The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Whether God sent a judgment to New Orleans for its sinfulness is open to debate and perhaps there is no way of knowing that answer until the fat lady sings. What Ray Nagin said about New Orleans being “a chocolate city” is a bit easier to weigh and it weighs in under the lightweight category for sure.

Since hurricane Katrina Ray Nagin has taken on a celebrity status. Now everything he says is public domain as quick as it is uttered. His sense of responsibility does not seem to be keeping pace with his new fame. There are many now who think Nagin has written his own political obituary with his recent remarks. Given the nature of politics in Louisiana that may not be true. In fact, in the state that produced Huey Long, Edwin Edwards and David Duke it would seem rogue politicians will always have an accepted place in the sportsmen’s paradise.

The remark has drawn criticism from both white and black groups and leaders. None of them have gone so far as to say the remarks are racist. Let’s take another look at the question by posing it in a reverse fashion. If a white mayor were to state that their city should be a vanilla city what could we expect to happen?

Cries of racism would be hastily followed by calls for apologies and resignations. Every black group from the NAACP to Rainbow Coalition would be sounding off with indignant repulsion and a good measure of howling and baying. We could only expect that, and rightly so. That leaves only one question. Why hasn’t anyone noticed that the most damaging effect of Mayor Nagin’s remarks is that it is abetting racism?

America is still working hard to promote racial harmony in this decade but remarks about chocolate cities are more akin to cognitive dissonance than harmony. Nagin who otherwise would be rated among the top of the list of good New Orleans mayors should take notice of what legacy he wants to leave the wonderful city that care forgot and the wonderful nation that spawned such a unique city.

His divisive remarks have even insulted those within the city of New Orleans. Mayor Nagin said he wasn’t worried about what the folks uptown thought about him. Whew! Having spent twenty years of my life in New Orleans I don’t need a degree in demographics to know that one of the few remaining predominantly white areas of New Orleans is the uptown section.

Between the civil rights laws of the sixties and common sense of most decent people who want to see America healed from the grievances of our past, it is easy to conclude that America has no chocolate or vanilla cities. We have only cities. I hope!

Rev Bresciani is the author of two Christian books. He has also written dozens of articles both online and in print.

Please visit the website www.americanprophet.org

Heard of a raindance? It is a ritual used by native shamen to influence the heavens. It is a bit like bending spoons, you have to believe in something that goes against your normal perceptions of reality. Bit like a sceptic or a mystic, both will see what they believe. In the polarity of life, both sceptic and mystic are needed for balance. A bit like good and bad weather. Each one is relative to the other. Too much sun causes a desert. Too much rain causes a flood.

So what, you ask?

The same principles of the raindance can apply to being happy or unhappy. Do a rain-dance to change your moods. Look for the little teardrops to soften a hardened heart? Find the tiny sunbeam when you only see dark clouds of despair. Find the dance within you. Believe in the magic inside you. Feel it happening. Then see it happen. Some people are conditioned to seeing the worst in life. They will turn good fortune into potential misfortune within a couple of words. Do you know such people? I once knew a successful woman who managed to darken a bright day quite quickly. You might know someone like this.

“How are things going today?”, I asked her over a cuppa.

She proceeded to fill the whole conversation with a series of moans.
Staff problems, cannot find good staff … big moan.
My husband has serious control problem … big moan.
Her car needed a tune-up … big moan.

I start laughing.

Her face reddens. “What is so $%#*&^ funny?”

I said, “You are one miserable #$%^^&^@. Your problems are someone’s dreams right now. Get a grip. You have a business. You have a husband. You have a car. A Tsunami victim right now probably has no home or is still missing. Right now someone is on life support in your local hospital. Their family is crying and holding hands outside in the waiting room. So stop your &^%$^^^%^ moaning and start being grateful”.

She stared at me. My words sinking in. Icy silence. Then she started to laugh. A small laugh at first. Soon we were both laughing. Sometimes we all need some honest feedback that cuts straight through to the core.

Life is never going to be perfect. Life is what we make of it right NOW. We’ve have all been miserable, and we’ve all been happy. Guess what? We will continue to experience misery and happiness. We need to keep it in perspective like the weather. It does not mean we need to be happy 24/7/365 days a year. It would be too much of a strain. Aim to be happy most of the time. Yet allow time for unhappiness. Allow time for feeling pain, grief, sadness and loneliness. These are all part of the wheel of life. Just make sure to keep the wheel turning rather than getting stuck in the same ole muddy patch.

