Top Ten Things To Consider When Buying A Computer

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Top Ten Things To Consider When Buying A Computer
By John Dowling

When entering into the world of computers it can get very easy to get confused and loose sight of your goals and sometimes your budget. Hopefully I can help you set some realistic goals and make sure you get the computer you really want and need.

1. The first thing that most of us are constrained to is budget so this is the first thing you should consider. We always want the best but we need to be grounded on what we can afford. So Get a budget and stick to it.

2. The next thing you should be looking at is your requirements. Do you need a laptop or desktop? What is the machine going to be used for? Once you have done this go back to number one and see if these are compatible often they are not first time round. You either need to adjust your budget or adjust your goals to make them more compatible with each other.

3. Once you have ironed out the bugs it’s time to move onto the computer itself. There are many things to consider when actually buying the computer, here I will list the most important so you can choose wisely.

4. The Processor is the most important factor when choosing a computer nowadays and there are many factors in processor choice the main thing is that in my opinion Intel are at the moment making the best chips and their core 2 duo range is the best so go for one in this family and you will be ok.

5. Next it is on to RAM, now this is simple for most just go for as much as possible and remember if you go above 2 GB then you must make sure you get windows vista 64bit as your operating system.

6. Hard drive is the next piece you should tackle. Again for the ordinary person it should be just a case of bigger is better.

7. Graphics, now all computers come with some form of graphics built in. But my recommendation is to go with something a little better possibly from NVIDIA.

8. Now that should be your main considerations when thinking of the hardware. The next thing to think about is software now many computers come with windows vista as standard, this should be premium at least I wouldn’t even think about basic.

9. The last thing to do with the actual computer is a good virus and spy ware package. Don’t be under any illusion this is possibly the most important part of protecting your computer. It will get attacked at some point be prepared when it does.

10. Finally the internet, get a good internet provider broadband at least, no computer I complete without this basic of add-ons.

I hope this list is helpful in helping you make vital decisions when buying your new computer. Please visit me and maybe we can help you in your building you a custom computer.

I own a website selling custom build computers and believe that people shouldn’t be in the dark when making purchases. I hope this helps.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Dowling

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How To Optimize Windows XP in a Flash! (Part 1)

How To Optimize Windows XP in a Flash! (Part 1)
By Fausto Garcia

Windows XP Optimization Tweaks

As a computer and network technician, I have visited many clients who wanted me to fix a certain issue that had nothing to do with the speed and ‘pep’ of their system. As we sat together waiting (for quite a while) for screens to load, programs to open, and things to download, I would always ask, "Would you like your system to work faster than it does?". The answer was always a resounding ‘YES!".

After performing a few simple tweaks, their PCs spring to life and you can literally hear squeals of delight as pages pop up, browsers display information as they should (unless you are on dial-up, that always takes longer), and programs launch right away!

Tip #1: Turn Off The Eye Candy!

• Click the Windows key (the key that looks like the Microsoft flag logo, usually near your spacebar) and the Pause/Break key together. This will bring up your System Properties.
• Click the Advanced tab.
• There are three section in the Advanced section. Go ahead and click the Settings tab in the Performance section at the top.
• You are now in the Visual Effects section. This is where we will adjust some settings. Click the Adjust for Best Performance radio button.
• Windows XP turns on all the visual bells and whistles by default. This can really put an unnecessary load on your system. By clicking the button in the previous step, you have turned all the effects off.
• Some of the Visual Effects are nice to have and don’t negatively impact your performance. Place a check in the following boxes:

1. Show Window Contents While Dragging
2. Smooth Edges of Screen Fonts
3. Use Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop
4. Show Translucent Selection Triangle

You will have to wait a few seconds while the changes take effect. As soon as they do, you will notice a significant increase in your PC’s performance.

Tip #2: Disable Unnecessary Services!

Windows XP comes with so many features and services that it’s hard to know what to leave turned on and what to turn off. This totally depends on your level of familiarity and comfort with the OS. Power users will want to use more of these services than, let’s say, our grandmother who just wants to get on the computer to use Microsoft Word and check some emails from the grandkids.

