Useful Tips for Buying Used Computers
Sunday, November 8, 2009In this modern era, high tech devices that are very expensive like the computers can be replaced with cheaper ones. Such cheap computers mostly come in the form of used computers. Used computers can be found in abundance in the used computer warehouses in various places, even in the local area of the prospective buyer’s residence. However there is no guarantee of quality when buying a used computer.
The buyer has to take his own personal risk in doing so. But, if the buyer is ready to spend some money in upgrading the level of the used computer and also some time checking the quality of the used computer before purchase, it will save him from loss. Used computers can save a lot of money for the buyer when compared to buying a new computer. There are many who cannot afford to buy a new computer like the students who do not have any source of income but definitely require computers. For such people, used computers come as a boon.
Also, used computers need not always be second hand computers. They can also be recertified or refurbished computers. Refurbished or recertified computers are those, which are checked for any faults, if any corrected and sold with a warranty ensuring the working condition of the computer to be perfect. Hence, such computers are considered to be the safest form of buying a used computer. Refurbished computers can be bought from many of the online stores at very less prices. Quality computer manufacturers also sell such kind of recertified or refurbished computers. However, certain measures need to be taken while buying such kind of computers.
The prime aspect to be considered while purchasing a used or refurbished computer is to look for a good branded one. There are various companies who sell used computers or refurbished computers. The main reasons for opting for a branded one is that it comes with a warranty and also the buyer can be sure that the parts used are of good quality.
While buying used or refurbished computers related software documents, licenses and paperwork have to be got from the seller as this will avoid stolen computers being passed off as used computers to the buyer. If possible working for some time on the used computer will determine its efficiency. Most of the reputed dealers would allow the purchaser to use the computer for a shorter period to check the quality before purchase.
While checking for the efficiency of the used computer, it is good to check if the booting process is smooth, as most of the problems occur during booting and also to check all the sound drivers, video, graphics, monitor, mouse, keyboard etc. CD drives and hard disks also need to be checked. Another aspect is the support system offered for the used computer whether technical or non-technical, support staff capabilities and the number of support staff which determine the quality of service offered. If the purchaser is not satisfied, he can very well think of another choice.
Mission: CHANGE
Wednesday, November 4, 2009It’s the second day of classes and I’m still stuck in my vacation moments. I’d still like to travel almost anywhere without thought of school projects left undone and without though of school obligations which leads to stress at some point.
As I sat sluggishly in one of my minor subjects, the teacher wrote something on the board that made me follow it until the last stroke was finished. It was one word that puts me in a dilemma most of the time- MISSION.
It was a flat piece of written art on the board but it struck me and left the biggest question that might change me forever once I find the answer. “What is my ultimate mission?” Most people wait for signs and others just don’t care. But there are those who would do everything to find their mission. What’s the fuss all about? Why do we have to know and find out if we will still turn to ashes someday?
Our ultimate purpose in this world is to find our mission, or purpose and our direction. As the juvenile members of the society, we have a mission of being heard and of making a CHANGE. We have the mission to be able to have a voice in every issue and discussion when it comes to both national and international concerns.
To create CHANGE amidst the turmoil and disasters.
To CHANGE ourselves to become better.
These changes are easy to say but it’s a work as big as the galaxies and we need battalions of people to be one to make change happen. That’s where the youth comes in!!!
On November 16-17 2009, YES2009 or the YOUTH ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2009 will be held and the CHANGE experience begins!
Sign up and join! You might win a FREE TRIP to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. You will be joining 500 South East Asian Youth and meet icons of change.
TO JOIN Click the link below and ask others to join you too…
http://philippines.youthsays.com/seachange/go/s14
TO CHECK OUT THE YES2009 TRIP DETAILS Click the link:
http://blog.youthsays.com/seachange/yes2009-trip/
Deadline is extended until this Sunday. This is YOUR time to be heard. YOUR time and chance to make a change!!!
Join Now!
By: Widowed Patch, join her with her mission to change
Google Adwords
Thursday, September 10, 2009Highly targeted traffic is one of the most important entities in the internet universe. Any website owner or administrator recognizes the importance of driving traffic to a website. The success of any website does not rely entirely on the site itself. You may have a terrific idea for a website, offer an excellent product or service, or have an exceptionally designed site with superb content, but if you do not use the right strategies to advertise, your site would not attract the high traffic you need. Attracting targeted traffic is a task that should be taken seriously for any site to succeed or make a profit. Fortunately, there are internet-marketing tools that help the website marketer to drive traffic to his website. One of the most significant, and effective, of these tools is Google's Adwords. Adwords is one of Google's advertising services.
How does Google Adwords work?
Google is the largest search engine on the web receiving over 200 million queries each day through its various services. As Google is the most popular search engine today, webmasters are keen on having their websites achieve a higher ranking in the search engine results it provides. A high ranking can mean high traffic for that website. The search engine results page is also a great venue for advertisers to promote a product or service through ads and links. Consequently, Google launched its Adwords service, as a way for businesses to advertise products and services to a targeted audience. Google Adwords can guarantee instant traffic. In this service, Google displays relevant text based ads within its search engine results page termed as "Sponsored Links". Whenever a particular keyword is searched on, these relevant links appear in a separate section giving excellent exposure to the sites listed.
