The Refresh Orlando Heirs

The technology of bill delivery has changed in the past few years which has resulted in large potential savings for Billers if they choose the correct Print Outsourcer to produce and send their bills. For example, with the introduction of electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) the overall costs of bill delivery is being dramatically reduced by customers accepting their bills online and choosing not accept a paper bill.

According to a CheckFree study performed in November of 2005, 56% of U.S. Online households are paying at least one bill online, up from 52% in June of 2004. Many of the bigger Billers have taken advantage of this trend and have brought their overall cost of bill delivery down by as much as 30%. The key to realizing substantial savings is asking the right questions. When selecting a Print Outsourcer it is critical to ask the following Ebill questions and investigate whether they have kept up with recent technology.

1. Do you provide Ebilling capabilities and what adoption rates can I expect? Adoption rates are the key to a successful cost savings Ebill program. Adoption rates can bring down the overall cost of your total billing program by up to 30%. The definition of adoption rates is the number of customers that request an electronic bill instead of a paper bill. If you have 10,000 customers and 2,000 of your customers request an electronic bill instead of a paper bill that means you have achieved a 20% adoption rate. A 20% adoption rate can equate to a 15% overall savings in your total bill distribution costs. For example, if you’re overall cost of printing and mailing 10,000 bills is $6,200, the potential cost savings for a 20% adoption rate would be $930 leaving your new overall cost at $5,270.

2. What methods do you use to achieve high adoption rates? The Print Outsourcer should be able to send you’re bills through the CheckFree Distribution Network. This means that your customers who pay their bills through their banks bill pay site or through the MyCheckFree.com will be able to see their bills in these pay sites. The Print Outsourcer should also provide a wide range of successful adoption programs which include: Bill stuffers, CSR scripts, positive and negative incentive programs, email and internet campaigns, etc.

3. How will you charge me for Ebill? Some Print Outsourcers may be willing to take on the risk of adoption rates. In other words, they may be willing to charge you “One Price” for all bills going out and set the “One Price” at a very low rate. For example, a Print Outsourcer may be willing to charge $.39 for every bill going out. The Print Outsourcer’s cost for printing, inserting, 2 envelopes, and postage would be close to the $.39 or maybe even a little higher. However, they will charge $.39 for every bill whether it’s an Ebill or a Paper bill. If the Print Outsourcer can send out 20% of the invoices electronically it brings down their overall costs so that they are still profitable. If the Print Outsourcer doesn’t perform and bring up adoption rates, they will not make much money. This helps you as a client receive a very low price for bill creation and delivery but also motivate the Print Outsourcer to perform so they can make a profit.

After you have satisfied yourself concerning the prowess of the Print Outsourcer concerning Ebill capabilities, it is still very important to assess the printing abilities of the printer. Although the art and science of printing has been around for many years, some Print Outsourcers have taken advantage of new technology to bring prices down to an all time low in Labor, Materials, and Postage. If you know the tricks you can participate in these cost savings with the Print Outsourcer. Labor cost reductions have been driven down by Intelligent and Selective Inserters. The newer inserters can dramatically reduce the labor cost associated with inserting the bills and stuffers into the envelopes.

Labor costs have also been driven down by self help customer care tools. If a Print Outsourcer can give their clients full visibility into the print process which includes seeing job status, viewing invoice output, self proofing of jobs, invoice seeding, etc., then the client demands less customer service from the Print Outsourcer. This brings labor costs down and gives more control to the client to solve their own issues. Material costs have also been reduced substantially by high speed color cut sheet printers. In addition, Printer Outsourcers who print their own forms tend to have a lower cost. Lastly, first class postage costs can be reduced to less than $.30 per piece by commingling.

For savvy Billers who want to save money through Print Outsourcing, these tips will help you choose the correct vendor and get the lowest cost for the best service.

Clint Waite is a billing industry expert with years of experience in business process outsourcing. He helps companies get the most from their billing solution and has a track record of decreasing costs through best billing practice implementations.

Best Practice Systems is your premier electronic billing partner. Learn how to achieve significant savings on your invoice processing costs by visiting http://www.bestpracticesystems.com

Internet scams and frauds are on the rise! The quantity of scam
emails with various fraud schemes any email account receives
today is simply overwhelming! There is this infamous Nigerian
419 scam, which is by far the most widely circulated one. I wrote
about it in one of our ezine articles not long ago. You can read
about it here! And there are many other scams like Lottery, Letter
of Credit, money transfer, black money conversion, real estate,
fraudulent order and the list goes on and on.

Looking at my daily doze of scam letters, looks like, the lottery
scam seams to be gaining popularity among the con artists. This
scam is similar to other forward fee schemes, where the goal of
the con artist is to persuade an unsuspected victim to send an
advance payment for some dubious offers that the swindlers never
plan to fulfill.

Email Lottery Scam

The subject of the emails from an unknown source to you will,
probably show, something similar to, “Congratulation! You have
own a lottery”. With minor variations the text in most of these
letters is virtually identical.

