Beginning In Photography: Choosing A Camera

You’ve been snapping away with your nifty little point and shoot camera for a while now and you’ve discovered you really like taking pictures and want to get more creative and have more control over your photos. Naturally the next step is to upgrade to an SLR camera. But which one? There is a ridiculous number of products out there with all sorts of buttons and dials that do this or that. This article attempts to give a brief overview of the things that are actually important when considering which camera to buy.


Firstly, let’s dispel one of the most common myths associated with upgrading equipment. Buying a new camera will not make you a better photographer. Repeat: it will NOT make you a better photographer. Not instantly, not in 2 years time, not in 10 years. What will make you a better photographer is you. Your willingness to learn and develop your skills. Sure a high end camera will give you more control over your image making, but that’s just it; its you controlling the camera, and therefore the end image. Ok, now that we’re on the same track, a few things to think about.

How many megapixels do I need?

We are going to assume that you are looking at digital cameras here, although I should point out that there are some excellent film cameras around at much less expense. So don’t discount film altogether (it’s not dead just yet!). But to answer the question, we first need to answer another: What do you want to do with your photos? If you only want to post your photos on the web, e-mail them or make small prints to put in a photo album, the resolution you need for this is quite low. To give you an idea, a camera with 2 megapixels will create an image that can make a good quality 6 x 4 print (standard photo album size). Most entry level SLR cameras start at around 6 megapixels. Therefore if this is all you want to do with your images, the amount of megapixels does not need to be a major concern. If, however, you want to make large sized prints, you may need a higher resolution camera. While entry level SLR’s often produce very good quality prints up to a certain size, more pixels gives you the freedom of being able to enlarge even further. While image software programs can increase the size of your photos they will lose some quality. Starting with a larger image means that fewer pixels are added by the program and less quality is lost.

Is brand important?

Not as important as some would have you think. While photographers will continue to debate the Nikon vs Canon issue, my belief is that it is a moot point. Both companies produce some excellent products and some pretty ordinary ones. What should be foremost in your mind is build quality. How many plastic parts does the camera have versus metal ones? Metal parts can be replaced, while plastic parts are usually set into a mould and cannot be. Potentially this could mean the difference between having to buy a new part or a new camera a few years down the track. Check how the camera feels in your hand. If it feels solid and sturdy, it probably is. Quality between brands doesn’t differ greatly until you get into the higher end cameras. This is where Nikon and Canon come to the fore and other brands that don’t target this market drop off. However if you decide you don’t need a higher end camera, don’t discount other brands.

What about features?

Cameras come with all sorts of different modes and features. Some of them seem to be included for no other reason than to be a selling point for that particular model. It takes a little research to discern which are actually going to be useful. There are, however, some that you should factor into your considerations. Firstly, what mode settings does the camera have? Many entry level SLR’s have similar settings to point and shoot cameras. I.e. Portrait, landscape, low light etc. While these make things easy, the point of moving up to an SLR camera is to gain more control over your photos. You will never gain the control you want without learning how to use a camera in full manual mode.

Other features, such as a built if flash or cable release socket, may be important to you depending on the type of photography you want to do. If you like to shoot portraits, a built in flash can be a huge help in lighting shadows. If you are interested in landscape photography, you will at some point want to set you camera up on a tripod to capture a low light scene. Using a cable release allows you to press the shutter without actually touching the camera, removing the camera shake that blurs a picture.

One final consideration.

This is possibly the most important of all. Make sure the camera you choose is comfortable and easy to use. Check that you can reach all the buttons easily while shooting and that the dial and menu configurations are logical. This allows you to learn your gear easily so that you can concentrate on the most important thing: taking pictures.

by: Mark Eden

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The Evolution Of HP and Epson Inkjet Printers

When you’re looking for ink for printers, two names rise to the top of the pile: HP inkjet cartridges and Epson ink cartridges. Of course, it really depends on what brand printer you own, but if you’re after high quality prints, HP and Epson will deliver quality both in the printers they make and in the ink they develop for their printers.

Actually, the word “develop” pretty well sums up the difference between HP inkjet cartridges, Epson ink cartridges, and their competitors. Both of these giants in the printing industry continually put your money back to work for you by researching, developing, and implementing the most current innovative technologies to deliver the best print solutions to their customers including the ink for the printers they market.

Hewlett Packard didn’t start out making HP inkjet cartridges. In fact, they didn’t start making ink for printers. HP was started in 1939 by Stanford classmates, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard who made an audio oscillator—an instrument used by sound engineers and then sold eight of them for use in the movie Walt Disney movie Fantasia.

Hewlett Packard’s dedication to providing their customers with new technologies has carried them through the decades. In 1978, HP dove into the field of desktop printing and in 1984 released the “Thinkjet” and later that year, the HP Laserjet Printer. The dependability and affordability of these two HP Printers changed the direction of the entire printing industry. This year, HP’s development and release of Vivera Ink for printers is a new breakthrough in 21st Century photographic imaging.

Epson has long been a household word in both consumer and business printing, simplifying solutions for specialized operations like the first seven-color archival desktop photo printer to offering the home-computer user an Epson ink cartridge that tells you when it’s running dry!

The company is a subsidiary of the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, which evolved from K. Hattori & Company, a company that was established in 1881 and involved in the importing and exporting of clocks and watches. In 1968, Suwa Seikosha (the parent company of the Seiko Group) developed the first commercially successful printer mechanism, the EP-101. In 1975, the Epson brand was established and since that time Epson has been the forerunner of many innovations in desktop printing and ink for their printers. Epson prides itself in its century-long development of precision solutions for its customers.

An attribute Epson and HP share is their attention to precision detail; both continually deliver the best not only in products such as their printers but also in support products like the ink for the printers they sell. Another characteristics these companies have in common is their dedication to doing business in an environmentally responsible manner in the understanding that preserving their market is as important as broadening it.

by: Niall Roche

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Streamlining Regulatory Publishing with Submission-Ready PDF Files

As the business world turns its attention from back office automation to front office efficiency the need to streamline document and information management is starting to play an increasingly important role. This has never been more relevant than in the pharmaceutical industry.

Enterprise Content Management applications, eCTD software and other information management tools all provide benefits that are designed to better manage information and streamline document workflows. As much as these applications aid in general contributions to document management, there are still further requirements in regulatory submissions that the generalities of these applications don’t address. The cost of government and regulatory compliance leaves a lot of room for improvement – a key area being the document conversion and publishing process. The real and opportunity costs of non-compliance leave most companies spending an inordinate amount of time and money ensuring document quality and compliance. What if there was a tool that would not only automate document conversion and publishing but reduce the need to perform quality checks and balances? Streamlining the sub mission process not only saves money but it can generate millions of dollars on the back end of the life cycle of the product. This article talks about real-world process improvements, cost reductions and the opportunities for streamlining document submission processes, highlighted by applications with proven track records.

Time to market has always been a critical success factor for manufacturers and marketers of consumer products. But when every day’s delay can mean millions against your bottom line – and when your product might mean the difference between life and death for millions of people worldwide – the stakes are that much higher. These are the stakes that leaders of Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical companies must contend with every time a new drug or technology is faced with regulatory approval. For a blockbuster drug like LIPITOR® or NEXIUM®, that are now prescribed in excess of $10 million every day, reaching the marketplace quickly can make or break the financial quarter or even a full fiscal year. High stakes indeed.

The regulatory minefield

For Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical companies, time to market is always held hostage, to some degree, by the global regulatory landscape. Few industries face regulation on the same scale and level of complexity. Such intense oversight and scrutiny is reasonable for an industry of such intricacy and potential impact on the health and wellbeing of much of the world’s population. At the same time, the agencies that impose these regulations, like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, face intense pressures of their own.

Recent media and congressional examination of several high-profile cases in the drug industry have put the FDA and its international counterparts firmly on the defensive. This is not good news for the industry. Scandals surrounding first the cardiovascular effects associated with Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), and more recently the “sleep driving” and “sleep eating” side effects of popular new insomnia treatments are causing a significant retrenchment within the regulatory community. The FDA in particular is facing growing pressure for congressional action to address these issues but the proposals currently under consideration, in the opinion of many industry players, would harm, not improve, patient safety by making it more difficult to get promising new drugs approved and into the hands of doctors and patients.

The FDA has also been perceived in the past as “cozying up” to the industry and of rushing promising new drugs and technologies to market without an adequate paper trail. The result of this perception, justified or not, is heightened scrutiny, leading the agency to become progressively more conservative and defensive in its decision-making and in its approach to reviewing and approving submissions for new medicines and technologies. At the same time, promising new areas of study such as the Human Genome Project (HGP) are turbo-charging innovation and discoveries in the research community. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently cataloged over $1 billion worth of currently pending IPO filings and there is a growing collection of existing bio-engineering companies applying HGP concepts in the marketplace.