How do you use Google Adwords? First, you have to open an account with the Google Adwords Service. Then, you should indicate your target language and country. This is important because you would not want your products advertised in countries where your product or service cannot be sold. Afterwards, you should now create an ad group. This involves designing the ad, selecting keywords and determining maximum cost per click that you are willing to spend and defining bid amounts. The most important step in creating a successful Adwords campaign is selecting an effective title tag that will catch the attention of your target audience. The title tag, generally a short phrase, is the most important part of your Adwords campaign so make sure that it is attractive and catchy. You should describe the website clearly and accurately. The most effective advertising conveys a clear message to the target audience. With a clear message, you will be attracting qualified leads, which can eventually convert to sale. Thus, the importance of selecting the right keywords cannot be overemphasized.
There are keyword variations you can adapt to reach more prospects. Using these varieties, misspellings and derivatives can help increase the chance of your ads being served. Broad match is targeting keywords in a loosely defined manner. Here, the ads appear based on the keywords that have been queried by other users as opposed to exact match, which calls for the keyword to match the query exactly. Meanwhile, a keyword phrase set to phrase match will only appear when the exact phrase is searched on. A negative keyword is helpful in filtering unrelated pages.
After you have decided on what title tag to use in your ad, you must now define a budget in order to maximize exposure. Google Adwords recommend a daily budget for each campaign. However, you should determine a budget that is suitable and affordable. You should also determine the maximum cost per click. Google will offer a recommended cost per click, but you do not have to stick with this. Usually, a number one position is not ideal as it can also attract unwanted traffic and useless clicks. A number two position is more preferred as it can filter useless clicks and provide traffic with a higher conversion rate.
To conclude, Google Adwords is an excellent strategy and tool in giving your site maximum exposure. Nevertheless, Google Adwords should not be your sole advertising campaign. It will definitely help you find the all-important, highly targeted traffic you need.
Jobs Hunting Through Social Networking Sites?
Sunday, September 6, 2009
WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Nearly half of US employers research the online profiles of job candidates on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn, according to a new survey.
Forty-five percent of the employers surveyed for CareerBuilder.com, the largest US online job site, said they use social networking sites to check on job candidates, up from just 22 percent in a survey conducted last year.
Another 11 percent said they plan to start using social networking sites for screening.
"As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, more employers are utilizing these sites to screen potential employees," CareerBuilder said in a statement.
It said job seekers should "be mindful of the information they post online."
CareerBuilder said that of those who conduct online searches as background checks on job candidates, 29 percent use Facebook, 26 percent use LinkedIn and 21 percent use MySpace.
Eleven percent search blogs while seven percent follow candidates on micro-blogging service Twitter.
Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they have found content on a social network that caused them not to hire a candidate, CareerBuilder said.
Examples included "provocative or inappropriate photographs or information" or content about drinking or using drugs.
Other reasons cited were badmouthing a previous employer, co-workers or clients, poor communication skills, making discriminatory comments, lying about qualifications or sharing confidential information from a previous employer.
Information found on social networking profiles was not always a negative factor in finding a job.
Eighteen percent of employers said they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate, CareerBuilder said.
Some profiles "provided a good feel for the candidates personality" or supported their professional qualifications while others demonstrated creativity or solid communication skills.
Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, recommended that candidates "clean up digital dirt" before beginning a job search by removing photos, content and links which could hurt their chances.
The survey of 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals was conducted by Harris Interactive between May 22 and June 10. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
Source: Yahoo News!
Twitter on DDoS Attack?
Monday, August 10, 2009More than two days after experiencing a complete outage as a result of a distribute denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, Twitter and other social networking sites such as Facebook are still battling a surge in traffic related to the attack. Twitter has taken some steps to mitigate the spike in traffic and ensure that the site is not knocked offline again, but some of those steps are having an impact on third-party tools that link to Twitter through API's (application programming interface).
Evidence gathered thus far from Twitter and other sites targeted by the DDoS attacks seems to suggest that the attack is actually a politically motivated attack aimed at silencing a Georgian activist. The victim, known by the online handle Cyxymu, uses blogs and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to express views related to the tensions between Russia and Georgia. In a blog post, Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer of Internet security firm F-Secure, said "Launching DDoS attacks against services like Facebook is the equivalent of bombing a TV station because you don't like one of the newscasters.
To defend itself against the ongoing DDoS attack, Twitter has implemented various defensive actions, some of which are blocking third-party Twitter applications from being able to connect with Twitter API's. The mitigating steps are also affecting the ability of many users to post to their Twitter accounts via SMS (short message service) text messages.
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Free e-books offerings
Sunday, August 9, 2009NEW YORK - James Patterson's latest best seller, "The Angel Experiment," is a little different from his usual hits. The novel isn't new; it came out four years ago. Readers aren't picking it up at bookstores, but mostly on the Kindle site at Amazon.com.
And the price is low even for an old release: $0.00.
"I like the notion of introducing people to one book, while promoting the sales of another," says the prolific and mega-selling author (and co-author) of numerous thrillers." His Kindle download is the first book of Patterson's "Maximum Ride" young adult series.
"We've given away thousands of free e-copies," Patterson said. "`Maximum Ride' is big already and we think it could be a lot bigger. That requires getting people to read it."
