The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Anti spyware software, anti virus software, and a good personal firewall provide the best protection against the majority of internet security threats that exist today. Although everyone using the internet should be using these products, I find that most casual internet users are only running an antivirus program. Without the added protection of a software firewall and anti spyware software, there are still some things you can do to help ensure your personal information doesn’t get stolen by malicious spyware and you don’t become the victim of identity theft due to a phishing scam.

Following are a list of computer security tips that will help protect you and/or minimize the damage if your personal information gets stolen:

• Never use the same user id you use for email or internet logon for anything else. Maintaining separate user id’s for important accounts will help minimize the security risk in the event someone gets hold of your ID.
• Never use your email password for anything else. This will prevent unauthorized access to your email account.
• Store passwords in an encrypted file or password manager program with encryption. This ensures that your passwords cannot be accessed in the event an intruder or spyware application gets hold of your password list.
• Never click on links in emails, particularly from banks. Manually go to the site and log in. This is a common phishing scam. Unscrupulous people send emails that look legitimate. The links they give you normally take you to a copy of a legitimate website. Inputting your account information onto these fraudulent websites will allow thieves to gain access to your real account.
• Unless absolutely necessary, never download and install freeware. If you do download free software, only download from developer’s site. Many copycat sites exist that are fraudulent. Downloading from them will most certainly install spyware on your system.
• Use parental control software if children use the computer. This will prevent access to questionable websites where spyware can secretly be installed.
• Browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc…) security setting should be set to high. This prevents many sites from installing certain types of spyware and adware on your PC.
• Never click on pop up ads as this can install spyware on your system. One click is all it takes to have spyware secretly installed.
• Avoid browsing to questionable websites. Sites that contain illegal, immoral or lewd content are often havens for spyware. Simply viewing some of these sites is all it takes to infest your computer with spyware.
• Excessive pop ups usually mean adware is installed on your system. Use an adware remover to detect and destroy. A good rule of thumb is to never click on a popup ad, as this could install spyware on your system.
• If computer appears to run very slowly, suspect spyware. Install a spyware remover and scan your PC.

These tips are by no means a replacement for anti-spyware software and a personal firewall, but should help ensure that you remain safe until you can get your computer properly protected.

DJ is a corporate IT Manager and author of the following sites covering information technology topics: Computer Security for Everyone, Save on Phone Service with VoIP, Internet Phone Service - The Future is Here!

Cell phones have become a necessity for many people throughout the world. In such a scenario, life seems to come at a halt if there is a fault in your cellular phone and you need a repair.

Until recently, only the manufacturers undertook the cellular phone repair job. Opportunities now exist for entrepreneurial individuals to start their own lucrative business, either as an employee of a cellular phone repair shop, or having their own stand-alone cellular phone repair operation.

Some basic steps may be followed if your cell phone is not working properly. First, determine if the problem is with the phone or the battery by replacing the battery. If you can’t hear callers, make sure the volume is turned up, the ringer turned on, or the battery is charged. If these strategies don’t work, take your cell phone to a cellular phone repair center.

Nowadays, customers may bring in a faulty phone to any of the cellular phone repair centers. A Work Order Form will be issued, and a deposit towards the cellular phone repair service must be made. An agreement is then signed for receiving a courtesy phone. All cellular phones have a one-year manufacturer’s warranty. The cellular phone repair centers will repair or replace phones under warranty as long as the user did not cause any physical damage to the phone. If the warranty has expired, the cellular phone repair center might charge for repairs. Once the cellular phone repair job is over and the phone is returned by the relevant cellular phone repair center, the customer returns the courtesy phone, makes the final payment and receives the repaired unit. Sometimes it’s best to just purchase a new phone, because cellular phone repair costs can be as high as the cost of a new phone.

A cellular phone repair technician has several sophisticated tools and techniques available for the repair job, such as:

Cleaners - They are used in cellular phone repair since they are oxide dissolving contact cleaners. These equipments are used to clean dirty pins in the phone and thus aid in cellular phone repair.

Lamps - They are used while doing a cellular phone repair job to protect your eyes when you work. Table lamps come with high-frequency 4200Hz lamp without frequent sparking to avoid harmful effect to eyes, since a lot of work under deficient light at normal 50Hz/60Hz can cause short eyesight and many eye diseases. It is a very useful tool for people who are doing the cellular phone repair business.

Phone Open Tools - A cellular phone repair job requires opening up of cellular phones. Several tools such as screwdrivers made of magnetic alloy steel can be used for this part of the job.