So do a rain-dance. Do something to change your state of mind. Jump up and down. Make it rain tears of laughter.

Copyright 2005 Hirini Reedy

Hirini Reedy is a native Maori author, civil engineer, retired military officer, martial arts black belt, NLP master practitioner and internet entrepreneur. He creates accelerated mind-body fitness solutions for modern life. Check http://www.instantfitnessplans.com

Computer microphones are a valuable addition to any PC and they greatly increase interactivity and communication levels. You can use a microphone for performing various tasks, both business and fun related. For example, you can hold a conference with your business partners, over the Internet, or you can chat with your friends online, instead of doing that on the phone. Of course, in order to enjoy accurate and high quality communication, you have to choose a good PC microphone. There is a huge variety of models on the market, ranging from microphones that you can buy for a few dollars and going all the way to expensive, high tech desktop microphones. So which PC microphone is right for you?

Price Vs Quality

You can pay $5 for a microphone, or you can pay $50. So where’s the difference, apart from the price? Well, cheap microphones have low prices for some good reasons: they offer average to low quality sound, they break down more easily and you can’t use them successfully in all applications that support a microphone. The materials they are manufactured from have to be cheap, which eliminates the idea of high quality, so the end product is of lower reliability. And at this price, you can be sure bulk manufacturing is present and quality tests are quick and far from rigorous. Microphones that come for a higher price have, in most cases, better sound quality and more features. Such microphones will have noise canceling filters, which help diminish background noise. Distortion filters and integrated circuits also help keep voice sounds clear and accurate. The materials used for more expensive microphones also last longer – plastic doesn’t crack so easily and if you drop it on the floor you know that the internal components are well protected.

Choosing the right computer microphone

Determining what price range you are in and what model to purchase depends heavily on the purpose you have in mind for the microphone. Are you going to use it just to chat with friends online? In that case, spending a lot of money on a professional computer microphone is not justified. Do you plan to hold business conferences over the Internet? Then maybe you should get a better microphone that will allow the discussion to be continuous and clear, without noise distortion. Giving vocal commands to your computer or dictating to word processing software with speech recognition capabilities is another use for desktop microphones. Quality should be first here – speech recognition software is very sensitive and demands a high quality microphone and sound card. Recording your voice and inserting it into music tracks is possible, but a high quality microphone is absolutely essential in this case.

Mantius Cazaubon is a successful author and publisher of http://the-microphone-guide.com, a resource for information and tips on buying computer microphones online.

In this article I will explain how to download and install the Blog software Nucleus on your server. Nucleus is customisable in every way and you can have different authors using the same blog. I will be installing onto the Host4Profit.com server as this article is aimed at those who use H4P.

Note: If you use a different host company most, if not all the instructions will hold true. Just the terminology will be a bit different.

The only requirements are that you have a free MySQL database on your server and that your server runs PHP4+. If you are installing onto Host4Profit servers then you meet the requirements.

First of all download the software from http://nucleuscms.org/download.php onto your desktop and then unzip it making sure you keep the directory structure.

Next you will need to upload everything onto your server into a directory of your choice. I recommend using the name nucleus as then you will know what the directory is. To upload the files to your server you will need to use a FTP program, your File Manager on your server, or if you use Windows XP its’ built in FTP program.

Once all the files are uploaded onto your server you will need to change the permission of the file config.php to 666. To do this, find the file config.php and to the right of the name you will see 3 numbers. Click on that and in the new window, type 666 and enter.

Before we go on you will need to set up a Database. If using Host4Profit it is an easy process. You will have to log into your WEBePanel and then click on the MySQL database icon to get started. Follow the instructions on that page and write down the database name (usually part or all of your domain name) and the password.

Now open a new browser window and type in the address to the install.php in your Nucleus directory like this – http://www.yourdomain.com/nucleus/install.php

You are presented with some information and a set of instructions, one of which is to change the permissions of the config.php to 666. When the installation is complete you will need to change the permissions back to 444.

Next you need to enter some information to set up the MySQL database. Nucleus can normally set this up for you automatically but as we are using Host4Profit, Nucleus has a problem which is why we created the database already. All we have to do is fill in the blanks as so-

In the Hostname box you put - localhost

User Name – the name you wrote down earlier. The default is yourdomain_com with 2 or 3 added depending on how many databases you have used.

Password – The password that you wrote down.