Patterson is among the biggest brands added to the growing list of free e-book offerings. Over the past few months, top sellers on the Kindle — with downloads in the tens of thousands, authors and publishers say — have included such public domain titles as "Pride and Prejudice" and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," and novels by Jennifer Stevenson and Greg Keyes.
In recent days, the top three Kindle sellers have been free books: Patterson's, Joseph Finder's "Paranoia" and Keyes' "The Briar King."
"There's always going to be someone who wants free things. What we're trying to do is link free with paid," Maja Thomas, senior vice president of digital media at Patterson's publisher, the Hachette Book Group, said. "It's like priming the pump."
"What we like to do is make the first book in a series free, usually a series that has multiple books," said Scott Shannon, publisher of the Del Rey/Spectra imprint at Random House, Inc., which published Keyes' fantasy novel.
Shannon said Del Rey has had especially good luck with Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" fantasy series after offering the first book for free. He said sales for the other Temeraire novels increased by more than 1,000 percent. "It's been stunning," he said.
Publishers and authors have been nervous that the standard cost for electronic editions of new releases, just under $10, will take away sales from the more expensive hardcovers and set an unrealistically low price for the future. They are concerned, but open-minded, about free books, which present a chance and a challenge: Readers may buy other books, or, they may simply seek more free titles.
"It's a huge hot-button topic we've been discussing within our division and at the corporate level," Shannon said. "We have had phenomenal success with using free books to get people to buy others by an author. But in the long term, we have to guard the market. We have to make sure people understand that time and energy goes into writing a book."
"Consumers love free — free is a good price. But the opportunity they present to publishers is to experiment, and I stress experiment," Ellie Hirschhorn, Simon & Schuster's chief digital officer, said.
The dominant e-book seller Amazon.com has been aggressive about keeping prices low, and has given free e-books high visibility by including them on the Kindle best-seller list. A leading rival, Sony, does not include free works among its best sellers, although some free books have popular downloads.
"We do withhold them from the best-seller list, so that it's an accurate reflection of what people are actually buying," says Sony eBook store director Chris Smythe.
In an e-mail statement about free ebooks, Amazon.com spokeswoman Cinthia Portugal, said, "We work hard to provide customers with the best value possible and pass savings on to them whenever possible." Portugal added that Amazon includes free books among its top sellers because the list is "based on customer orders — customers are still ordering these books, they just have a price tag of $0.00."
David Bailey, 56, a systems analyst in Tacoma, Wash., is the kind of customer publishers and authors want to get. He has downloaded free texts by Kelly Link, Scott Sigler and others, but has then purchased other books by those authors, sometimes "just to support them."
One of Bailey's free downloads was Finder's "Paranoia," a thriller first published in 2004. Finder, whose "Vanished" comes out Aug. 18, said he initially saw the free offering as a "no lose" deal since "Paranoia" wasn't selling many copies anyway and sales for his other books, including "Power Play" and "Killer Instinct," have gone up. But, noticing all the free best sellers on the Kindle, he wondered if readers will get used to not paying.
"I get a lot of e-mails from people, saying, `I hadn't even heard of you until I read your free book.' So no question, it does bring in free riders," Finder said. "But I'm also increasingly concerned. There are so many free e-books that basically you could stuff your Kindle or Sony Reader with free books and never have to buy anything."
Porn Continues to Plague iPhone Apps Store
Saturday, July 4, 2009Just one week after pulling an X-rated iPhone app offering photos of nude women, Apple has yet again found itself fighting off attempts to upload mobile porn.
An image of a teen girl, purported to be 15 years old who is topless and mostly bottomless appeared in the free app BeautyMeter, which lets users upload photos of themselves that are then rated by others, according to Wired magazine. The app is like an iPhone version of the rating site Hot or Not.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Wired said the app (including the same teen image) was still available in Apple's App store. But on Thursday, it appeared that Apple had removed it.
Funnymals, BeautyMeter's developer, and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ABCNews.com.
But in a note dated July 2 on Funnymals' Web site, the developer said that because of " inappropriate content upload we hardened our review process so the release time can be higher since now. As described in our terms and conditions, NO nude content is allowed (bikini content is allowed)."
Another note on the site says, "We don't review each uploaded photo exclusively but from time to time we will clean up."
Last week, after photos of nude women started appearing in the app Hottest Girls, the blogosphere lit up in disbelief.
The application previously displayed photos of women in lingerie and bikinis. But about a week after Apple unveiled a new operating system that includes parental controls that could filter out explicit content, the developers took off what was left of the clothes on the women, and turned up the heat on their product's content.
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Lenovo to give free windows update
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Lenovo has become the latest PC vendor to offer users a free upgrade to Windows 2007.
The company said that all systems sold between 26 June and 31 January with the Home Premium, Business and Ultimate versions of Windows Vista would be eligible for the update.
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Lenovo said that the offer will be limited to home and small business system purchases. Customers who purchase more than 29 systems will be directed to use Microsoft's volume licensing programme instead.
The offer makes Lenovo the second major PC vendor to roll out a free upgrade programme in recent days. On Thursday HP said that it would be offering a similar deal to users who purchase new systems between now and the 22 October release of Windows 7.
