Short Live Telecomsก Monopoly

Short Live Telecomsก Monopoly

by: Patrizia Demaria

กFree will cannot be debated, but only experienced like a colour or the taste of potatoes.ก

My question: can we really experience it?

In a world in which everybody talks of nothing else than Democracy, is our wolrd slightly democratic?

Have we really come a long way through History?

Or are we just repeating the same mistakes all over, just changing the pattern of them?

ก We go on discovering that we are this, that and other things and sometimes we have astounding experiences. We are unfinished, we are growing and changing.

Yet that future personality which we are to be in a yearกs timeis already there, only it is in the shadow.

These potentialities naturally belong to the dark side of the ego.

We are all aware of what we have been, but we are not aware of what we are going to be.ก

But do we really change and improve or we are just the same all over?

ก In point of fact what is interesting about people is the mask that each one of them wears, not the reality that lies behind the mask.

It is a humiliating confession, but we are all of us made out of the same stuff.

Where we differ from each other is purely accidental:in dress, manner, tone of voice, religious opinions, personal appearance, tucks of the habit and the like.

The more one analyses people, the more all reasons for analysis disappear.

Sooner or later one comes to the dreadful unioversal thing called Human Nature.ก

For two thousand years or more man has been subjected to a systematic effort to transform him into an ascetic animal.

He remains a pleasure seeking animal.

And some are pleasure seeking animals at any cost.

Cheating, robbing, killing is nothing that a mean to achieve it.

The biggest the Corporation, the more polithically involved, the more cheating and crooking.

Look at the Politicians of today, at the big Monopoly corporations…

When will we wake up?

They try to shut our mouths and minds with any kind of stupid fullfilling devices, but still keeping the hand ( and the profit) in it.

Once they said man built his own pleasures, now they say he has to pay for them.

They also say it takes gut to be a dreamer and a visionary, I think on the contrary it comes naturally, either you are or you are not.

Either you see reality or you see what they want you to see.

The economy of means is founded on the richness of thought.

I have just started my personal peaceful war and I am looking for people who can share my dreams.

Short live the Telecom monopoly!

http://www.worldonip.com/community

About The Author

Patrizia is an ebook publisher, her website has more than 700 free ebooks for the TK3 reader

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 28, 2003

by Patrizia Demaria

How to Create Cheap PDFs

How to Create Cheap PDFs

by: Kane Deng

*Introduction

Do you want to create your PDF ebooks? PDF is the industry publishing standard, and most of ebook authors are using PDF as their ebooks publishing format. But the problem is the commercial tools, which can be used to create PDF documents, are very expensive, and this is a heavy burden for most ebook authoring starters.

Now good news is there are a few ways to create Adobe Acrobat PDF files without having to spend a lot of money…

*Cheap PDF tools

Microsoft Office doesn’t come with builtin PDF support, so if you want to convert an Office document into PDF you have to purchase Adobe Acrobat, use an online conversion site, or download and install a special program or printer driver. You can learn more about this at

http://www.aexx.net/Arcane/doctopdf/

Unlike Microsoft Office, Corel’s Word Perfect Office DOES support PDF creation straight out of the box. You can download a 30 day evaluation copy of Word Perfect at

http://corel.com

Of course, what started this whole journey into PDFland was a desire on my part to create PDFs cheaply. So buying a whole new office suite, even if that suite doesn’t carry the Microsoft logo, kind of defeats the purpose. There is a different suggestion: use OpenOffice. OpenOffice comes with a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and a drawing program. The latest version of OpenOffice – OpenOffice 1.1 – even comes with PDF and Macromedia Flash export.

Oh, and OpenOffice is completely free. You can download it at

http://www.openoffice.org

If downloading and installing a whole new office suite doesn’t sound too appetizing, fear not. There are many other PDF tools we recommend!

For online document conversion (a la Adobe’s createpdf.adobe.com), we recommend goBCL at

http://www.gobcl.com

and an entirely different Carnegie Mellon’s TOM Server at

http://wheel.compose.cs.cmu.edu:8001/cgibin/browse/objweb

Both services appear to be free, but Carnegie Mellon’s can be a bit flaky at times.

If you have Postscript files that you would like to convert to PDFs online, we recommend PS2PDF at

http://www.ps2pdf.com/convert/index.htm

If you’d rather download and install a PDF converter on your computer, you have a BUNCH of options. There is a free converter called ขGymnastข at

http://www.oakworth.demon.co.uk/gymnast.htm

The registration code is in the yellow box at the top of the page.

And, if you’re willing to ditch Windows together [or partition your computer so that you can run multiple operating systems], you can try Mandrake Linux 9.1, it comes with a builtin PDF printer driver. Other flavors of *nix may offer the same features. Check around.