The combination of more rigorous oversight, increasing threats of litigation and the explosion of complex, technology-driven areas of research have created a perfect storm for companies looking to succeed in this complicated landscape. It has also led to an atomic explosion in the size and complexity of submissions related to new drugs and technologies. Though this cutting edge research is conducted using the latest technology, it is remarkable how often the key results are compiled and maintained on nothing more sophisticated than a series of unconnected MS Word documents and even hand-written forms. Documentation for a single research study may consist of tens of thousands of pages with a full submission including multiple study results documents. Extend this over multiple jurisdictions, different languages, add in the complexity of joint ventures, patent laws, sub-contracting and outsourcing research and it is hardly surprising that some FDA and EMEA (European Medicines Agency) submissions were traditionally delivered not by the box load but by the truck load.

Electronic submissions: technology to the rescue?

When every day is critical, ensuring that you have effective regulatory submission processes and technologies in place is “table stakes”. Having leading-edge document management technologies coupled with collaborative document transformation tools, on the other hand, is a significant competitive advantage. The effective implementation of these technologies can significantly accelerate submission lifecycles that contributes directly to the bottom line.

Preparing submission compliant documents, typically in PDF, is a time-consuming and highly iterative process critical to successful submissions. As discussed earlier, the highly collaborative and fractured nature of the research and development process means that many of the original source documents that make up the submission need to be manually reworked. The rework stems from deficiencies inherent in MS Word, particularly the inability to retain key navigation information during conversion to PDF. This kind of manual rework is time-consuming, prone to error and, not surprisingly, very expensive. These deficiencies can be overcome during the PDF creation process by having the right technology in place.

Not all solutions are created equal

The excessive size of these submissions is also a significant burden for the agencies themselves. For its part, the FDA plans to streamline and simplify the process by moving all submissions to an automated electronic platform by the end of 2007 – with the caveat that this may be pushed out to a later date. The standard, known as eCTD (electronic Common Technical Documents) is an interface between industry and agency for transferring regulatory information while at the same time taking into consideration the facilitation of the creation, review, lifecycle management and archival of the electronic submission. The specification has set criteria that make electronic submissions technically valid, and any eCTD-compliant submission prepared in any compliant environment can be transferred to another environment built on technology from another vendor. In theory it sounds ideal, however in practice it should be remembered that not all technologies are created equal.

With the FDA demanding the use of the eCTD format, the leading players in Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals were quick to make the transition; recognizing the opportunity to streamline their own processes and take advantage of the inherent cost savings. Even companies not required to make eCTD compliant submissions are seeing the advantages of an electronic workflow in accelerating time to market. They are finding ways to leverage the technology and transform eCTD into suitable printed CTD. These companies have also seen the way the wind is blowing with the news that the European Union has mandated that all 27 member countries be ready to accept eCTD submissions by 2009. Can the chapter of paper submissions be nearing its end? Can the rest of the world be far behind?

There is no shortage of document workflow, rendering and output solutions available but the requirements for eCTD compliant submissions are unique and require an integrated solution that puts the focus where it belongs – squarely on delivering final submissions that can handle the complex, ever-evolving landscape of this leading edge industry. The documents for an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) or New Drug Application (NDA) submission are always “in play” – constantly under review, endlessly annotated and eternally being “improved”. These improvements must not corrupt the perfection of the submission, which is often the result of post-production re-rendering where critical errors are made or repeated.

Software applications, like those offered by Adlib Software, avoid these pitfalls by focusing on document rendering quality while employing a design philosophy of stable, open protocols and standards such as XML and Web services. Adlib’s document transformation technologies streamline the rendering process for documents being used in the submissions process. By integrating seamlessly into the document workflow, any source document can be easily rendered automatically into a submission-ready PDF.

Robust rendering is the core

Robust PDF rendering forms the backbone of any document management workflow and is the lifeblood that flows through the entire eCTD submission lifecycle. By creating higher quality renditions, quality assurance churn can be reduced to only minutes per document. This is a significant process acceleration over traditional QA cycles – searching for missing, broken and invalid hyperlinks – that usually takes hours to complete. The cost savings, projected over submissions running into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of pages, have proven to be enormous.

Submission-ready PDFs are infinitely flexible and contain an almost limitless set of features. These PDF outputs can be readily equipped with essential elements like version control, downgrading, font embedding, automated Table of Contents creation, audit history and submission taxonomy. These PDF documents are also flexible and scalable at every stage of the submission lifecycle, particularly important given the FDA’s increasingly aggressive use of post-marketing “risk minimization action plans” (RiskMAPs) – including the requirement to submit additional safety information (such as larger safety studies to screen earlier for relatively rare potential adverse reactions) – after the original submission is made.

The right instruments: powerful, flexible and nimble

When it comes to partnering with leading edge players in Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals, Adlib Software is uniquely positioned to supercharge the submissions process with its powerful document transformation framework anchored by Adlib Express Server and Express Web Services. For more than 10 years, Adlib as enabled several key industry players to gain a competitive advantage by maximizing the efficiency of document workflows. The difference with Adlib Software’s solutions compared to some of the other PDF rendering engines is that Adlib Software cut its teeth working with global Life Sciences partners to ensure that the quality and fidelity of its PDF renditions not only meet but exceed the demands of regulatory submissions.

Several of Adlib’s customers have reported savings amounting to millions of dollars with the majority of the direct cost savings coming from substantial QA cycle time reductions due to unprecedented confidence in PDF rendering quality. QA has been reduced to a couple of minutes compared to what used to take hours. Given the sheer volume of document rendering that takes place for just one submission and multiply that by the number of submissions performed each year, the numbers add up quickly. The indirect impact, although harder to measure may even have a greater impact on the bottom line. By streamlining the submission process and providing higher quality submissions, product hits the market sooner. As mentioned earlier, each day gained could be worth millions of dollars in extra sales. Not a bad ROI is it.

With its advanced publishing features and support for multiple formats including MS Office-based sources, Adlib Express Server applications give companies all of the advanced features necessary to significantly accelerate submission compliant document workflows. Some of these features include automated, accurate optical character recognition (OCR) to create searchable files from images and PDFs, stamping to create headers, footers, volume numbers and cross-references from hyperlinks, as well as dynamic Tables of Contents generation capabilities. Importantly, Adlib Express also normalizes hyperlink styles to meet FDA standards and includes advanced bookmarking control with the ability to merge and/or volumize PDFs based on page count, size or other variables. Adlib solutions are XML-ready with XML Job Ticket support and Web services. A truly complete solution.

Adlib Software then takes things to the next level with its Exhibit product. Exhibit enables organizations to leverage existing XML backbones, as well as folder structures for Rest of World (ROW) submissions in either paper or volumized PDF formats. Exhibit works with eCTDs as well as other submission formats (e.g. 510k) and with other applications to provide the ultimate in flexibility and interoperability.

Exhibit was developed in partnership with several world leading pharmaceutical companies to automate the process of creating paper-based submissions from eCTDs. It’s a collaborative browser-based solution that optimizes the capabilities of Adlib Express Server to prepare electronic submissions for print or volumized PDF destinations. It includes the ability to convert electronic hyperlinks into paper-based bookmarks and references as well as automated features that allow for intelligent document assembly; modifying Tables of Contents, page scaling, the application of headers and footers, page numbers and the insertion of tabs and slip sheets. All of these advanced operations are available with Express Server but leveraged through applications like Exhibit.

The benefits of a solution like Adlib Express Server is that the scalable conversion, publishing and OCR functionality can be leveraged for not only regulatory submission processes but it can also be applied across the entire enterprise to create a complete rendering framework for all sorts of document workflows. The robust infrastructure of Adlib Express Server is designed to be a foundation for growth that allows Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical organizations to take advantage of existing investments in skills and technology to achieve document management efficiencies that truly support the critical work they do on behalf of humanity – and their shareholders. These solutions are also flexible and scalable enough to act as the launching pad for adopting innovative new methods of information management to achieve competitive advantages over time.

by: Scott Mackey

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How To Troubleshoot Your Computer Hardware

There could be many reasons why you’d want to troubleshoot your computer, well, one actually and that’s because something is not working right. The process of troubleshooting is something you learn after working for a long time with computers. Often enough when there’s a problem, nothing is going to explicitly tell you what is causing the problem and how you can fix it. By taking logical steps and walking through the process of troubleshooting you should be able to solve almost any computer problem, software or hardware related. It involves identifying the problem(s), finding the cause of that problem, determining the solution, executing that solution, and testing and checking that solution to see if it solves your problem.

As an example let’s say one day while using your computer the screen suddenly turns all black and you can’t see anything. We found a problem now what would be the first step to take to fix it? First check to see if the monitor is on and is receiving power, most monitors when they have power, but no connection or connection problems with the computer will display a message that says this monitor is working, but make sure you check your cables. So the next logical step to take would be to check the cable to make sure it is properly connected and secured to the VGA slot behind your computer case and to make sure the monitor cable is plugged into the monitor. Now, here’s where you have to decide what would be the next best course of action to take. you could either swap out your monitor with another monitor that you know is working to see if the problem is the monitor itself and nothing else or you can try to see if the problem is your graphics card. If your replacement monitor works, good, then you know your culprit is a bad monitor and you’ll most likely have to get a new one, because monitors are dangerous and too costly service. If the replacement monitor you used shows up a black screen as well, the next thing you’d do is check to make sure the graphics card is properly seated in the motherboard, if it is and the display is still not showing up, then swap out the graphics card to see if your problem is fixed.