After that when you scroll down the installation page there are a lot of directories and addresses that are already set up for you. The ones you should take note of are the ones that start with http:// as these are the urls that you will use to access the admin section and to read your blog.

Following on from there, you are presented with the Administrator User data. You need to fill this in and remember the user name and password that you use.

Note: The username and password are different to the ones you used to set up the database. These are your admin details.

After that you just need to name your blog and give it a short name. Then click the Install button.

Once you have installed the Nucleus program, you need to do two things.

1. Go into your File Manager and change the permissions to config.php to 444

2. Delete the file install.php

There is a wealth of information about using Nucleus both in the nucleus directory and at the http://nucleuscms.org/ web site. You will also find a support forum, downloadable skins and plugins lot of helpful information.

Martin Wood is one of a growing number
of people who have found working at home
on the Internet a rewarding experience.

Laptop batteries are rated by, Voltage (V) and Milliamp-hours (mAh). Voltage is the rate at which energy is drawn from the battery and Milliamp-hours Represents the capacity of the battery. The Milliamp-hour rating Corresponds to the run time of the battery. A battery with a high Milliamp-hour rating has a relatively longer run time than a battery with a Low Milliamp-hour rating.

Batteries with different Milliamp-hours can be used on the same laptop provided the voltage rating is the same. The voltage rating has to match that of the original battery or as recommended by the computer manual. Using a battery with a different voltage setting can seriously damage the laptop. The power ratings of most compatible/replacment batteries are higher than the original manufacturers’ batteries. This will not damage your laptop, in fact, it simply means that these batteries in many cases last longer than original manufacturers’ batteries. Ask the experts like
PowerUp on compatible replacement laptop batteries.

The run time of a laptop battery will vary on individual notebook computers, based on the applications being used (i.e. high graphics, games), the number of times something is saved or retrieved from the hard drive and/or CD Rom drive, the memory of notebook, and chemistry and capacity of the battery. A ‘realistic’ average run-time for a battery is 1.5 to 3 hours. Using devices like a wireless adapter on the laptop also drains the battery considerably.

The life of a battery under normal use is around 500 to 900 charge-discharge cycles. This is about one and a half to three years of battery life for the average user. As the rechargeable battery begins to fail, the running time of the battery begins to decline.

Mansi Aggarwal writes about Laptop Battery & AC Adapter Information.

There is nothing wrong with taking less than adequate measures
to prevent a bigger damage to anything you treasure if you have
financial or other constraints, as long as this is done
temporarily over a short time. Similar reasoning applies
when it comes to computer security threats.

Unfortunately some (if not most) computer users tend to forget
this. They search on the internet for free computer security
software which they dump into their computers and hope for
the best. Most of the free software developers consistently
forget to inform the downloaders of the inadequacies
of their software - and they are many and significant!

A simple search for free anti-spyware programs on any search
engine yields significant results. If we exclude genuine
beta-software from these results, almost all of these
anti-spyware programs operate on the principle - “Get
infected first, then call us”. In other words these
programs are reactive. They scan and destroy spyware as it’s
found in the user’s computer. The real downside of these
programs is that they offer no real-time protection. Are
you surprised? Maybe you’ve forgotten that “there’s no such
thing a free lunch”!

The big computer security software developers spend millions
of dollars every year developing products that can quickly
detect and destroy new computer security threats like spyware,
adware, viruses, hacking techniques, Trojans, worms keyloggers
etc

Do you think the developers of free computer security software
inject millions of dollars in order to bring users of their
software regular software updates? I think not!

Computer security software is such a critical purchase
that I think one should actually buy the software before
bringing home a new PC!

The most critical software that you should have in you PC
is:

1. Firewall - To protect your PC from hackers and
internal malware that maybe trying to “phone home”.

2. Spyware/Adware - To detect the “ETs” that are “phoning
home” from your PC, endangering your sensitive information such
as passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive
information. These programs also use lots of your critical
computer resources. That’s why your computer is slow and
crashing lately!

3. Anti-virus Software - These can either completely wipe
out your critical data or render it or your computer useless.
The most dangerous thing is that you may end up (unaware!) being
a source of the virus (e.g. through email or infected website
pages).

Here are common-sense measures you can take to protect
your PC:

1. E-mail - Avoid replying to chain letters. Also be very
careful of image attachment. Hackers attach malicious JavaScript
program on these.

