My Favorite Techie

There are two types of printers available on the market, inkjet and laser. Inkjet printers use cartridges of ink to produce the output. Laser printers use toner cartridges to impart an image on the paper. But what is the better one to buy? The decision should be based on what type of work you do with the printer.

Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers are the ideal printer if you need to print out your photographs for family and friends without having to go to a digital photo lab. They are inexpensive to purchase, but are designed to be that way for a reason. Ink cartridges are good for about 400 or so average print jobs. Then it’s time to replace it with a new one. If you do a lot of normal printing, these cartridges will start to burn a hole in your pocket as the cost of replacing cartridges will eventually out do what the original cost of the printer was. A set of cartridges cost around $50 per set.

The newer inkjet printers are better, but cheaper at the same time. They do not last as long as the earlier models. The manufacturers are expecting you to replace that printer within a very short time usually due to a malfunction of the printer at some point. The more professional models are a little different, but then again, that’s why they are considered professional as they are designed to work longer and do cost more to purchase.

If you are purchasing an inkjet printer for printing photos, look at a printer that is designed specifically for reproducing photos. These printers have multiple individual ink cartridges that can be changed on an as needed basis. These types of printers usually have better outputs than the standard inkjets designed for everyday printing.

Laser Printers

Laser printers are the ideal printer for printer for documents. They are based on the copier principal of a drum, fuser and toner. As the paper passes through the paper is electrostatically charged attracting toner to the spots where type should be set. As the printer outputs the paper, the toner is set in place by the fuser and remaining toner discharged. Laser printers are now affordable in both monochrome (black and white) and color.

Laser printers are best for producing copies that are standard copy paper based. The output is very sharp and quick. Although laser printers are not as cheap as inkjet printers, depending on the amount of printing being done, the toner cartridge will last a long time as compared to an inkjet cartridge. Most (toner) cartridges will print a minimum of 3000 pages which could last a person a year or two. If the printer is being used a lot or my many people, then the cartridge may need replacing quicker. Some printers have the option of using a standard capacity or high capacity cartridge. The higher capacity costs more, but will last longer. A desktop laser cartridge may cost between $70 to $100. Higher end machines designed for fast output or workgroups, will cost more upwards of $200 per cartridge.

Laser printers have a longer life span than inkjet printers. There are some laser printers that are over 10 years old and still in working condition printing out hundreds of pages a day. They just don’t seem to give up. As part of environmental programs by manufacturers, older working printers can be traded in for credit towards newer models saving you some money.

So which printer should you buy? The basic question should be visible by looking at the economics of the machine and the lifespan that the equipment will offer. The obvious winner would be the laser printer since you can choose between color and black and white at relatively similar costs, especially if all you’re printing out are paper documents.

To print out a photo, hands down the inkjet printer is the winner for convenience. But, if one were to look at the cost per print for a 4×6 photo, to print the photo yourself is more than double what it would cost to visit your local photo lab with your memory card.

We’ve all seen the ads on TV with the discussions between MAC and PC and what they can and cannot do. Of course, these ads are designed to bring Apple Computer business by encouraging people to buy Macs. However, the question still get asked, “Should I get a MAC or PC.”

The decision to buy a MAC or PC should NOT be based on how pretty the graphics are on the MAC. Buying a computer is not like buying a pair of shoes. Deciding between the two platforms should be based on the type of work that your are in as certain software is designed more for one than the other.

For the MAC….

The MAC from its inception was targeted at education and the arts. Early software for the MAC was more for graphic design and music and film production. Therefore, MAC has always had a leg up on this segment of the market. It was never really targeted at the business market, that’s where the PC made its break. In short, if you are in the graphics field or in some sort of music or film production, the MAC should be looked at seriously.

From a business productivity point of view, MAC has the programs to do the job, but not as plentiful as the PC. It is only since more MACs have been bought in the recent years that software developers have begun porting more software to the MAC. For example, for years the only package available to the MAC was Clarisworks, but now you are able to get a full blown version of Microsoft Office or Corel Office for the MAC. If you’re a one person business, one can easily get by with the Mac, but if you’re more than one in a large environment, there should be some consultations with someone in the computer networking field.

The MAC has always had the reputation of being more user friendly than the PC. Again, this is due to the years of development of the graphical user interface that MAC has. Over the years, programmers have worked at making things easier to find thus improving the user experience.