Programmers - Cellular phone repair requires the cellular phone to be unlocked. Not all mobile phones can be unlocked with simple cable. Programming tools can be the only way to repair “death phones”, those that have stopped working. A 24xxx chip reader can read and write EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) in a phone without any problem. Power obtained from USB connection to computer port, serial port is used for reading/writing data during a cellular phone repair job. Programming tools are used in almost every cellular phone repair center.

Ultrasonic Cleaner - It is a device that transfers ultrasonic sound waves to a cleaning liquid or solvent that dislodges embedded dirt on objects immersed in it. The ultrasonic cleaner is used during cellular phone repair to clear the PCB board of cellular phones.

If your phone becomes faulty, don’t panic. Just take the basic steps that have been highlighted above. If this does not work out, you can still take your phone to a cellular phone repair center where a cellular phone repair technician can solve your problem.

Saurya Ghosal for http://www.discount-cellular-phone.com.
Read more about Cellular Phones http://www.discount-cellular-phone.com/cellular-phone-screensavers.html
Copyright 2005 http://www.discount-cellular-phone.com

Relationship crises (break-up, affair, huge conflict, children problems) demand tremendous energy and often throw our lives off a healthy track - which further perpetuates our inability to respond in a healthy way to the crisis.

Don’t forget your body while you wrestle with a relationship or marital crisis.

It is easy to let yourself go. It is easy to postpone - I will start tomorrow - your walking, running or workout. Your preoccupation with the other person floods your life, leaving little room for anything else. Or, you find yourself so overwrought that it seems impossible to “talk yourself” into getting started.

But, exercise and nutrition are powerful tools to help yourself at this point. Here are 6 reasons why:

1. Exercise and attention to your nutrition shift your focus to you. Exclusive focus on the other person atrophies your spirit, your energy, productivity, your healthy emotions and your body. You fade. You diminish. You become less than you truly are. So much of my work with others is helping them begin to think about themselves and take action for themselves. This is a major move. And it can begin by focusing on your body. It is the best, most practical place to begin. Your body is basic. It is a huge part of you. Begin paying attention to it.

2. Focusing on the body, using it, stimulating it, making it stretch and sweat is a great way to reduce stress. I’m not an expert here, but I understand it kicks in healthy body chemicals and cleanses some of the toxins - calming your mind, heart and soul.

3. Your confidence grows as you begin to manage your body and see changes in its endurance, strength and beauty. You begin to think better thoughts about yourself. Self-care can result in a minor miracle in terms of your perception of yourself.

4. You will begin to think of yourself as more desirable and sexy. Your sense of sexiness may be at risk. It may be on the line. It may be called into question. Doubts abound. It is a complicated and powerful issue in our culture. (Watch a few commercials on TV.) Exercise and physical health cuts through the doubts. Being physically healthy is sexy. You feel more sexual and you become more desirable.

5. Physical fitness is one of the first steps to becoming highly attractive and exerting your personal power. Once you believe and act attractive, the power of the relationship or marital crisis will lessen in your life. It actually might seem rather juvenile. Yes, there is more to attractiveness than looking great. But, we begin by honing our body, working it and caring for it. This builds the foundation for other forms of attractiveness and personal power.

6. You assume control. You may feel, as a result of the relationship crisis in your life, that you have little control or influence. It seems to become a waiting game. You wait for the other person. This other person or the situation seemingly dictates your every move and thought. You feel paralyzed. When you begin to move your body, you take control. Getting on a great exercise, fitness program makes you the master of that part of your life. You are in control. That feels good. That is good.

Beginning an exercise/fitness program in the midst of a relationship crisis is easier said than done. Usually we need support, encouragement or some sort of structure to get us moving. We have good intentions, but the follow through is lacking.

You have no further to look than online. There are great sites on the web that help you get started, offer encouragement and resources and keep you motivated and on track. Take advantage of these resources.

Dr. Robert Huizenga, The Infidelity Coach, has helped hundreds of couples over the past two decades heal from the agony of extramarital affairs and survive infidelity. Visit his website at: www.break-free-from-the-affair.com

With technology progressing as fast as it is at the present, it is a wonder we do not have a new mass-marketed gadget appearing every few minutes. Personal computers, once predicted to be owned by a mere handful of individuals, are everywhere nowadays. If you are a student a personal computer is virtually a necessity. Accompanying the ever-increasing popularity of the personal computer is a plethora of gadgets and technological advancements. Though it may not be every few minutes, it seems as though every couple of months we hear about a computer with more storage space or a new device that one can connect to their computer.