*References

Links to PDF Resources:

http://www.geeyo.com/docs/pdf_resources.html

About The Author

Kane Deng

Bring to you valuable & fresh information on Internet business, and let you keep up with all the latest major Net business opportunities.

http://www.geeyo.com/ezines.html

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 04, 2004

by Kane Deng

What You Know Can Work Just As Well As Who You Kno

What You Know Can Work Just As Well As Who You Know

by: Carolyn Moncel

We all know the saying in business, กItกs not what you know but who you knowก, right? This saying is definitely true when it comes to small business and on occasion, the same can be said in media relations. However, what you know can sometimes get you just as far especially if you’re trying to tell your story to the local press.

Some time ago, a smallbusiness client approached me about handling public relations for her firm. She had been writing her own press releases and submitting them to the press but all of her efforts had generated no press. She asked me to critique her work to discover what she might be doing wrong. Upon reviewing her press releases, I found that her writing skills were outstanding but the problem came when I began to investigate the methods by which she was submitting her releases. The five rules below illustrate the lessons that she learned about distributing press releases to the media.

Rule #1: Do your homework on reporters. You can start with the Baconsก Media Directory, which serves as the public relations practionerกs Bible. If you don’t know what it is, basically it lists the name, address, phone number, fax number, email, beat (issue or specific type of story to cover), deadlines, and story preferences and angles for most every reporter and news producer anywhere in the world. There are five volumes of books: Newspapers, Magazines, TV/Cable, Radio and International. You can purchase the books or get the same information from Baconsก in CDRom format or through an online subscription. These books are invaluable but unfortunately are also very expensive. Hereกs a tip: You can access them for free usually at your local public library or a college library. Use these books to help you narrow down the reporters that you think would be helpful for launching your story. If Baconกs is completely out of your budget, just follow your favorite local newspaper to determine which reporters cover which stories.

Rule #2: Verify your sources. Just because you found information on reporters in Baconsก doesn’t mean that your work is done. Most reporters are assigned a beat but those beats change from time to time and as a result, reporters tend to move around a lot. Because the Baconsก books and their competitors are only published once per year with occasional updates, itกs very important that you call media outlets and verify that you can still reach the reporter you would like to talk to. More importantly, find out if the reporter still covers the beat that is important to your story. If for some reason there is a new reporter covering that beat, make note of those changes in a database or spreadsheet, and always call before sending out a new release.

Rules #3: Know where to call for information. Most people are afraid to just call up a reporter (they can be scary people) to find out this information, however if you want to avoid that aspect of the job, then simply call the News Assignment Desk the nerve center of news operation. It is here that you can verify the reporter information and also get a sense for the types of stories that an editor might find interesting enough to assign to an individual reporter.

Rules #4: Know how a reporter likes to receive information. When it comes to distributing press releases or letters, all reporters are different. Itกs your job to find out how a reporter wants to receive his or her information on a potential story. For example, some reporters only read faxes while others only look at releases sent by mail. Still others will only read email, and yet others will only accept a story idea over the phone. This is important because if you violate the reporterกs rule for receiving information, then your release likely will never be read. It will get a oneway trip to the trashcan.

Rules #5: Adhere to a reporterกs deadline. Just as you can find out the name and email address of a specific reporter, you can also find out their writing deadline. This is very important because the last thing anyone wants to experience is being on the line with a reporter when he or she is on deadline. Hereกs another tip: Most daily newspapers are put to bed at 5pm. Call the reporter between 8am and 9am because you might catch them before they go their morning editorial meeting. When calling up a reporter directly, always asks the reporter if he or she is currently on deadline as a courtesy. They will respect you for it and this will give you an indication as to how long you have to speak with that particular reporter on the phone. If you’re nervous about speaking with the reporter, then create a short script that you can state comfortably in 60 seconds.

While itกs always great to know a reporter personally, few smallbusiness owners will ever have that luxury. However, if you know what to do and whom to contact when the time comes to tell your story, your chances of coverage are just as good as anyone elseกs. After all when it comes to media relations, itกs not just who you know but what you know plus a little luck never hurts either.

About The Author

Carolyn DavenportMoncel is president and founder of Mondave Communications, a global marketing and communications firm based in Chicago and Paris, and a subsidiary of MotionTemps, LLC. Contact her at [email protected] or by phone in the United States at 877.815.0167 or 011.331.4997.9059 in France.

This article was posted on May 07, 2003

by Carolyn Moncel

Why Stick With Email Clients Like Outlook?

Why Stick With Email Clients Like Outlook?

by: Iulia Pascanu

Trying to figure out a stream in banning one email client or another is no easy job. As soon as somebody rises up saying Outlook is bad, somebody else comes saying itกs good and the other one is bad. And the story goes on and on.