For the PC…

The PC was born as a very simple machine for the purpose of doing business, not graphics. For over ten years, the PC was text based. It was this factor that gave Apple the head start at the graphical user interface and the graphics sector. PCs were geared toward the office work of word processing, number crunching, and other mundane procedures. They were not fun machines. Only with the introduction of Microsoft Windows did the PC get introduced to the graphical world. So, for the PC it was a catch up game of learning the way of the graphical world and gaining respect in the graphics and production markets.

Therefore, if one is in the market for a new computer, consider whether or not your work consists of the graphics or production dependency. If you are more involved in the business world of words, numbers and other basic functions, then the PC is more suited for you. The PC, because it grew up in the business environment, was designed to work in networked environments from the beginning. The most advanced networks are PC based because of the tools that were written to streamline their operation. Only in the last few years has the MAC gotten introduced into corporate networks with the redesign of the MAC operating system.

The PC is known for one thing well in the graphical world and that is gaming. There are thousands of games available for the PC in comparison to the MAC. If you are a serious gamer, and looking for a computer to play games on, then the PC is your candidate. Just about every manufacturer has a machine designed for the gamer in mind as these machines have better graphics and sound for the true gaming experience.

The reputation of the PC being less friendly to use incomparison to the MAC is due to the years it existed in a text based world. With the development of Windows 95, the user friendliness started to improve. The newest version of Windows, Vista is much more user friendly visually than ever before. Will it ever equal the MAC, who knows. That will always remain a topic of conversation between the two worlds.

Desktops and laptops now can do the same things. Power and functionality are no longer issues. Therefore, deciding whether to buy a laptop or desktop comes down to personal decisions of work and lifestyles. To help make that decision easier, below is a list of pros and cons for desktop and laptop along with questions that you can ask yourself to assist in making your decision.

Desktop

Pros

• Has full size keyboard
• Has standard mouse
• Can have any size monitor you want
• Can be configured with multiple hard disks
• Hard disks usually have faster access
• The ability to customize internal components (Video, sound, network, etc.)
• Can be directly connected to a network via Ethernet cable

Cons

• Not portable
• Needs to be located by power source
• Significant amount of space needed

Laptop

Pros

• Portable
• Variety of screen sizes available
• Fits just about anywhere
• Work wirelessly (if so equipped)

Cons

• Screen size*
• Condensed keyboard*
• Pointing device (touchpad or accupoint) not comfortable to use routinely*
• Most cannot be used outdoors due to glare (some have indoor/outdoor screens)
• Cannot have multiple hard discs (non-USB)

* Issues can be overcome through the purchase and use of a dock with external mouse, keyboard and monitor.

The following questions will help make your decision of what to purchase easer.

• Do I need the ability to be portable?
• Is screen size an issue?
• What will I be using the computer for? (Word processing, email, Internet, photo editing, etc.)
• Is space an issue?
• Will I be watching movies? Avid movie watchers may want a wider screen with improved sound.
• How much am I willing to spend? Laptops and desktops now run the gamut from a few hundred dollars into the thousands.

Open Source software, what is that? Open source software is software that is developed and distributed for free on the Internet or available on CD for a small denomination. Open Source software is available for web and individual computer installations. For example, the software that runs this blog is open source. For the common person, there is some sort of open source alternative to fill the need at hand whether it be office productivity or graphics. Why pay hundreds of dollars for software that you will only use to compose simple documents.

There are many titles available that rival known software packages. One package in particular is Open Office, developed by Sun Microsystems. It offers many of the same features as other office packages like Microsoft Office and is compatible meaning that a document written in Open Office can be opened in Microsoft Word and visa versa. For most people, the features available in Open Office will suffice.

One of the biggest Open Source projects that has taken off in the last few years is the Firefox web browser. It is developed my the Mozilla organization. It is available for a number of computer platforms including, Windows, MAC and Linux. One of the greatest features of it is the ability to customize it with free add-ons available through the Mozilla web site.

Also from Mozilla, is the free email program, Thuderbird. It has the same features as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, but has one advantage; it is less susceptible to virus attacks. There is even an option to import your current contacts from Outlook to Thunderbird.

There is even a free computer operating system available in the open source arena. It is called Ubuntu. It is actually a flavor of the Linux operating system. In fact, compared to Windows and Mac, it is much more reliable and stable as it has its roots in an even older format called Unix which dates back to the 1960s. There are several versions available of Ubuntu as well. One version in particular is designed for use in schools, called Edubuntu. Ubuntu incorporates many of the open source programs that discussed here such as Firefox, Gimp (similar to Adobe Photoshop), and Open Office as a turn-key solution.

