Use of Technology in Business

Relevant technology can provide a positive impact if used in a business. Besides being an important component in the business, there are harmonious relationship between technology and business to be established. In fact, if the use of technology are ignored, it will be a lost in business competitiveness both locally and globally. Technology is applied in various business fields such as telecommunications, retail, stock brokers, financial and others were for good. In fact, technology will continue to be a part or component in any kind of business. In addition, there will be a lot of technology development for several years which is funded by venture capitalists.

Companies need to use technology to increase revenue, reduce operating costs, improve customer satisfaction, partners and employees. Besides to helping in increased revenue, the use of technology can expand access to other countries when there is advanced technology such as Internet and e-commerce.

Harmonious relationship existed between technology and business, such as information technology (IT) can help companies to be more successful. Still, company should emphasizes on the role of 'person' as one of the key elements to ensure that the technology used to work. So, focus on technology users need, through education and training so that they understand how technology to create a harmonious relationship to business growth.

Two parts have been identified to be crucial in term of technology which is build and destroy. Building technology in terms of applications, increasing productivity, efficiency, and other good things through the use of technology. Meanwhile, the share of the damage can be seen in several aspects, such as when a business is a very productive and increase efficiency, but it will decrease prices of products. This causes the business to compete harder to maintain or increase their market share. As a result, there will be some business is continued weakness and failure.

However, reality of the success of a business is not subject to the technology alone. The necessary foundation of good business in the new economy as business model in terms of financial success. Technology is basically just to help and operators can not avoid the fact that businesses need a good foundation and model. For example, models such as the 'brick and click' even to basic good business to run. If there is no good business model for innovation and technology combined with smart, then that business will not succeed.

Meanwhile, the use of technology in business also can be perceived from different perspectives. One of them, as the technology facilitator and the other technology as the final product. For example microprocessor is one of the final product of successful technologies since decades ago. Another technology that is often dealt with the Internet in which the sophistication attempts proved in several technology businesses such as B2C (business-to-customer), and gateway (portal) Web.

Although technology recognize as an important to the business it should not ignore the business model seeing that it also should be as the primary consideration. For example, there are many businesses that do not use technologies such as restaurant but more emphasis on the 'personal touch'. The question is whether the final product being sold is that own technology or produced through the use of technology. So the business model must recognize these differences involving the production of final products or services. But it should depend on the technology as a facilitator who entered the segment. For example, a restaurant for visitors 'personal touch' is more important than selling online.

However, if the business involves the marketing or production of large-scale and have sold quite well), so technology play as a key role. In particular, mass production of food need to incorporate technology that is relevant to ensure the freshness of the food. In addition, online booking and sales can be made via the Web.

Businesses such as restaurants, educational, training, trade or whatever forms of business that do not use technology is likely to be affected. When we look around, increasing competition not only occurs at local, but global. If, something is not done, the competition will appear in new forms such as the use of IT, Internet, SMS, and wireless communication to overcome their competitors.

The businesses that choose not to use the technology will affect the competitiveness of the market at once. So, entrepreneurs need to understand what 'tools' that can be used to remain competitive. Although the restaurant is acknowledged as a business priority to food,services and the environment, but another important aspect is the use of technology in marketing. This is to ensure continuous and restaurant visits can be known.

Some restaurants are using SMS technology. Customers can obtain information on the fingertips of a restaurant is as easy as using your mobile phone instead of going from one store to another store. It is a marketing technology used in many restaurants around the world this time, especially to compete with others. There is so much creativity in marketing.

On the development of technology for the past 10 years to come, it will be assume that technology development will increase rapidly, and not vice versa. Microprocessor is a good example in terms of speed and size. History has shown, the size microprocessor is an example of good technology, while technology development is expected to increase.

Technology can also be classified as technology from the shelf. It refers to something that can be purchased and accessed by everyone, such as PC and notebook that has to this day. Many businesses today are buying and using technology from the shelf. It also developed technology that can distinguish a company with others, and to be more competitive. The use of advanced technologies require extensive investment. While wireless technology is an example for the application of advanced technology.

However, not all companies will use the technology as it is needed or not affordable today. For example, advanced technologies in the biotech industry, where a study is currently underway have found genes that are useful in the treatment. In fact, in the IT field itself is new technology, but not all companies use it because it is not necessary at this time.

As a summary, it can be conclude that the technology will be directly incorporated into the business.

Web 4.0, are we really ready for it?