Generally there are only so many steps you can take before you solve the problem and everything is back in order. Make sure that before you start testing and swapping out parts that the problem wasn’t caused by you changing a software setting in Windows or some ambiguous option in the motherboard’s BIOS that causes your problem.

Motherboard

The motherboard is the heart of the computer, every part of the computer relies on the motherboard to function correctly. It maintains connection between every PC component and ensures that things are operating smoothly between them. Many signs of motherboard failure is that the computer won't boot up, not reaching the POST test, erratic system behavior, different combinations of components not working. Because everything is connected to the motherboard certain parts may or may not work correctly if the motherboard is faulty so be sure to test those parts before thinking they're dead and getting new ones.

Be sure to do a visual inspection of the motherboard to make sure all cables are seated properly, the fans are spinning, and that the CMOS battery is in it's proper place.

Also check for any broken or leaking capacitors, those can immediately render a motherboard dead.

Make sure that all of the jumpers are set correctly as well, you should be able to find jumper information in your motherboard's manual, and if you don't have the manual you should be able to find the manual on the Internet at the motherboard manufacturer's website.

Many of the problems caused by a bad motherboard is also similar to problems caused by a faulty or dying power supply, so be sure to check if the power supply is faulty or swap it out for another to see if your problem is fixed. If you have a spare motherboard you can try swapping out the motherboard to see if that solves your problem, if that's the case then the motherboard is most likely faulty. If you think the motherboard is faulty and it is still in warranty you should be able to send it back to the manufacturer for a new one with no hassle, sometimes they might even pay for the shipping & handling if it is a big problem that is happening with a certain line of motherboards. Make sure that when you open a motherboard you keep all of the packaging and the box, and if there are any stickers that will void the warranty if removed make sure you do NOT remove them, so that way it is easier to send back.

Power Supply

If you suspect your power supply is giving you trouble, make sure you check it out fast, because power supplies can make trouble with the rest of your system as well. Irregular voltages sent from the power supply can short circuit and overheat your components thus frying them and making them unusable. Some faulty power supplies have even caught on fire, but if you’re lucky it might just smoke a little and start to smell. A few signals that your power supply is bad or is going bad would be erratic and seemingly random system behavior like system hangs and crashes, and burning smells along with smoke.

If you recently upgraded your system or added new hard drives, disk drives, a graphics card or anything for that matter, be sure to check if your power supply is being overloaded with hardware. A good way to check is to use a power supply calculator. One time when I upgraded my system with a new fancy PCI Express 16x Graphics card, well it was fancy back then, I had problems with the graphics card performing while in 3d games, it was all due to my power supply being unable give it enough juice on the 12v rails so it performed poorly and didn’t act as it should have, I even swapped out the graphics card for another one believing it was bad, after checking the manufacturer’s forums it seemed like a lot of people were having problems with faulty cards, so I figured mine must have been faulty too. After getting the new card it seemed like it performed better for a little bit longer, which could’ve just been some optimizations they did to circuit board. Seeing how they sent me an upgraded version of the same card, but it wasn’t until I checked my power supply wattages that I found the real culprit.

The first thing to do to diagnose your power supply is check the power supply connectors, make sure everything is plugged into the motherboard and the power cable is plugged into the power supply, you wouldn’t believe how many people forget to plug in their computer. Many power supplies also have a power switch on them so check to make sure that no one accidentally or purposefully switched it off maybe for a prank. Check the fan to see if it is spinning at the correct speed and if it’s dusty vacuum it out. Determine if the power supply cables are giving out the right amount of voltage, if you computer will let you boot you should be able to check them in the BIOS menu to see if the correct voltages are being given. Normal power supplies give +3.3 volts DC, +5 volts DC, -5 volts DC, +12 volts DC, and -12 volts DC.

Memory

Faulty RAM can have many adverse effects on your system. Constant lockups, computer rebooting, memory error message (duh), system crashes, and sometimes refusing to boot up are all signs of memory errors. Though, these are also signs for motherboard, hard drive, and power supply problems too. Luckily for you if you think your memory is subject to causing a disruption in your system there are programs that can check the memory for it's performance and to see if it is generating any errors.

Memtest86+ is an amazing memory diagnostic program. It is based off of the original Memtest86 that has been around since 1994 and is used by system-builders, average joes, and professionals in the IT world. It's a standalone memory check test which means it can be easily run without a bootable operating system, that's good if you can't just seem to get your PC started and want to rule out your memory as quickly as possible.

How To Use Memtest86 With Your Floppy Drive To Test Your Memory

First go their website at www.memtest.org and select the most appropriate version to download. You can download the bootable iso or the Pre-compiled floppy drive depending on whether you want burn a CD or use your floppy drive. We're going to go into details on floppy method.

Open up the .zip and extract the files to a folder, then click on install.bat, you will be asked to “Enter target diskette drive:”. Type A and hit enter then it will ask you to insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and press -Enter-: after you hit enter it will write some files to your floppy so you can boot your computer with the floppy to test for errors.

After the floppy has been formatted with Memtest86+, leave the floppy in your floppy drive and reboot your computer. Remember to set your floppy drive as the first boot device in your BIOS menu.

The program will automatically load and perform the memory diagnostic tests on your computer. During the testing if there any errors they will show up and at the end of the test it will tell you how many errors you've had.

After testing your memory if you receive any errors you should make sure that your memory is okay either by swapping it out and seeing the problems still occur or try your memory in another system. If the memory passes the tests then you proceed to troubleshoot something else with good faith that your memory is fine.

Hard Drive

The hard drive is that ultimate safe to everything important on your computer. It keeps all of your information, files and folders, music, videos, favorite websites, and programs. With a bad hard drive there's no reason to have a computer. In terms of fixing a computer if the hard drive isn't salvageable then most people don't even want to bother with the rest, because their computer is probably a piece of junk that has been handed down from time to time. Generally when a hard drive is about to fail it's usually years down the road from first acquiring the computer. So the next best option rather than replacing the drive is to just buy a new computer, or build a new one, because your old one sure is probably not running as fast as it used to.

Luckily before your hard drive kicks the bucket there is usually a few warning signs:

Abnormally slow file transfers

Problems with booting, especially when Windows is being loaded

Corrupted files

Disappearing files or folders

Loud hard drive noise is a good sign that there is a mechanical problem going on inside

If your hard drive exhibits any of these signs be sure to transfer all of your files to another source immediately, and do not continue to do day-to-day activities with that hard drive. If it doesn't show any of these tell-tale signs, however you have a gut feeling that your hard drive is on the brink of destruction you can try using many different drive testing utilities available on the internet. The hard drive manufacturer usually has at least one qualified tool that you can download from their website and run. Other ways to check the health of your hard drive involves running the Windows Error Checking tool by right clicking on your hard drive in 'My Computer' then selecting 'Properties' and going to the 'Tool' and clicking on “Check Now”, or checking the SMART status located in your motherboard's BIOS. SMART stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. Most motherboards nowadays has this technology. It should be automatically enabled in your BIOS, if it's not then your hard drive won't get checked. What it does is on boot up it will perform quick tests on your hard drive to ensure it is running correctly and it will continue to monitor it for any errors or abnormal problems that may occur as long as the computer is turned on.

Monitor

Watching movies, videos, playing games, and looking at NSFW material are all amazing things we can do on our computers. Yet there may come a day where you just want to get on your computer and relax in your computer room looking at all that NSFW material you have bookmarked under the “Special Sites” category, but you can’t because your monitor won’t turn on. No, you don’t frump and punch holes in the walls to look for an outlet for your rage. You troubleshoot it, and hope to god that your monitor isn’t broken!

When diagnosing a screen problem, half the time it’s usually something very easy, like a cable coming loose, or the monitor getting unplugged accidentally; unfortunately the other half the time it’s probably a problem that’s related to your monitor being old, or a problem that’s related to your graphics card instead. So you may have to diagnose both items at the same time to see which solves your problem.

First, check all your cables, I know this is probably getting a little old with the checking connections and everything, but so many computer problems can be avoided if people just remember that their computer isn’t always going to stay the same way they left it. A foot could kick out a cable, a dog or a cat that got to curious, or almost anything can render half your hardware useless.

After checking all your cables, make sure your screen has power, if it has power and shows a message such as “This monitor is working correctly please check your cable” and shows bars of color on the screen, that means that your monitor is not getting a signal from your computer. Try swapping out the monitor for another one to see if it still says that message. If it does then that means the problem is most likely something to do with your graphics card not seated in the motherboard, or just isn’t working properly, you may want to try swapping out another graphics card to see if that solves your problem.

Generally monitors don’t have that many diagnosable problems. Either they work and they work well, or they don’t work and you have to replace them. When working on a monitor you should never open them, they aren’t meant to be serviced and contain high charged capacitors that hold lethal doses of electricity. We wouldn’t want to read about a computer guy in the obituaries now would we?