2. Regularly update your anti-virus definitions by
running the update function of your security software.

3. Before buying a computer security software or package
make sure that it offers regular updates to keep up with
new viruses, adware, spyware and other computer security threats.

I want to repeat what I said at the beginning of this
article: There is nothing wrong in taking temporary security
measures as far as your computer security is concerned (i.e.
using free software/downloads). What is wrong is forgetting that
the measure was supposed to be over a temporary period in the
first place.

Copyright: 1st Analyst Information Services 2006, All rights
reserved.

Website owners can use this article on their websites and
ezines, as long as no part of this article is changed/amended.

The old phrase comes to mind, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” There are a million other phrases that come to mind but I won’t bother you with them.

In a nutshell many companies feel that they can build something internally versus going outside the company. There could be many reasons for this, “we control the code” or “we’ll save money”, etc… But the real question that should be asked is TCO or “Total Cost of Ownership.” What’s it going to cost you to build versus buy?

The reality of this situation shows itself only too late for most companies who make the unwise choice. There are a miriad of consulting firms out on the web who are chomping at the bit for an opportunity to get your business. Why should you try to take on a large project in an attempt to save a few bucks, or feel that you control the code when at the end of the day, outsourcing will yield all of these things and more for most.

It really boils down to the scale and scope of a project. If you have a project that you really feel your company can handle internally and keep TCO down then by all means go for it.

However, if you have any second thoughts at all about the project you should really think about outsourcing. Unless you are a development firm you really should be spending your energies on whatever you do best, which probably isn’t programming.

There are hundreds if not thousands of quality companies out there who can do it better and much cheaper than you can; not to mention get your product to market faster.

So, the next time you think about build vs buy, why not submit your project for proposal to a few companies and see what they come back with. You will be surprised.

http://www.dazoop.com/

I bet you are frustrated by the lack of information about spy cameras available on the internet. I sure was. There seams like there are just a few big companies who have blown their entire advertising budget to make a big splash. (This includes the X10 camera of the late 90s fame). Spy cameras can come in very handy to anyone who wants one (provided, of course, that they aren’t used for nefarious activities). Spy cameras have tons of legitimate uses, and can come in especially useful for home security measures.
Here’s how I use the internet to shop for a new spy camera.

1) Use multiple search engines to do your shopping. Just because something is featured on Yahoo doesn’t mean that it is featured on Google and vice versa. A lot of the time, advertising bidders are very different on Yahoo and Google for the same keywords. Search different search engines to see different vendors selling on different sites.

2) Use specific shopping search engines like Froogle. Froogle is great because it allows the shopper to select among multiple different vendors who are selling similar products. Froogle is a shopping specific search engine that you can use specifically for your shopping needs. I’ve used Froogle on multiple occasions to compare and contrast the different product I’m looking for. If you can think it up, it’s probably on Froogle somewhere. Spy cameras are certainly no exception.

3) Learn about the ins and outs of spy cameras. Spy cameras come in as many different forms as flavors of ice creams. You can find spy cameras that are basically disposable and spy camera systems that can cost over $1000. Learn all about them and the mistakes that people make when buying them. Points 1 and 2 above definitely can help you make a decision, however getting the real knowledge is what you will use to ensure that you get the best deal possible. Learn all about spy cameras and save yourself a bundle.

Roger Wembly is author of “Saving Money on www.spycameraguide.com”>Spy Cameras.” Grab your free copy at www.spycameraguide.com.

As access to the Internet becomes more widespread with faster, more reliable and ‘always on’ connections becoming the norm the growth of applications using the hosted application model continues to expand.

Although hosted applications will not suit every situation, or every customer, they offer many individuals and organizations, as well as the application manufacturers’ themselves, considerable benefits over the locally installed application.

What Is A Hosted Application?

A hosted application, also known as Internet-based application, web-based application, online application and Application Service Providers (ASPs) are software applications where the software resides on servers that are accessed through the Internet instead of the more traditional software that is installed on either a local server or on individual PC’s.

The thin client concept is nothing new but advances in Internet connectivity have allowed the application to move from a local server to a server on the Internet.

Example of hosted applications would be Salesforce.com that provides customer relationship management facilities, Netsuite offering all-in-one business management applications and SurveyGalaxy.com that provides their customers with an enterprise survey and questionnaires application.

What Are The Benefits?

Reduced costs, instant deployment, easier to maintain and reduced administration are among some of the main benefits.