Who would have guessed the technology would outgrow ourselves this fast. Outgrow? It might be such a huge word to portray our current situation. But looking back at say, 15 years ago, neither of us could actually predict that our daily routines would be depending on technologies. At the age of 17, my mind was busied by making plans for the next hangout session with fellow girlfriends. And these plans are normally done a week ahead over phone calls, mind you I am referring to the landline calls or during that confusing add maths class. Now, my recently reached 19 years old sister who is “facebooking” on her laptop, would just head straight up to the parents room asking permission for a late night “teh tarik” session at the nearest mamak, there and then. Exchanging a couple of messages over the net, hanging out plans are made.

Raise your hand up high if you have never own a cell phone ever once in your entire life, know how to switch on a computer or never ever surfed the net, ever? I believe, NILL. Else, you won’t be reading this, right?

So, moving on to Web 4.0.

Web 4.0? I don’t even realize that the advancement of the web world has reached that far. The last report that I came across was still talking about Web 2.0 and how is has changes our life from the first invention of webby world. If Web 2.0 is about web applications and social networking, and Web 3.0 is said to incorporate the semantics of data interpreted by machines, how is Web 4.0 going to look like?

If you have the guts to let technologies take over your heart, mind and as a matter of fact your souls, dare enough to have a look at some of the insights and theories being put by the futurist. Brave yourselves darlings.

There is no exact definition of how Web 4.0 would be. But the idea is that it is an upgraded version of Web 3.0 (duh, of course!). Web 4.0 is said to be the next in thing for the society. Quoting Hemnath on his blogpost,

… Human mind & Machines (Binary language) can interact in Symbiosis using this Web 4.0 technology concept. In simple words, a machine can also be clever on reading the contents and animations, and react in the form of executing and deciding what to execute first to load the website fast with superior quality and performance and build more commanding interfaces.

In other word, we are letting the machines to execute our thinking before we even key in our wants and needs into the machines, and these machines put forward more than what we ought for, no?

It sounds exiting that everything is getting simpler, quicker and offers better-quality. No more mind-blowing and nerve-wrecking physical jobs involvement in executing our daily routines. Yet, it is a bit scary though knowing the fact that life won’t commence it usual routines without the help of those clever machines.

Web 4.0 is also said to have a creation of making the technology more human. It no longer presents conventional challenge, making what we have now on the current web world out-dated and old-fashioned. Contents are not just being consumed as it is by us, as it shall alter our behaviors into exploring and scrutinizing in deep before any intellect inputs, as they are putting it. Question is, are we turning the technology becoming humans, or we ourselves turning into technologies in order to adapt to its advancement?

This might be a skeptical statement of mine, but how are we capable of adapting to it really, given that our human mind shall have a dependable relationship with machines in Web 4.0, or in whole, technologies?

We no longer need to think hard, spending hours on Emerald finding relevant journals for that thesis writing. Courting the next in line love prospect would not be awkward given that Web 4.0 might just provide us with that particular person’s preferences, dislikes and every other thing that you would not have the courage to ask them in person. As for the enterprises, the current B2B, B2C, B2E and B2G networking is already trouble-free in this existing Web 2.0 edge. Pulling together Web 4.0, I wonder how much more effortless it would be.

But hey! If these advancement is making our miserable life easier, why not then?

Just make sure that we are really ready to let ourselves face the fact that those machines are way clever than us and never let their cleverness takes over our human intelligence.

Good luck to all of us with the future of Web 4.0!

2008270084

With blue ocean group, 23.03.2010

'' with style and confident..

The Dawn of Mobile Web

Does the title sound over dramatic? I think not.

Just a few months ago, I would have tossed aside such notion as nonsense and pure science fiction. Reason? The failure of WAP internet in late 90s and the poor state of mobile broadband data services in this country.How things have change so fast in so little time. Today, anyone who failed to take note of this new trend will soon find themselves left behind and playing catch-up.

A recent article in a Symbian website commented that half of internet users in the world access it through a phone:

“…it is inevitable that soon the majority of internet access will be from mobile phones. As we’ve reported here, in many Emerging World countries form Bangladesh to South Africa the ratio is more than 4 to 1 and as much as 10 to 1 where more mobile users access internet services (including WAP services) on their phones than on PCs. Even many advanced countries like Japan and Taiwan report the same milestone having passed. Now Nokia says the global milestone has passed.”

Why do I think mobile web is an emerging power?

1. Improved Support by Telephone Companies
Needless to say, iPhone by Apple is the biggest contributor. Recent reports have proved beyond doubt that iPhone has made a huge impact on mobile web arena. Though iPhone only represent 5% of total phone users, last year iPhone users made 5000% more Google search than the nearest competitor. Since then, millions of iPhone apps were downloaded, many of which requires Internet connectivity.

