What You Need To Know About Car Alarm Systems

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We all know what a car alarm is – basically, some sensors connected to a siren. A very simple alarm would have a switch on the driver’s door and it would be wired so that if someone opened that door, the siren would activate. But these days, modern cars have a more sophisticated system and it keeps evolving. Some people that aren’t satisfied with the alarm that comes with the car, can opt for an upgrade from a specialized firm.

4 Ways To Get Surround-Sound From Your TV Without The Wires

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Do you love your new plasma, LCD or LED TV but hate the tinny sound that comes from its built-in speakers? This is a fairly common complaint and there are a huge range of solutions at your disposal. While surround-sound systems with a subwoofer and satellite speakers are available, many people don’t like the fuss of unsightly wires. Here are four ways to enjoy surround sound from your TV without the wires.

#1. Buy A Sound Bar

Fix Your Office Moving Blues With These Bad Boys From Kickstarter!

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If you and your workforce are gearing up for all-new office relocation, how is it going so far? Those glittering new constructions should be enough to put a smile on everyone’s face but you need to be prepared for this huge event. It has been noticed that many office relocations end up with a kind of anti-climax feeling that can spread like wildfire.

Strangely enough, many employees actually miss the older office environment and can take a little while to acclimatise to the new setup. So where does that leave the employer who has to deal with this moody set of workers? Well, you could try adding a little technical bling to the whole occasion and that may just do the trick. We’ve got 2 awesome Kickstarter projects that we believe will suit that purpose, please take a look and see what you think.

The Virtual Classroom Getting More Students

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While Google and Wikipedia have long been ‘teachers’ to students doing school reports the virtual world is now being integrated into a more hands on approach, when it comes to education.

Australian Miners Learn in Safety

Mining is one of Australia’s largest industries and unfortunately one of the most dangerous. Until now that is; the new virtual reality (VR) mine has just opened at Redbank, west of Brisbane in Queensland.

Check-in-and-pay: Turn You Smartphone Into Wallet

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Would you like to make electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments for every purchase you make? What prevents you from doing it? If this process is like a piece of cake and there is no need even to take your phone out of a pocket  would you use it everyday? I believe you would say yes. According to the latest survey in UK 35% of interviewed people would choose their smartphones instead of a wallet and keys in case they can take only one thing with them going out. 

How To Achieve The Most Of Your Hosted PBX Systems?

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Revolutionizing your business with hosted PBX systems is easy when you know how to get benefits from the technology. Here are few guidelines on how to achieve the most of your hosted PBX systems.

Choose Plan According to Your Needs

There are several small businesses across the world are trying to increase their profitability while using hosted PBX systems. PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems come with various plans, each with their unique features. Here are two examples of these plans:

How Enterprises Are Cutting Costs With Optimized Service Scheduling Software

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Keeping your competitive edge means sharpening many aspects of your business operation. For the field service industry, much of the company depends on a well-managed service schedule. Leaving this task to human error when other field service companies have adopted optimized service scheduling software to better handle the job will likely dull your competitive edge before it’s had a chance to cut into a piece of the pie. Why does optimized service scheduling software make such a profound difference? The answer lies within your business financials.

Service scheduling software cuts operational cost so that your business can continue to offer fair and competitive pricing. Here’s how:

Tech History - Evolutionary Algorithms

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For the past few thousand years, engineers assumed that the best way to move water round a right angle was as you’d probably expect – just round a bend in the shape of a quarter of a circle. It makes sense; the water pressure is maintained and you’d expect it to flow perfectly round. The engineers did well. They were intuitive, and used the best configuration they knew of. When the first piped water flowed round the fist-ever bend in the first-ever pipe and nothing awful happened, I doubt anyone breathed a sigh of relief. It makes perfect sense it would flow around, and it did, and that’s the way the system stayed until very recently.

How To Photograph Flowers On Your Smartphone

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This article has been written to give some simple, easy to understand tips to take better photographs of flowers using the camera on your phone.  I have written it to help amateurs like me capture better photos using the cameras we already have available. 

Flowers are things of beauty and have long been the subject of artists in all manner of mediums.  Flowers have a natural beauty and perfection that you cannot help but admire.  You may be taking the picture just for your own memories or so you can share what you’ve seen with someone else but whatever your reason for taking the photo, it’s nice to take the best photo that you can.  You never know, if you get a really good one you could even have it printed up as a large canvas print and hang it up at home! 

