure. If you have a website that takes payment information from customers you should always choose this type of hosting over a shared server package. Because the server is dedicated to you alone the loading time of websites is quicker and there is no danger of something going wrong with your server because someone elsewhere has “fiddled” with their own site. Although rare, it has been known for problems to spread through sites that are shared on the same server.

What are the alternatives?


There are other options available. Mentioned briefly already, shared hosting is a popular choice for many, especially those on a very tight budget. There is a lot of competition out there between hosting companies which makes this a very affordable option. The downside is that other people have access to your server. A problem with one of the other sites could become a problem of yours. It also makes websites slower to load. Colocation is another alternative. You buy the hardware and place it physically in a nearby data centre. It does mean however that you are in charge of purchasing and maintaining the server itself and responsible for buying replacement parts.

The final option available is installing your own on-site data room and purchasing your own servers to put in it. This is the most costly option and places a large amount of responsibility on your shoulders. Large companies are able to do this but solitary webmasters or small companies are much better off employing the services of a professional hosting company.

The online world is quite fickle. Perhaps a few years ago a website could be forgiven for being slow to load or having an occasional problem, but not any more. Web visitors are unforgiving and impatient and that means you only have one chance to impress them. If they visit your site but cannot see a page loading quick enough, or there is another type of problem they will simply click away. Websites that involve monetary transactions in particular need to be professional and with excellent functionality otherwise people will not trust the site enough to part with their money.

If you are thinking about getting a website or a group of websites started you should consider dedicated server hosting. You will enjoy the peace of mind it brings that your server is safe. You can request constant network monitoring too so if your site goes down you know about it instantly. A managed dedicated server should always be used if the site is going to involve monetary transactions of any kind as customer details and credit card numbers need to be kept safe.

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Monday, December 20, 2010

How To Easily Buy The Right External Hard Drive

by: George Hutton

Buying an external hard drive can be a daunting task. There are plenty of different models to choose from, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some may be too big, and others may be too small. If you do some work ahead of time, however, you can make the buying decision a lot easier. In this article, you'll go over your own unique criteria, so you can make an easier decision.

Back in the old days, when you needed to save some important information, you simply popped in a floppy disk, and that was good enough. These days, however, computers don't even come with floppy drives any more. You need a lot more space to store your stuff. How much space will vary according to what you will be storing. If you have plenty of photos, or music, or videos, then you'll probably need one of the larger models. If you only have documents, and a few images, then a smaller model will probably be satisfactory for you.

Naturally, if this is the first time you've bought a back up drive, then it can be difficult to estimate how much space you are going to need. A good rule of thumb is to get an external drive that is at least five times as large as your current internal drive. Many software programs will allow you to back up in several different ways, and each way can use up as much space on your external drive as you have available on your internal drive.

One more thing to ponder is the amount of time you plan on using your current computer. If you've ever bought a new computer, you'll notice that the sizes of hard drives keep getting bigger and bigger. Which means people tend to put more stuff there. So if you plan on buying a new computer in six months to a year, it's best to get as big an external hard drive as you can. That way you won't have to buy a new one when you buy another computer.

Portability is another major concern. Do you use your computer in only one place, or do you move around and use several different computers for the same task? If you plan on moving around and using different computers, then you'll likely need a portable hard drive. These are a bit more expensive, as they are more compact. However, if you only plan to backup your home or work computer, the a desktop model will probably suffice.

Your computer, and the data it contains, is very important. When you take the time to go through these ideas, and work them out in your mind before you go shopping, you will save in the long run. You will save time, save money, and free both of those valuable things up for more important matters. After you've got your back up system in place, you'll be happy you decided to take the time.

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Why You Need An External Hard Drive

by: George Hutton

Computers have grown in many ways in recent years. If you've been around long enough to witness the birth and growth of the Internet, then you certainly know how much it has exploded recently. Every year computers get bigger and bigger, and their capabilities are increasing just as much. This is a great time to be alive if you love technology.

In the beginning, computers came with pretty much everything you needed. Stores would sell them bundled with speakers, keyboards, monitors, and whole works. Then there was a time when you had to buy everything separately. You'd see a great price for a computer, but in the small print, it would say that the monitor and keyboard were sold separately. Today, however, everything you need is usually included. Except for one very important thing. One important thing that everybody must have.

The external back up drive. This is essential. As computer hard drives increase in size, so does the amount of things that we store on them. And frequently, this information is very important. Too important to lose. That's why it's necessary to buy an external hard drive with every computer that you have. But some people say that modern computers come with an additional drive on the inside, and that is enough. But is it?

Certain viruses are created so that they will effect your entire computer, and not just one of your hard drives. There's also physical damage that can happen to your computer. This will also effect both internal hard drives as well. So it's really important to have an external hard drive for this reason. It will give you a lot of extra protection.

One more great reason to get an external hard drive is that you can carry it with you wherever you go. If you have several computers, for example, you can bring your external hard drive with you and easily swap information from computer to computer. And with advances in technology, you can have an external drive with enough space to backup most everything, yet still fit in the palm of your hand. These devices are truly amazing.