Graphics Card

The glorious graphics card, it’s an amazing thing really. It makes all those pretty HDR (High Dynamic Range) pictures look just that good, it keeps your games running smoothly, and your videos in HD. Yet these things can be pains when they’re just not working right, because if something is wrong there’s not a strict hardware or software solution, you have to analyze the current situation to see what’s up.

First and foremost if you’re having any problems with your graphics card, probably the best thing to try to do first is see if there an updated driver for it at the manufacturer’s website that may solve the problem, or if there isn’t an update try uninstalling your graphics drivers and reinstalling them this little action can solve so many problems.

If there’s little jaggies or weird colorful mishaps known as artifacts appearing on your screen you may want to check the temperature of your graphics and make sure is getting enough cooling, and that the fan is working properly. If the cooling checks out okay you may also want to check your power supply ratings to see if it is giving enough juice to your graphics card. Nowadays most graphics cards need a lot of power on the 12v rails, make sure your power supply can give you that power that the graphics card needs.

Sound Card

Some of the typical problems people have with sound cards is either A) no sound or B) no sound. Sounds card typically aren't very expensive so having to replace one if the current one isn't working is no big deal. However, if you're one of those audiophile types who expect 100% original recording quality with your $300 sound card replacing one of those is as expected a lot more harder to do.

Sound Card Troubleshooting

Check speaker cables make sure they're all connected and plugged into the right spot on your sound card. Also check the speaker's power cables.

Make sure windows volume is turned up and the volume is not muted, also make sure that you have all the wave and playback volume turned up and not muted. If you have 'Digital Output Only' checked in your Advanced Controls for Playback Controls, try unchecking it to see if that solves your non-sound problem. I found that if I have that checked my sound card won't give me any sound.

Try reinstalling your sound card drivers, also try checking on the internet at the manufacturer's website for any updated drivers that may be available. They increase your sound card's compatibility with your system.

If the previous tips didn't help, then you may just have to replace your sound card, or atleast swap it out for another one to see if it might be a problem related to your sound card's connection to the motherboard instead.

Processor

The processor is the actual thinking part of the brain of the computer. It does all the calculations needed to make a computer run, and does them all in split second timing. It determines how fast your computer generally runs, and most of the time is a bottle neck for systems that have had everything upgraded except the CPU.

If your processor’s not working, it’s not the end of the world, generally most processors that work correctly for a few weeks, should work correctly for the rest of it’s lifespan, which varies from 5-10 years or so. As long as you’re not overclocking the processor or letting it overheat too badly your processor should be fine, and it could just be a BIOS setting that’s messed up, or a jumper setting, but for kicks just check to make the processor is seated properly and the heat sink is attached to the processor and the motherboard. The heat sink should be attached tightly to the motherboard and not have room to move about, you should be able to pick up your motherboard by grabbing onto the heat sink without any problems. Check in your motherboard manual to make sure all the jumpers are set correctly for your type of processor. Any jumpers set incorrectly can cause the processor to not work, or function correctly or at it’s optimal speed. Also check the heat sink to see if it is cooling off the processor, if it’s not doing a very good job you may want to look into investing in a better one that gets the job done.

by: Steven Stoddard

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Seven Service Principles Guaranteed To Create Raving Fans

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart

Sam Walton lived a life which displayed everything he believed in. Over the years, especially since Wal-Mart became a publicly traded company on the stock market, Sam’s vision and philosophy have slowly been forgotten. Although Wal-Mart may not offer the greatest customer service today, Sam’s words on the importance of customers to any business are timeless.

If business was to be compared to a car, customers would be the fuel. No fuel and the car cannot go anywhere. No customers and the business cannot go anywhere.

All businesses have some kind of customers. The philosophy behind the content in this article is just as applicable to personal relationships as it is to customer service in business. Although we are conditioned to believe our personal relationships are different from business relationships, in the end it is all the same; how you deal with people. Whether it is in your personal life or business, the principles shared in this article will benefit anyone who is willing to apply them in their situation.

Some have other businesses as customers, other have the general public as their customers. There are also internal customers and external customers. Internal customers are employees and external customers are those who your employees deal with. Keep your internal customers happy and they will naturally be compelled to do everything they can to keep your external customers happy.

This article deals with external customers and seven proven customer service principles which are guaranteed to create raving fans. Raving fans are customers who are so enthusiastic about doing business with your company that they become walking, talking billboards advertising and raving about your products and services to anyone in need of them.

The essence of creating raving fans out of your customers lies in going back to the basics. That’s right, simple strategies which are timeless and guaranteed to create astonishing results.

Also, it is crucial to realize that all successful businesses offer massive value to their customers. Creating products and services which efficiently and innovatively solve problems adds tremendous value to a person or business. This same value is what gets turned into an equivalent amount of profit.

Here are seven proven customer service principles guaranteed to turn the customers you have now and those to come in the time ahead into raving fans. This will naturally create an upward spiral of growth for your business since these very customers will happily share their great experience with your organization with countless others.

Keeping your word is where it all begins

When you say you were going to do something, customers expect you will do it. Since it is the norm for companies to make promises and not keep them, any business which is adamant about keeping their commitments to their customers is warranted to stand apart from the herd. So next time you are telling one of your customers you will do something, make sure that you do it no matter what happens.

Keeping your word with the customers allows them to be able to trust you. Trust is the essential ingredient to any successful long term personal or professional relationship. It is the foundation upon which everything else is built upon. Not just in business, but in general in relationships in life.

Always be honest and tell it like it Is

Your customers are people just like yourself and have more common sense than most businesses are willing to admit. By being honest and telling your customers the truth, you are much more likely to get a positive response to any situation. Given the current technological dynamics of our existence, a customer or client can very easily interact with others and get to the bottom line quickly.

The Internet is and has been changing the way business is conducted around the world. If you say your pricing is the cheapest and customer service the best, it is only a matter of minutes before this can be verified by interacting with others in a global economy. A prospect can do five minutes of research on Google and find out if you are telling the truth or just blowing smoke.

Always think proactively, looking around the corner

Everything in life is a dual creation. What that means is first we create any idea, service, or product in our mind. Once that is done, we then create its physical manifestation in the physical world. Thus it is totally accurate to say that if we wish to change our physical reality, we must first change our mental reality.

Thinking proactively when it comes to customer service boils down to addressing concerns PRIOR to you having to hear from the customer that something needs to be done. A simple example is an Internet Service Provider informing their clients that a necessary upgrade to computer services infrastructure will temporarily disable Internet access on x day at x time. It is simply amazing how much thinking proactively can benefit the bottom line of any organization not just when it comes to customer services, but also business strategy in general.

Deal with problems as best you can yourself, never passing the buck

My greatest mentor once told me that he met a billionaire, that’s right, a billionaire, who shared with him that “until a person realizes problems are a normal state of affairs, they have not even begun to mature yet.” Whether you wish to admit or not, problems in life are just as much a part of reality as eating, breathing, and walking. A person can certainly structure their life in such a manner that they can minimize those problems; however when the problems do arise they must be dealt with.

The best way to deal with any problem is THROUGH IT. What that entails is when problems arise; you simply stop and evaluate what is happening. Based on your evaluation, the problem is then to be addressed according to a chosen plan.

When a customer calls or walks in with a problem, it is an absolute opportunity to solidify their trust in your organization and prove that they can count on you to get it fixed. The first step is simply clearing up the facts and getting to the bottom line of exactly what needs to be addressed. Once the problem is clearly understood, it can be eradicated. The more authority your employees have to address customer problems, the better it is since nothing upsets customers than being passed from department to department when dealing with a problem.

There is no point in arguing with a customer because it is a lose/lose situation

The best way to deal with an argument is to downplay its confrontational aspect and direct all energy and attention towards a solution. What can be done to make the customer feel happy and cared for.

A customer can totally be wrong; however most of the times they simply need education to better understand the situation at hand.

It is also very important to separate an objective argument from a personal attack. If a person is frustrated because a product or service has not lived up to its standard, it is essential for your company’s representative dealing with the customer realize that the customer is upset at the situation and not at them personally. Often arguments turn personal when the people involved had nothing in the creation of the problem being argued about to begin with.

Accept your mistakes, learn from them, and do not repeat them

My greatest mentor, who is a professional drag racer at heart, also shared with me that in professional drag racing “the one who makes the least mistakes wins.”

We all make mistakes. Some of us accept that we made a mistake, evaluate the situation, learn the lesson and move on, while others get stuck in a never-ending state of denial. “What did I do wrong? I am not responsible for it!” is a common theme in their life.

Acknowledgment always precedes resolution. When a company’s customer service representative is dealing with a situation where a mistake has been made by the company, the best thing which can be done is taking ownership of the issue at hand. The anger and emotion around any issue can be minimized by admitting fault and diverting all energy towards a resolution. Customers are normal people just like the rest of us and when they hear that a mistake was made, and that you apologize for it and focus on the solution, the energy balance shifts from being upset to feeling content that the issue at hand will be professionally addressed.

You may have heard before “when you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” There is always something to be learned from any situation in life. Your general attitude will determine how you look at life, which will bleed into any business you are a part of. With each mistake, it is essential to realize what went wrong, how it went wrong, and most importantly what can be done in the future to prevent the same situation from occurring.