Build Your Own Site Or Hire Someone?

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When you own an online business, it is important to have an online presence where customers can easily find you. It helps establish your brand as well as credibility. However, all business owners may not have much knowledge required to build a website and you may not have the time to figure out the requirements. If you get a professional to build it for you, you may have to pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars for a simple site. You will have to weigh the options of time, cost, maintenance and difficulty while making the decision.

How Trojan Malware Tricks Us Into Believing It's Safe

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Subterfuge tactics has had quite a bit of time to evolve. Stemming from the infamous tale of the Trojan war where the Greeks deceitfully bestowed a large trophy horse to the credulous fortress of Troy. The Greeks’ plan to infiltrate Troy was a successful one because the Greeks appealed to the Trojans’ own self-worth. That is, the trophy horse was viewed as Troy’s triumph after an idle 10-year siege between them and the Greeks.

Commercial Recycling And Sustainability: How Can Businesses Improve Their Practices?

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Even if you recycle at home, you might it a bit more challenging to recycle at work. This could be because your company does not have a clearly defined recycling program or that recycling is not made to be convenient. If you are a business or a commercial building owner/leaser looking for ways to reduce, recycle and, reuse take a look at the ideas below.

Make Recycling Easy

When people are at work, their main priority is getting their jobs done. So if the only place you recycle paper in your building is two floors down and in a back storage room, odds are that most of your staff will not go that far out of their way to support green living. To encourage recycling, make receptacles for paper, glass and plastic easily accessible on each floor.

If your building operates with trash chutes, select different colored bags for recycled materials so they can be easily sorted from the trash.

How To Back Up Your Files - What Are The Best Backup Solutions?

Digital media is a wonderful thing, but when technology fails, you run the risk of losing a ton of important stuff in the ensuing meltdown. For this reason, finding a good backup solution is critical. After all, imagine how devastated you would be if your computer died or a fire destroyed your home and you lost irreplaceable photos of your children taken when they were babies?

Taking Your Digital Products Into The Real World

Did you ever watch a film where things started off as live animation but then transitioned to cartoon when the lead protagonist jumped into the computer? This is the general basis for the film ‘Tron’ too, which has the hero zapped into a computer program where the world becomes CG and highly stylised. Being sucked into the computer is a dream we’ve all had at some point or other, and clearly a good basis for an action film, but unless you count VR it’s not something that’s ever really going to happen.

Print Resolution Basics For Beginners - DPI, PPI & Resolution

It is not necessary for people to be technically minded in order to understand the basics of DPI, PPI & Resolution. These terms can look confusing at first glance, but they actually refer to something that is relatively easy to understand. The benefits of learning a bit about resolution is that it means that the individual will be better able to make decisions when dealing with all types of graphic image.

 

SIM Only Or Phone And SIM Contract?

For many, this is the big debate they need to settle. They would like a top quality technologically advanced mobile phone. At the same time, they realise that the SIM only contract might actually be the better option. The reality is that there are pros and cons to each. Different people will be suited to different deals and different types of contracts. Of course, a lot of this will come down to how much cash is available.

How Important Is Airflow In A Server Room?

One of the main challenges in a server room involves being able to keep servers and cabling cool; overheating within a server room can cause significant damage, and can result in expensive repairs. In this context, it’s important to have a range of different options available for improving airflow management, while also checking on the overall environment of a server room, and making use of technologies that can make it easier to reduce damage.

Server rooms can become a danger when multiple stacks and racks of server are crowded together in a small room; depending on the size of the room, and the number of servers, restricted airflow can cause equipment to heat up, making it more likely for it to burn out and lose valuable data. At the same time, overheating can result in humidity and water dripping onto cables; this is a particular problem if servers are stacked too closely together without enough space between them.

When putting together a server room, it’s consequently important to know what the optimum temperature should be for a space, and how to best improve the flow of air around a room to prevent heat from building up. In most cases, you don’t want to go below 10 degrees, or above 28 degrees - a server room that is too cool will produce dryness, and the risk of static damage. Google recommends about 26.7 degrees as an optimum temperature for a server room.

So What About Solutions?