Nokia also is no slouch. Its biggest contribution has been in making email access through its phone so much easier – especially in its E and N series. With integral support for Gmail and corporate POP mail, email on phones is as easy as SMS. I have always maintained that email will be the killer app for mobile web and with the runaway success of E71 – Nokia would agree with me on this score too.

The default browser shipped with mobile phones have also improved by leaps and bound. You can now browse the majority of websites well and not restricted to functionally-challenged WAP sites.

2. Improved mobile broadband service
Better late than never. The major telcos in Malaysia are all offering 3G services in major city areas and even where 3G not available, GPRS data services are not too shabby either. The competition has also forced the data plan to be priced at a more reasonable sub-RM50 package for basic unlimited data plan.

3. Improved mobile-centric services
We are seeing more and more mobile-centric services being offered. If you’ve a GPS enabled phone, try Google Map for mobile and be amazed with the details provided there. Unfortunately, beside the news sites like The Star and Business Times that have mobile specific sites, I have not seen many local sites that take advantage of this up and coming trend. Asiaspace have recently announced its plan to beam mobile TV – but I’ll believe it when I see it.

4. Increased sale of smartphones
1 out of 7 handsets sold worldwide in 2009 is a smartphone. And most smartphones today is basically a mini-computer where use of internet, social networking sites and email is at the forefront.

why do we need the internet

I was having a pleasant lunch, with a few friends. One of them asked why do we need the internet? and there was a moment of embarrassment, because none of us had an easy answer. We are so overwhelmed with fantastic news about what the net has to offer that we are losing track of what we can really do with it. Does anyone really have the time to go online just to look at again another picture of another actress or model, more or less undressed? or to see more sites with lots of glitch and no content? or to clutter the bandwidth with more silly postcards? Or to "surf" aimlessly looking for nobody knows what?

Yes, it would be nice if we could do all of our banking online, without ever having to line up al a counter. But it will take another while before the banks get themselves organized. Yes, it would be even better if we could get rid of all he waste of time and unnecessary procedure in public offices. But it will take years for our bureaucracy to unlearn its bas habits.

Yes, e-mail is the best tool we’ve ever had for correspondence. Or it would be... if we could get rid of spamming, monstrously bulky attachments, documents in formats that are hard to decode, and many other problems caused by the fact that people are taught masses of boring technical stuff they don’t need and nothing about online manners and practical use of the net.

Yes, it’s convenient to download software, music and all sorts of interesting information. But the clutter is so big, and the technologies so inefficient, that the task becomes often cumbersome and uncomfortable. Yes, it’s nice to be able to read a newspaper online. But I don’t know any living soul that has replaced paper with the online edition – except when people are away from home or looking for something in a magazine they don’t usually buy. And many newspapers don’t provide adequate access to past issues...

Is there a bit of nostalgia for the "old days"? Yes, and it’s understandable. Things were more simple, software worked better – and 2,400 bps connections were much faster than any super-device available today. Even then there were too many people online for us to be able to know them all but there was a mood of belonging, of mutual help, that made us feel a bit special.
Maybe some of the people would have liked the net to stay small, separate from the crowds. I never felt that way, nor did any of my online friends. We wanted the net to grow and expand, to open up to more people. Now it’s happening, and we must learn to live with the consequences.
But it’s even more difficult for the newcomers. How do they find their way? How do they tailor the net to their personal needs and wishes?

The basic answer, I think, is simple. Don’t use the net unless you know why. Don’t go online without a precise objective. Don’t sit in front of a monitor, put your fingers on a muse and a keyboard, unless you have a specific reason for doing so. If we stop for a moment and think, to understand our intentions and desires, we shall use the net more effectively and waste less time. Of course that’s sooner said that done – but I think it’s a good starting point.