Some devices that appear on the market are either completely superfluous or not so accessible to the entirety of the population, whether it is because of their cost or their limited supply. The costly devices are reserved to those who can afford them, until some new gadget replaces them and the price of these machines decreases, much like any new technology that appears on the market. Those gadgets, which are unnecessary, are not overly practical and the market for these creations is comprised mainly of those with an affinity for such devices. Inventions like webcams, while they are certainly fun to play with, are essentially unnecessary as they have no bearing on the actual operation of the computer and are used largely for leisure computer activities.

The more purposeful advancements in computer technology revolve around those, which increase the computers ability to manage certain tasks and those, which increase the storage space of the computer. Many personal computer owners find themselves craving more space to store songs or various other files and often wishing that their computer were faster. Though many computers produced today have a excessive storage space, that is, it is nearly impossible to fill a personal computer to capacity, these types of advancements permit a much speedier and more efficient functioning computer.

Here is a list of useful tips on how to improve multitasking performance and overall computer performance on your Windows based PC. Please backup your system before doing changes, to make sure you can get it back working should anything go wrong for you.

1. Get a multitasking capable motherboard and CPU. An Intel CPU with HyperThreading would be great, dual core would be awesome, if you can afford something like that. HyperThreading improves multitasking by dividing a single processor into two logical processors so 2 different tasks can be executed at once. Needless to say, dual core improves this much more as there are 2 physical processors and 4 resulting logical processors through using HyperThreading on top of that.

2. Use dual-channel memory modules, and in general use RAM modules as fast as possible for your motherboard.

3. Use modern hard drives like S-ATA hard drives for example. Make sure your hard drive has plenty of cache (8MB would be minimal recommended) and also look for low access times and fast throughput. Use 10,000 RPM drives if possible - or in any case, as fast as possible. Use hard disk fans for such units - they usually heat up a lot so extra cooling is needed to keep them running well.

4. Purchase 2 hard identical drives and place them in Raid 0 mode. This doubles the hard disk transfer speed due to the fact that 2 hard disks are being queried at once. It would be good to also purchase a 3rd spare hard disk of the same model, should one of these ever malfunction, but make sure you use the spare hard disk from time to time, because if you keep it unused for many months it may get defective.

5. Use lots and lots of RAM. 2GB would be recommended (or more if you can), 1GB would be minimal. The more RAM you have, the better your system will perform.

6. Use the FAT32 file system instead of NTFS. This advice may come as a surprise for some readers, yet it has proven very effective in practice. Although FAT32 is simpler and less-featured, it is also more effective for multitasking due to the smaller CPU and disk access requirements that come from this simplicity.

7. Use a dedicated swap partition. Our tests shown that this partition should not be that big. Other sources recommend using a swapfile of 3x the amount of physical RAM memory; we found in practice that using a swapfile of 2x the amount of RAM would perform best in terms of speed. If possible, use the FAT16 file system for the dedicated swap partition; please note that the maximal size of a FAT16 partition is 2 GB. It is recommended to place the operating system on the first partition on the first hard drive, and it is highly recommended (!) to place the swap file partition as the first partition on a second hard drive, if possible - meaning on a separate hard drive than the one where your operating system is installed. This is the configuration that works best in most cases.

8. If you have large amounts of RAM, like 2GB or 4GB for example, you may try disabling the swap file completely. This may significantly improve performance, if your applications fit well inside available physical memory.

9. Optimize your Windows Operating system visual aspect, for speed. In Control Panel - System - Advanced - Performance Settings, select ‘Adjust for best performance’ and then retain only a few minimal options if you want to improve aspect, like ‘Use visual styles on windows and buttons’ for example. The Windows XP graphical interface consumes a lot of CPU and results in significantly lowering overall computer performance.

10. Get the fastest video card that you can afford. Read reviews on the internet about them. Some cards and drivers are less stable than others for a given performance level.

11. Periodically defragment your hard drives, especially if you copy and delete a lot of data. From time to time it is good to reformat the hard disk completely; in this case, you would have to backup your files on a different partition, format partition then copy files back after formatting. A fragmentation of 4-5% already means a significant computer speed reduction. Use defragmenting tools like Diskeeper for this purpose.

12. If you are using the FAT32 file system, do not make any partitions exceeding 32 GB. If your hard drive is large and you need a lot of partitions, please note that you can use up to 3 primary partitions (although the common usage is to have just one) and an extended partition, and then within the extended partition you can set any amount of partitions needed, up to the number of available drive letters which is of 26 in total.

13. Use operating systems like Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 which have proven to be indeed faster and more reliable when compared with older Windows 98 or Windows ME operating systems. If needed, upgrade your operating system.