There are many solutions available for creating an airflow management system. Some of these solutions are server based, with racks and cabinets designed with enough space between different shelves and panels; cooling fans can also be installed within racks, while blanking panels can prevent hot air from becoming trapped. Fans on the outside of racks, and on walls, can also help to blow away dust, while proper cable insulation and shielding will prevent a build up of heat.

Other solutions to improving airflow within a server room include air conditioners that can maintain a consistent temperature; some air conditioning units can be used to create cold corridors around server racks. Environmental monitoring sensors can similarly be installed that check for humidity and temperature problems, and can be adjusted to make sure that the right amount of air is circulating in a server room at any time.

It’s also possible to use computer programs to remotely monitor thermal changes within a server room; this approach is particularly useful for identifying hot spots, and for developing audits that can work out where pressure and humidity levels are becoming dangerous. These audits can also be used to decide whether to change the structure of server racks and cabinets, as well as whether to adjust floor tiling and ceiling ventilation.

Another alternative for airflow management, and one that works well if you have limited space for a server room, is to switch part of your server needs to virtual cloud servers. Doing so will reduce the amount of processing power you need on site, and can mean that you don’t have to invest as many resources into cooling down your server rooms. In any case, though, it’s crucial to have some kind of airflow management system in place.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 

Rob James loves blogging about which netgear router you should choose, selecting the correct data racks and many other nerdy networking issues.  Rob can often be found tinkering with new equipment and reading up on the latest developments.

Advantages of Broadband Internet For Businesses

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As a business owner you try to keep costs as low as possible. However, your internet connection is one area where being frugal is not a good idea. Spending a little more for a broadband internet connection is not an added cost, but is an investment that can make your business run more smoothly. Here is a look at some of the advantages that broadband internet access can provide to your business.

Access to Information

The internet is filled with information that a business owner can use in a variety of ways. By using broadband, you can more quickly access the information needed to grow your business. For example, you can use broadband to quickly find the best deals on materials for your business. You can save time and money by quickly running background and credit checks online on prospective employees and customers. No matter what type of business you operate, having a fast broadband internet connection will allow you to access the information needed for your business to succeed.

Online Communications

A broadband internet connection will allow your business to take advantage of web conferencing and other online forms of communication to stay in contact with customers, employees and others. By using web conferencing, you can have face to face conversations without having to travel to distant locations. This means less travel costs and less time away from work. Broadband will also allow you to more quickly send written materials to distant locations in a higher quality form than is possible with fax machines.

Online Applications

As a business owner you probably need to use a lot of different software packages to run your business. For example, many business owners use software to track inventory, process shipments and to keep business records. Though internet access is not an absolute necessity to complete these tasks, having a fast internet connection can help you to take full advantage of what these software programs can do. For example, you can use your broadband connection to share files with employees and contractors and you can use online backup storage to avoid losing data in the event your computer hardware fails.

Payment Processing

Whether it is processing credit card transactions, validating checks or clearing any other type of transaction, broadband internet can help you to get those transactions completed quickly and reliably. By completing transactions quickly, customers will not end up waiting in line which can help to improve customer satisfaction. Having broadband will not only help you to process payments from customers at your business location, but also customers making purchases from your website or other eCommerce sites.

Providing Wi-Fi

If your business is a retail operation or one with a lot of public contact, providing wireless internet is a great way to get people in the door and to spend more time at your location. The longer that people stay in your business, the more likely they are to spend money. With broadband you can easily provide Wi-Fi without slowing down your internet connection so that you can quickly process their purchases and put money in your pocket.

Online Marketing

Whether a business is a coffee shop or an industrial supplier, the business needs to market its products and services online. Online marketing is an inexpensive way to reach customers through traditional advertising means as well as social media. By having broadband, you can upload pictures, advertising copy and other large files quickly to keep your marketing campaigns fresh and to keep your sales growing.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 

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Laura runs her own business and the internet is vital for it to operate.  Luckily there are lots of broadband deals available in the UK so she was able to find one that suited her business’ needs.

Smart Cards for Mass Transit Lines

Public Transportation on the Rise

Modern public mass transit moves millions of people from place to place, and comprises an immense network of trains, buses and people movers. This can be difficult to reconcile with the need to keep track of and ensure that all patrons have valid tickets, but modern systems such as smart cards and proximity RFID cards have provided effective alternatives to the old fashioned and inefficient ticket model. With the advent of effective and cheap high speed personalized printing services for smart cards and RFID enabled cards alike, mass transit is entering a new era.