Advantages And Disadvantages For Internet Banking

Advantages and Disadvantages of VoIP - Internet Phone Service
When we switch to internet phone service, not only do you save a lot of money – but also tend to spend more time talking with long distance friends and family because with unlimited long distance calling - it’s free!Anyone with a broadband (high speed) internet connection can use internet phone service as their main primary home phone. Because making phone calls over the internet does not use any local telephone wires, there are a couple of drawbacks to this service that you need to be aware of.Since an internet phone (also known as VoIP – voice over internet protocol) requires a “live” internet connection, it’s important to note that if your internet is down the internet phone service will not work. Since your internet modem or router requires power in order to work, if the power is out your internet phone will be down also. For this reason, it is not advisable to use internet phone service as your “one and only” telephone if you live in an area that is prone to frequent power outages or internet service reliability issues.Most people who switch from traditional “land line” phone service to internet phone service do so because the tremendous cost savings associated with VoIP far outweighs the potential inconvenience caused by occasional power or internet failure. To get around the issue of temporary loss of VoIP service due to power or internet failure, internet phone service plans come with some free calling features that are useful in these situations. All of the best VoIP providers have a free call forwarding “hunting” feature that allows you to have your calls routed to different numbers if there is no answer at your main VoIP phone. If you set this up in advance to ring your cell phone for example, you will not miss any calls if your internet phone service is down. To save the most money on telephone service, most people have their land line phone service disconnected after installing VoIP service. In order to do this though, your broadband internet provider usually needs to be someone other than the local phone company. Most phone companies will not allow you to have DSL internet without also subscribing to their local phone service. Cable internet service is a good choice if you want to use internet phone service and get rid of your monthly phone company bill. Cable internet usually costs a bit more than DSL service, but the savings you will realize from VoIP internet phone service will outweigh the price difference after you disconnect your land line phone service.These days, the quality of internet phone service is just as good as traditional land line service – as long as you choose a quality VoIP provider. It is important to choose an internet phone service provider that has a large customer base and a good reputation for service. Some excellent VoIP providers to consider are Vonage, Sunrocket, AT&T CallVantage, and Packet8.Since VoIP requires a high-speed internet connection, it’s important to remember that the quality of your internet service has a direct impact on the quality of service you will get from your internet phone. If your broadband connection is sluggish or the bandwidth seems sporadic, you will likely experience call quality issues with VoIP. Before subscribing to internet phone service, get your internet service provider to correct any internet quality issues you are having. Once you are happy with the consistency of your broadband service, you should experience nothing but pleasure with your VoIP service.

Advantages And Disadvantages For Internet Banking

Advantages and Disadvantages for Internet Banking
If you belong to the generation that feeds on technology then Internet banking shouldn''t at all be an issue for you The Internet for you is the place to get things done quickly without actually going out
If you belong to the generation that feeds on technology then Internet banking shouldn''t at all be an issue for you. The Internet for you is the place to get things done quickly without actually going out. Banking is one of these things. For those who are a bit older, the concept of not interfacing with a human inside the bank will be a bitter pill to swallow. They still are yet to be convinced so it is necessary to weigh the advantages and disadvantages for Internet banking. Apprehensive people know about the many wonders of the Internet and they have heard so much about Internet banking but they are still paying their bills by mail and depositing checks at their branch. Many people are already using the Internet to shop for items, or even financial packages for mortgages and loans but when it''s time to finalize, they still opt to go to the office of the company they chose and seal things with an agent. Before comparing the advantages and disadvantages for Internet banking, let us first define the concept so others who do not know yet can have an idea. The What and Who in online banking When the Internet started to become very popular and computers began to become more and more advanced, many businesses started to shift their attention to the trend and established their online presence. This same trend also started to reshape the banking industry. In the past, banks used computers to automate their daily transactions. These days, there hardly is any paper work at all since everything is done online via the bank''s network system. The only thing that serves as a transaction record is the receipt a shopper gets when she''s at the POS of her favorite boutique. For banks, their Internet presence is a value-added service for existing and new customers. Online banking goes by so many other names like PC banking, home banking, electronic banking, or Internet banking. The first ones to test the waters were the large national banks. Soon, regional banks, smaller banks, financial companies, and credit unions joined in and implemented their own electronic banking system based on the Internet. These institutions that have expanded to online have since then referred to as brick-to-click banks as opposed to brick-and-mortar banks. The latter refers to those, which are yet to offer online banking o their customers. Aside from the brick-to-clicks, there are "virtual" banks that have emerged. These are banks that do not have physical offices or branches, and any tellers or agents. These banks exist only in cyberspace but they still are covered by the same federal regulations that cover the ordinary banks. Nowadays, the large banks have sites that provide fully secured and fully functioning online banking services that give their customers ultimate convenience. The smaller ones which are a bit more cautious to go full circle offer access to limited banking services like viewing of account balance and history viewing only. The more banks that go online and succeed in making their services secured, the more that people will have lesser doubts about the advantages and disadvantages for Internet banking.