14. Do not mix operating systems like Windows 98 and Windows 2000 - Windows 2003 - Windows XP on a local network. Network transfers between Win 9X and 2k/XP based operating systems are a real pain. Generally, if you are still using Win9X, it would be best to upgrade to a newer operating system.

15. Make sure you have properly configured your computer BIOS. Since BIOS works directly with your motherboard and drivers and preconfigures your system hardware before the operating system is loaded, these settings are vital for your computer performance. You may want to play with CPU caching options, set memory timings to optimal values (test if necessary) and ensure that hard disk controllers are configured for maximal speed. Disable Bios Caching and Video Caching, these are not useful for modern operating systems, they were rather needed for older MS-DOS compatible operating systems like Win9x. Turn off IDE auto detection and set them manually, whenever possible. Also, enable ‘fast boot’, ’silent boot’, ‘quick boot’ or similar option.

16. Get the latest drivers for your hardware, especially for video and SCSI devices. Visit your website manufacturers and download the latest drivers they have for your hardware. Subscribe to a driver download notification emailing list, if they have one. In general, drivers coming with your Windows Install CD may work but they are usually obsolete. Some newer drivers can be found through Windows Update, but in most cases it is best to download new drivers directly from the manufacturer of your hardware device.

17. Buy only quality, brand hardware. Cheap hardware will never work properly; cheap motherboards and computer cards are unstable, have improperly written drivers and tend to easily get defective. If possible, buy a preconfigured computer of quality brand. Serious manufacturers usually test their components for compatibility and therefore such machines are real stable and have excellent performance for their hardware class.

18. Use Windows Update to keep your computer files updated with the latest versions.

19. Connect different IDE drives using separate IDE cables. Put your primary hard disk on the first interface (IDE 0) and the CD-ROM/DVD unit(s) on the second interface (IDE 1) using a second IDE cable. Having another drive on the same cable can significantly decrease your primary hard disk performance.

20. Use the latest DirectX version as this will improve gaming performance. Needless to say also, the best video card you can get, the best would be your 3D gaming performance. In some cases, you may want to reduce screen color depth to 16-bit (65536 colors), especially on some older video cards - this may improve performance for such video cards, if you can’t get a newer card which would however be the best option.

21. Make sure you enable DMA transfers on IDE slave drives, which is not enabled by default. Go to Control Panel - System - Device Manager, jump to your IDE controller, and in the ‘Primary IDE Channel’ - Advanced Settings, configure it to use DMA instead of default PIO (programmatic I/O) modes.

22. Make sure you enable Write caching for SCSI drives - you can do this from Device Manager by going to SCSI devices.

23. Close any application that you do not use. If you cannot close them, at least minimize them as when they run in background mode, they consume less CPU.

24. Disable unneeded programs that auto-run at startup. These can really bog down your system. Use a startup manager program to make your life easier. You can use the built-in startup manager in Windows XP by going to Start - Run, type ‘MSCONFIG’ and hit Enter.

25. Disable Messengers that you do not use (Windows comes with MSN Messenger by default).

26. Disable all unnecessary services. Depending on configuration, you may want to disable File and Print, FTP, World Wide Web, Routing and Remote Access, IIS Admin Service, Telnet, Smart Card and Smart Card Helper, Terminal Services, Uninterruptible Power Supply. Also make sure you disable Indexing Service, as this usually significantly slows down your system.

27. If there are programs that you do not use, uninstall them - this frees disk space as well as remove some unneeded dll’s from memory.

28. Reinstall your operating system from time to time, when you can. Some programs, even if uninstalled, leave unnecessary dll files inside your computer. Since it is difficult to manage them, a fresh reinstall would be a good option.

29. When you have just reinstalled and activated your copy of windows, backup your system on DVD and keep it safe, using a disk backup or disk clone tool. Whenever you may need to have a fresh system you can use the disk to get a fresh installed operating system on your computer. Norton Ghost can be such an useful disk clone program. Some computers come with such tools preinstalled, so use them when you just received your computer to make a backup of the system.

30. Empty temporary files from C:WindowsTEMP, C:Temp folders. Empty Temporary internet files periodically. Use Disk Cleanup to get rid of all this waste on your computer.

31. Reduce the size of your System Restore folders at lower percentages, for example like 8% . You may want to disable System Restore on partitions where they are not needed, where there is no OS stuff or programs installed but just your stored files and data.

32. Remove any unneeded Fonts. Fonts can really bog down your computer. Removing them will save a lot of memory and significantly improve performance.