Consistency is the name of the game for lasting success

If you do something once, great. If you do it twice, awesome. If you do it three times, brilliant. And if you do it over and over, consistently, congratulations my friend, if you happen to be doing things the right way, you are officially a success.

Repetition is a common theme for most of what we do in life. When the six customer service principles discussed above are practiced consistently, customers realize over time that the integrity of how you choose to run your business is unable to be compromised.

Always remember, people buy more so because they want to, than they need to (Why do you think the average family in the west has so much debt?). Similarly, customers do business with companies because they WANT to do business with.

If your customers truly believe that your company can be counted upon, not in times when everything is fine but in times where there are problems and challenges, they will choose to do business with you because they know that no matter what you will get the job done.


About The Author
Imran Rahman is a young entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, and author living in Tampa, FL. His deepest passion in life is to share the exact science of creating results and achieving dreams. He currently writes for http://www.dreammanifesto.com weekly on success and finances.

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Essential 101 Guide to Better Invest your MONEY!!

Your Essential Starter Guide to INVESTING MONEY!!

If you have been working for some time, you probably have accumulated some form of savings, and the first mistake we don't want to make is to let the money stay idle.

Imagine your current savings like a little plant, you need to constantly give it nutrients and provide the right conditions for growth to take place. Hence, if you are someone who always place your savings under a normal saving account in a bank, it is time to relook at other alternative forms to grow your money - better and faster.

One approach is through Investment. Sounds like a taunting term, and one which many people do not understand and hence never got the chance to take the first bold move.

Today, I will be sharing with you an Introduction Guide to Investment, and hope to build up your knowledge and confidence in this field to take the right decisions.

What is Investing?

1) Investing involves the purchasing and selling through financial tools including stocks, bonds, options, certificates, and more.

2) Investing can be done through financial advisors or personally, although financial advisors will charge you additional fees for their services, but they could be valuable sources of information and help.

3) Investing can be easily performed at home with a computer with an internet connection.


How to start Investing?

To start investing, you must have surplus cash. Rule of thumb: You should have at least 3 months of liquid cash - i.e: ready cash to tide you over in terms of emergencies.

Given the tons of different stocks and mutual funds in the market to choose from, it is essential to follow a few methologies to ensure better selection and return on investments (ROI) in the long run.

3 Simple Investment Methologies

1) What to buy?
2) When to buy?
3) When to sell?


What stocks or funds to buy?

The entire market consists of over 10,000 stocks, so how can we narrow down our selection to the elite stocks, and make the right buying decisions? Luckily, we have indicators such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Wilshire 500 among others on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dow JOnes reflects the average stock prices of top 30 largest companies.
The S&P 500 reflects the average stock prices of top 500 companies, representing companies that are worth 75% of the entire stock market value.
The Wilshire 5000 reflects the average stock prices of top 7000 companies.

One proven worthy strategy is through index funds, i.e invest in the indicators itself. There exists a special mutual fund which is made up of all 500 stocks in the S&P 500. This means that only are you investing in the top companies, you are also diversifying and lowering your risks, and maximizing your potential gains in the future, given the proven track records of these companies in order to be listed in the S&P 500.


What about those professional managed funds? Are those worthy of consideration? See below for clear advantages of index funds over those professional managed mutual funds.

Index funds

Lower costs, 0.2 percent
Low transaction fees
Lower tax
Low portfolio turnover

Professionally Managed Funds

Higher Cost, >2%
Higher transaction fees
Higher Tax
Higher portfolio turnover due to higher risk


Hence, for a starter to investing, the safer and obvious approach is to invest in index funds given the lower costs, higher stability, and proven good past performance records.

Are you going to trust the financial advisor and give him your hard-earned money, for them to give you false promises of high returns, and charging you exorbitant fees to support their own commission pockets. NO !!!

Hence, ANSWER on what to buy is clearly combined "INDEX FUNDS".


When to buy those stocks or funds?

We all know the benefits of compunded interest, so the faster you start buying, the more money you get to compound.

ANSWER is "Right Now" !!

You dont need to have a big lump sum of money to start, you can also invest in a periodic manner, for example invest on a monthly basis. While doing that, you are also practising dollar cost averaging technique, which is a very powerful technique. Since prices often fluctuate, there are months where the prices are slightly lower and as a result you could buy more with the same monthly investment amount you have committed to. As a result, your total portfolio value will increase substantially due to more shares bought during lower prices.

The trick is not to freak out and do massively selling, when the stocks are going downtrends for that month. By buying the combined index fund, you are already lowering your risks, coupled with the power of dollar cost averaging, you can now ignore the fluctuation of the market totally.


When to sell those stocks or funds?

After knowing what to buy, and when to buy, you also want to know when is a suitable time to sell those stocks or funds.

ANSWER: The later the better.

Based on the stock market history for the past 50 years, it can be observed that the longer the investment, the lower the risk. Based on past data, we observe the following:

Holding Duration / Risk of loss %

5 years / 15%
10 years / 5%
15 years / http://investmoney101.blogspot.com/


About The Author
Jimmy Lee

He is involved in article writing, publishing, and website design on a freelance basis amid a daytime job as an electrical engineer. His favourite works can be found @ http://flashgor.blogspot.com/ and http://diypc.wordpress.com/

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Economic Recession Strategy - How To Keep Your Business Alive During Economic Recession

You may be in Mail Order, Direct Mail, E-Mail/E-Zine Marketing, or you may be a local merchant with 150 employees; whatever the case-you've got to know how to keep your business alive during economic recessions.

Long before the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a "tight ship." Some of the things you can and should do include protecting yourself from expenditures made on sudden impulse.

We've all bought merchandise or services we really didn't need simply because we were in the mood, or perhaps in response to the flam-boyancy of the advertising or the persuasiveness of the salesperson.

Then we sort of "wake up" a couple of days later and find that we've committed hundreds of dollars of business funds for something that's not essential to the success of our own business, when really pressing items had been eagerly waiting for those dollars.

If you are incorporated, you can eliminate these "impulse purchases" by including in your by-laws a clause that states: "All purchasing decisions over (a certain amount) are contingent upon approval by the board of directors."

This will force you to consider any "impulse purchases" of serious cost, and may even be a reminder in the case of smaller purchases.

If your business is a partnership, you can state, when faced with a buying decision, that all purchases are contingent upon the approval of a third party. In reality, the third party can be your partner, one of your department heads, or even one of your suppliers.

If your business is a sole proprietorship, you don't have much to worry about really, because as an individual you have three days to think about your purchase, and then to nullify that purchase if you think you don't really need it or can't afford it.

While you may think you cannot afford it, be sure that you don't "short-change" yourself on professional services. This would apply especially during a time of emergency.

Anytime you commit yourself and move ahead without completely investigating all the angles, and preparing yourself for all the contingencies that may arise, you're skating on thin ice.

Regardless of the costs involved, it always pays off in the long run to seek out the advice of experienced professionals before embarking on a plan that could ruin you.

1244 Stock Category Advantages-

As an example, an experienced business consultant can fill you in on the 1244 stock advantages. Getting eligibility for the 1244 stock category is a very simple process, but one with tremendous benefits to your business.

The 1244 stock encourages investors to put equity capital into your business because in the event of a loss, amounts up to the entire sum of the investment can be written off in the current year.

Without the "1244" classification, any losses would have to be spread over several years, and this, of course, would greatly lessen the attractiveness of your company's stock. Any business owner who has not filed the 1244 corporation has in effect cut himself off from 90 percent of his prospective investors.

Getting “Hard-Nosed”-

Particularly when sales are down, you must be "hard-nosed" with people trying to sell you luxuries for your business. When business is booming, you undoubtedly will allow sales people to show you new models of equipment or a new line of supplies; but when your business is down, skip the entertaining frills and concentrate on the basics.

Great care must be taken however, to maintain courtesy and allow these sellers to consider you a friend and call back at another time.

Your company's books should reflect your way of thinking, and whoever maintains them should generate information according to your policies.

Thus, you should hire an outside accountant or accounting firm to figure your return on your investment, as well as the turnover on your accounts receivable and inventory. Such an audit or survey should focus in depth on any or every item within the financial statement that merits special attention.

In this way, you'll probably uncover any potential financial problems before they become readily apparent, and certainly before they could get out of hand.

Further Considerations-

Many small companies set up advisory boards of outside professional people. These are sometimes known as Power Circles, and once in place, the business always benefits, especially in times of short operating capital.

Such an advisory board or power circle should include an attorney, a certified public accountant, civic club leaders, owners or managers of businesses similar to yours, and retired executives.

Setting up such an advisory board of directors is really quite easy, because most people you ask will be honored to serve. Once your board is set up, you should meet once a month and present material for review.

Each meeting should be a discussion of your business problems and an input from your advisers relative to possible solutions.

These members of your board of advisers should offer you advice as well as alternatives, and provide you with objectivity. No formal decisions need to be made either at your board meeting, or as a result of them, but you should be able to gain a great deal from the suggestions you hear.

You will find that most of your customers have the money to pay at least some of what they owe you immediately.