In no particular order, here are the Windows XP resource hogs to disable:

• Hibernation- This feature sounds good in theory, but only if you are using a laptop. I have had many people bemoan the fact that Hibernation just locked up their systems and took up quite a bit of space. Go to Start | Control Panel | Power Options | Hibernate, then uncheck the ‘Enable Hibernation’ box , and click OK.
• Indexing Service- This is Windows XP’s way of speeding up your searches on the hard drive. It’s handy if you are running frequent searches using the Search function, but at the cost of a huge hit on your system resources. Go to Start Menu | My Computer | Right Click Local Disk C: | Properties | Uncheck ‘Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching’ | Check ‘Apply to All Files and Folders’ | Click OK.
• System Restore- This is a good feature to use if you tend to download a lot of stuff that could compromise the computer, or if you have children or teens that like to download a lot of stuff. If you tend to be the only one who uses it and are relatively careful, you will most likely never have to use this feature. It takes up a lot of room on your hard drive, so turn it off to get more of a performance boost. Go to Start Menu | Control Panel | System | System Restore | Check ‘Turn off System Restore’ | Click OK
• Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop- These two features almost never get used by Windows XP users. Turning these off has a dual benefit: increased performance and extra security that prevents people from accessing your computer remotely. Go to Start Menu | Control Panel | System | Remote | Uncheck ‘Allow Remote Assistance invitations to be sent from this computer’, and ‘ Allow users to connect remotely to this computer’ | Click OK.

In Part II of this article, you will defragment your hard drive, download some broadband internet tweaks to speed up your connection, and learn how to fix your registry in case of any truly sticky situations.

Make these simple changes and watch XP spring to life!

Fausto Garcia
Technical Instructor & Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fausto_Garcia

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How To Start Your Own Website

How To Start Your Own Website
By Olly Fallon

There are thousands of web sites on the Internet. More and more people now have them. This could be to promote your offline business, run an online business or just have a platform to air your thoughts on your favourite topic.

If you are an internet lover then there may come a time when you decide to make your own website. The website you choose to make could be in many forms . This article is going to deal with generating your own site from just the windows text writer - notepad.

Here are some basics that we need to know about starting your own site.

Domain Names

A domain name is the first thing you will need to get a website up and running. A domain name is the address or URL that people will type into the address bar on their internet browser to access your site. This will usually start with the www - e.g www.mysite.com. Domain names have to be unique so finding one that is not too long and ideally, very catchy is going to be tough. Do a search on Google for Domain names and you will find loads of companies that supply them. You can search if the domain name is free and buy it for a small amount of money.

Domain names have lots of different extensions on the end of them. You have probably noticed the .com and .co.uk at the end of different websites. There are several different extensions you can choose from. a .com is generally more expensive as it is regonised worldwide . A .co.uk is a UK extension so would be ideal if your site was targeting a UK audience or based in the UK. Not to say that a.co.uk site cannot get a worldwide audience though - it is more the fact that people can easily recognise you as a UK site. There are many other extensions that you can only opt for however some have restrictions. a .edu is only for educational establishments and a .ltd.uk is only for limited companies - so as you can see there are restrictions.

Once you have purchased your domain name you then need to think about hosting.

Web Hosting

This is where your website will reside. A domain name alone will do nothing - a hosting package will link your domain name to your webpage files for the world to see.

There are many different types of web hosting available - some cheap, some expensive. If you are just starting out then I would suggest the cheapest will do the job quite nicely. You may find the people that you bought your domain from will also offer hosting as part of a package but I would advise shopping around as price can vary a lot. I would suggest that a years worth of hosting would cost you no more than £25 ($50 approx).

It is important to note that the attaching of your domain name to the hosting package and indeed the creation of the domain name can taker up to 48 hours to complete. So do not be alrmed if it does not immediately work.

Building your site

So now you have everything you need to build up your site. This is where you now have a lot of options available to you depending on what you want your site to be about and how you intend to manage it. For the purpose of this article we are going to assume that you just want a simple page online so when people visit your site they can look up some information about you or your company.

To allow us to do this we need to understand a bit of HTML - HTML may sound scary but it really isn’t It stands for hyper text markup language. This allows you to create a very basic webpage in something like your standard notepad editor that comes with Windows.

There is an alternative to this. There are programs called WYSIWYG editors. WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get. These can make designing webpages very easy. There are some free WYSIWYG editors but for the purpose of this article we are going to assume that you do not have access to these programs and we will stick with HTML.

The next article will more on how to create the HTML document from your Notepad.