33. Remove unneeded network protocols like IPX and NetBEUI.

Hopefully, this list will prove useful to readers, in obtaining the most out of their Windows based computer and increasing speed and multitasking performance in all daily operations. Please note that these advices come with no guarantees - you are on your own, and in any case you should better know what you are doing. Good luck - and enjoy your improved computer performance!

By Emil Sasu - For more articles and tips, visit our website at http://www.comp.ro - computer troubleshooting website, where you can find additional in-depth computer technical information, tips and advices.

For once, Apple Computers has been thinking inside the box rather than outside, and following the lead of its fellow global technology majors, it has also decided to set up a large scale technical support centre in India.

Sources confirm Apple is gearing up to hire as many as 1,500 people for its Bangalore-based facility by year-end, and will increase its staff count to a total of 3,000 employees by the end of 2007. Apple’s Indian facility worth $14-billion will be the firm’s first support centre outside of its Cupertino (California) headquarters.

To be set up by property developer RMZ Corp in its EcoSpace property on the outer ring road near Marathahalli in Bangalore, RMZ will create a 1.5-lakh sq. ft. setting for Apple’s first outsourcing venture in the first phase and 1.5-lakh sq. ft. in the second.

While, an Apple official said it was a tad premature to talk about it, and RMZ declined to comment, as well, a state government official affirmed the Apple proposal had received clearance from the government to invest in Bangalore. “But, they are yet to reveal the extent of investment or the total employment. They should be starting operations within the next two months.’’ according to the official. And, the rumour goes Steve Jobs, CEO – Apple Computers is likely to come to India to launch the company’s tech support centre. Expected to start operations within the next two months, sources confirm Jobs is expected to come on his first official visit to India.

Further, they affirm Apple decided to set up a high-tech facility in Bangalore, only after a rigorous examination of seven other Indian cities, and will set up its tech support along the lines of Dell’s Indian operations.

A record revenue performance in fiscal year 2005 (a growth of 68%), led by the surging popularity of its iPod music players, it is not clear; whether Apple’s Indian centre will result in job losses in its Cupertino facility. But, the flak has started to fly already as Americans respond with comments like:

Aee: “This can’t be true, can it? Apple wouldn’t be this stupid….”

Bee. “What?! I spent $300 plus for Apple CareT and they do this?”

Cee: “I know it’s about saving money, but BAD MOVE Apple! Let’s hope you do a better job in picking personnel than the other companies I’ve dealt with.”

Dee: “Awesome! Now I can talk to ‘John’ in India, who just got done watching Seinfeld episodes to learn how be more American.”

Now, now, you all, I think it’s just a question of sour grapes. You said it Aee, Apple is not stupid, and therefore that is the raison d’etre it is coming to Bangalore, as did a whole slew of other global giants, after realising what India has to offer, they can’t get anywhere else i.e. talent, skills, a highly educated workforce that is hard-working, as well as, dedicated. Those attributes Aee, are no longer available in the US of A, unless, you take into account all those Asians, who provide the grey cells and elbow grease that allows America to retain its position. If it weren’t for them, you dumb gringos would have run the country into the ground, the way your President Bush seems hell bent on.

Bee, I suggest you go and see if you can find anything to spend $300 on that is Made in USA. And, as for you Cee, Dell has no complaints about its personnel in India. Recently, CNNMoney.com quoted a Dell spokesperson as saying: “On the consumer front, one of the company’s best performing sites in terms of customer satisfaction is located in Bangalore.” That is saying something and a whole lot more Cee, as Dell has 30-centres around the world. While, K.S. Narahari, Director - Dell International Services says Bangalore has a strong brand equity, adding: “So, it is easy to convince people to come and work here. Talent is available here, both technical and non-technical - is good.” Anything else, you want to add to that Cee?

As for Dee, while you know nothing about other countries and their culture, leave alone their histories and geographies, for that matter, what do you know about your own country, the USA? Zilch! So take your hat off to an Indian, who takes time out to learn about your country, and knows more about it than you or your fellow Americans do!