Of course, these hard drives are super easy to use. They connect to your PC through your USB port, and there's really no configuration you need to worry about. Windows comes with it's own backup software, so they really are plug and play. Just take it out of the box, plug it in to your computer, and you're done. Nothing could be easier.

The best thing to do now is to go out and buy yourself one of these external hard drives. They will save you time, they will save you money, and after you've seen how easy it is to back up all your important data, you achieve wonderful peace of mind as well.

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Hacked Email Account Can Be Disastrous

by: Ed Opperman

In the past, there were many people that used their email account for personal conversations held with their close friends and various members of their family. As time went on however, this all began to change, and email accounts started being used for much more than just idle conversations.

Now, more than ever, people not only use emails to send personal messages, but they also use them to send information to the financial institution they bank with, to utility companies where they pay their monthly bills, and to various credit card companies they do business with. This means that there is a ton of personal and very private information that is being sent and received through messages sent on their email account.

When a hacker hacks into a person's email account, there is an endless amount of delicate information they can learn about the person behind the email address they have hacked into. Without going into great detail, it is easy to see why it can be extremely devastating for a hacker to read the incoming and outgoing emails that sit inside a person's email account. This type of situation, for any person, would no doubt be disastrous.

When your email address and account information has fallen into the hands of an online hacker, the passwords to your account should be changed immediately. The next most important step you can make is to consult with a professional expert that is knowledgeable at performing reverse email search investigations. A private investigator that has the skill and tools to perform a reverse email trace, can often obtain the identity, the address, telephone number, employment history and other critical information that should be given to the authorities.

Although there are several warning signs of a hacked email account that you should always watch for, one of the most common is noticing messages in your in-box that appear to already have been read. When you know that you haven't read the message yourself, changes are, your email account has fallen into a hacker's hands. This is when you need the professional services of an investigator that can perform a reverse email search investigation.

Another telltale sign that email accounts have been hacked, is when a confirmation notification is sent to the account holder regarding changes, such as a password change, that have been made to the account. When there have been no such changes made by yourself, it is time to take the steps necessary to identify an email hacker.

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Saturday, December 11, 2010

The Quick Way To Take A Screen Shot

by: George Hutton

Computers are fantastic tools. Every year they simply get better and better, and there is no end to what you can do with them. Compared to my first computer, the computers you can buy today are light years ahead as far as speed, technology, and capacity. There is literally no limit to what you can accomplish with today's software and hardware.

Of course, nothing is perfect. Hardware sometimes has problems, and software almost always has some kind of issue. The trouble is that sometimes you get an error message that seems to be written in some kind of foreign language. Unless you are an master programmer in several computer languages, you probably won't have any idea what the error message means. In this case, you'll have to turn to the support system of the software publisher. This usually involves filling out a ticket, submitting it, and waiting for a response.

This usually works effectively, and most issues are resolved without any further problems. However, sometimes it can be tough to describe in words the actual problems you are having. Many of the error messages you get are nearly impossible for anybody except an advanced programmer to understand, so it's not much help to fill out a ticket with the complaint: "I keep getting an error message."

A fantastic way to give specific information without really understanding any of it is to take a screen shot. This means to take an image of your desktop, and then send it along with your complaint. This is easy to do. You just push the "Print Screen," or "PrtSc" button on your keyboard, which is somewhere in the upper right area. Once you hit this button, you can paste it into another application. Once it's pasted, you can send it as an attachment.

Once your image is copied to the clipboard, you can paste it a couple of different ways. One is to paste it into "Paint," which is the basic graphics program that comes with Windows. You'll find it under the Start menu. Then click on "All Programs," and then "Accessories," and finally "Paint." Once it's open, simply right click anywhere inside, and paste. Once the image is pasted, save the new file, and send it as an attachment to your ticket.

Additionally, you can paste the image into a Microsoft Word document. Just open up a blank document, and then paste the image inside. The advantage of doing it this way is that you can add some comments under the image, and explain exactly what you were doing when you got that particular error message. Just be sure to save the document, and then send it as an attachment to your ticket or email.

This straightforward method will make it much easier for you to get help when you need it, and explain yourself in situations when words alone simply can't do the job.

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Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Why People Download You Tube Videos?

by: Rudy Silva

It is undeniable that more and more people download you tube videos. But what really cause this virtual dilemma?

You tube was brought live to web in February 2005. It was founded by three ex-Paypal employees. On its conception, the site would broadcast homemade and amateur videos.

The site didn’t take long before it became successful. In about a year, it became a web sensation.

And, after half of a decade, surfers and users are still in craze about the site. Through you tube views software, you can already monitor how one video attracts the world.

From how it was, there have been notable changes on the site. Not only on the people posting videos as well as what users can do. Nowadays, aside from watching them, you can also download you tube videos.

At present, the site is also use to post videos of popular artists and not just amateurs. The increasing views on youtube are also due to the numbers of latest music videos posted on the site. This kind of thing makes people check the site a lot of times.