Microsoft is also pressing users to plan an upgrade to the new version of Windows. The company said yesterday that it would offer discounted pricing to those who pre-ordered copies of Windows 7.
The company is also offering a deferred cost programme to encourage more PC vendors to offer free upgrades to Windows 7.
Both Microsoft and PC vendors are hoping that the free upgrade campaigns will serve as a way to keep users purchasing new systems throughout the summer rather than waiting until after the release of Windows 7 to purchase a new PC.
No to Constituent Assembly (ConAss)!!!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009No to CONASS!
I am a Filipino and despite all the negative publicity surrounding our race, I am proud to be one. The news that Congress is bent on pursuing a change in the form of the government through a constituent assembly concerns me deeply. I believe, as our Congressmen do, that change is very much needed to revive our country from the paralyzing weakness it has long suffered from. However, we cannot jumpstart that needed change by being in such a hurry.
As most of our senate said:
"Charter change must be done correctly, at the proper time, definitely after the May 2010 elections, and for the right reasons, that is, for national, not personal and vested interests, and within the legal means under the Constitution"
Simply saying, if the Constituent Assembly was approved, the GMA Regime will continue. Changing the type of our government from Democratic to Parliamentary with one corrupt leader named Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and a money-oriented congress will lead our country to a no-no destination.
This is our chance, as a people of the Republic of the Philippines, kaya natin to! Help our country to survive and to change within you, within us youth. As our beloved national hero Jose Rizal said, "Ang kabataan ay ang pag-asa ng bayan (the youth is the hope of the country)". Let us ask our selves "Ako'y isa sa kabataan na tinutukoy ni Rizal, naging pag-asa ba ako ng aking bayan? (I am the youth Rizal's talking about, have i become the country's hope?)".
"Ngayon, ang kabataan ay maa-asahan na....(Today, the youth became responsible...)" - Chiz Escudero
God Bless Philippines!
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Aliens and UFO, are they really existing?
Thursday, May 21, 2009Many of us does not believe on these fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. Its existence remains hypothetical, because there is no credible evidence of extraterrestrial life which has been generally accepted by the mainstream scientific community. And yet, need to be proven by bare naked eye.
On the other hand, there's what we called UFO (unidentified flying object). UFO is the popular term for any aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily or immediately determined which is more or like similar to Aliens. Both military and civilian research show that a significant majority of UFO sightings are identified after further investigation, either explicitly or indirectly through the presence of clear and simple explanatory factors, or the Occam's Razor.
The video compilation includes many of NASA UFO encounters/sightings that have been archived by Luna Cognita Productions over the years. All of these examples (with the exception of the second-to-last one) were captured on film by NASA astronauts or Russian Cosmonauts over the past half-century - showing many amazing examples from different eras - Gemini, Apollo, Apollo/Soyuz Test Project, Skylab, STS, the ISS, plus a couple Russian-source additions from their unmanned Zond and Mir Space Station programs as well thrown in to round things out.
Dr. Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist specializing in string field theory, and a futurist, will help us to open our minds to our so called, science fictions.
Dr. Kaku appeared in the short documentary Obsessed & Scientific. The film is about the possibility of time travel and the people who dream about it. It has appeared at the Montreal World Film Festival and is in developmental talks about becoming a feature. He also appeared in the ABC documentary "UFOs: Seeing Is Believing," where he suggested that while he believes it is extremely unlikely that extraterrestrials have ever actually visited Earth, we must keep our minds open to the possible existence of civilizations a million years ahead of us in technology, where entirely new avenues of physics open up. He also discussed the future of interstellar exploration and alien life in the Discovery Channel special Alien Planet as one of the multiple speakers who co-hosted the show, and Einstein's Theory of Relativity on The History Channel.
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Online Bash Shell For Beginners
Friday, May 8, 2009
If you want to learn Linux bash shell commands in a fun way this is the place for you.
This website provides Unix-like virtual online bash shell command line interface where you can try out bash commands easily online in a web browser without the fear of installing Linux.
Once you gets your hands over bash shell commands you can easily move on to Linux because the knowledge of bash shell commands are essential for operating any Linux distro to its full potential.
Online Bash Shell
Swine Influenza and You
Friday, May 1, 20091. What is swine flu?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.
2. Are there human infections with swine flu in the U.S. ?
In late March and early April 2009, cases of human infection with swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses were first reported in Southern California and near San Antonio , Texas . Other U.S. states have reported cases of swine flu infection in humans and cases have been reported internationally as well. An updated case count of confirmed swine flu infections in the United States is kept at http://www.cdc. gov/swineflu/ investigation. htm CDC and local and state health agencies are working together to investigate this situation.
3. Is this swine flu virus contagious?
CDC has determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it not known how easily the virus spreads between people.
4. What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.
5. How does swine flu spread?
Spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
6. How can someone with the flu infect someone else?
Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.
7. What should I do to keep from getting the flu?
First and most important: wash your hands. Try to stay in good general health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Read the rest of this article about Swine Flu on Nurses and Geeks
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Adobe Air: How dows it works?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Most computer users are familiar with Adobe Flash, the browser plug-in responsible for powering much of the Internet's multimedia content--from YouTube videos and Flickr slideshows to addictive Web-based video games. Flash is popular because it works on any operating system and on many mobile devices, and because it handles media and graphics with aplomb.