The Importance Of Critical Thinking For Student Use Of Internet

The Importance Of Critical Thinking For Student Use Of The Internet
Students are increasingly so dependent on the Internet for their information that critical thinking programs that do not address the form and quality of persuasion on that medium are flirting with an anachronistic pedagogy. This paper documents the absorption of postsecondary students with the Internet as a source of "knowledge", spells out the attendant dangers, and suggests the essential first step in applying critical thinking to the Internet.
Critical thinking is the systematic evaluation of the arguments of others (Browne and Keeley, 1998). In a world where arguments and counterarguments flourish with respect to almost all social questions, students have a fundamental need for the development of attitudes and skills that permit them to negotiate the inescapable dissensus that surrounds them. But why focus on the arguments that arrive via the Internet?
The answer is direct and compelling. Students are increasingly so dependent on the Internet for their information that critical thinking that does not address the form and quality of persuasion on that medium are flirting with an anachronistic pedagogy. This paper documents the absorption of postsecondary students with the Internet as a source of "knowledge", spells out the attendant dangers, and suggests the essential first step in applying critical thinking to the Internet.
Increasing Dependence of Students on Computers as a Source for Their Conclusions
The Internet has become a way to communicate, a way to conduct business, even a way to shop. While the Internet is often considered as a source of entertainment, it began primarily as a research and scholarly tool, and it is this academic aspect that is becoming increasingly popular among students (Scherer, 1997; Iseke-Barnes, 1996). There are several advantages to using the Internet as a research tool. Using the Web can allow students to access information that cannot be readily found in print. In addition, the Internet is convenient: unlike resources housed in a library, the Internet is available all day, every day. Finally, the interactivity of some academic Web sites makes them unparalleled as a resource. To a student able to discern the academic merit of the information he finds, using the Internet may be well worth the extra evaluative effort because of these advantages.
When using the Internet for research, students have access to information from universities, observatories, government agencies and other sources worldwide. The availability of library catalogs on the Web enables students in small and remote institutions to search the collections of larger institutions like Oxford University and the Library of Congress. (Silva and Cartwright, 1993; Change, 1996). Up-to-date information from sources ranging from independent researchers to government agencies can be found on the Web, as can otherwise unpublished information (Sorapure et al., 1998). Students using the Internet carefully may find more in-depth information than would be available without such technology. For this reason, the Internet is of great advantage as a research tool.
In addition to the scope of information available on the Internet, the unique convenience afforded by electronic resources is also noteworthy. While most students are able to complete library research within the library's normal hours of operation, the Internet offers an advantage to those who cannot. The Internet is "open" at all hours of the night or day, every day of the week, and even on holidays. This convenience presents a definite advantage to students for whom the nearest library's schedule is a constraint to research
It is clear that the Internet offers certain advantages to student researchers. Yet relying heavily upon the Internet for academic purposes makes research seem easy and allows students to confuse information with knowledge. Once this confusion exists, the careful evaluation by which meaningless data evolves into knowledge seems unnecessary. If relying upon the Internet causes students to cease evaluating information with which they are presented, then one of the primary purposes of higher education is jeopardized. "Our institutions' primary mission is to expand students' intellectual capacities," writes Alexander W. Astin, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles (1997). Without the acquisition of knowledge transformed from random pieces of information, the intellectual capacity of students of higher education is not being expanded. Therefore, despite the advantages of Internet research, it is arguable that reliance upon the Internet as a source of research poses a threat to one of the fundamental goals of higher education.
The seeming ease of using the Internet makes scholastic research seem similarly effortless; with a few keystrokes and a click of the mouse, students are provided with hundreds of sites from which to draw information on a particular topic. Hypertext links, ubiquitous on most sites, amplify the seeming ease of research by allowing students to quickly cross-reference information and pursue promising leads. However, the ease with which we can find information is not directly proportional to its quality as research.
Students may develop a "misunderstanding of research itself" by using the Internet as a research tool, Darnton (1999) claims, due partly to the decontextualized nature of information found electronically. Historical research, for example, involves recognition and appreciation of context; the handwriting, typeface, layout and paper qualities of a document are valuable clues to a document's meaning (Darnton). Such contextual clues are unavailable to students who find a document on-line as opposed to in the library archives. In using the Internet to find the majority of research on a topic, students do not learn the importance of information's context, leading to a very narrow understanding of what careful research requires of the researcher.
When manipulated, this data becomes information, and only through careful evaluation does this information evolve into a well-informed conclusion (Iseke-Barnes, 1996). Student researchers need to have an appreciation of this distinction and be able to evaluate data found on the Internet to form a conclusion. In assuming that the Internet provides conclusions rather than wandering pieces of data, students may also assume that evaluating what they find on the Internet is unnecessary. Such a habit might explain the declining quality of student research papers noticed by educators. Knowledgeable statements belong in research papers, while information in raw form usually does not; it might be expected that papers containing "summaries of summaries" have been written by students who do not clearly understand the distinction between "information" and "knowledge."
While the Internet can be easy to use and while Web sites often provide statements that seem conclusive, information found on-line needs to be evaluated just as carefully as information found elsewhere (Halverson, 1997). Without carefully considering the source from which an argument has arisen and the reasoning behind the argument's conclusion, students are doing little to develop their minds. If the goal of our educational system is indeed to "expand students' intellectual capacities," (Astin, 1997) then we should expect students to evaluate any arguments they encounter. Sites on the Internet have varying purposes, perspectives, and credibility in the same way that non-electronic sources do. Any individual who wishes to conduct research via the Internet must consider these qualities.
While written material is edited and revised before publication, Web pages simply "appear" on the Internet. There is no governing board or editorial staff whose responsibility it is to ascertain that Internet sites present well-informed conclusions or even truthful statements. In some cases, Web search engines provide rating systems to help people find reliable sources of information. Lycos, Infoseek, and Yahoo are examples of searching tools that rate sites along a scale, typically awarding ratings from "excellent" to "poor". While such tools can be helpful, Sorapure, Inglesby and Yatchisin (1998) note that the criteria by which sites are judged are often left unspecified, as are the qualifications of the reviewers awarding the ratings. It is essentially up to the student to determine a Web site's worth as a resource.
The creation and expansion of the Internet has changed the way we communicate. There are many advantages to letting this technological advance also change the way we learn: information on the Internet is readily available, convenient, and interactive. Having access to advanced technology does not mean that the student researcher is using an advanced form of information, however. Information found on the Internet is subject to the same careful evaluation as that found in other mediums. Even the best of Web sites, those that state their purpose, recognize their origination from particular political or social stances and are well grounded in their content, must be carefully scrutinized. Thus, the Internet is of value as a research tool only to the extent that the student is willing to practice careful evaluation.