On one hand, email clients like Outlook Express and (even more) MS Outlook do a really good job when it comes to user friendliness. What email client allows you to use more options on the agenda, bell ringers, flag wavers and contact managing tips than MS Outlook?

The ease of use perfectly molds on human indolence. That means I would never question about Microsoft Outlook being or not a good email client if it comes together with my Office pack that comes together with Windows that comes together with my computer.

Here is another red flag: MS Outlook is not free as long as Iกm paying for my Windows license. This should count when choosing an email client.

Moreover, everything is so easy to install with those cute wizards, and installing sessions are ready within minutes.

Until… well, until I spend enough time online, using email, starting to receive viruses, worms and other creatures that do bad things to computers. If you ever had to do one of the following when using Outlook or Outlook Express:

try very hard not to click on a message subject that looked suspicious; anyway, not without using a small trick (that used to work for me): pressing Shift, selecting the suspicious messages and then hitting Del,

try hard not to select some very good and very important messages together with the suspicious ones,

accept phone calls from extremely upset clients accusing you of infecting their computers with God knows what worm (personally got in trouble with BugBear),

working on an extremely low system because an efficient AV is doing its job scanning, updating, warning, locking etc.

delete all your Outlook contacts in order not to become infectious for friends and clients in case your computer somehow got infected,

…then you know what itกs like. Both Outlook and Outlook Express, while different applications, with no related history, have security as their weakest link. And thatกs why some people switch to other email clients that are said to be more secure.

It is true that most worms are today Outlook dedicated because Outlook has both more users and more security holes. It is also true that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates set security as a top priority back on 17th January 2002 (itกs been almost two years by now). While I don’t mean to ban Outlook or Outlook Express, Iกd like to choose the best for me, and the best doesn’t seem one of the fore mentioned, at the moment.

About The Author

Iulia Pascanu writes for http://www.emailmarketingsoftware.org/ where you can find more information about Email Marketing Software.

Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared: mailto:[email protected]

This article was posted on January 21

by Iulia Pascanu

Know Linux

Know Linux

by: Pawan Bangar

Linux

Linux essentials:

It’s free for download but you have to pay a tiny bit to mail order it or buy it from a company. If you’re getting Linux for more than 23 PCs, you can also get training and support at a small free, if you choose to have it. Else it’s the Linux community on the Net to your rescue.

If you want to get comfortable with Linux, you don’t have to let go of windows. Get Linux installed on a seprate partition and you can switch between Windows and Linux. There are some Linux versions that run off CDs tooxandross and Knoppix.

You don’t have to be a geek to work with Linux. There are Desktop environments that let you work in Linux as you work in Linux as you would in Windows.

Linux hand in decreasing PC prices.

The PCs bundle the operating system. Linux being an open source operating system, means that the code that runs is open for everyone to see, work with, modify and develop their own innovative apps for it. The deal with this experimentation is that you have to share the knowledge you gained and the software you created with the public domain. So the operating system comes to you for free, or if there are some copyrighted application on it, you play up a bit. But this is nothing compared to the fortune people spend on OSs like windows. And a company bundles Linux and applications based on it with a computer, quite a bit of the software cost comes down.

Linux came into being about 11 years ago it was developed by Linux Tornados of Finland along with a group of programmers from the open source software movement. Linux was mostly something only the geeks worked with. And yes, it was mostly about commands and programming. But over the years with so many Linux enthusiasts (about 50 million of them) working on it and sharing knowledge about it, quite a few versions have come up which are as easy to use as windows. And developers are still free to work with code and enhance it.

Linux is growing steadily year after year. With a passionate community backing it, with big companies Like IBM and HP pledging their support for it, it’s no wonder Linux the wonder operating system for servers of the past, has also made it to the desktops of today. Not in a sweeping way yet, but in ways that will help you –the user. PC prices are already on their way down. And you get more choice with operating systems and applications. From being an OS only computer professionals had heard about, Linux, in a short time, has made a transition into the lucrative and high profile home PC segment. Most of the decision to switchover sounds very economical. From a measly base of a few thousand users, Linux now boasts of close to 50 million users, cracking the monolith of Microsoft’s monopoly. Companies like IBM, HP and Dell have also taken to Linux in a big way. Microsoft doesn’t agree with the free concept at allthe software is free but the support isn’t Windows code to outsiders so they could build on to it. Very recently though, the company has allowed part of the code to be opened up to some US government are vying with each other to get techsavvy and help the citizens through egovernance, the opening up of the OS code is important, countries like India need a variety of regional language fonts and content to be created which can’t done without Microsoft’s help, if the choice is Windows. Since this isn’t happening much, they have gone ahead with adopting Linux.