AIR creates stand-alone applications that run from your desktop just like any other application. AIR apps are developed in much the same way that Flash applications are, providing developers with a new environment for creating powerful Web software that can run without a browser.
Despite AIR's impressive ability to blur the line between your desktop and the Web, AIR apps are by no means Web-only. In fact, some of them have nothing to do with the Web at all.
To get started using AIR applications, simply download and install AIR from Adobe. Once you've done that, downloading and opening an AIR app on your desktop will trigger the standard AIR installer--think of these files as traditional .msi or .exe setup applications, except that AIR handles the installation.
CDR-King 12” Tablet Review by Nurses & Geeks
Friday, March 27, 2009For some of you who doesn’t know about tablet, it is an input device used by artists which allows one to draw a picture onto a computer screen without having to utilize a mouse or keyboard.
A tablet consists of a flat tablet and some sort of drawing device, usually either a pen or stylus. It may also be referred to as a drawing tablet or drawing pad. While the graphics tablet is most suited for artists and those who want the natural feel of a pen-like object to manipulate the cursor on their screen, non-artists may find them useful as well.
The smooth flow of a graphics tablet can be refreshing for those who find the mouse to be a jerky input device, and repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome are less likely when using a graphics tablet.
It’s a Wacom Bamboo on a Dell Latitude D830 from Ken Schaefer’s Wacom Review. The tablet is quite small (about 19cm on each edge), thin (<1cm) and weighs about 300 grams. It has four buttons at the top (illuminated in blue) which can be programmed, as well as a little touchpad which allows scrolling up/down in windows using a motion similar to the click wheel in an iPod. Price is over $100 or over 4000Php (Philippine Peso).
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a starter, low price, and fully featured alternative tablet, I recommend, CDR-King 12.1″ Slim Tablet.
Read the rest of the Nurses & Geeks' CDR-King 12” Tablet Review
AMD lawyer: Intel would 'like us dead'
Thursday, March 19, 2009In the wake of the latest kerfuffle between Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, AMD's chief counsel seized the moment to sound off on a primal fear at his company: Intel is bent on its destruction. Intel, of course, doesn't quite see it that way.
After Intel accused AMD on Monday of breaching a 2001 patent cross-license agreement with Intel, AMD's top lawyer had some choice words for its bigger rival.
In a phone interview Tuesday, AMD general counsel Harry Wolin refuted Intel's claim that the AMD manufacturing spin-off Globalfoundries is not a subsidiary--and thus cannot legally use Intel intellectual property--and talked more broadly about Intel's tactics.
Intel's ultimate goal, Wolin believes, is to crush rivals into oblivion. "In their perfect world, we wouldn't exist. If they had to deal with the government every now and then, that's fine, and they're still extracting monopoly profits from the industry," he said.
Wolin doesn't buy into the oft-repeated theory that Intel needs AMD to keep the industry honest and to keep the U.S. government at bay. "I don't agree with the premise that they have to have us and they think they have to have us. I think they would absolutely like us dead," Wolin said.
The Dickensian depiction of AMD as the impoverished, distressed victim of Intel's bullying and manipulation is inaccurate and, more importantly, misses the relevant point, according to Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. "It's nice of them to try to speak for us. AMD has been a competitor for almost 40 years in one form or another. This is not about AMD going away," he said. "This is about our rights and AMD's rights under the patent cross-license agreement."
Ashok Kumar, an analyst at investment bank Collins Stewart, said the premise of a remorselessly predatory Intel set on killing off its rivals is attention-getting but not that realistic.
"Could Intel put them out of business? Probably. But is it a likely outcome? I don't think so," he said. "Because they'll get a lot of significant push back from the OEMs (PC makers). The OEMs will essentially be making a beeline to Washington, D.C."
Intel contends this is a very localized dispute about whether Globalfoundries is a subsidiary or not, and not a manufactured issue "to distract the world from the global antitrust scrutiny (Intel) faces," as AMD said in a statement Monday. "AMD cannot unilaterally extend Intel's licensing rights to a third party without Intel's consent," said Bruce Sewell, senior vice president and general counsel for Intel, in a statement on Monday. Intel maintains the issue is that Globalfoundries is 34.2 percent owned by AMD and 65.8 percent-plus owned by Advanced Technology Investment Co., an investment company. So, in effect, Globalfoundries is not an AMD subsidiary.
Wrong, AMD says. It is not about ownership. AMD has met the conditions that qualify it as a subsidiary. "It requires that AMD originally contributed at least 50 percent of the assets. If you look at the fact that we've thrown in the German factories, we've thrown in the people, we've thrown in the technology, we've thrown in the intellectual property. I don't think there's any credible argument that says we haven't thrown in more than 50 percent of this. It says nothing about owning. It says you have to originally contribute 50 percent of the assets," Wolin said.
And what happens from here?
"Let's say the parties end up in a lawsuit at the end of 60 days," Wolin said. (Intel says it will terminate AMD's rights and licenses under the cross license in 60 days if the alleged breach has not been corrected.) "Well, you know, that lawsuit doesn't come to court for years and wouldn't come to court until well after the antitrust suit would come to court, which is currently scheduled for February of next year," according to Wolin.