The letter, usually, claims to be issued by a Lottery Company
based in some countries like The Netherlands, Switzerland, England,
Canada or the USA.

And then it says that you are one of many people randomly chosen
from all over the world to participate in a lottery of a very large
sum. You along with some others have won this lottery. You will
be asked to contact them immediately to claim your prize money.
Most certainly, the letter will also warn you to keep this as a
secret and will specify that the offer has a time limit.

If you contact them after receiving this letter; there are number
of variation how the thugs will try to swindle you. They are quite
imaginative and sometimes very innovative in their endeavors.

In general the idea is – you have to pay a fee before the lottery
company can release the amount to you. The pretexts are, usually,
an investigation company has to make sure that you are the right
person who won the lottery, as a foreigner you have to pay a tax
before you can get your prize and there is a processing and
handling fee that has to be paid before hand, etc.

Don’t think that these dubious offers are only sent by emails.
People received them by regular mails, by direct phone calls and
even by SMS.

Phone Call Lottery Scam

One fine morning you may receive a call from a person, claiming
to be a lawyer from a prestigious law farm, and will tell you
that you have won a foreign lottery; that a processing fee is
due before the prize money can be released to you. The seniors
are most likely to be the victims of these telemarketers. If you
are located in the USA, most likely, the person will introduce
himself as a Canadian lawyer and will inform you as if you have
won a Canadian Provincial Lottery.

Lottery Scam by SMS

You may even receive a SMS message advising that you have won
a foreign lottery. You will be instructed to log onto a website
and enter a login and password, which would be provided to you
in the message. The site will have the same look and feel of a
legitimate lottery site, but in fact, it is a copy site created
by the scammers. The URL address will have a very minor,
virtually, unnoticeable difference. Once you log in and see
for yourself that you have really own the lottery, you will
be asked to forward a gaming tax of US $100 to US $500 before
you claim your prize.

How to identify these scams and avoid being conned?

The number one motto that you should follow is – if it is too
good to be true, then probably, it is indeed too good to be true!
There is no way you can win a lottery, in what you have never
participated!

The followings are the signs of probable scam offers, you will
be better off if you avoid them scrupulously:

Any offer, where you have to send cash upfront to redeem you
prize.

Any offer of a substantial percentage of a large sum of money
to be transferred into your account, in return for your
“discretion” or “confidentiality”;

Requests for signed and stamped, blank letterhead or invoices,
or for bank account information;

Requests for payment in advance of transfer taxes or other fees;
Statements that your name was provided to the soliciting party
either by someone you do not know or by “a very reliable
contact;”

Unsolicited calls asking if you would like to be in a “Lottery
pool”;

Mail notifying you that you have already won a substantial sum
of money.

Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present
CEO of Rusbiz.com – a Global B2B Exchange with solutions to
create e-catalog, Web store, business process management and
other features to run a business online. You can read various
articles written by Nowshade Kabir at http://ezine.rusbiz.com.

When natural disaster hits there are usually more questions than
answers. Why did this happen? Can something like this be
prevented from happening again? What does this all mean? In the
wake of Hurricane Katrina, people are asking these and many
other questions. As people come to grips with what has occurred
it is natural for there to be curiosity about previous natural
disasters in our planet’s past.

There are a number of audio books that deal with the subject of
natural disasters and can help give people context and
understanding during tragic times. Often the best way to prevent
future disaster is to understand what happened in the past and
take action to prevent mistakes that might have led to the event
or increased its impact. Here are some resources that you may
want to consider listening to.

“Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded” is the incredible story
of the 1883 eruption of the volcano and the subsequent tsunami
that killed almost 40,000 people. Simon Winchester narrates this
tale of disaster and the ramifications of it on the surrounding
area. On the other side of the world, a less catastrophic but
more recent disaster is detailed in “Fire on the Mountain”, the
tale of a forest fire in Colorado on July 3, 1994. This fire
claimed the lives of 14 firefighters and ranks as one of the
deadliest days in the history of firefighting.

Blizzards and snowstorms are often tragic causes of death.
“Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America” recounts the blizzard
of 1888 that hit the Eastern Coast of the United States. This
blizzard resulted in the death of 400 people, the sinking of 200
ships and snowdrifts that reached 50 feet in height. Climbers
that challenge the world’s highest peaks often come face to face
with Mother Nature as well. Iconic climber Anatoli Boukreev’s
“The Climb” and Jon Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air” both tell the
haunting story of the 1996 attempts to scale Everest during
which weather conditions contributed to the death of eight
climbers.

There are even podcasts related to natural disasters. The
Disaster News Network (DNN) puts out a regular podcast which has
covered recent events such as the Indonesian earthquake and of
course Hurricane Katrina. Another podcast that has covered the
hurricane from a scientific perspective is the Science Friday
podcast which is a production of NPR. Both of these podcasts are
free to listen to and provide an alternative view of recent
events.