JBO Solutions supplies the UK with Computer Parts, Computer Components and accessories such as Computer Monitors

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Olly_Fallon

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Steganography - the Art of Hiding Information

Steganography - the Art of Hiding Information

 

2.0 Steganography

Steganographic techniques have been used since World War I and World War II, Chemicals were developed and used as secret inks that become visible when brought in contact with other chemicals. A brief history of steganography would give us a valuable background.

2.1 History

Greek historian Herodotus recorded the earliest records of steganography. When Histiaeus had to send a secret message to his son-in-law, he shaved the head of a slave and tattooed a message, he waited till the hair had grown before dispatching him in order to avoid detection. Another Greek history was when Demeratus scraped the wax off tablets and wrote messages on the underlying wood he then covered the wood with wax again to conceal the message. The tablets appear to be blank and unused when inspected.

Invisible ink has always been a popular method of steganography. Ancient Romans wrote between lines using invisible inks made from substances like milk, urine and fruit juices. When it is heated, the invisible ink would darken and become legible.

Gaspari Schotti wrote the earliest book on steganography in 1665 called Steganographica. A major development in the field occurred in 1883 with the publication of Auguste Kerckhoffs cryptographie militaire. Although the work was mostly on cryptography, it provides valuable principle in the design of new steganographic systems [SEL03].

2.2 Steganography In Principle

Bruce Schneier describes steganography as follows: Steganography serves to hide secret messages in other messages, such that the secret’s very existence is concealed [SCH96]. Another basic definition would simply be the act of hidden communication. Whatever definition you find suitable the fundamental principle should be the same. The message is the information to be hidden and may be an image, audio or anything that can be embedded into a bitstream. The cover and the embedded message create a stego-carrier that may require a stegokey. The stegokey is additional secret information such as a password. A possible formula for the process is represented as follows:

Cover medium + embedded message + stegokey = stego-medium

Hiding information in electronic media requires alterations to the media properties, which may introduce some form of degradation. This degradation can sometimes be visible and point to the signatures of the steganographic methods and tools. These signatures may actually broadcast the existence of the embedded message thereby defeating the purpose of steganography.

Steganographic system is considered broken:

• If the attacker can detect the use of steganography.

• If the attacker can read the embedded message.

Traditional cryptography succeeds by locking up messages in a mathematical safe, but steganography offers some stealth and exploit bit randomness. The possible techniques are as follows:

Noise: The simplest technique is to replace the noise in a sound or image file with the message. For example, one spot in a picture may have 220units of pink on a scale of 0 to 255. The average eye would not notice if that one spot was converted to 219 units of pink. It is possible to hide volumes of information below the threshold of perception if done systematically.

Spread information: Spreading the information increases the resilience to destruction, the algorithm distribute the information in such a way that not all the bits are required to reassemble the original data. Data usually falls into patterns, observing the patterns will enable you to exploit decision process of computers.

Randomness: Information can be hidden in place of the random bits. A few algorithms allow the broadcast of information without revealing its identity [WAY02].

2.3 Stegosystem

The steganographic system is referred to as the stegosystem it defines all the relationship with the data and processes involved.

2.4 Private And Public key Steganography

In order to effectively describe the private and public key steganography, it is important to understand the prisoner’s problem. The prisoners’ problem is considered the standard model for covert communication, first proposed by G.J Simmons in 1983. In this problem, two individuals attempt to communicate covertly without alerting a warden who controls the communication channel. One assumption is that the participants are allowed to share some secret information (encryption key) prior to imprisonment. The other assumption makes the problem more difficult; the warden is allowed to modify and read messages sent between prisoners.

2.4.1 Private-Key Steganography

In this scenario we assume that Alice and Bob are allowed to share a secret key prior to imprisonment. This gives them the opportunity to communicate covertly and defeat an active warden (Wendy). In all previous discussion, steganography simply encrypts a message in such a way that the ciphertext appears random while embedding the bits of the message in a known subliminal channel.

In the presence of an active warden, it would not be enough to embed a message in a known place. If Alice can alter the bits in an image then the warden can do the same thereby destroying message sent through the subliminal channel. A cryptographically secure pseudo-random generator, seeded by a secret key can be used to pick a subset of pixels in an image to conceal the data. If Wendy makes changes to the image, it would only scramble a small percentage of the channel bit since she does not know where they are. The scrambling can be corrected with an error-correcting code. Sharing keys before imprisonment gives a lot of freedom to Alice and Bob, and the public key can be used to sign the secret message, which provides additional security by preventing impersonation. Having to exchange keys far in advance of covert communication makes it a bit difficult in real life.