The best part of all open source software is the ability to distribute the software. With open source software you are encourages to tell your friends and even make copies of it and give it out. There is such a thing as getting something worthwhile for FREE.

In the last year, Microsoft has released its newest version of the Windows operating System, Windows Vista. It is loaded with some new features that were not in Windows XP and enhances some other features. It also is much prettier to look at from a graphical point of view. However, there has been much discussion as to whether or not to upgrade from a previous version of Windows to Vista.

Visa, unlike its predecessors, has greater demands on the computer in terms of the parts and specifications. Visa will NOT run on all computers well. If the current computer does not meet Visa’s needs, there will be more problems than before. If you’re buying a new computer this is not an issue. However, there is one concern whether upgrading your current computer or buying a new one and that is whether or not your software will work with Vista.

Most programs that ran under Windows XP will run, but will not support some of the new features in Vista such as the new search feature. In order to see if your software will run on Vista, you might want to check the website of the software manufacturer for detailed information.

Vista also has upgrades some of the features to setup a network which might not work well with other computers not running Vista, including Windows XP. There is an upgrade that has to be done to Windows XP to allow Vista to work with it and visa versa. For most people, this is not a big issue, but to those who have multiple computers such as a business or multi-computer families, it could be an issue that needs to be resolved.

Do I recommend going to Vista? As of the end of May 2008, Microsoft will not be loading any new computers with Windows XP. Vista will be your only choice, but if you’re thinking of upgrading your current computer, it’s your choice.

Author: Simran Chaudhary

There should be no trouble in creating a site from scratch if you’ve gone through this process before. For those of you who do not yet know how to make a website, it may prove to be a tough job at first. But by using some time to make plans, you’ll be able to respond to the question of how to make a website in practically no time.
Take the time to plan your website before you start building and the process will go more smoothly. You don’t really need to know a programming language to build a website because now there are programs designed to build the website to your specifications. more visit to :-www.google-friendly-page.com The most basic ones only take your content and put it into a generic template, but you can improve on those if you have the time.
Think about what you want your internet site to accomplish. This will give you a better notion as to how to start. For a commercial site, you obviously don’t want to use personal site templates. It’s more expensive to do a more elaborate website rather than a generic one, but the former will also provide greater advantages and more choices. Figure out how many pages you require and what sort of written material and images you plan to put in. Well planned and implemented site creation will help both you and your customers.
After you have learned how to make a website, its time to learn how to use it to make money. Affiliate Marketing is the number one way to make money with your website. There are countless affiliate programs to choose from so you can find one that suits you and your website perfectly. These Affiliate programs provide money to you for getting customers and sales for others through on-line ads. Through website creation and affiliate programs, you can make money every month, long after your work on the project is finished.
Space selling – Space selling gets you more money. For the most productive website creation, you must popularize your site and get people advertising on your site too. more visite to :-www.15-ways-to-boost-website-response.com Space selling to other companies for their service and product advertising will gain you a great deal of money.
Link – Build the links to gain more people. Reciprocal link building helps you in a number of ways. It enhances your search engine rating and will thus obtain more visitors for you via that search engine. It also gets clients for your services and products from other sites where you’ve got your links listed. Productive site creation must take this factor under consideration when designing a site.
Traffic building: Website will help you build up more traffic all the time. Productive site creation is decided by how much traffic it receives. Traffic building is made easy with a site. When you’ve got a site, you will get people coming to you.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/how-to-easy-way-make-more-money-redesign-763827.html

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1. Explain what RSS is

Not every reader is technical and knows what RSS is. Create a simple page, where you explain what RSS is, and for instance add the video ‘RSS in plain English’, some links to good RSS readers and help the non tech-savvy reader in a step-by-step tutorial how he or she can subscribe to your feed.

2. Promote your RSS link on other sites

Do you make use of social media sites or use of forums? If yes, make sure to display a link to your RSS feed in your profile or in your signature. You have to make it clear though that the user is subscribing to your feed.  If you do not, you may upset the reader and he or she will immediately unsubscribe because of your phishing tactic.

3. Receive RSS Feed Updates by Email

A functionality in Feedburner is to offer RSS through mail. Some users do not want another program on their computer, but do however use mail. In your Feedburner account you can copy a piece of code, which you can copy and paste onto your website.

4. Placement of a Large RSS icon

Do not hide your subscription icon somewhere below the fold of your website or expect a visitor to look for it on the top of the browser. Place a RSS icon at the top of your website (e.g. in the header). Another important aspect, besides the placement, is the icon itself. Use a big icon, which blends perfectly in your design, and thus is good visible.