It is also quite common now to see advertising and other interactive marketing on the site. You could say that even marketers take advantage of the site and try to get free you tube views.

Interestingly, people browse you tube but not just to listen. In fact they search the site to download the video that they like. Download? Yes, you can easily download your favorite music video via YouTube.

You must be wondering why they have to download videos if they can watch it for free. There are varying reasons why people do what they do. This includes downloading videos that you can watch for free.

One good reason why people download you tube is because it’s free. You can watch videos as you want without having to spend a single cent. At the same time, you can post tons and tons of videos without paying.

Another reason why people use this site to download videos is because it is always updated. With you tube, you can be sure to find the latest music video of the artist you want. This is something that you can’t expect with other download sites.

Finally, people get videos from you tube because they can easily convert them into different format. The free video downloader of the site is packed with converter. That means you can get videos and convert them into MP3, AVi and anything that will suit your needs.

If you are marketing your product, a site that allows people to share and post their video for free is beneficial for you. You can get you tube views for free. And, if you want to invite more viewers, you can even find you tube view software.

Interestingly, if you want to know how to get more you tube views for free, you can easily find the details in the net. There are numerous sites that give this kind of info.

You tube has been useful to almost everybody. It doesn’t matter whether you download you tube videos or post them. The thing is, you can count that the site will always have something to give you.

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Sunday, December 05, 2010

Wordpress Plugin - An Easy Way To Enhance Functionalities Of Your Blog

by: Adrian Aditya

Webmasters who use Wordpress must know what plug-in means. Basically plug-ins are small programs that can be incorporated into a blogging site to extend its functionalities.

Different plug-ins serve different purposes. For instance, Akismet is the name of a plug-in which is designed to protect your WordPress blog from spam comments while Platinum SEO Plug-in is for you who need a complete SEO solution.

Lots of WP plug-ins are available for free. However, there are also many types that require you to invest some money in procuring them. WP Robot is one of the most popular paid plug-ins. It enables you to develop your blog automatically by grabbing different kinds of contents from different resources.

Installing a plug-in can be accomplished very easily. Just get the one that satisfies your need, upload it to your server and then activate it. However, although most of the time plug-ins can be put into use directly, many will require you to adjust some further settings.

Keep in mind that before installing any plug-in you need to make sure first that it is compatible with the WordPress version you are using. Some plug-ins may also conflict with others so it is wise to perform some tests after activating them.

Another thing that should not be forgotten is to always update all of your plug-ins in order to fix any bugs. There is a plug-in that will enable you to do it easily.

Notice that besides plug-in, there are also small applications that are termed as widget. The difference is a widget deals with your blog template, not the php code. Similar with plugin, every widget is also intended to perform a certain function.

As a blog owner it is your job to increase the functionality, usability and performance of your blog. For this purpose you should choose plug-ins as well as widgets that fit your needs.

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Thursday, December 02, 2010

What Are the Benefits of Sales Software?

by: Jason Harrison

With any purchase in life, you want to buy only those things that are beneficial to you or those things that bring you some other type of satisfaction. As far as cash registers are concerned, there are not many people who get excited about them due to the fun factor. And you might also be surprised to hear that a traditional cash register is not the most effective choice for a retail chain. The best choice by far and away is a hosted point of sale software system. A point of sale software system can do several important tasks for you and help to stimulate sales through those tasks.

A major benefit of hosted point of sale software is the sales reports that the software can produce. Extremely detailed and specific reports can be made in real time situations at the touch of the button from anywhere in the world. If you are facing the decision of cutting back the number of hours that your store is in operation, you can create a report for that. Simply ask for a report that features the sales figures between seven and nine o'clock at night for the last three months. The point of sale software system will instantly provide a concise report showing only those numbers. If the sales revenues are not covering the costs of operations for those two hours, you will know that it is time to close the store at seven pm. This feature is particularly important for the owner of several different retail locations. It is impossible to be in all of your locations by yourself each evening, but with hosted point of sale software, you will know how each store performed every night.

The system can also notify you of your number one selling product. You will know which products are truly attracting customers. While you may think that it is your line of fancy high-heeled shoes, it is quite possible that cheaper shoes are your number one sellers. With such information, you will be able to make educated decisions about what product to promote. On a related note, hosted software can also signal your number one supplier so that you know from whom to order and from whom not to. Contracts with producers can be quite expensive and if a particular supplier is under performing, you need to know so you can break the business relationship off.

One last benefit of hosted point of sale software is the inventory management function that helps improve customer service, cut down on hours of labor, and allows for a true representation of your stock room. A hosted point of sale software system can track your entire inventory in real time. The moment that a product leaves your store, the system instantly and automatically takes it out of your inventory numbers. With this feature, you can know without a doubt the number of items you currently have on hand. Plus, point of sale software notifies you when it is time to place a new order to replenish your stock. Your inventory management will be interconnected between all of your locations and allow you to make better business decisions.

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