Notebook Care and Maintenance Guide

Some tips for those that using notebooks and laptops

GENERAL USE

* Notebooks shouldn't be bumped or moved while they're switched on. Think of the hard drive as being like a vinyl record - movement greatly increases the chance of causing damage. Putting a solid-state drive (SSD) into your notebook avoids this issue.
* Don't use the notebook on a bed, on your lap, on carpet or any other soft surface. Use a hard, flat surface. Most notebooks have air intake vents on their underside. They also have feet to elevate them off the surface a bit to allow cool air to flow under the notebook. Also be careful not to obstruct exhaust outlets at the back or side of the latop. Periodically check the fans and vents for fluff and dust buildup. It’s also a good idea not to use the notebook too close to heaters.
* Don’t push the notebook up against the wall. One of the most common things techs repair on notebooks is the power connector, which is often at the back of the notebook. In many cases, it requires a motherboard replacement. Not cheap.
* Keep the notebook away from magnetic fields. Speakers, TV’s, refridgerators and even alarm clocks can all generate strong magnetic fields. Hard drives are magnetic storage devices, meaning that a strong enough magnet can wipe the drive.
* Notebooks and liqiuds don’t mix. Coffee, water, wine, beer and vomit have all been known to kill notebooks. If you're having a party, leave the notebook somewhere safe.
* Notebook screens are fragile and expensive. Close the notebook gently. Avoid touching the screen and don’t put heavy objects on it (eg. books). Use soft cleaning agents and soft cloth. I recommend using a proper computer screen cleaning agent and a cloth for cleaning spectacles with. These should be available at your local electronics shop and optometrists, respectively.
* Notebook keyboards are less durable than normal keyboards. They're also more expensive to replace. Try to keep it clean and avoid being rough with it. If you have small kids, it might be an idea to get a USB keyboard for them to use.
* Use a surge protector. Desktop computer power supplies are designed to bear the brunt of dangerous power fluctuations (you should still use a surge protector on them). Notebooks don’t have that luxury. A decent surge can cause costly damage. Surge protectors are cheap. They can also protect against surges through the phone line (if you’re using the dial-up modem).