Linux is based on the commercial OS, UNIX. All the OSs tries to pack in command line management of systems. System administrators of companies use command lines all the times as their lifeline, but it’s not really meant for regulars users. But UNIX and Linux are not all about just command line stuff. UNIX has had a graphical user interface for 30 years. In its 11 years Linux has always had always had a GUI tooin fact a choice of GUIs.

Linux Versions:

If there are so many people working on it. There’s likely to be many Linux versions too. Many companies working on Linux have come up with what are called Linux distributions. There are Linux versions that are compiled and packaged and released with various additional software.

The popular distributions or destroys include Red Hat Linux Mandrake Linux, Corel Linux SUSE Linux and Debian . it’s just like having different flavors of ice cream. True to the spirit of open source, if you download the distro from the company’s Website, it is free for use. But the distros are usally quite huge. If you are getting the distorts from the company, be ready to pay up a tiny bit. Companies compile the packages, make installation hassle free, bundle applications, add a manual, and extend any support you need. So they charge a fee for all this.

One note here though: the free in Linux stands for freedom of choice, to redistribute, to install a feature, freedom to modify the source code. That’s the spirit of Linux being free.

Linux better than other OS

Linux users won’t even bat an eyelid before they say an emphasis comes from a deep dislike of Microsoft’s practice of changing the earth for software. But a lot of it comes from the fact they are ready to swear uponthat Linux is more stable. There are no blue screens and no viruses to speak of. Linux has a better security support for multiusers, lets you set up a stable server, internet gateways etc, and still lets itself to be used as a desktop workstation. Add to that it being free, and they argue that you don’t lose anything by giving it a try. You get free support on the Net quickly on any query you may have. And you don’t even have to wipe out your Windows. Just get Linux on a different hard disk partition and free to switch between the OSs as you please .

Myths about Linux

Installation:

Linux is hard to install, isn’t it? Not really. Most people haven’t ever installed Windows on their computers eithersince it comes preloaded. Linux is as easysome say easierto install compared to Windows. You can install it through a graphical user interface like Windows. But what really stumps most people in installing Linux on a second partition on their hard disk, when they want to be able to use both operating systems.

A partition is a way of organizing space on your hard disk by creating virtual sections that are separate from each other. Most computers that are running Windows or MS DOS have one large chunk of space holding the OS. This space is the C drive. If you have a large hard disk, it’s likely that it has been divided up into smaller bits called partitions to help you organize your data better. These partitions are usually called D:\, E:\ etc. you could have Linux on any of these.

Windows 98 creates a file system called FAT32 on the entire hard disk, DOS and Win95 use FAT16. Linux has many file systemson the most popular is ext3. But you could have Linux installed on Fat32 partitions also.

Linux is geeky and based on text command

Linux has come a long way from being the system of geeks. It has an extremely advanced X Windows systems that has a complete graphical user interfaceyou know, like Windows. It also has a large number of window manager that let you work with different levels of customization of your desktop.

Linux has a robust charactercell interface where commands need to be typed in. x Windows is a free program that runs with Linux to provide a GUI where the mouse and keyboard can be used extensively. But the X system itself is quite primitive and needs a window manager, or a desktop environment like GNOME or KDE to be really usable. Window managers are programs that let you interact with the underlying X system and LinuxOS by relaying commands. The popular window managers are Sawfish, Enlightenment, Black box, after step and Window maker.

As for desktop managers, they have their own window manager and other tools that make you feel that you are working in Window! GNOME and KDE are the most popular of these. GNOME stands for GNU Network Model Environment and KDE for K desktop Environment. They have tools that allow drag and drop, have panels and taskbar almost like clones of windows.

Hardware compatibility problem and few applications that run on Linux

Well, most new distributions will detect and configure your hardware in a jiffy, unless you have some really old or exotic piece of hardware. Only Win modems (internal modems driven by Window drivers) face problems.

As for software, there’s plenty. And most of it comes freefree for you to use, modify and configure according to your needs. Other packages are commercial and you have to buy the softwarebut this is mostly for the software and training you need, and not for the support and training you need, and not for the software itself. Sometimes, if you have the Windows version (as a doom) you can download a small program that will allow you to play the game in Linux. Here what’s available?

Office suites: Star Office, Open Office, Applixware, Corel WordPerfect

Graphics: GIMP, Corel Photo paint

Music: XMMS, Free amp, Real Player

Video: MTV, Xine

Games: FreeCiv, Tux racer, Doom, Quake, Heretic, Unreal

And the list is growing.

Linux varieties:

Debian : One of the oldest and still most popular distros is Debian. This Project is a voluntary effort of a team of programmers who developed the GNU system. Debian is not very easy to install, and that has been its problem, Debian also has its own software comes with a. DEB extension. Updating and installing new software is very easy. The applications bundled with Debian are great for even a power user.