Now, stop the bitching, and let the Indians do the work that can’t be done in America, because the country is going to the dogs, while idiots give orders for the killing of innocent civilians by bombing Afghanistan and Iraq, even as Osama bin Laden plays hide and seek with the great American GIs. Or, the great American army that holds innocent Iraqi civilians as prisoners, just so they can give play out their sadistic sexual fantasies. And, while America’s leaders gun for Iran, the Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Indian Air Force) managed to show the All American Boys, or should we say Candy Boys, as they can’t seem to do anything, unless they have gum to chew or candy to suck, what those Indians can do with their out-dated and limited supply of arms, when faced with the most expensive arms arsenal and the latest weapon technology, as in the war games played out by the two Armed Forces in the war exercises conducted in India and Alaska, last year. The Indians, certainly, showed the Americans, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

And, if you think Apple user worries about tech support from India is justified, think again! As Harish Bijoor, a strategy consultant says: or different price levels, you get different quality of service. There are some ho pay low for their call centre operations here, and they get lower quality service. But, India also has the capability and skill sets to offer high quality service, provided the outsourcing company pays for it.” A statement ratified by the Dell spokesperson on CNNMoney.com.

To know more about this visit: http://www.offshoreoutsourcingworld.com.

Just about everyone would I agree, I think, that wires on headphones are just about the most annoying wires associated with any electronic device. When you listen to music you don’t want to have to stay in anyone one place, and you don’t want to have to worry about cords tripping you are pulling your headphones down. The answer to this problem is wireless headphones, many of which allow you to listen to music over 100 feet away. They, like all wireless devices, give you a sense of freedom, an ability to move, work, and play wherever you want. You will find here a list of some of the most popular wireless headphone devices, with important information about each.

RCA WHR120 Infrared Wireless Stereo Headphones

Manufacturers Description: Experience the freedom that RCA Infrared Wireless Headphones can provide. You don’t have to be chained to your stereo when you put on a pair of headphones. With the infrared, line-of-sight transmission, you have 23 feet to roam as you please. Also, the base doubles as a convenient charger and stand. And the lightweight design and adjustable band make for a comfortable, snug fit. Enjoy life with RCA technology.

Key Features:

- Provides convenient listening privacy in the same room

- Low cost infrared technology operates up to 20 ft. from transmitter

- Adjustable headband provides comfort for hours of listening pleasure

- Horizontal style transmitter is compact, saves shelf space

- Operates on Two “AAA” size rechargeable batteries (connect to transmitter for recharging)

Price: $25

RCA WHR150 Wireless Stereo Headphones

Manufacturers Description: Hear your stereo outside your house without disturbing the neighbors. With RCA Wireless 900 MHz Headphones, you don’t even have to be in the same room with your stereo. The 900 MHz signal can pass through walls, floors, and carry outside of your home up to 125 ft. That means you have the freedom to work or relax wherever you wish without the problem of being connected to cords or carrying around a portable system. The lightweight design and adjustable headband make the fit so comfortable that you will hardly notice you have them on, as you move freely about your home. Also, the unique compact base serves as both a charger and a stand. Add some freedom to your life with this innovation from the RCA brand.

Key Features:

- Transmits 900MHz stereo signal up to 125 ft.

- Goes through walls and floors

- Unique compact base serves as both a charger and a stand

- Lightweight design with adjustable headband

- Soft earpads for comfortable listening

Price: $75

Sony MDRRF920RK 900 MHz Wireless Headphones

Manufacturers Description: Tired of tripping over cords, and accidentally ripping out headphone jacks? Go wireless, and listen to the freedom. Sony’s MDR-RF920RK 900 MHz RF Wirless Headphones have a transmission range of 150 feet, allowing you to roam your house or yard without missing a beat (or word). The 900 MHz radio frequency delivers high quality sound, and the 30mm driver units provide deeper bass, lower distortion and a wider dynamic range. These lightweight headphones are easily recharged by placing them on the transmitter, and the package includes rechargeable NiMH batteries.

A powerful ARM processor lets you listen to MP3s while looking up an address or scheduling an appointment. Watch the latest movie trailer or a new sales video. Carry digital photo albums of friends and family, students and co-workers, even the latest real estate listings. Plus it’s expandable, and with 32MB of memory there’s plenty of room to customize from more than 18,000 applications (sold separately).

Key Features:

- Wireless Design lets you move inside and outside your house and still enjoy music and TV sound, and lets you turn up the volume late at night without disturbing others.

- 150 Foot Transmission Range for listening enjoyment upstairs, downstairs, virtually everywhere in your home and outside in your backyard.

- 900 MHz Radio Frequency (RF) Transmission provides better sound quality and greater range.

- 30mm Diameter Driver Units are larger than many portable headphones for deeper bass, lower distortion and wider dynamic range; low frequency response extends down to 20Hz.

- PET Diaphragms ensure high rigidity for minimum distortion, and low mass for excellent high-frequency response.

- Ferrite Magnets combine high energy and small size for ample sound output.

- Comfortable Open-Air Type Supra-Aural Headphones fit securely for maximum frequency response reception.