2.4.2 Public-Key Steganography

In this approach the secret key does not have to be agreed between Alice and Bob before imprisonment, but one must know the public key of the other. This is a more practical requirement in the real world.

1. Alice knows Bob’s public key, encrypts the message to obtain the ciphertext C

2. Alice embeds C in a channel known to Bob (also to known to Wendy) and sends

the stego to Bob.

3. Bob has no knowledge a message was hidden in the channel, if he suspects a

Message he would attempt to decrypt with his private key.

The problem with this approach is that Bob will just have to suspect a hidden message in every object he receives. This is not a serious problem if we assume that the steganographic technique is known to all and can be easily extracted. A more practical related problem is a when a large group of recipient is involved with everyone suspecting a hidden content intended for one recipient.

2.5 Steganographic Methods

The task of embedding a secret message could be performed by the combination of various techniques. Usually most steganographic programs follow these steps:

• Finding the Redundant Bits.

• Choosing the Cover Bits.

• Embedding the Data.

2.5.1 Finding the redundant bits: The assumption that the least significant bits are redundant and can be replaced without analysing the cover object is used by most programmes. A more successful technique would be to embed data in all regions of an object that is not informative. In order to determine these regions the image is split into single bit planes and analysed. For every 8´8 block of each bit plane a test is done to determine the threshold, at certain point above the threshold a secret message can be inserted without significantly altering the cover object.

2.5.2 Choosing the cover bits: The number of bits required to embed a secret message is usually not equal to the number of redundant bit; it is then necessary to choose a subset of the redundant bit.

Most programmes embed the message in the first few redundant bits (n) at the beginning of a cover file than at the end of the cover file, this approach exposes the modified object to visual attack. A pseudo-random permutation ensures that the cover bits are chosen with the same probability by providing equal spreading among the redundant cover bits. This technique depends on a secret key applied to the positions of the redundant cover bits; it also reduces visual and statistical attack.

2.5.3 Embedding the data: There are several techniques for embedding secret messages, but the most common methods overwrite the cover bits with the encrypted secret message. Although this technique provides large capacity by embedding one bit of the secret message with one bit of the cover, it can be detected with visual and statistical attack.

Matrix encoding enables more than two secret bits to be encoded in the cover for every change. This is accomplished by encoding the value of the first secret bit as the parity and the value of the first plus the third cover bit and the second secret bit are xored to form the parity for the second and third cover bit. The drawback is that an increased rate reduces the capacity of the cover file [HET02].

You can purchase this best seller "The Art of Security and Information Hiding" at http://hackingstopped.com or at amazon Emmanuel Sodipo is a consultant managing several successful online businesses you can also purchase directly at http://lulu.com/content/2086282

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emmanuel_Sodipo

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That’s Not an IPod in the Office Anymore - It is Now a Data Leakage Threat

That’s Not an IPod in the Office Anymore - It is Now a Data Leakage Threat
By Dan Schutte

Dan Schutte
Level: Platinum
Dan Schutte is the President of Enclave Data Solutions in Centennial, Colorado. Enclave specializes in messaging security, content filtering, anti-spam software, email/IM archival and …

Cell phones, MP3 players, IPods, Instant Messaging, Hotmail accounts - all have come to be considered ‘personal technologies’. Each employee usually has at least one and many all. They also have found their way into the workplace as a ‘right to use’ without administration, since it is their personal property. While you want to show tolerance for an individual’s choices, be aware of the threats this choice can involve as well. Your entire data environment can become at risk. Read on to learn about End Point security and just how possible your data may be to leaving the building next to the top 40 song hits on an IPod.

Background

In the early days of personal computers, data files were transferred either by a dialup link or a floppy disk. Now there are a multitude of options to store and port data - flash drives, internet, email, IM, DVD and on. Many companies are beginning to develop strategies to monitor some of the more obvious methods of data transfer through email. Some are beginning to acknowledge instant messaging as a threat.

In order to have a cohesive defense, all access points need to be effectively controlled or the battle could be lost. What are still being widely overlooked are ‘personal lifestyle devices’ that are now common among workers (i.e. MP3 players, IPods, cell phones, cameras). Almost every digital device today comes with gigabytes of storage capacity. Files can easily and quickly be uploaded or downloaded with these devices. How many of your sensitive documents can fit onto a two gigabyte device?