The Benefits of Smart Cards

A primary bottleneck in the swift handling of the large number of customers who make use of public mass transit is processing the payment. Not only does fumbling for a cash payment slow down the commuter, it exposes them to the danger of being assaulted by criminals for their cash. Finally, cash payments result in mass transit operators having a large amount of currency at the end of the day, which increases the danger of robbery.

Encoded smart cards have thus become very popular among mass transit agencies. These cards allow the consumer to purchase his or her tickets online while at home or at a kiosk and then grant admittance to the mass transit provider with a simple swipe of a card, eliminating the mess, delay and danger involved with cash payments.

RFID Smart Cards

While smart cards have increased the efficiency of mass transit systems, cheap RFID-enabled cards promise a quantum leap in the effective management of mass transit customers. By eliminating the need to use a physical card reader, RFID cards can permit patrons to move onto the bus or train without any pause at all. Furthermore, by keeping real-time data about how many individuals are using a given line, RFID systems permit operators to effectively predict and respond to changes in usage patterns. This can be especially useful in avoiding transportation bottlenecks or other delays. An example of the advantages of such cards can be found in Hong Kong’s Octopus Cards, which are currently used for most public transport tolls.

Mass transit systems are uniquely suited to all forms of printed smart and RFID cards, and are at the forefront of further development of this uniquely effective system for managing large numbers of passengers. By making use of inexpensive printing systems, RFID and smart card technology can effectively replace cash payments, reduce delays in the system, and assist passengers in having a worry-free trip. It is likely that the use of smart cards will continue to spread as more mass transit agencies see the advantages inherent in such systems.

 Image by -Tripp- and licensed through Creative Commons. 

Steve Stoltz is a sales rep at CardPrinter.com, an online retailer that provides pre-printed and blank PVC cards and a full line of ID card printers and supplies. 

Two Features to Look for When Buying Performance Testing Software

Over 700 million people use the Internet to conduct online business, from buying hand soap to baby diapers, there is a person looking to buy almost anything available online. With so much growth for online businesses, more and more e-commerce sites are looking for software to help handle the loads of traffic being directed their way. Some go the traditional route and purchase performance software through large computer companies, while others go online to see what they can find. Making a decision on software can mean the difference between losing hundreds of customers and making thousands of dollars.

                                 Image used under Creative Commons from by compujeramey

Demo Me

You understand what your company needs are better than anyone else. You also recognize the type of software needed to ensure that your e-commerce business stays operational during large spikes in traffic. Most companies selling performance testing tools will go over their features, show you a few videos as to how the software works and give you data sheets about what makes their product so great. However, few companies actually let you download a free version of the software to use as a demo.

Showing is better than telling, and any company that can show you why its products are superior rather than tell you is a sure winner. When a company shows you what its software can do, you can understand the type of tests it can perform, the type of problems it can solve, and how quickly the software can help you resolve issues. Most companies selling website load testing software will not let you demo their software, but those that do, can help you grade the product before you invest.

Versatility in Software

Of course, perhaps the biggest determining factor for why you end up buying a product from Company A instead of Company B will come down to the software’s usage. Testing tools were all created differently, from what it can examine to where it can run tests from to solve a problem. Some websites sell a one-dimensional website load testing tool for consumers to complete a specific task, while others sell a program that can handle the needs of a customer in e-commerce, social media, e-learning and entertainment.

You always want a piece of software that can multi-task for you and perform a variety of tests on a scale necessary for your company size. This versatility can change the landscape of your e-commerce business to handle the multiple testing challenges a small, medium and large size company will face on a daily basis, during the holidays or if it grows internationally.

SOASTA provides website load testing tools and testing tools for mobile applications. Performance Tests For Websites are correlated and analyzed in real-time to quickly find and fix problems.

Related articles

• Load Tester 4.1 Brings New, Unique Features to Load Testing (prweb.com)
• Web Performance, Inc. Launches Load Tester 4, Push-Button Cloud-Based Load Testing (prweb.com)
• WAPT 7.0: Web Site Load, Stress and Performance Testing (prweb.com)
• Performance Testing 101 (experttesters.com)