To keep them current, and the number of accounts receivable in your files to a minimum, you should call them on the phone and ask for some kind of explanation why they're falling behind.

If you develop such a habit as part of your operating procedure, you'll find your invoices will magically be drawn to the front of their piles of bills to pay.

While maintaining a congenial and courteous attitude, don't hesitant, or too much of a "nice guy" when it comes to collecting money.

Building the Strength of Your Stay Power-

Something else that's a very good business practice, but which few business owners do is to methodically build a credit rating with their local banks.

Particularly when you have a good cash flow, you should borrow $100 to $1,000 from your banks every 90 days or so. Simply borrow the money, and place it in an interest bearing account, and then pay it all back at least a month or so before it's due.

By doing this, you will increase the borrowing power of your signature, and strengthen your ability to obtain needed financing on short notice.

This is a kind of business leverage that will be of great value to you if or whenever your cash position becomes less favorable.

By all means, join your industry's trade associations. Most of these organizations have a wealth of information available on everything from details on your competitors to average industry sales figures, new products, services, and trends.

If you are given a membership certificate or wall plaque, you should display these conspicuously on your office wall. Customers like to see such "seals of approval" and feel additional confidence in your business when they see them.

Often Overlooked-

If at all possible, you should have your spouse work in the business with you for at least three or four weeks per year.

The important thing is that if for any reason you are not available to run the business, your spouse will be familiar with certain people and situations about your business.

These people should include your attorney, accountant, any advisors or consultants, creditors and your major suppliers. The long-term advantages of having your spouse work four weeks per year in your business with you will greatly outweigh the short-term inconvenience.

Many couples share responsibility and time entirely, which is in most cases even more desirable. Whenever you can, and as often as you need it, take advantage of whatever free business counseling is available.

The Small Business Administration published many excellent booklets, checklist and brochures on quite a large variety of businesses.

These publications are available through the U.S. Government Printing Office. Most local universities, and many private organizations hold seminars at minimal cost, and often without charge. You should also take advantage of the services offered by your bank and local library.

The important thing about running a small business is to know the direction in which you're heading...to know on a day-to-day basis your progress in that very direction [your dynamic Business/Marketing Plan]

Be aware of what your competitors are doing and practice good money management at all times. All this will prepare you to recognize potential problems before they arise. In order to survive with a small business, regardless of the economic climate, it is essential to surround yourself with smart people, and practice sound business management at all times.

The Misconception About Business In The Summer-

Whoever started the nasty rumor that Mail Order business is very slow during the months of July and August is dead wrong. In case you are new to the world of Mail Order you are likely to believe this rumor.

The sad part is that a lot of people in the business really believe it! Why do they believe it? Because they have been told by someone else and the rumor was considered "gospel" - so that someone told someone else and so on- sound familiar?!?

What people don't realize is that there is no foundation to this rumor. The only reason the mail order business MAY slow down in the summer months is because of the nature of the product being sold. Try selling winter clothes in July!

Some people will go so far as to stop advertising during the summer months because they are convinced they won't get any sales. Because of the drop in revenue for publishers, due to this line of thinking-

Everybody suffers and they keep the rumor alive and true. Only people believing this lie are making it happen.


About The Author
Michael Seriosa - Internet Entrepreneur http://www.iFoxMedia.com iFoxMedia.com - web development & marketing http://www.SierraFitnessTalk.com SierraFitnessTalk.com - your health is your wealth http://www.Online-Criminal-Check.com Online-Criminal-Check.com - protect your business & family http://www.LadyDoctorFatLossSecret.com LadyDoctorFatLossSecret.com - top secret fat loss secret

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Shop Around For Mortgage Payment Protection Cover

Mortgage payment protection cover can be a valuable product to have in your corner if you should find yourself incapable of working. Losing your income through accident, illness or unemployment could leave you struggling when it comes to the financial commitments of your mortgage. However, if you would be eligible to claim against a protection policy then payment protection for your mortgage could provide you with a tax-free income.

You do have to make sure that the exclusions found in all payment protection policies would not stop you from claiming. Suffering a pre-existing medical condition, being retired or self-employed, or not being in full-time employment could stop you from being eligible. These are just some of the reasons frequently found in a policy and providers can add in others. With this in mind, it is essential that you compare not only the quotes but also the terms and conditions.

Exclusions are complicated so do look into them very carefully. While one of the exclusions is suffering an ongoing illness, this can be overlooked if you have not suffered from the illness within two years of applying for insurance protection. When it comes to those who are self-employed then they would be eligible to claim if they were to stop trading altogether through involuntary means.

Payment protection insurance would provide you with an income that would cover your monthly mortgage outgoings and essential related payments such as insurance. This means that you are able to recover with the peace of mind that your mortgage debt would be safe. Homeowners who believe that the state would step in and provide for them in their time of need may be disappointed. The State does provide assistance but there are very strict criteria to meet. Those who have savings of more than £8,000 or whose partner works full time would not receive a penny. Also, if you took your mortgage out after October 1995 then you would have to wait nine months before you would see any benefit, and then you would only get help with the interest part of the mortgage up to £100,000.

Mortgage payment cover is usually offered alongside the mortgage at the time of borrowing but in the majority of cases this is a very expensive way of taking out cover. A far better option is looking around and buying the cover independently from a specialist in payment protection. There are many advantages of taking out the cover this way, besides the obvious benefit of making huge savings. A lack of information given at the time of buying cover leads many to take out a policy they could not possible hope to claim against. However, an ethical payment protection specialist will make available on their website all the information needed to make an informed decision regarding the policy’s suitability.

The mortgage payment protection cover that a specialist will provide will ensure you have an income from between day 30 and 90 of being unable to attend work. Each month you would get a payment which would continue for between 12 to 24 months if needed. The relief that this payment brings allows you to recover more quickly and leaves you free to concentrate on your wellbeing and, in the case of redundancy, to find another job.


About The Author
Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance (http://www.britishinsurance.com), a specialist provider of low cost income payment protection insurance (PPI), mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) and loan payment protection insurance.

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Tips for Prescribing a Future for Your Business

Are you wondering what the future holds for your business? Whether you want to predict your future or prescribe an outcome of your choosing, you'll have plenty of company!

Throughout history, we humans have tried many ways to predict the future, from reading palms to stargazing. Today, we refer to these as descriptive methods when we attempt to describe objectively what the future will be or could be.

On the other hand, prescriptive methods focus on determining what the future should be. These techniques can help us clarify our preferences and values so we can create a vision of what we would like to see in our lives, businesses, or communities.

Once we understand what we would like the future to represent, we're better able to take the actions required to implement it. Ideally, that future will align with our passions, gifts, and what we (or our companies) can really be the best at doing. This article suggests a two-stage process for achieving that goal.

First, Identify Your "Hedgehog Concept"

So, what can you be the best in the world (or at least in your community) at doing? This thought-provoking reflection is one of many from Jim Collins' "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't."

Collins' team examined 1,435 companies to see which ones made substantial gains in profitability and sustained those improvements over 15 years or more. Since the 1970s, only 11 companies had risen from mediocrity to greatness and stayed there -- topping many other prosperous firms that lacked the same staying power.

Of eight characteristics these companies shared, all held an unshakable adherence to becoming the best in the world at whatever they did. Each company committed to doing only those things and nothing else. That sometimes meant dropping their core businesses to pursue other things at which they could become the best in the world.

Collins and his team coined the term "hedgehog concept" to reflect a single-minded determination and focus that, similar to that of the hedgehog animal, attempts to do only one thing really well, such as curl up and roll. A hedgehog concept actually represents the intersection of three areas:

1) What you're most passionate about
2) An understanding of what you could be the best at doing, and
3) A metric that drives your economic engine and helps you measure results.

Keep in mind that according to Collins, this concept is not a goal, strategy, or plan, but an understanding of what you can and can't be the best at doing. Until you develop your hedgehog concept, you won't know your true vision, mission, or purpose.

Next, Define Your "Business Success Criteria"

Do you have a crystal clear idea of the types of business undertakings that align with your gifts, talents, passions, and strengths? In that same context, have you thought about whether your business can be the very best in the world at doing those things?

If the answers are "yes," you are in an excellent position to choose the ventures that can give you the greatest satisfaction and results.

If you're not yet totally clear about the answers to these questions, developing a set of "business success criteria" can enable you to select worthwhile endeavors with much deeper insight, and thus set the conditions for successfully pursuing them. A hedgehog concept thereby represents part of the formula you can devise to identify and choose among your very best options.

Why is this so important? It's not uncommon for people to wander into businesses, projects, and professions opportunistically, which means that they often select the next available and convenient thing that comes along. At times, this may be necessary for financial reasons. But unless we understand our underlying success criteria, we might not recognize the options that truly fuel and inspire us -- those that are best suited to our passions and strengths.

Some of your criteria could be practical considerations, and others more lofty ideals. But all of your criteria will be essential to achieving balance, fulfillment, prosperity, and higher contribution in your life.

In conclusion, a set of carefully crafted success criteria fueled by a potent hedgehog concept provides an unbeatable strategic advantage, and an excellent direction-finder for prescribing your future!