Two risks are apparent with these types of unregulated data transfers.

1. Virus, malware, spyware or bots can attach to a file that may be uploaded to your system from one of thesedevices. Recently a digital camera was discovered as the culprit for a rash of infections on corporate data networks. The manufacturer had a disgruntled employee who embedded a virus in the cameras OS. Every time a download or upload of photos took place, the virus proliferated to a new network.
2. Data leakage. Imagine if your customer list or product design specs are resident on an employee’s IPod device. Perhaps this is an innocent motive of merely wanting to work on something at home. Maybe it is not. This could also be a clandestine way to port out the data right in front of the company.

In the UK, policy has been implemented that puts all personal media devices at risk of confiscation if suspected of data theft. Are you ready to collect everyone’s cell phones, MP3 players, cameras and on for an audit or scan that could take days/weeks? If not, then what alternative measures can you take to alleviate this type of risk?

Actions to Take

The costs of data leakage can vary from loss of market advantage to a PR disaster and damage to your company’s reputation. What can you do to deal with this ‘pocket theft’ type of threat?

• Develop Policy. What is your position on personal use of cell phones, MP3 players etc in the office? What about interfacing with the company workstations (ie music downloads, picture uploads)? What are the consequences if attempted? This needs to be developed and broadcast as employee policy and not IT procedures. Documented attempts at awareness are critical to any enforcement efforts.
• Implement technical constraints. Software solutions are now available to prohibit or allow access to data via selected devices or employees. The solutions can also tell you where you are vulnerable and who is pulling or uploading data and from which device. This type of monitoring is becoming more critical to safeguard your data sets.

Remember if you lock all the doors but one, you are still exposed.

We work with companies to assure their data and messaging is in compliance and secure. Our solutions are state of the art, quick to implement, cost effective and provide the comfort to know your data is secure. A phone discussion is a great way to assess your environment and what would be the best action plan. Visit our website Enclave Data to learn more.

You have the responsibility to maintain your company’s digital environment, with the right tools you can now also have the control to assure compliance and protect your company’s assets.

Dan Schutte is the President of http://enclavedata.com specializing in messaging security, content filtering, anti-spam software, email/IM archival and compliance. Visit our http://www.enclavedata.com to read actual Case Studies of how companies have successfully protected their data network and met compliance requirements. Free trials and downloads are available on all of our products to assess the vulnerability of your data environments.

Please feel free to republish our articles, provided a working hyperlink remains to our site

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Schutte

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Understanding How Does HDTV Work Will Show You How HDTV Works Better Than Standard Televisions

Understanding How Does HDTV Work Will Show You How HDTV Works Better Than Standard Televisions
By Thomas Martinez

People in the more advanced countries in the world such as the US, Japan and Australia are more and more turning to using only High Definition Televisions (HDTV) for their viewing pleasure and thus it has become necessary to understand just how does HDTV work in order to make informed decisions. It is also necessary to learn about how does HDTV work differently from standard televisions if we are to get the most suitable make and model, especially as the television market today is flooded with numerous such makes, models and types of televisions.

Higher Quality Of Resolution

First off, a high definition television is different from standard televisions in the quality of its resolution which needless to say is much better in the high definition televisions and in addition, the HDTV also boasts of having multi-channel audio as well as an aspect ratio of 16:9 and it also comes with a wide screen. Thus, you can be sure that the HDTV works in a manner that allows it to provide clearer quality pictures as well as more detailed and better sound quality.

In fact, after understanding how does HDTV works, you can immediately come to understand that images that are provided in the HDTV models are about six times sharper as compared to what a standard television can output. In fact, on closer scrutiny of just how does HDTV work, we will also come to realize that the images on the screens are actually horizontal lines that are scanned without discontinuity and thus they end up forming the image that you see, which when it is compared to the 480 lines in standard televisions, is much higher in the HDTV, being no fewer than 1080 lines thereby ensuring better quality images.

Another notable feature that you should know when learning about how does HDTV work is that unlike standard televisions, the HDTV does not scan one line at a go and in fact can deliver entire images at a time, which results in clearer and more realistic colors and images too are also more detailed.