RedHat: Probably the most popular and in many ways the leading distro. It’s currently in version 8. The installation and configuration is easy. A blue curve file manager and the default GNOME desktop make it look simply stunning. It comes with a host of tools that allow usage as a server and as a workstation. The Red Hat Package Manger(RPM) format developed by Red Hat has almost become the defector for software distribution in Linux world. Installing new software is a breeze. It also has an advanced and easy font management system that makes fonts in X Windows look cool. But being the leader comes at a price. Red Hat charges a little more than others for its istro.

Mandrake: Mandrake Linux is now in its 9 version. This distro can be installed on a native Windows Partition using the Lin4Win tool, but this may slow the machine down. It also lets you do a traditional Linux install into its own dedicated partition. Mandrake’s configuration and software installation is painless. It follows a slightly modified RPM architecture called mdk.rpm but most Red Hat software can also be used for Mandrake. The outstanding feature in this distro is the collection of window managerseyecandy freaks will have a great time.

SUSE : From Germany comes the Chameleon Distro, SUSE. Now in its 8.1 avatar, it has one of the most extensive software packages compiled, and getting them installed is easy with yast (Yet another Software Tool) which gives a centralized interface from where you can pick and choose the software to be installed. Among other things, SUSE comes with some stunning 3D games that showcase Linux’s gamming prowess.

Corel/Xandross : Corel entered the Linux distro market with Corel Linux a few years ago. Now it has merged into Xandross OS, which is based on Corel Linux. This is a Debiantype distro, and can be installed without much fuss after resizing the Windows partition. Xandross contains Crossover office, which is a refined retail version of WINE that lets you install and run many Microsoft apps.

Windows applications in Linux

Some applications have been ported over to Linux, other run with a program called WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator). Crossover, commercially available software also lets you use your Windows programs Linux. VMWare is another program that lets you run Windows under Linux.

Bottom Line:

The cool thing about Linux is that most software is free, and you can legitimately use them without worrying about piracy. If you’re worried that Linux won‘t look as pretty as windows can, all you have to do is check out some of the cool Linux interfaces and Window managers. But you don’t find a lot of multimedia titles for Linux. And if you’re into a lot of these, Windows in the way to go. So if you have a PC that runs both, you can easily switch between the two, and get the best of both worlds.

About The Author

Pawan Bangar, technical Director, Birbals, India.

www.birbals.com

www.seobirbals.com

www.hbirbals.com

www.ebirbals.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 25, 2003

by Pawan Bangar

How To Make Your Own Font

How To Make Your Own Font

by: Maui Reyes

If you’ve always thought your handwriting is so much better than the many fonts out there, then maybe it’s time you made your mark: literally. Creating your own font isn’t as hard as it seems—all you need is a pen, a paper, a little programknowhow, and a comprehensible penmanship.

Oh, and Macromedia’s Fontographer and Adobe Illustrator.

1.) Write down the alphabet. If you have a WACOM or any other drawing tablet, then you can just doodle right on to Photoshop or whatever photo editing software you have. If you don’t have one, then a pen and paper will do—plus a scanner. Scan it using the highest resolution possible, so you’ll get a pretty accurate scribble for your font.

2.) Edit it. If you think your penmanship is perfect the way it is, noise and all, then skip this part. But if you think it needs a little more work, go ahead and clean it up using Photoshop or whatever photo editing software you use. Now you’ll have to save each letter as an individual file.

3.) Open Fontographer. This is where your font comes to life. Go to the File menu and choose ขnew fontข. Double click on letter ขAข, and a window will pop up. It’s time to get busy.

4.) Cut and paste, edit if you like. Copy the letter ขAข that you have in Photoshop or whatever program you used, and paste it in the Fontographer window. This is the ขguideข for your font—it’s not actually a font yet. Now select ขOutlineข from the layers menu, then click on ขAuto Traceข from the Element menu. This lets Fontographer trace the edges of your font for you. Twiddle with the settings on Auto Trace to achieve your desired tracing effect. If Auto Trace didn’t seem to do such a good job at certain corners, you can always correct it. Use the arrow tool to edit points. This takes practice to master, so be patient.

5.) Hint, hint. Bring up the Kerning dialogue to preview your font. Now that your letter ขAข is born, you might want to make its widths and locations uniform. This is where ขHintingข comes in play. Selecting lines to make measurements uniform will greatly help make it look more professional. Click on the ขHintข on the layers panel and mark lines on the horizontal and vertical stems (do this when you’re done editing the points on your font).