BATTERY PRESERVATION

* Remove the battery if you mainly use the AC power. Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries suffer damage from overcharging, so if the battery is left in for long periods (after it is fully charged) the total charge capacity will significanltly reduce. It’s less hassle to remove the battery than to be dependent on AC power. Some batteries have one of the notebook feet under them – you can usually substitute this by placing something like a piece of folded paper or a pen under the notebook.
* Never fully discharge the battery. You should always charge it before it gets below 10%. Multi-cell Li-Ion batteries can be particularly susceptible to this if they have one or two cells that are smaller than the others. Unlike other batteries, it is better to charge Li-Ion batteries sooner rather than later.
* Store the battery with 40-60% charge if you don’t use it for long periods of time. Keep it in a cool, dry place and don’t expose it to extreme temperatures. It will lose around 5% charge each month, so it’s good to get into the habit of checking the battery on a regular basis.
* Consider buying a spare battery. Apart from distributing the wear and tear between batteries, this is especially handy if you like using your notebook on planes, in airports and other places where you might not always have access to power points. You should also consider carrying spare batteries for your mouse.

TRAVELLING

* Turn the notebook off when transporting it. When hard drives are switched off, the heads are locked for safe transport. When the drive is still receiving power, the heads are still unlocked, meaning that the heads can be bumped into the platter, causing physical damage and data loss.
* Use a notebook bag. These are designed specifically for the purpose of protecting the notebook from impact during transit. A bag made particularly for your size notebook optimises protection by limiting the amount of movement inside the bag. The top of the notebook should face the most heavily padded part of the bag. Shoulder bags usually have one strap and one padded strip for partitioning the bag. The padded strip should be used to stop the notebook moving side to side. Contrary to popular belief, it is not supposed to go over the top of the notebook. Bags that aren’t easily identified as notebook bags help reduce the risk of theft. Caribee and Crumpler both have a range of high quality and inconspicuous notebook bags. I like the Crumpler Backpacks because the zip isn’t accessible unless you take the bag off. Their 17" backpacks can also fit a full-sized keyboard.
* If you're travelling overseas, check your AC adaptor AND your surge protector. Almost all notebooks use a "Switching Power Supply" that should have an Input Voltage range of between 100V and 240V, meaning that you can use anywhere in the world. You should also confirm that your surge protector has the same Input Voltage range.
* Watch your weight. A notebook bag with packed with various accessories (AC adaptors, spare batteries, external drives, CD/DVD's, etc) can get quite heavy. If you're on a long trip, lugging it around can be tiresome. If you're flying somewhere, the accessories could tip your bag over the acceptable weight limit for cabin baggage. Any accessories you don't need, leave them at home, otherwise try and store some of it in your suitcase.

PERFORMANCE TIPS

* Performance options can usually be found either in BIOS or in Control Panel (Power Options). Usually there are options to optimise performance for best battery life or for most power. The default option is usually somewhere in between. A good one in Windows Vista or Windows 7 is to set the "Plugged In" options for the "Power Saver" and "Balanced" modes the same as the "Plugged In" options for the High Performance Mode. So basically any time you have the power pack plugged in, you're getting maximum performance.
* Battery use can be prolonged by turning off or toning town unused hardware features. Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, Speakers, Infrared, FireWire, Screen brightness, etc. You can always enable them when you want to use them.
* Add more RAM. One of the biggest causes of poor performance on notebooks is lack of RAM. Many manufacturers and retailers skimp on RAM to reduce the price tag on the notebook. These days RAM is cheap, so if you've got less than 1GB RAM on a Windows XP notebook or less than 2GB RAM on a Windows Vista notebook, take it to a shop and get them to slap some more RAM in. It should take less than five minutes. Taking it into the shop rather than fitting it yourself is a good option. Notebooks can be fussy with RAM and there are also a couple of different types of RAM. In most cases if the notebook rejects the RAM, the shop can remove or swap it on the spot.
* Minimise the number of programs running. If you have less programs running, the notebook will do less work, and therefore consume less power. This guide might help you achieve better performance.
* Protect against parasites. Just like your own health, keeping clean and free from the likes of viruses and other intrusions is a big part of having a healthy computer. This can be particularly important if you use your notebook at various wireless hotspots. They're out of the comfort zone of your own home and you can never be sure about how well the network is set up or if there are hackers nearby keen to download those rude pictures of your loved one. This guide provides some great information on how you can improve security on your computer.
* Put in a bigger hard drive. If you're running out of storage space or are dependent on external hard drives, you might like to consider putting in a larger hard drive. Most notebooks can handle large capacity hard drives. The only major consideration is whether your notebook's hard drive interface is IDE or SATA. Like with RAM upgrades, taking your notebook to a shop is also a good option. The shop should not only be able to supply the correct sort of drive, but should also be able to properly transfer the contents of your existing hard drive to the new one without having to reinstall Windows


credit to: http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=458830

windows 7

hye........