Another aspect to how does HDTV work is that it differs from standard televisions in that HDTVs have greater aspect ratio which is generally about 16:9, and only 4:3 in the case of standard televisions, thus forming a wider screen in HDTVs that is due to their having higher aspect ratio. In fact, because of the increasing popularity of home theater systems, it is now very usual for the latest HDTVs to use identical aspect ratios as those found in a movie theater, and this means that you get not only the whole picture, but also a picture that does not need to be cut off to make it fit into a narrow screen.

Finally, one other notable feature of how does HDTV work is that the HDTV provides sound in Dolby Digital Standard which means that there are no electronic tricks used to create better sound such as found in surround sound and so you are ensured a very thrilling audio experience.

This site has many well-written articles on HDTV. Feel free to browse! There are other interesting topics at http://www.TechNewsNetwork.org/sitemap/index.html

This content may be used only in its entirety with all links included.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Martinez

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Special Event Videography - BluRay and HD DVD Simplified

Special Event Videography - BluRay and HD DVD Simplified
By Amanda Nella

In the eighties I had a BetaMax Video Player and a stack of Beta tapes. Pity that the rest of the world had sided with VHS and won. I made an informed decision. Beta was better, but funnily enough that fact was not important. Interestingly it was the support of the adult film industry that tipped the scales in favor of VHS. Who’d have thought that I would be financially punished for my lack of interest in porn?

Not to make the same mistake twice I held off purchasing my new DVD Burner until the current day battle between HD DVD and BluRay was concluded. As with all two sided battles both teams decided that their technology would not be compatible with their opponents. If you purchased HD DVD then it wouldn’t work with BluRay and visa versa. It’s fine for big corporations to take their bat and ball and go home if play doesn’t go their way, but it the little people like us who make the wrong decision and end up having to buy two units instead of just one good one or worse still a hybrid. Those units that sit under your TV announcing to the world that you have commitment issues. This time our two heavy weights were Toshiba and Sony. Once again industry support provided the victor the spoils with BluRay emerging as the new medium and Sony winning the day.

So what is BluRay (Blue - Optical Ray) and HD DVD

CD’s and DVD’s components utilize a red laser to read information encoded on discs. Currently up to 4.7GB can be stored on a standard disc with a maximum of 8.5GB on a dual layer disc. BluRay and HDDVD are based on the same technology and utilize a blue/violet laser which has a shorter wave length. This permits the disc to store more compressed data. Using this technology HD DVD discs can hold 15GB and BluRay a whopping 25GB. Given that dual layer technology is imminent in both formats you can comfortably double that storage capacity. In fact Sony have boasted multilayer discs in the future which could see their disc capacity up to 200GB. That’s huge!

The other important advantage of the new discs is their ability to store high definition (HD) images. Current DVD’s can hold only standard definition (SD) given their limited storage capacity. HD is approximately five times the definition of SD. This has been the reason for the interest and support of the movie industry. The big boys Walt Disney, Buena Vista, Fox, MGM and Sony BMG, announced BluRay as their preferred format with Paramount, Universal and Warner Brothers sitting on the fence and supporting both.

One advantage of BluRay is the scratch resistant backing made of a clear polymer as compared to standard DVD and HD DVD’s which use a clear plastic. Now that is good news. The other is the new anti-piracy measures which includes a digital watermark, Advanced Access Content System (similar to current CSS) High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection and BD+ technology.

If you have already committed to a HD DVD purchase don’t despair it will be supported for the next few years, and that’s a long, long time in technology, by that time there will probably be something bigger and better and another battle being fought. And like my BetaMax in the eighties, your HD DVD player will make an expensive way of holding a door open, however, unlike me you will not be able to use porn as an excuse.

Amanda Nella is a professional videographer operating her company in Perth Australia. Visit her website for more tips and information for the amateur videographer or just for a look around at Bump2baby Films

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amanda_Nella

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An Effective Software Developer Interview - Finding The Right Person For The Job

An Effective Software Developer Interview - Finding The Right Person For The Job
By Aaron Davis

Aaron Davis
Level: Platinum
Aaron Davis is a Sr. Software Developer. He has been a web/application developer for more than 12 years. His specialty is .NET development …

 

If you want to keep your interview process simple but effective, you need to take a look at these steps before conducting your next candidate interview. Enjoy!

1. Call the candidate prior to setting up an interview. Keep the conversation non-technical! Get a feel for their personality and attitude. If you don’t feel good about those two things there is no reason to move on with the process.

