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Technology Beyond Capacity

Posted by on July 26, 2011 Leave a Comment

To say that technology is ever-changing is such an understatement. I recall being in middle school and my technology teachers pronouncing to us that when we graduated college there would be flat screen televisions that people would hang up on the walls of their homes like a picture. It sounded cool. Low and behold, the truth is that he was knowledgeable about technological advancements and enjoyed the prospect of teaching it to others.

Admittedly my children are more advanced with technology than I am. They insisted we install satellite tv instaleld in our home to watch their favorite shows and movies. I gave in, and it was the best decision I ever made. I never miss Monday Night Football. If you looking to turn your living room into a sports bar, visit www.direct.tv.

Don’t get me wrong, I highly enjoy utilizing my cell phone, which I just purchased with web access. I use my laptop on a daily basis, although it pretty much just stays in the house. We have Wi-Fi in our home that makes playing any internet game easier on our Playstation, and each home dweller has their own computer which they access on a regular basis. I’m definitely a proponent of technology – but am certain that I will never be completely caught up and in the know.

How could we, it seems that technology is changing on an ever increasing basis, leaving our new toys in the dust with new toys that are exploding for attention and money to be bought.  It is awesome that technology has truly crossed bridges in communication with so many people and that we can experience technology advance so. In today’s society, technology is ever-present, yet intangible making it beyond all capacity. This seems to be a great thing.

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Online Finance Management Tips

Posted by on June 2, 2011 Leave a Comment

You want to better manage your money, and don’t want to spend all day trying to figure it out.

Good news: These financial management websites give you the tips you need to succeed in business and at home.

  • Did you know that you can save money on car refinancing? Get the information you need on interest rates and monthly payments using your home computer. Find out why it pays to save on your next car refinance at this great site.
  • Get some money management tips including help with: personal budgeting, debt management and more. Help your student or child with tips from this great money saving website. Get the tips you need within easy reach of a click or two. See what you can save by spending about five minutes learning something new.
  • This financial management website is for the well-versed in economics, finance, investing, marketing and the like. Get the grit on avoiding debt in your business, article marketing, and making money online. Learn deeply and easily about money-saving topics you might have never before considered.
  • Have a teen that wants to study abroad? Help your teen save and set a budget. Get additional information on money management, spending, saving, investing and credit through the Internet

Learning how to better finance your money at home or away from it doesn’t have to be too difficult and it especially doesn’t have to take you hours to learn. Just type in your own key words for your very own money saving results.

 

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National Coffee Shops With Wireless for Free

Posted by on May 22, 2011 Leave a Comment

Finding an Internet connection can be a problem for travelers, especially those on business trips. While most hotels offer Internet service, it usually costs an additional fee, and can only be accessed in a designated location such as the lounge or conference room. Hence, when people are on the road and want to get connected, they head to the bastion of wireless: the local coffee shop.

 

Image courtesy: http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=coffee%20shop

 

However, not every town in America has its own coffee shop, which is why it’s important to keep tabs on the national establishments that can be found anywhere. And best yet, the majority of them offer wireless for free in a quest to get people through their doors and sipping their lattes. McDonald’s, for instance, not only started competing with Starbucks by serving gourmet coffee, it tried to one up the coffee giant by providing customers with free wireless. Starbucks, who had been charging for the service, followed suit and even eliminated browsing time limits in all of its locations.

The golden arches isn’t the only restaurant to offer wireless. Specialty sandwich shop Panera Bread also lets patrons link up to the Web for free. For those that prefer a little peace and quiet, major bookstore retailers Barnes & Noble and Borders provide wireless capabilities for their shoppers, who can then read an actual book or digital one online. McDonald’s, Starbucks and Barnes & Noble use AT&T as their wireless carriers without the need to create an account. Of course, a drink or item has to be purchased.

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Deciding to Computerize Your Business

Posted by on April 22, 2011 Leave a Comment
Information Security Wordle: PCI Data Security...

Image by purpleslog via Flickr

As large companies can attest, computerizing a business can increase your bottom line. Does the same benefit hold for a small business? Deciding to computerize your business requires evaluating a few aspects of your business processes. By the time you’re done with your analysis, you may conclude that investing in computers can, indeed, result in a tremendous savings in the long term.