About The Author
Adele Sommers, Ph.D. is the creator of the award-winning "Straight Talk on Boosting Business Performance" success program, and specializes in helping people align their life passions with their business purpose. To learn more about her tools and resources and sign up for other free tips like these, visit her site at http://LearnShareProsper.com

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How I Generated More Revenues Without Having a Sale!

You want more revenue and you want it fast. The marketing experts tell you to “create a compelling offer.” You immediately think “Sale.”

You wonder how big the sale should be. How much can I afford to give away before the sale starts costing me money? How will I word the sale materials so customers don’t take advantage of me? The worries start and you realize you have a huge task to pull off this sale and generate real revenue.

Unfortunately, in our crowded market place, a compelling offer has become synonymous with a “sale.” There are other, better alternatives to motivate customers to buy from you.

This article will show you six options that will accomplish your goal of getting more revenues. These options will build a stronger relationship with your customers that the sale will not accomplish.

The Limitations of the “Sale”

The fundamental problem with most sales is that they are good for the business but not necessarily good for the customer.

A sale usually starts with a business problem you want your customers to solve for you. You need more cash. You have excess inventory. You need to meet sales quotas. You want to get ready for new merchandise. Your sale is asking the customer to solve your business problem.

There will always be customers who don’t mind being used. Their agenda coincides with your agenda. Quid pro quo.

When you create your offering around something they really value, however, they look on your offering differently. It becomes more than just a customer transaction. It is the start or the continuation of a relationship that will result in sales now and in the future. The customer’s primary concern is always how the product or service benefits them and makes their life better.

Six Alternative Offerings

Convenience

Structure your offering around customer convenience and you have a motivation that does not require sales or discounts. At my daughter’s school recently, the uniform company came to the school to sell uniforms. The parent’s alternative was to drive 30 miles into the city to purchase the uniforms at the company’s store. Parents were lined up forty deep to purchase the uniforms at regular prices. This store made convenience a motivator for the parents to shop.

Enhance Your Expertise

If your customers are buying your expertise, by enhancing that know-how you give them additional motivation to buy your product or service. Suppose you were in the copywriting business. You announce to your customers that you had just completed a copywriting campaign that generated thousands of dollars for a particular business. Customers now see doing business with you as even more desirable. No discounts; no sales!

Self-Esteem and Praise from Others

Those who market golf equipment say the main motivation for customer purchases is praise from others. “Great shot, Bob. You’re really driving the ball well!” If your product or service involves these types of motivations, repackage your offering to foster self-esteem and praise from others. It has more power than a sale!

Tapping into Social Issues (Idealism)

I recently worked with an acupuncture clinic. This form of Chinese medicine can heal many ailments and injuries. We chose to focus their acupuncture marketing on the treatments on athletic injuries because of the current scandals involving the use of harmful drugs and steroids. We presented their offering as a safe and natural alternative to more harmful drugs. By presenting an ideal alternative to a current social issue, no sale or discount was required. You can appeal to your customer’s idealism.

Popularity

People want to be part of the “in-group.” They want acceptance. By repackaging your offering to emphasize the popularity of your product or service, you give people another motive for wanting to buy from your business.

Scarcity

Scarcity is another motive that drives customers. It can be expressed in limited product or service quantities; limited editions; selective lines of products; preferred customer programs; limited time; or taking advantage of opportunities. There is some greed in all of us. If we feel we are going to lose out, we get very motivated.

Conclusion

This article has shown you six alternatives to generate more revenue that don’t involve a sale. When you need a compelling offer, start with the motivations that drive your customers to buy from you and then emphasize these motivations. You will find these motives are just as effective as a sale. They will also help you build a better relationship with your customers because you’re doing it for them!

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About The Author
Jonathan Marino an internet marketer and founder of http://www.cblinkus.com,new internet marketing concepts newsletter to discover the REAL strategies and Insider Tips

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Will You Ever Have to Pay a Deficiency Judgment From a Foreclosure?

When a foreclosure is finished and the home is sold or assessed by an appraisal, for the loss on the mortgage, the deficit amount the bank will not get back from the mortgage balance and expenses due, is called a deficiency. In most states, the lender has an option to get a judgment in this amount against the borrower and this is called a "deficiency judgment". In addition to the loss of the homeowner’s home he also has the potential of having to repay this judgment in the future.

Even if the bank accepts a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" they can still get a deficiency judgment against the borrower. The borrower is the one responsible for the mortgage or deed of trust payments and he may or may not be the homeowner. If the homeowner has a co-signer, the co-signer will be as legally responsible as the borrower to pay back the deficit due. Depending on whether the foreclosure is judicial or non-judicial, and the specific terms of the mortgage, the bank may not be able to seek a deficiency judgment. These laws vary state-by-state and should be reviewed carefully to determine which applies to the reader.

The bank doesn’t just have the amount of the unpaid loan balance due but also legal fees, accelerated interest payments, back principal payments, in some cases pre-payment penalties, and other expenses as part of the judgment amount. This is why a homeowner who has had his mortgage a couple of years could owe more than he borrowed originally. As an example, the homeowner borrowed $200,000 in June of 2006 and in January of 2008 he goes into foreclosure and the final judgment against him could be $218,000! This is because of the additional expenses and the fact that he pays mostly interest in the first 10 years of his mortgage.

The largest loss the lender has is his loss of the ability to loan about 7 - 10 times the unpaid mortgage balance. This is because the Federal Reserve requires the banks to put cash into a non-interest bearing account to cover potential losses. Since the bank can no longer use these funds to get additional loans from the Fed, he is losing tremendous loan power. This loss of revenue to the lender can not be passed on to the homeowner or borrower.

The major factors in deciding whether the lender will pursue a deficiency judgment are whether the lender feels he can collect the judgment and the cost to collect it. In the process of working with the homeowner, the lender pulls his credit and can see what other outstanding bills he has and whether they are being paid timely. The lender can not see what assets the homeowner has but can sometimes see where he works. The homeowner will be asked to fill out a Net Worth Statement ("NWS") which will disclose these assets to the lender. This document is a major part of the decision to pursue the judgment or not. If the lender has no reason to believe the homeowner has extensive assets, they will issue the IRS Form instead. A note of caution - falsifying the NWS can be bank fraud in some states so be careful if you intend to return the NWS to the lender.

The deficiency judgment is determined by the court-approved "Final Judgment" amount in most states. However, in some states, the property must be sold or an appraisal done to determine the "expected" net loss. If your state does this procedure by appraisal, contest the appraisal and have the judgment lowered if you believe it was not correct.

The lender usually chooses not to get a deficiency judgment and instead report the loan deficiency amount on IRS Form 1099. The result to the homeowner is a "phantom income" requires him to pay income taxes on this amount. In this situation the final cost of the guarantor’s foreclosure is the amount of income taxes he pays the IRS instead of the entire deficiency judgment. This is a substantial savings to the homeowner and the lender also benefits because there is no collection on his books that is counted as a liability. Unless there is suspicion of fraud in the original loan, the lender will issue a 1099. In December of 2007 legislation was enacted that allows a maximum exemption amount a homeowner who resides in his property can write off for this deficiency amount.

Carefully weigh your rights and options when you make a decision to allow your home to be lost to foreclosure, as there are solutions besides foreclosure and deed transfer to the lender. Do not be paralyzed with fear that the lender will follow you forever to collect the deficiency judgment, as you have a number of options to fight this including attacking the validity of the original loan.


About The Author
Dave Dinkel is the author of http://www.StopMyForeclosureMess.com "32 Ways to Quickly Stop Foreclosure and has helped thousands of foreclosure victims for nearly 33 years. If you are facing foreclosure, visit http://www.StopMyForeclosureMess.com StopMyForeclosureMess.com for guaranteed solutions.

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Manage Debtors And Creditors To Improve Liquidity

Sales turnover and net profits may follow a rollercoaster pattern familiar to most business but when the cash flow dries up the game is over. Urgent attention to the management of working capital can provide every business with the cash resources to exploit its potential


Most businesses will experience periods of lower sales and times when losses may be incurred as expenses exceed sales income. The situation is recoverable by producing higher sales and reducing costs and expenses. A business that runs out of cash resources is dead in the water.

Debtors and sales income management

The objective is to obtain payment from customers as fast as possible improving cash flow and minimising the risk of bad debts and not being paid at all.

Payment terms offered to customers should be clearly stated and fixed as standard accounting figures according to the amount of funding the business is prepared to offer its clients. Because that is exactly what credit terms to customers is, free cash funding in exchange for eventual sales income.

Consideration should be given to using a cash discount system to encourage sales invoices to be paid faster. In some businesses it would be appropriate to obtain up front deposits and scheduled payments. Review this practise to obtain a greater proportion of payments faster to improve liquidity.

New customers should be subjected to a strict credit check. All new customers where credit check details are not available should be invoiced by the accounting function on a pro forma basis. Any businesses who fail to meet the highest credit score required should remain on a pro forma invoice basis.