Intel says the next step is mediation, where Globalfoundries is brought to the table. If this doesn't resolve the issue, then they would both be off to the races and the lawsuits would begin.
Source: CNET News
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Google's New Ads May Be Watching You
Thursday, March 12, 2009
London (ECN) - Google's popular AdSense marketing platform announced a controversial new advertisement standard that may change the way online advertising works.
The new program, which Google is calling "interest based" advertising, dynamically changes website ads based upon the users previous browsing. In the future, users can expect advertisements to match their browsing interest, perhaps highlighting dog grooming services for pet-lovers, or shoes for shoppers. For now the program is in the testing stage, with the new advertisements first appearing on Google owned properties, such as YouTube.
Privacy advocates claim the new marketing strategy is an unwarranted intrusion into their browsing habits. Google dismisses such claims, insisting that the program will only heighten user experience and connect advertisers with their audience with great efficiency.
Vice President of Product Management Susan Wojcicki explains the new paradigm: "If, for example, you love adventure travel and therefore visit adventure travel sites, Google could show you more ads for activities like hiking trips to Patagonia." Google intends for the new ads to be customizable for the user as well, allowing individuals to select specific categories of advertisements to be displayed.
Many followers of Google have been expecting such an announcement to come, citing Yahoo's similar advertising plan, unveiled three weeks ago. Advertisers in particular are excited, anticipating an increase in "click-through," making marketing on the internet more targeted and cost-effective. The announcement boosted Google stock by more than 3 percent.
While initial reaction in the financial sector sounds positive, legislative and regulatory action could soon have Google on the defensive. The Federal Trade Commission refers to the new practice as "behavioral advertising," hinting at a more sinister interpretation than the "interest based" label applied by Google. Past investigations into similar ad tracking has resulted in congressional investigations against companies such as NebuAd and Phorm, who practice a more aggressive form of user-tracking.
Even Congress may get involved, with the House of Representative's Energy and Commerce Committee voicing concern with the new form of marketing. While the current testing would require users to "opt-out" of the behavioral ads, pressure from privacy advocates may force Google into an "opt-in" stance, wherein users must request the service be provided to them.
Even while the debate rages, Google pushes on, bringing a different landscape, with new questions, to internet advertising.
Source: ECanadaNow
Koobface, Other Worms Target Facebook Friends (NewsFactor)
Friday, March 6, 2009- As Facebook works to make itself more relevant and timely for its growing member base with a profile page makeover, attackers seem to be working overtime to steal the identities of the friends, fans and brands that connect though the social-networking site.
Indeed, Facebook has seen five different security threats in the past week. According to Trend Micro, four new hoax applications are attempting to trick members into divulging their usernames and passwords. And a new variant of the Koobface worm is running wild on the site, installing malware on the computers of victims who click on a link to a fake YouTube video.
The Koobface worm is dangerous. It can be dropped by other malware and downloaded unknowingly by a user when visiting malicious Web sites, Trend Micro reports. When attackers execute the malware, it searches for cookies created by online social networks. The latest variant is targeting Facebook, but earlier variants have also plagued MySpace.
Koobface's Wicked Agenda
Once Koobface finds the social-networking cookies, it makes a DNS query to check IP addresses that correspond to remote domains. Trend Micro explains that those servers can send and receive information about the affected machine. Once connected, the malicious user can remotely perform commands on the victim's machine.
"Once cookies related to the monitored social-networking Web sites are located, it connects to these Web sites using the user log-in session stored in the cookies. It then navigates through pages to search for the user's friends. If a friend has been located, it sends an HTTP POST request to the server," Trend Micro reports.
Ultimately, the worm's agenda is to transform the victim's computer into a zombie and form botnets for malicious purposes. Koobface attempts to do this by composing a message and sending it to the user's friends. The message contains a link to a Web site where a copy of the worm can be downloaded by unsuspecting friends. And the cycle repeats itself.
An Attractive Face(book)
Malware authors are investing more energy in Facebook and other social-networking sites because that effort pays off, according to Michael Argast, a security analyst at Sophos. Facebook alone has more than 175 million users, which makes it an attractive target.
"Many computer users have been conditioned not to open an attachment from an e-mail or click a link found within, but won't think twice about checking out a hot new video linked to by a trusted friend on Facebook," Argast said.
Argast called the Koobface worm a mix of something old and something new. The new is using social networks as a method to spread malware. The old is using fake codec Trojans linked to a saucy video to induce the user to install the malware.
Read the rest of the article here:
Yahoo News
Foods Not To Excess For Good Health
Tuesday, March 3, 2009If you’re looking to improve your diet then cutting back on these six foods is a good starting point.
1. Fizzy Drinks
The average can of fizzy drink contains around 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, artificial food colouring and sulphites. Diet versions of fizzy drinks contain artificial sweeteners which are even more unhealthy. Fizzy drink are so bad for you that the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a US consumer group has called for cigarette style health warnings to be printed on soft drink cans.
2. Chips and French fries.
They may be tasty but chips and French fries contain acrylamide, a known carcinogen and neurotoxin that forms when foods are baked or fried at high temperatures. In tests conducted on some well known brands of French fries the level of acrylamide found was around 300 times the amount allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a glass of water.