Low Maintenance

With hosted applications the hardware and software is the responsibility of the vendor with the client only having to maintain access to the Internet. As there is no software to download a hosted application can be made instantly available across an entire organization even where the organization has multiple regional and international offices.

As there is no software the considerable time and resources required for periodic updates is also completely eliminated.

Reduced Cost

The need to license software through a ‘per user’, ‘per concurrent user’, ‘per server’ or ’site’ license has been eliminated. Although some hosted applications still do charge ‘per user’ many have taken the opportunity to charge on a ‘usage’ and/or ‘period’ basis meaning that the customer does not have to estimate the number of licenses that will be required, nor install and pay for full licenses that may only be used by some employees occasionally.

This hosted application model also allows the smaller organization and sole trader access to applications written using advanced software development tools and that utilize sophisticated database technology and high-end servers. The capital investment of the hardware and software as well as the security, backup and server maintenance cost are all the responsibility of the vendor.

Minimal Risk

Many hosted applications require no long term commitment from their customers. New customers can often test hosted applications either through a free introduction offer or with minimal risk using a Pay-As-You-Go model. If after trialing the hosted application the customer finds it unsuitable then they can simply stop using the service.

Access

Because the application software and the data is stored on the Internet server the application and data is available to the authorized client once they have logged on from anywhere there is Internet access. The customer can now work anywhere in the office environment, from remote offices or from their home or hotel without the need to download their work or synchronize with portable devices.

Integration

For organizations that have legacy systems from different suppliers running different operating systems the hosted application will provide an integrated solution to any system that supports a standard Internet browser including Windows, Unix and Macs.

Support

The hosted application vendors benefit by not having to maintain multiple version numbers or individual maintenance and licensing agreements. New updates are installed centrally negating the need for expensive roll outs. For many applications the need for version numbers is eliminated as updates are made incrementally bringing the benefits to the customer without having to bundle new features up into a new periodic version release. In some cases a user can request a new feature in the morning that can be developed, tested and deployed globally by the afternoon.

The Concerns

Internet access

New communication technology is able to bring high speed Internet connectivity to more and more remote places but there are still some regions where internet access is limited or not available.

In some cases such as mobile workers although high speed Internet connectivity is available the cost both in terms of connectivity charges and equipment may, at least in the short term, prove to be prohibitive.

Security

As with everything to do with the Internet security is a justified concern. There is no simple ‘one size fits all’ solution to the security issue and a lot will depend on the specific hosted application and the nature of the data.

With online banking and shopping becoming common place the vendor should be able to provide their clients with sufficient confidence that the data is secure and that any private information remains private.

Hosted applications will normally operate a login procedure ensuring that only those that are authorized have access. The more sensitive the data, the more sophisticated the login procedure.

A good data host will strictly enforce the stated wishes of their customers and ensure that data is not available or released to anyone that is not legally entitled to see it and they will adopt the latest security measures available to prevent unauthorized access.

There may be some areas such as automatic logins from known PC’s and the use of cookies that although they don’t necessary represent a significant risk could present a risk under certain circumstances, such as gaining access to a private account through the automatic login using an unattended PC. Although strictly speaking the customer’s responsibility the customer should be made aware of the risks so that they can take action to safeguard their own system.

Although security is a concern in some circumstances private data may prove to be more secure than it would be on a private network with less sophisticated security measures or in an environment where there is a risk from within.

Vendor Lock-In

As with all software applications there is a risk that a customer could become locked-in to paying costly monthly subscriptions to maintain access to their historic data. To counter this some applications will allow the data to be downloaded or allow customer to maintain access to their data for a reasonable time free of charge.

Control

Unlike a local application the hardware and software is under the control of a third party. This is a justifiable concern although not too dissimilar to the telephone provider supplying and maintaining the communications equipment and there are considerable incentives for the vendors to ensure high availability and reliability since their business depends on it.

In Summary

Benefits

• No vendor installation or upgrades required
• Low start-up costs
• Minimal Risk, no long term commitment
• Backups and viruses responsibility of the vendor
• Hardware and software server maintenance vendor’s responsibility
• Investment in local hardware & software reduced
• No need to synchronized data with multiple devices
• Access to data available globally through any internet connection
• Reduced software licensing costs

Concerns

• Lack of Internet availability
• Security
• Possibility of vendor lock-in

Martin Day is a Director of Survey Galaxy a hosted application that provides an enterprise application to create, design and publish surveys online. For more information please visit http://www.surveygalaxy.com