5. Give RSS subscribers a gift

Persuade your reader to subscribe to your RSS feed  with a nice gift, which off course is only available to a subscriber of the RSS feed.  If you are a blogger who uses WordPress, you can make use of the Feedvertising plugin or the RSS footer to display a link.

They are literally around us constantly now. Everything we associate with has a Internet name or domain name. It is hard to believe that just a few years ago, they did not exist in the marketing scheme of a business or any other organization. So, what exactly is a domain name and how does it work?

Domain names are a logical name for a site on the Internet, the same as every person has a name rather than just a number. Can you imagine what it would be like if we all had to refer to each other as numbers rather than given names. The same goes for the Internet. The Internet runs on a name to number system which by now we all take for granted.

Internet Real Estate

Domain names can be considered real estate on the Internet. Everyone pays a fee to get a domain name either on a yearly or multi-year basis. The cost compared to just a decade ago has gone down tremendously. At the onset, domain names cost well over $35 US. Now, a name can be purchased for a low as $1.99.

Certain names have a ring and are worth a great deal of money. Therefore, the cost of obtaining those names range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. People have actually begun to buy and sell domain names like physical real estate holdings.

Getting the name is simple, if it is available. Anyone can go to a website such as GoDaddy.com or Register.com and research if their choice name is available. If it is, then it’s just a matter of making a credit card payment and the name is yours, just like buying a house or office building.

Name to Address Translation

Just as people have last names, we all don’t know where each of us resides. The Internet works on the same concept. Even though we may own the domain name, the Internet does not know where the site actually resides. This is the magic that happens behind the scenes of the Internet.

The way that domain names get related to corresponding servers is through a series of servers on the Internet that take the domain names and do lookup searches to the server or servers that are attached to the name. Each name gets translated to a numerical address, similar to street addresses, block numbers or zip codes. Now this is a very simple explanation, but it is the basis of how the Internet works.

The process

Now that the general name and translation concept has been explained, lets see how it works from point A to point B.

A user goes online and types in the address abcd.com into the web browser. The computer begins the lookup process by going to the name translation server and asking “Does anyone know what this site is?”. The name server will then begin a global lookup of that name and within milliseconds get back a reply of the physical address of the server and then route that request to that particular server.

If you’ve ever gotten one of those weird messages stating, “This address could not be resolved.”, you are actually getting message that the servers on the Internet could not locate a physical server for the address entered. At this point you either check your address or something happened to the site you are trying to reach.

The best way to get your site seen by visitors is to make sure that the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) find your site and rank it in the first or second page of the search. However, in order to do this several things need to be done.

1. Keyword Research. Your keywords are an important piece of  getting your site seen and indexed by the search engine. In order to do this, you need to think the way your viewers would. What words or phrases would you search for to find information on your site? Those words and phrases will become the foundation for your searches.
2. Keyword Placement. Once you have your keywords chosen, it is critical that they are placed in the beginning of each page including the title, meta tags and first or second paragraph of your content. Any space in area before the page fold (area you see without having to scroll) is prime real estate for keywords as those are the areas the search engines look at first and consider most important.
3. External links. External links to your site are probably the single most important item that will greatly improve your site’s ranking. The more links you have from other HIGH ranked sites, the better your rank will become. Therefore, I would spend a greater amount of time getting other site to link to your site rather than worrying about the keywords and their density in your pages.

There are many other ways to get your site more traffic and optimized. I will go into more detail on those methods in further postings.

I’ve been asked this question a few times already, so I thought it would be worthwhile discussing. When it comes to web hosting, there are two types , Linux and Windows.  Which one should be chosen?

Most sites will run on both systems as HTML files (the files which actually make up the page) will run on either one. Where the differences come in is in the extensions or extra language that is being coded into the site.

Generally, sites that are programed to be dynamic using Microsoft solutions such as ASP or .NET will require Windows based hosting as Windows hosting has the backend software installed in order to process commands written in those languages.

Sites written in PHP, are best suited for Linux hosting, although most Windows hosting will also have the PHP processing software installed.  But, for the most part, PHP was originally for the Linux hosted web sites.

The last major difference has to do with cost. Windows hosting sometimes can cost more per month than Linux based hosting. It could be compared to the stability and reliability of Mac versus PC. This is generally due to the increased costs of maintaining a Windows based web server compared to a Linux based server.

So, which hosting solution should you choose? For the most part you can choose Linux as it is the most popular and will run basically any simple site simply because of the cost and the greater number of companies out there.

If there are any further questions, feel free to contact me and I will gladly answer your questions.