- Double Headband with self-adjusting mechanism conforms to the curve of your head for a fit.

- Easy Rechargeable Battery System automatically charges the headphones when placed onto the transmitter.

- 3 Transmission Channels Available helps ensure optimum signal reception; convenient sliding selector control on the side of the transmitter.

- Automatic Power On/Off for both headphones and transmitter conserves battery life; transmitter turns on when it senses an input signal; headphones turn on when you place them on your head.

- Complete Kit is supplied, which includes transmitter, headphones, connecting cord, UniMatch plug adapter and AC power supply.

- Supplied Connecting Cord goes directly to headphone output of your high fidelity system for easy connection to hi-fi system, TV or VCR.

- FM Transmission System resists static and distortion for higher fidelity.

- Included Rechargeable NiMHBatteries provide up to 18 hours of playback when fully charged.

Price: $50

Sennheiser RS-65 Hi-Fi Stereo Wireless Headphones

Manufacturers Description: The RS-65 wireless RF headphone system with open, circumaural headphones features an integrated, switchable SRS processor for impressive surround sound. The system has very transparent and balanced sound reproduction and comes equipped with Center-Lock TM Auto-Tuning. This feature allows you to automatically adjust to the transmitter with a simple touch of a button (and can simply be returned with a second touch if it locks on to your neighbor’s transmitter).

Features:

- Supra-aural, hi-fi stereo headphones for superb audio quality

-Volume and transmission channel can be set individually on the headphones

- Expand with an additional set of headphones for multiperson use

- Soft, cloth-covered earpads and headband cushion for comfortable extended use

- Transmission range: 300 feet

- Extremely lightweight - less than 6 ounces

Price: $180

Sennheiser RS-85 Hi-Fi Stereo Wireless Headphones

Manufacturers Description: The RS-85 wireless RF headphone system with open, circumaural headphones features HiDyn Plus noise reduction for wide dynamics and superb sound quality, ensuring a very natural and detailed sound reproduction. The RS-85 comes equipped with Center-Lock TM Auto-Tuning, which allows you to automatically adjust to the transmitter with a simple touch of a button (and can simply be returned with a second touch if it locks on to your neighbor’s transmitter). The RS-85 headphones feature reception up to 300 feet from the transmitter, through walls and ceilings, even outside the home. A second battery pack is also provided for near limitless use; simply charge one as the other is being used.

Price: $250

Bradley James is a senior editor at SciNet.cc, a website containing many helpful consumer electronics review articles. For more information on wireless headphone technology, please visit our wireless headphones webpage.

If you are not experienced in outsourcing, consider hiring an experienced outsourcing consulting firm to help you through the process. Generally the large accounting firms and outsourcing vendors provide excellent support for large scale projects, and there are a number of smaller firms that can help the small and mid-size companies. If you want to manage the process on your own, even the most sophisticated project management techniques can be broken down into four simple project management stages:

Analysis

Evaluation

Implementation

Review

After you have identified potential outsourcing candidates try stepping through these steps to see if outsourcing makes sense for your organization.

Analysis.

The goal of this stage is to determine your company’s core business and to identify expensive or low performance supporting functions.

Make a list of your mission critical products and services and all supporting functions. Then determine how these sectors must perform to keep you competitive or to place you ahead of the completion. Any department or function that is not your core business, is a large cost center and is not particularly effective in delivering results is a prime candidate for outsourcing. In computing your “costs” do not forget to factor in the time that a problem area may take from your executive and support teams.

Evaluation.

The goal of this stage is to identify and match the needs of your targeted department with an outsourcing provider.

First break down the key functions of the department into its major component structural parts and major functions. A simple analysis can be performed by writing down the department name or function, the work product produced and the information/materials needed to produce that work product. Perform this exercise for the current operations and then for the “how it should be done” case. This chart will be a simple written expression of what is needed from the targeted department or function.

Now it is time to identify local and offshore outsourcing sources, get them to sign a non-disclosure agreement and send them your basic analysis. The outsourcing provider will have many more questions but you will have a simple, basic guide to make sure the provider is on course. You will likely send out a Request for Quote or a Request For Proposal which will contain your “needs” contained in your chart with a request for a solution. It is also a good idea to ask your potential outsourcing partners to send you a proposed contract for you to review at this stage.

You will want to score each provider based on price, service, quality and terms. Do a simple net present value analysis to see if the project makes sense. Above all, do not loose your sense of reality in the sea of numbers. Select the service provider that best fits your needs.

Implementation.