And it gets worse - chips and French fries also contain trans fats, the artery-clogging fat that’s been linked to raising cholesterol and increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer. That’s not to far with smoking causing cancer.
3. Doughnuts.
If you break a doughnut down you’ll find nothing more than refined sugar and flour, artificial flavours and partially hydrogenated oil that’s packed full of trans fats. They have no redeeming qualities at all.
4. Cakes and Baked Goods.
This category also includes biscuits. This is another group of foods that almost always contain high amounts of trans fats and a host of other unhealthy additives such as corn syrup, preservatives and artificial flavours and colouring. In fact, baked goods usually contain more trans fats than any other food because not only are they made with hydrogenated oils, they’re also fried in them.
If you must eat baked goods then buy them from your local bakery because they’re less likely to used hydrogenated oils or margarine to preserve the shelf life.
5. Processed Meats/Hot Dogs.
Processed meats like spam, luncheon meat and pepperoni contain a carcinogenic ingredient called sodium nitrite which, according to nutritionists, has no place in human food.
According to a study carried out in America on 200,000 people over seven years, the people who consumed the most processed meat showed a 65% increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
6. Canned Soup.
Amazingly we are talking about the traditional, canned soups you find in the supermarket. This may come as a surprise, but most canned soups have high levels of trans fats, sodium and artificial preservatives like MSG.
Just a single cup of soup from a can, can contain up to 1000 milligrams of salt. That’s an awful lot considering dietary guidelines recommend no more than 2400 milligrams per day.
Reading the above it’s obvious to see why the government is keen to educate children and parents about the poor nutritional values of certain foods. Until recently children were regularly eating chips, cakes and processed meats and fizzy drinks as part of their daily school dinners.
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Benjamin Button is an absolute masterpiece and is probably one of the greatest films of all time. At almost three hours in length, very gradual pacing and a story line set in New Orleans in the 1920s this has all the hallmarks of being an absolute snoozefest but by some miracle this delicate, beautiful, involving and fantastical story is utterly enchanting and will warm the smallest, deepest cockles of your heart. Will it be to everyone’s taste? No, but it’s a film that you should make every effort to see. This film is not only Brad Pitt’s finest performance ever, it is director David Fincher’s finest work and he is a man with a very impressive CV of first class movies. Quite rightly Benjamin Button has been nominated for 11 Oscars including Best Actor and Best Motion Picture. This film is pretty much as perfect as a film can get.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button shows that whether we live life forwards or backwards, the outside is just a shell and it’s what we choose to do with life that sifts out the best parts from the worst. It is truly a strange and wonderful film. It wallows in its lush oddness, relishes the quirks and foibles that drive the story and, best of all, embraces a magical sense of romance and wonder that is oddly moving.
Yes, this certainly is one extremely curious movie but don't let that put you off.
Trailer
The Verdict Score?
9.5/10
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The Idea of Online Business
Friday, January 23, 2009Some Filipinos think online money making is tough in Philippines? No. There are a lot of ideas to make online money from not only Philippines but from anywhere in the world . You can find advertisements on online money making opportunities and businesses that you can do right from Philippines. But remember, the Internet not only connects your business to big traffic, but also your servers to Internet hackers and malware. Thats why Internet security is so vital. So, along with some ideas on making money online, you also need some knowledge on how to improve the Internet security of your business.
Online Money making ideas
Online money making can be quite tough for people in Philippines, especially when they don't want to spend money or if they don't have a website. But ideas do exist if you want to go the “free” way. You cannot expect to get rich in a flash nevertheless there are some online money making opportunities to help you make money without any investment. One way is to start a blog on free platforms like Wordpress or Blogger, and add Google Adsense or other pay per click ads. You can add niche content on something you are passionate about and also something people are looking for, so that more traffic is driven to your blog.
You will be paid for every click on these ads. You can also market affiliate links to earn money. There are some free affiliate link programs available. All you have to do is market the link through advertisement techniques like forums, blogging, articles etc. You will be paid when people buy through your link Another online money making technique is taking part in free online paid surveys. Businesses conduct surveys to know about trends in a particular locality like our own Philippines for example. You can make use of these surveys, but don't expect big money.
Advertisement Ideas for better Traffic
If you own an online money making website, you should not only concentrate on design but also on traffic. You need traffic to get repeat visitors. Remember, repeat visitors are the ones who are going to buy something from your website. You can achieve this by using good advertisement methods like journals, web, news media and magazines. The goal of the advertisement should be to persuade the visitor on the legitimacy of your business. Another way of improving your online money making efforts is including well written and related articles on your website. You can also take part in forums to meet fellow Internet entrepreneurs from Philippines and share business ideas. Remember, traffic is directly proportional to the profit you are going to get.
Ideas for improving Internet security
If you have employees working for your e-business, you need to educate them about viruses, Trojans and others that can attack via the web. You can use web filters to prevent your employees from visiting harmful websites. Also install a centrally controllable anti-virus software and Firewall to prevent worms from web traffic accessing your computer.