6.) Christen your baby. You’re almost ready to generate your font. Highlight your alphabet and make sure to hit Correct Path Direction, to punch holes through the R’s, O’s, D’s, and so on. Under the Metrics menu, select Auto Kern. Then comes the fun part: under the Element menu, select Font Info, then General, then type in the name of your font. When you’re done, generate the font by going to the File menu and clicking on Generating Font Files.

About The Author

Maui Reyes has written various articles of different topics. She has a clever writing skills that isnt just good for marketing strategies but also in reviews of products, news, technological innovations, health problems, legality issues and many more. Another factor that made her land into this job is her flexibility in her writing just about everything under the sun.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.ucreative.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 10

by Maui Reyes

The Golden Rule Of Website Building

The Golden Rule Of Website Building

by: Robert Evans

Setting yourself up to earn a steady monthly income has to be a prerequisite to your success online. There is no doubt that large sums of money can be made (and indeed are being made) from selling products or services online.

With over 500,000,000 internet users (and that figure is already obsolete even as I write this) the potential for long term wealth is very high indeed.

This fantastic new medium has brought untold possibilities for the small trader operating in a niche market. In fact the internet is made for just that type of marketer. It therefore goes without saying that anyone with the desire, knowledge or ability to market just about any kind of product or service online is a potential millionaire in the making!

You are probably already aware of the importance of having a website to use as a focal point for any products or services you are selling.

But do you know the golden rule you should always keep in mind when building your site and making it ready to welcome all those potential buyers? This rule is keep it simple!

When I started out with my first web site I broke this rule of simplicity by filling every inch of my Home Page with all manner of graphics and fonts. This slowed down the loading time. There were also a number of links to other web sites that took my visitors away from my site and almost certainly they never came back.

It took me a whole eighteen months to realise that what I was doing was never going to work. When I now look at the websites I was promoting a year and a half ago I cringe. What possessed me to put so much effort into them! Because I really did work hard at putting them together.

Take a good look at your own site. Pay very close attention to the following points:

page design navigation should be easy

HTML use of keywords in title and description meta tags

use of graphics minimum number should be used relevant to the theme of the site

use of text/fonts black text on a white background works best

hyperlinks use the ‘target_blankก tag to ensure external pages open in a new window

reason for existence is the purpose of the site clear?

Believe me, when it comes to setting up a website that SELLS, you do not need stunning graphics, dynamic HTML or Java Script. These things could spell the end of your business! Especially when it comes to getting ranked on the major Search Engines. (Don’t ignore these, they could be responsible for up to 80% of traffic to your site!)

So, here is a summary of how your Home Page should be made up:

a maximum of 2 graphics and these must be central to the theme of the site

about 800 words of text, including a list of benefits and a good description of what you offer

a clear navigation bar

a colour scheme that is consistent but not กglaringก

any links to external sites should open in a new window

try to avoid placing a graphic at the top of the page

use Meta Tags that include one or two keywords in the title and three or four in the description

try to keep the page under 20 kbs 10 would be ideal

And all other pages should follow the same basic design. Keep these points in mind and you will be well on the way to creating a fast loading page that will be pleasing on the eye and will also be acceptable to the major Search Engines. And when it comes to submitting your site there is no real need to do this, just keep updating your pages on a regular basis. This is better than submitting your site because in any case the search engine spiders ill find your site if it is worth finding.

Copyright 2005 Robert Evans

About The Author

Robert Evans has been doing business online since October 2000. He runs a resource center and provides dozens of free and low cost marketing techniques: http://www.market4profit.net.

This article was posted on August 04

by Robert Evans

Linux for Home Users

Linux for Home Users

by: Pawan Bangar

Hey Guys! Don’t raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing the word Linux. It is as user friendly as windows. Just take a look at the articles below and all myths about Linux in your mind will disappear.
Introduction to Linux:
It’s a free operating system available to download but you have to pay a tiny bit to mail order it or buy it from a company. Linux came into being about 11 years ago it was developed by Linux Tornados of Finland along with a group of programmers from the open source software movement.
Linux is growing steadily year after year. With a passionate community backing it, with big companies Like IBM and HP pledging their support for it, it’s no wonder Linux the wonder operating system for servers of the past, has also made it to the desktops of today.
Linux is based on the commercial OS, UNIX. All the operating systems try to pack in command line management of systems. System administrators of companies use command lines all the times as their lifeline, but it’s not really meant for regulars users.
Tips for Home Users:

If you want to get comfortable with Linux, you don’t have to let go of windows. Get Linux installed on a separate partition and you can switch between Windows and Linux. For new users who don’t have any computer background learning windows or Linux both takes same time and sitting.
It is suggested that new PC buyers should get both operating systems installed and should use them equally. If you’re getting Linux for more than 23 PCs, you can also get training and support at a small free, if you choose to have it. Else it’s the Linux community on the Net to your rescue.
You don’t have to be a great computer user to work with Linux. There are Desktop environments that let you work in Linux as you work in Windows. As you work with windows, same is the case with Linux.