The goal of this step is to transfer knowledge and data from your internal department to your outsourcing partner, implement best practices and commence operations.

Implementing a new outsourcing program can be as simple as logging into a new payroll provider’s system and entering data or as complicated as divesting a major division of your company and coordinating a multi-man year conversion process. Regardless of the complexity, you need to work with your outsourcing provider to create a clear step-by-step project plan with clear actions, deliverables and due dates and have a weekly review process that quickly identifies and resolves any problems or delays. Make sure that your outsourcing partner provides you with some method to clearly track the progress of your project and have contingency plans, testing plans and reasonable penalties if key milestones are not reached. You will also need to create a transition plan for any planned staff reductions.

Review.

The goal of this step is to set up an ongoing system that maximizes the performance of both your internal staff and your outsourcing partner to make sure you get the results you need.

“If it does not get measured it does not get managed.” This must be a mantra for the team if any outsourcing project is going to be successful. Make sure that you have set up specific service level agreements (SLAs) in your agreements that have specific, measurable results. Identify project managers on your staff and with your outsourcing provider and give them targets. If you tie a compensation plan to results you will be amazed at the improvement in quality.

During my years as a business consultant and IT executive, I developed a simple checklist to evaluate vendors and manage outsourcing projects. If you are interested in receiving a free copy feel free to send me an e-mail at the address below with information about your project and company.

Robert Newman is an attorney at the Business & Technology Group @ Jones Garneau LLP. Mr. Newman helps executives in the technology and biotechnology industries successfully raise money and purchase other companies by providing practical legal advice about securities, M&A and technology law. Prior to becoming an attorney, he served for over ten years as an IT consultant and executive at various major banks and financial institutions. He may be reached at: RNewman@jonesgarneau.com or at 1-800-989-8260.

Help desk outsourcing for customer service or technical support
is an option for many businesses, including internet businesses,
which have a limited staff or wish to provide service and support
twenty-four hours a day.

Small businesses or home-based businesses that have a limited
number of employees or no employees at all have special
challenges when it comes to meeting their customers’ needs and
expectations.

The complications are compounded when the nature of the business
is one in which customers expect immediate service and sometimes
even twenty-four hour service including weekends and holidays.

A small business operator can literally run him or herself ragged
trying to meet the demand with limited resources. For businesses
such as these, help desk outsourcing can be a lifesaver.

Large businesses can also benefit from help desk outsourcing by
outsourcing sales, service and technical support.

Outsourcing such functions to call centers is a growing trend
among big businesses.

The main advantage for them is significantly reduced overhead
expenses since they pay the outsourcing company a contracted
amount and are not responsible for personnel expenses such as
payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance and employee
benefits for the employees of the call center that provide their
sales, service and support functions.

Businesses also save on the cost of equipment, software and
ongoing maintenance expenses associated with help desk services.

As the call center industry grows there is increasing competition
which is good for both large and small businesses because
competition drives costs down for the consumer of the
standardized services offered through call centers.

Advanced technologies have also improved the quality of service
that can be realized through help desk outsourcing.

As with any up and coming service option that has great benefits
for small and large companies, there are some disadvantages to
outsourcing sales, service and support activities.

For instance, when a company out sources their service functions,
the service that is provided is out of their hands; they entrust
the service provider with their sales, service and support
functions which directly impact their customers’ level of
satisfaction and relatively, the company’s reputation.

As a result, the quality of service can diminish making
outsourcing more of a burden than a benefit.

When contracting for outsourced services, executives should be
certain that there are clauses in the contract that enable them
to terminate the contract is the service provided to their
customers is substandard.

Consideration should also be given to the policies and procedures
concerning the training of help desk staff.

The company that is outsourcing their service functions should
take care to ensure that representatives for the outsource
service provider are properly trained to meet service
expectations and that the training provided to those
representatives is effectively passed on to the help desk staff
that is actually providing the outsourced sales, service and
support to customers.

Before making the critical decision regarding whether or not to
outsource help desk activities, an upfront analysis of help desk
support processes, expected service levels, customer expectations
and costs of outsourcing should be conducted.

Training systems should be developed to ensure that your
company’s expectations in regard to service quality, policies and
procedures are clearly conveyed to the outsource provider.

Ongoing monitoring of customer satisfaction is also necessary so
that you can determine whether or not the outsource provider you
have selected is meeting the needs of your customers in line with
their expectations and your quality service standards.

With adequate attention given to these variables, you are likely
to find that help desk outsourcing is a viable option for your
business. Truly, the decision to outsource can be either the best
or the worst decision you ever make.

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