New Features

While support for new hardware and improved security are perfectly valid reasons to upgrade your OS, the sexiest benefits of an operating system upgrade are all the new features. Indeed, from a completely revamped user interface to brand-new features designed to make organizing and sharing your files easier, Windows 7 delivers much more than some new wallpaper and a different color Taskbar. (Though there are lots of new wallpapers.)

User Interface Enhancements

The most obvious changes from previous versions of Windows to Windows 7 can be found in a redesigned user interface. Sure, much of the interface remains the same, but Microsoft has completely overhauled key elements, starting with the Taskbar.

After 14 years of nothing more than cosmetic changes, Microsoft’s redesign of the Taskbar combines the pure window organizing power of the classic Taskbar with the application-launching, multi-purpose convenience of Mac OS X’s Dock. In addition to showing the applications that you currently have open, the new Windows 7 Taskbar also hosts shortcuts to your most commonly used applications. Click a shortcut when the app is running, and it brings the most recently used window to the foreground. Click the same shortcut when the app is closed, and it will launch the app.

PERFECT OS, VERY FAST..Windows 7 is awesome except the Windows Audio Feature that was crippled since Vista. In Windows XP, I could use the Windows Audio to record my sound card's 'What U Hear' in exact audio quality using any audio software. I think i'll just give up on Windows Classic WAVE audio recording and start using the ASIO feature on my sound card, though I still prefer using old software since they are lighter and the Windows 2000 and XP Mixer is equally good if you have a high end sound card. You can play many audio files at once and record a mixtape using any light audio recording software. Now with the restrictions and the cripple of Windows Vista's sound support, they make it difficult to do that, the audio quality isn't exact anymore. :(

Oh, another thing I forgot to mention is compatibility. Microsoft should have included all the compatibility with all Windows Vista drivers and software. My Sound Blaster X Fi Elite Pro seems to not install properlly like it would with Vista. I wish my original vista driver CD would still work on Windows 7.

The only reason why I still use XP is the audio recording dilemma. Plus, I don't have a licence for it at this point of time.

BASIC ALERT (INFO)

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Microsoft's free monthly Security Notification Service provides links to security-related software updates and notification of re-released Microsoft Security Bulletins. The goal of this service is to provide accurate information you can use to protect your computers and systems from malicious attacks. These bulletins are written for IT professionals, contain in-depth technical information, and e-mails are digitally-signed with PGP.

https://profile.microsoft.com/RegSysProfileCenter/subscriptionwizard.aspx?wizid=5a2a311b-5189-4c9b-9f1a-d5e913a26c2e&lcid=1033

WORLD OF WARCRAFT GAMMERS HITS BY MAN-IN-THE-MIDDLE ATTACK

World of Warcraft users won’t be happy to hear that hackers have managed to pull a man-in-the-middle attack on several servers hosted in Europe. This happened even with the extra security barriers added by the use of an external authenticator. The attack is suspected to have came from China or/and Malaysia.

The attack basically happened like this: while a regular user accessed a WoW-themed infected site on the web, they installed a trojan, named Malware.NSPack, thinking that they were installing a game add-on. That trojan would then go to install suspicious files on the user’s computer (emcor.dll copied to ../users/username/appdata/Temp) and log all key strokes, sending back data related to WoW authentication credentials.

The data acquired was then employed by attackers to circumvent WoW’s login system and empty the user’s account of all of their in-game (“fake”) money. Subsequently, those sums can be transferred to other accounts, which then can be put up for sale and turn real profit for the hackers.

The key logger trojans that infected the users were hosted on Chinese-based websites, were graphically cloned after the WoWMatrix website and advertised using Google AdWords service. The spoofed data was relayed using a server hosted in Malaysia. Websites reported by users as being attack sources are cursea.com, deadly boss modss.com, games acca.com and wow matrixf.com. The sites were taken down, along with the Google AdWords banner.

WoW tech admins were quick to reply and investigate, offering this answer within 24 hours of the first report, “After looking into this, it has been escalated, but it is a Man in the Middle attack. This is still perpetrated by key loggers, and no method is always 100% secure,“ trying to excuse the authenticator’s failure in supplying full protection.

The attacks themselves don’t differ very much from other man-in-the-middle hacks on banking sites, the only difference being that this latest target wasn’t harboring real money like banks do, but fake in-game gold.