Linux hands in decreasing PC prices.
PC prices are already on their way down. And you get more choice with operating systems and applications. From being an OS only computer professionals had heard about, Linux, in a short time, has made a transition into the lucrative and high profile home PC segment.
The PCs bundle the operating system. Linux being a free open source operating system means that the code that runs is open for everyone to see, work with, modify and develop their own innovative applications for it. But this is nothing compared to the money people spend on Operating Systems like windows. And a company bundles Linux and applications based on it with a computer, quite a bit of the PC cost comes down. Presently some branded PC’s coming with Linux are available for Rs: 25000/ onwards.
Linux is better than other OS
Linux users won’t even bat an eyelid before they say an emphasis comes from a deep dislike of Microsoft’s practice of changing the earth for software. But a lot of it comes from the fact they are ready to swear uponthat Linux is more stable. According to a latest survey Web Hosts are using Linux Based Servers for hosting purposes.
One note here though: the free in Linux stands for freedom of choice, to redistribute, to install a feature, freedom to modify the source code. That’s the spirit of Linux being free.
Security:
Linux has a better security support for multiusers, lets you set up a stable server, internet gateways etc, and still lets itself to be used as a desktop workstation. There are no blue screens and no viruses to speak of. It is rarely attacked by any viruses and there are very less number of viruses written for Linux. It can be given 10+ points on a 10 point scale for security.
Myths about Linux
Installation:
Linux is hard to install, isn’t it? Not really. Most people haven’t ever installed Windows on their computers eithersince it comes preloaded. Linux is as easysome say easierto install compared to Windows. You can install it through a graphical user interface like Windows. These days Linux Versions are easier to install than Windows. But what really stumps most people in installing Linux on a second partition on their hard disk, when they want to be able to use both operating systems.
A partition is a way of organizing space on your hard disk by creating virtual sections that are separate from each other. Most computers that are running Windows or MS DOS have one large chunk of space holding the OS. This space is the C drive. If you have a large hard disk, it’s likely that it has been divided up into smaller bits called partitions to help you organize your data better. These partitions are usually called D:\, E:\ etc. you could have Linux on any of these.
Windows 98 creates a file system called FAT32 on the entire hard disk, DOS and Win95 use FAT16. Linux has many file systemson the most popular is ext3. But you could have Linux installed on Fat32 partitions also.
Linux is very difficult and based on text command
Linux has come a long way from being the system of brilliant computer users. It has extremely advanced X Windows systems that have a complete graphical user interfaceyou know, like Windows. It also has a large number of window manager that let you work with different levels of customization of your desktop.
Linux has a robust charactercell interface where commands need to be typed in. x Windows is a free program that runs with Linux to provide a GUI where the mouse and keyboard can be used extensively. But the X system itself is quite primitive and needs a window manager, or a desktop environment like GNOME or KDE to be really usable. Window managers are programs that let you interact with the underlying X system and Linux OS by relaying commands. The popular window managers are Sawfish, Enlightenment, Black box, after step and Window maker.
As for desktop managers, they have their own window manager and other tools that make you feel that you are working in Window! GNOME and KDE are the most popular of these. GNOME stands for GNU Network Model Environment and KDE for K desktop Environment. They have tools that allow drag and drop, have panels and taskbar almost like clones of windows.
Hardware compatibility problem and few applications that run on Linux
Well, most new distributions will detect and configure your hardware in a jiffy, unless you have some really old or exotic piece of hardware. All hardware are properly detected and their drivers installed. Only Win modems (internal modems driven by Window drivers) face problems.
As for software, there’s plenty. And most of it comes freefree for you to use, modify and configure according to your needs. Almost all excellent software for Linux is free and you don’t lose anything by giving it a try. You get free support on the Net quickly on any query you may have. And you don’t even have to wipe out your Windows. Just get Linux on a different hard disk partition and free to switch between them as you please.
Other packages are commercial and you have to buy the softwarebut this is mostly for the software and training you need, and not for the software itself. Sometimes, if you have the Windows version (as a doom) you can download a small program that will allow you to play the game in Linux. The games in Linux are of very high quality and features. You’ll enjoy them. Here what’s available?
Office suites: Star Office, Open Office, Applixware, Corel WordPerfect
Graphics: GIMP, Corel Photo paint
Music: XMMS, Free amp, Real Player
Video: MTV, Xine
Games: FreeCiv, Tux racer, Doom, Quake, Heretic, Unreal And the list is growing.
Linux varieties for Home Users:
If there are so many people working on it. There’s likely to be many Linux versions too. Many companies working on Linux have come up with what are called Linux distributions. There are Linux versions that are compiled and packaged and released with additional software.
RedHat: Probably the most popular and in many ways the leading version. It’s currently in version 9. The installation and configuration is easy. A blue curve file manager and the default GNOME desktop make it look simply stunning. It comes with a host of tools that allow usage as a server and as a workstation. The Red Hat Package Manger(RPM) format developed by Red Hat has almost become the defector for software distribution in Linux world. Installing new software is a breeze. It also has an advanced and easy font management system that makes fonts in X Windows look cool.
Mandrake: Mandrake Linux is now in its 10 version. It can be installed on a native Windows Partition using the Lin4Win tool, but this may slow the machine down. It also lets you do a traditional Linux install into its own dedicated partition. Mandrake’s configuration and software installation is painless. It follows a slightly modified RPM architecture called mdk.rpm but most Red Hat software can also be used for Mandrake. The outstanding feature in this version is the collection of window managerseyecandy freaks will have a great time.
SUSE: From Germany comes the Chameleon, SUSE. Now in its 8.x avatar, it has one of the most extensive software packages compiled, and getting them installed is easy with yast (Yet another Software Tool) which gives a centralized interface from where you can pick and choose the software to be installed. Among other things, SUSE comes with some stunning 3D games that showcase Linux gamming prowess
Corel/Xandross: Corel entered the Linux market with Corel Linux a few years ago. Now it has merged into Xandross OS, which is based on Corel Linux. This is a Debiantype version, and can be installed without much fuss after resizing the Windows partition. Xandross contains Crossover office, which is a refined retail version of WINE that lets you install and run many Microsoft apps.
Windows applications in Linux
Some applications have been ported over to Linux, other run with a program called WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator). Crossover, commercially available software also lets you use your Windows programs on Linux. VMWare is another program that lets you run Windows under Linux. Now many software companies have started developing high end software for Linux.
Bottom Line:

The cool thing about Linux is that most software is free, and you can legitimately use them without worrying about piracy. If you’re worried that Linux won‘t look as pretty as windows can, all you have to do is check out some of the cool Linux interfaces and Window managers. But you don’t find a lot of multimedia titles for Linux. And if you’re into a lot of these, Windows is in the way to go. So if you have a PC that runs both, you can easily switch between the two, and get the best of both worlds.

About The Author

Presently working in the capacity of the Technical Director of Birbals, an econsulting firm based in India dedicated in providing innovative and effective web, Hospitality and consultancy services to public, private and nonprofit organizations. Successfully founded Birbals and other IT companies like Ebirbals and SeoBirbals. Responsible for strategy, positioning and branding, designing, planning, organizing and executing various business plans. Have set up various systems and procedures for the smooth functioning of Birbals.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 04, 2004

by Pawan Bangar

Keeping Up With…

Keeping Up With…

by: Cathy Bryant

…the Jonesกs? The Smiths? The latest internet กsurefire, 100% guaranteed, knockdown last, best opportunity?ก

Makes you want to pull your hair out, doesn’t it?

Iกm here to tell you…don’t get caught in that trap.

I have yet to learn about anyone who has made any significant longterm income from any of these programs. Perhaps there have been a few along the way, but to be successful on the internet requires more, much more than simply joining every new highlytouted program that comes along.

Itกs sad, but the reality is that there are a large number of people who are burned by the hype and get scared away, believing that it is truly impossible to succeed online.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Many people just give up and fail to pursue their dreams, but others simply stand up, brush themselves off, and proceed to do what needs to be done in order to be successful.

Look around there are many examples of ordinary people doing an extraordinary business online. Some of them have advanced degrees; others no more than a highschool education.

It is said that the internet is the great equalizer, and I know that it is true at least when it comes to running a profitable online business. Iกm a perfect example; who would dream that a technophobic middleaged female could even compete? Amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

It doesn’t take a brilliant mind or a truckload of cash. What it does require, however, is a willingness to educate yourself on what works and what doesn’t and thereกs a whole lot of both.

There is no one correct way to succeed online, but many. Many of the socalled กgurusก tell you that thereกs only one way THEIR way but don’t buy into it.

We are not all alike so why should our businesses be?

Choosing a business only because you think it can make you lots of money is a recipe for disaster. Find your passion, and build your business around it. You must do this in order to maintain the enthusiasm needed to guide you over the rough patches.

It is then that others will be racing to keep up with you!

About The Author

Cathy Bryant has been marketing online since the last century! Let her show you that an old dog CAN learn new tricks subscribe to her longrunning newsletter, the HomeBizJuncton Herald, and learn how you too can become successful from home. http://www.homebizjunction.com

This article was posted on March 22, 2003

by Cathy Bryant