2. Have a face-to-face non-technical interview. Get your existing team members involved in this one. See how everyone interacts with this candidate. Be sure there are no technical questions asked. Discussions on technology is fine. If your existing team doesn’t mesh with this person there is no reason to move on. There is one thing to keep in mind here. Be sure that you involve team members that you value and know are comitted the product you are developing. EVERY team has one or two people that are usually on their way out the door in one way or another so don’t sabotage the candidate by involving those people.

3. Get your 3 best developers and have them put together a very small database and a data access class (like the one described in this post - http://www.keepitsimpleprojects.com/viewtopic.php?t=14 ). Be sure that any environment specific configurations are set (e.g. connection string, etc.) Have them put together a very basic set of requirements for an application (e.g. the application should allow the user to create a paragraph of text and save it for retrieval at a later time. The total number of characters in the paragraph cannot exceed 1000.). If the job requires a specific skill, be sure it is included in some way.

4. Bring the candidate in for the technical interview. No need to get the team involved in this one. Have a quiet space set up for the candidate and ask them to develop an application based on the requirements (in step 3). Be sure that there is already a solution open in Visual Studio containing the data access class and any other code your team has decided to provide. Make sure they have full access to the internet. LET THEM DO THIS ALONE. DON’T STAND OVER THEIR SHOULDER!

5. Have your team review the code and provide feedback. Your decision should be very easy at this point.

This process will eliminate people that are not a fit for your team and it will also give you a very clear picture of the candidate’s skill level, resourcefulness, and experience.

Aaron Davis is a Sr. Software Developer. He has been a web/application developer for more than 12 years. His specialty is .NET development with C# and SQL Server.

http://www.keepitsimpleprojects.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aaron_Davis

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How to Get Rid of Adware

How to Get Rid of Adware
By Beckey Berry

Article Word Count:

Adware is a program that covers your computer screen in advertisements. It can do this even when you aren’t connected to the internet. You start running a program and these ads keep popping up and appearing on the screen. It is designed to hold down costs of programs for the user as well as the programmer. How annoying they are to have to deal with.

Adware can also pass on information to third parties so that you get ads that would be of interest to you based on what you search for. Adware many times goes hand in hand with spyware.

There is nothing wrong with advertising. That keeps cost down for us as consumers. The problem comes when they put things on your computer that you didn’t give them the okay to do and it is just there before you know it. If I want my home page to be set up a certain way I don’t want adware to come in and change it because they think I will like this better based on my internet surfing.

Many free programs you download set up spyware and adware on your computer. You need to read all licensing agreements fully before you download to know if they will be collecting your data.

To get rid of adware you need a program that can scan and remove it from your computer. Compare adware remover programs and find out what will be the most effective for you. You might wonder how you can ever review so many sites. That isn’t a problem. I have a site where the research has already been done and the reviews are there for you to compare. Click the link below to review adware remover programs. You can also click on the program and go to their site to purchase. There is also an anti-spyware link as well.

Please feel free to reprint or distribute this entire article as long as you make sure the author’s name, bio and website links are included in every instance.

BBerry writes on various download reviews and home business. To review adware removal programs go to http://berbec.bezoogle.com/pp/adware/ to decide for yourself. You can also visit http://berbec.bezoogle.com/pp/anti-spyware/ to review anti-spyware programs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beckey_Berry

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Proxy Websites

Proxy Websites
By Robert Perrin

I wanted to take a break form doing reviews and things like that today, this will be a semi informational post regarding proxies. I’m sure many of you have heard to word used, and maybe and came across a website of two that is a proxy. Well what exactly is a proxy?

There are two different types of proxy. One involves editing something on your local machine. The other is just visiting the proxy website and putting in the address you wish to visit.

A proxy is a way for you to not only get privacy, it also is a way to view websites that are blocked on your network. Such as your school, work place, or even the library. When you use a proxy, or proxy website all of the information is transferred through that proxy instead of your local machine. This means not only a whole new level of privacy for you, but this also means any pesky limitations on your computer or network do not apply.

If you are interested in a web proxy one I like to use is Advected.com. It’s fast, free, and it also has small shortcuts to very common websites that are blocked by most network administrators. If you are interested running a proxy on your local machine you can check out Proxy4free.com. If you are unsure oh how to set the proxy on your computer read around their site, there are a few guides that you can use. But I always found it way more simple to use a web based proxy such as Advected.com

Clrly Technology Blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Perrin

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