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Latest Pinay Scandal
Sunday, January 11, 2009And you're bringing your fantasies here don't you? Sad to say this is not the right post for you again. This is the second post to fight these real porno sites promoting Filipina Scandals. If you're interested about this battle, join with us. I'm urging everyone to join this campaign especially the female bloggers and to those who believe in justice.
How will the campaign work?
The Google Trends can show how internet surfers demand a single keyword, for example the keyword "Sex Scandal". With this Google application, we are able to study how these keywords drive traffic on a scale of time. So imagine if the good sites will promote keywords similar to the keywords the real pornography sites promote, Google, Yahoo and other search engines will help us to drive the traffic out of them.
How this will benefit your blog?
As what i've told you earlier, keywords such as "Sex Scandal, Download Scandal Pinay, Pinay University Scandal" are those keywords driving more and more traffic to the real pornography sites. Why? Of course there are so many unhappy-liberated surfers looking for fun to satisfy their fantasies. What will this post do is to drive traffic on to your site. So, lesser real porn sites will appear in Google and Yahoo! Don't worry about the Google Adsense TOS (Terms of Condition), you're not promoting the real pornography.
How will i join this campaign?
You could simply discuss this thread on the comment section. Link back to this post and comment, informing you're joining. By this, you'll be given credit by us joining the campaign, the women involved on any scandalous video clips, and your families.
So, who are you people at my side?!
You might want this related post:
Naked Hot Pinay Sex Scandal
Looking for a Federal Job?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The FBI posted openings for 850 special agents and more than 2,100 professional support personnel. Officials say it's the largest FBI job posting since immediately after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The FBI's unexpectedly large number of job openings results more from attrition and a wave of retirements than from growing government appropriations, Bureau officials told CNN.
The FBI routinely advertises openings for individuals with critical skills in computer science and language fluency. But John Raucci, assistant director of the FBI's Human Resources Division, says current needs are much more wide-ranging.
"We're also looking for professionals in a wide variety of fields who have a deep desire to help protect our nation from terrorists, spies and others who wish us harm," Raucci said.
The lengthy list of openings includes positions in finance and accounting, security, intelligence analysis, training and education, nursing and counseling, physical surveillance, electrical engineering, physical and social sciences, and auto mechanics.
Read the full story...
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What's your IQ score?
Monday, January 5, 2009Did you know, Einstein had an IQ about 160? Classification
What is an IQ?
An intelligence quotient or IQ is a score derived from a set of standardized tests of intelligence. Intelligence tests come in many forms, and some tests use a single type of item or question. Most tests yield both an overall score and individual subtest scores. Regardless of design, all IQ tests attempt to measure the same general intelligence.
Why is IQ so important?
Research shows that general intelligence plays an important role in many valued life outcomes. In addition to academic success, IQ correlates with job performance (see below), socioeconomic advancement (e.g., level of education, occupation, and income), and social pathology" (e.g., adult criminality, poverty, unemployment, dependence on welfare, children outside of marriage).
How much was my IQ worth?
IQ Range 140 and over Genius or near genius 120-140 Very superior intelligence 110-120 Superior intelligence 90-110 Normal or average intelligence 80-90 Dullness 70-80 Borderline deficiency Below 70 Definite feeble-mindedness
You could take the Free IQ Test anytime you want. But i suggest don't cheat and never review the test questionnaires before proceeding. Just be fair :)
Fact: Several studies have investigated the relationship between intelligence and the degree of religious belief (excluding humanism), with most showing an inverse correlation between intelligence averages and the "importance of religion" to the testee. -Source: Wikipedia.org
Fact: While IQ scores of individual members of different racial or ethnic groups are distributed across the IQ scale, groups may vary in where their members cluster along the IQ scale. East Asians cluster higher than Europeans, while Sub-Saharan Africans cluster lower in the USA. Much research has been devoted to the extent and potential causes of racial-ethnic group differences in IQ, and the underlying purposes and validity of the tests has been examined. Most experts conclude that examination of many types of test bias and simple differences in socioeconomic status have failed to explain the IQ clustering differences. -Source: Wikipedia.org
Takipsilim (Filipino Version of Twilight)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Honestly, the said project was great, if they supposed to level down their rating and image to the public most especially to the Twilight fanatic.
.....LEAVE TWILIGHT ALONE
....i dOnt Agree tO thiS.i dOnt bElieve thAt they can do mOre better than thE ORginAl Or wOrst tHey will mAke the moviE bAD And not ThAt gOoD.And rayver FOr edward cullen DuH! CompAre him TO RObert pattinsOn...
Those are some of Twilighter's objections and they even got this online petition entitled, Anti-Takipsilim, posted on online petition site. As what being clarified by the said network:
“There is no truth to the Web reports, particularly in the Perez Hilton blogsite, that ABS-CBN is doing a local adaptation of “Twilight”. ABS-CBN will be the first to announce if it is, in fact doing so,” according to ABS-CBN Corporate Communications’ Bong Osorio.
Last week, abs-cbnNEWs.com did a story on an Internet report about the adaptation. The prospect of a local adaptation of “Twilight” has caused a lot of discussion, sometimes heated, on various Internet discussion fora.
How about this post from the ABS-CBN website cached by Google confirming about the said project?
Is ABS-CBN washing their hands like Pontius Pilate? What do you think guys?
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