The credit control function needs consideration from the first step of issuing customers with a sales invoice, producing customer statements of the debt owed and a set procedure of credit control letters and telephone follow ups that actually achieve the end result of getting the cash in. An essential process in the credit control procedure would be to ensure the accountant or bookkeeper always issues sales invoices and customer statements promptly.

Incorporate into the terms of trade a set of rules to invoke interest payments for late payment and late payment debt recovery costs. In the UK the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 sets out the statutory rights of business to claim interest and costs.

Consider the possibility of factoring sales invoices due from debtors either by selling the sales invoices to a third party or raising cash on the value of those invoices pending payment. Factoring has the disadvantage of often not being cheap but does have the advantage of generating a regular stream of cash.

Bad debts have a double impact on any business and all possible steps should be taken to reduce the risk. A bad debt not only uses valuable resources in chasing the debt with the negative impact on cash flow and liquidity but also is a straight loss to the net profit and a strong indicator that the accounting function is failing the business.

Creditors and expenditure management

The objective is to extend the time allowed for payment of expenses the business incurs.

Consider the frequency of all payments made to suppliers. Small business have alternative payment terms available for the payment of taxes. In the UK value added tax can be paid quarterly or monthly, vat cash accounting can ease the tax liability due in critical periods and paye payments can be paid quarterly rather than monthly for smaller businesses.

Every opportunity should be considered to improve liquidity and that would include the frequency which employee salaries and wages are paid. A sensitive area since it involves the most important people to the business success but adopting a payment period to coincide with the receipt of cash from customers may in some circumstances balance liquidity.

General creditors are a major area to be addressed in terms of both the amount of credit received from suppliers and the time required to pay those creditor accounts. Larger orders on extended payments terms creates a risk area should the goods not be used but can greatly assist cash flow as the business is effectively borrowing free cash from its suppliers.

Stock levels are crucial to financial management of the creditor total. High stock levels use valuable working capital which is offset in part by the level of creditors. Higher levels of stock financed by free credit from creditors lowers the cash flow requirements on the other parts of the business.


About The Author
Terry Cartwright designs UK Accounting Software at http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/ on excel spreadsheets providing complete Bookkeeping solutions http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/smallbusinessaccounting.htm for small to medium sized businesses

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How To Write A Successful Business Plan

Whether you are planning to start a brand-new business, expand an existing company, or get financing for a business venture, you will need to write a business plan. A business plan not only lends your business a sense of credibility, but also helps you to cover all your bases, increasing your chances of success.

Although writing a business plan can be a lengthy, intimidating project, it is not necessarily difficult. Here is an overview of how to write a successful business plan.

What to Include in Your Business Plan

Your business plan needs to demonstrate that you have thoroughly considered all aspects of running your business. To that end, the standard business plan has nine major sections, covering everything from your business’s mission statement to a detailed financial analysis.

Executive Summary

The first – and most important – section of your business plan is the executive summary. This section is so important that it should literally be the first thing the reader sees – even before the table of contents! However, it should also be written last, as you’ll have a better understanding of the overall message of your business plan after you’ve researched and written the other sections.

One of the most important parts of the executive summary is the mission statement. The mission statement is only three or four sentences long, but it should pack the most punch out of everything else in your business plan: Those four sentences are responsible for not only defining your business, but also capturing the interest of your reader.

The rest of your executive summary should fill in the important details that the mission statement glosses over. For instance, your executive summary should include a short history of the business, including founder profiles and start date; a current snapshot, listing locations, numbers of employees, and products or services offered; and a summary of future plans and goals.

This section is a candidate for a bulleted format, which allows you to list main points in a manner that is easy to scan. Avoid using too much detail – remember, this section is a summary. A page or two is usually sufficient for an executive summary.

Market Analysis

The next section of your business plan focuses on market analysis. In order to show that your business has a reasonable chance for success, you will need to thoroughly research the industry and the market you intend to sell to. No bank or investor is going to back a doomed venture, so this section is sure to fall under especially close scrutiny if you are looking for financing.

Your market analysis should describe your industry, including the size, growth rate, and trends that could affect the industry. This section should also describe your target market – that is, the type or group of customers that your company intends to serve. The description of your target market should include detail such as:

• Distinguishing characteristics
• The needs your company or product line will meet
• What media and/or marketing methods you’ll use to reach them
• What percentage of your target market you expect to be able to wrest away from your competitors

In addition, your market analysis should include the results of any market tests you have done, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

Company Description

After your market analysis, your business plan will need to include a description of your company. This section should describe:

• The nature of your business
• The needs of the market
• How your business will meet these needs
• Your target market, including specific individuals and/or organizations
• The factors that set you apart from your competition and make you likely to succeed

Although some of these things overlap with the previous section, they are still necessary parts of your company description. Each section of your business plan should have the ability to stand on its own if need be. In other words, the company description should thoroughly describe your company, even if certain aspects are covered in other sections.

Organization and Management

Once you have described the nature and purpose of your company, you will need to explain your staff setup. This section should include:

• The division of labor – how company processes are divided among the staff
• The management hierarchy
• Profiles of the company’s owner(s), management personnel, and the Board of Directors
• Employee incentives, such as salary, benefits packages, and bonuses

This goal of this section is to demonstrate not only good organization within the company, but also the ability to create loyalty in your employees. Long-term employees minimize human resource costs and increase a business’s chances for success, so banks and investors will want to see that you have an effective system in place for maintaining your staff.

Marketing and Sales Management

The purpose of the marketing and sales section of your business plan is to outline your strategies for marketing your products or services. This section also plans for company growth by describing how the growth could take place.

The section should describe your company’s:

• Marketing methods
• Distributions methods
• Type of sales force
• Sales activities
• Growth strategies

Product or Services

Following the marketing section of your business plan, you will need a section focusing on the product or services your business offers. This is more than a simple description of your product or services, though. You will also need to include:

• The specific benefits your product or service offers customers
• The specific needs of the market, and how your product will meet them
• The advantages your product has over your competitors
• Any copyright, trade secret, or patent information pertaining to your product
• Where any new products or services are in the research and development process
• Current industry research that you could use in the development of products and services

Funding Request

Only once you have described your business from head to toe are you ready to detail your funding needs. This section should include everything a bank or investor needs in order to understand what type of funding you want:

• How much money you need now
• How much money you think you will need over the next five years
• How the money you borrow will be used
• How long you will need funding
• What type of funding you want (i.e. loans, investors, etc.)
• Any other terms you want the funding arrangement to include

Financials

The financials section in your business plan supports your request for outside funding. This section provides an analysis of your company’s prospective financial success. The section also details your company’s financial track record for the past three to five years, unless you are seeking financing for a startup business.

The financials section should include:

• Company income statements for prior years
• Balance sheets for prior years
• Cash flow statements for prior years
• Forecasted company income statements
• Forecasted balance sheets
• Forecasted cash flow statements
• Projections for the next five years – every month or quarter for the first year, with longer intervals for the remaining years
• Collateral you can use to secure a loan

The financials section is a great place to include visuals such as graphs, particularly if you predict a positive trend in your projected financials. A graph allows the reader to quickly take in this information, and may do a better job of encouraging a bank or investor to finance your business. However, be sure that the amount of financing you are requesting is in keeping with your projected financials – no matter how impressive your projections are, if you are asking for more money than is warranted, no bank or investor will give it to you.

Appendices

The appendix is the final section in your business plan. Essentially, this is where you put all of the information that doesn’t fit in the other eight sections, but that someone – particularly a bank or investor – might need to see.

For instance, the market analysis section of your business plan may list the results of market studies you have done as part of your market research. Rather than listing the details of the studies in that section, where they will appear cumbersome and detract from the flow of your business plan, you can provide this information in an appendix.

Other information that should be relegated to an appendix includes:

• Credit histories for both you and your business
• Letters of reference
• References that have bearing on your company and your product or service, such as magazines or books on the topic
• Company licenses and patents
• Copies of contracts, leases, and other legal documents
• Resumes of your top managers
• Names of business consultants, such as your accountant and attorney

Writing a Successful Business Plan

Despite the quantity of information contained in your business plan, it should be laid out in a format that is easy to read. Just like with any piece of business writing, it is important to craft your business plan with your intended audience in mind – and the bankers, investors, and other busy professionals who will read your business plan almost certainly won’t have time to read a tedious document with long-winded paragraphs and large blocks of text.

Business plans for startup companies and company expansions are typically between twenty to forty pages long, but formatting actually accounts for a lot of this length. A strong business plan uses bullet points throughout to break up long sections and highlight its main points. Visuals such as tables and charts are also used to quickly relay specific information, such as trends in sales and other financial information. These techniques ensure that the reader can skim the business plan quickly and efficiently.

Think of your audience as only having fifteen minutes to spend on each business plan that comes across their desks. In that fifteen minutes, you not only have to relay your most important points, but also convince the reader that your business venture merits a financial investment. Your best bet is a well-researched business plan, with an organized, easy-to-read format and clear, confident prose.


About The Author
Jason Kay is a former professional business plan writer and provides business start up advice. He contributes to business magazines and websites such as http://BudgetBusinessPlans.com, which provides business plan writing services and business plan samples.

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