Reviewing Your Business Activities

To get a good feel for potential profitability created by computerizing your business, think about the daily activities of your business. Writing out invoices and envelope addresses by hand can be time-consuming. These are activities that a computer can complete in a fraction of the time. Additionally, computers are more accurate than human beings when it comes to managing data, ensuring correct spelling on documents and calculating numbers.

Evaluating Your Computer Choices

Once you decide to migrate your business activities to a computer, you’ll want to choose the right hardware and software for your needs. Consult a computer specialist. Let him or her know exactly what types of activities you perform in your business and how quickly these processes must be completed. These details will help to identify the right computers, printers and software programs for your needs.

Securing Your Computers

The one challenge of computers is that you have less control over data security than in the case of hard copy documents that can be locked up in a safe or a secure room. You do have choices, however, to use effective firewalls, virus protection and ways to secure confidential data. It just takes some diligence, investigation and planning.

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Making Your Wireless Connection Secure

Posted by on March 28, 2011 Leave a Comment

If your wireless network seems to be running a bit slow, there may be a reason.  Millions of consumers who pay for wireless internet are also paying for other people to connect to the internet.  If your wireless internet is not secure,  other people may be tapping into your wireless connection via their laptops, desktops, iPods, etc.  How do you secure your wireless network?

Making your wireless network secure is relatively easy.  You need to access the routers control panel.   The router should provide you with a user name and then you select a password.  This means any time someone wants to access your wireless network they need the password to access it.  If someone brings their laptop to your house, they will need the network password to get on the internet.   Some may also require an encryption password as well.

This insures that your wireless network is secure from people trying to connect for free but also keeps your information secure.  Hackers can hack into a computer easier that is on an unsecured wireless network than a computer that is on a wireless secured connection.

It is important to use a password that is original and not easy to guess and not to forget your password.  If you forget it, it’s very costly to get a computer guru to retrieve it and sometimes impossible.

Be sure your information and connection is secure!

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Online Banking

Posted by on March 24, 2011 Leave a Comment

Online banking has grown in popularity over the years. Online banking helps banks control costs. They no longer have to print and mail statements. This saves the bank of paper supplies, printer ink, envelopes and postage.

Online banking allows customers to manage their accounts better. They can see their daily activities on their accounts without having to wait for a monthly statement to be mailed to them. If a customer forgets who they wrote a check to for example, it can usually be viewed online within a day or two.

Many online banking services have expanded to allow bill pay online as well. This allows customers to pay almost any bill electronically. Car payments, cell phone bills, cable bills etc can all be setup to be paid online. The only drawback with this option is if the customer is running short on cash and needs to delay paying the bill, there really is no way to do this..  The bill is paid online every month. It can also help the forgetful customer avoid late fees and penalties. How many of us have found a bill that fell behind the dresser and realized it hasn’t been paid? The late fees are sometimes more than the bill itself was.

Of course any online account may be hacked and this is certainly a drawback but most banks have gone to great expense to try to insure their customer’s information is secure.

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Tips for Using a Hot Spot Securely

Posted by on March 9, 2011 Leave a Comment

Hot spots are great but many consumers worry about their information being protected while utilizing a hot spot and they are right. Hot spots generally are less secure than using a secure network at home.  There are some things consumers can do while using a hot spot to increase their computer’s security.

Protect your email using the https setting. The https setting on your email is the most secure setting it provides. Hooking up to a hot spot can make your email vulnerable even if your email provider has a secure network. Hot spots can change that.

Be sure your firewall is activated. If you have an antivirus program on your program it has a firewall.  The consumer just needs to be sure it is turned on. If you do not have an antivirus program the windows program on your computer has a firewall you can activate. It is not recommended that you have two firewalls activated.  Only turn one firewall on.

Consumers can also encrypt their files. This means the file is password protected and only the person who has the password can access the files. Even if a hacker gains access to the file they can’t do anything with it without the password.

Hot spots are great for letting access their personal computers almost anytime, anywhere. The consumer also needs to take extra steps to protect their information while utilizing a hot spot.

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