Listening to audio books about natural disasters can’t take the
sting of these disasters away but it can help to give us a
better historical perspective and show us the remarkable
resilience of human beings even when the worst possible scenario
has unfolded.

Most International prepaid cell phones today are classified as a GSM or Global Service for Mobil cell phone that operates on the GSM 900 and GSM 1800 frequency. The phones themselves are not prepaid but a card called SIM, which is the “brain” of the international prepaid cell phone, and where minuets can be stored. Sims have a small computer chip inside that stores the cell phone number, settings, messages and other data necessary for the phone to function. With the right sim card an international prepaid cell phone can provide service coverage in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Rim, including Australia . To use, insert the sim card into the phone and your ready to go. When all of the credit is used up, all you need to do is call the service provider and receive more credit. Just as some countries drive on the other side of the road. Some countries use different TV systems (remember this when buying videos and DVDs internationally). And, unfortunately, most countries use different types of international prepaid cell phone service, too. However, more countries are slowly switching to the GSM system. Make sure you check this when your thinking of getting a international prepaid cell phone.

The SIM “chip” fits into a slot or tray where metal sensors make contact with the gold contact surface on the SIM card. Please note that certain SIM cards only work with GSM international prepaid cell phones that are compatible for use overseas, don’t forget to make sure you getting the right card to use with the international prepaid cell phone system, like the dual-band GSM phones for use in over 190 countries, and the tri-band versions with service in the United States and Canada. Equally important, Europe, Africa and Asia not only had the foresight to adopt the same international prepaid cell phone standard, but they also decided that their international cell phone networks would operate on the same frequencies (the 900mhz, initially and later the 1800mhz band). This explains why the same cell phone that works in London will work equally well in Johannesburg , Beijing and Sydney .

The bottom line: Most countries around the globe - more than 205 at last count - have adopted the GSM wireless technology and if you want to go travel outside of North America and want the convenience of carrying a cellular phone, then you’re going to need a GSM international prepaid cell phone.

Leeanna is an expert author writing for International Prepaid Cell Phones

Now a days managing files and folders on PCs seems to be a critical task for network administrators and data storage managers due to huge capacity hard disks and millions of files and folders.

This article will help you in two ways

1. Understand the disk space allocation and wastage.

2. Understand how to manage your disk space.

Topics covered

• 1. What is File Allocation Table (FAT) ?
• 2. Disk Efficiency and FAT.
• 3. What is Wasted Space. ?
• 4. Solution.

What is File Allocation Table

The FAT is a roadmap, or index, that points to the location where all the information in files is stored on a floppy disk or hard drive. The FAT is extremely important because the system uses it to store and retrieve files containing information.

When you save a file in Windows, it is stored in multiple pieces (in clusters made up of multiple sectors) on the disk. Windows also saves the roadmap, or index, that points to these clusters in two copies of the FAT (File Allocation Table). The FAT contains the directions to all the pieces of your files, so that applications can find them again later

Disk Efficiency and FAT.

Every file on your system is stored in clusters in your hard drive, the maximum of one file can be stored in a particular cluster, so this results in wastage if the file is under the cluster size. The current FAT version (FAT16) organises files in 32K clusters in drives over 1.2gig, while FAT32 will use a minimum cluster size of 4K. This means that a 3K file wastes only 1K of disk space on FAT32, while it wastes 29K of space on a standard FAT system. This wastage can result in over 50% of a 2gig drive being wasted. See the table below.

What’s a cluster and why does cluster size matter?

The whole problem of wasted space arises from the fact that DOS allocates file space in “clusters”. Clusters are sequentially numbered on the disk, starting at 0, and cluster numbers are used both in the FAT (file allocation table) and in the individual directory entry for each file.

Allocation by clusters means some space on the disk will be wasted. Regardless of the actual length of a file as reported by the DIR command, the file will actually occupy a whole number of clusters on the disk. So a 1-byte file will actually use a whole cluster, a file that’s 1 cluster plus 1 byte long will use 2 clusters, and so on.

Is this serious? It can be, depending on the pattern of file sizes on your disk. For instance, if you have an 2GB disk with 5,000 files on it, about 100 MB of your disk is being wasted. And the figures can be much worse, depending on the pattern of your usage. One user reported copying 450 MB of files to a 1.6 GB disk and having them take up 600 MB! As your disk approaches being full, you may wish you could squeeze some extra space out of it instead of buying a new disk.

How does cluster size depends on hard-disk size?

As mentioned above in the table the cluster size for various partition sizes so that you can make intelligent choices about how to partition your hard disk.

From the above table we see that even 2.1 GB drive is over the 1023 kilo-byte limit for 16 KB clusters and therefore its cluster size (unpartitioned) is 32 KB. With a 32 KB cluster, even a 1-byte file will use 32 KB of disk space. A file whose length is 32,769 to 65,536 bytes will likewise use two clusters (64 KB), and so on for higher file sizes.

Even so, you may be inclined to think this is no big deal. But think about it: if you have a 2.1 GB drive with 5,000 files, you’re probably wasting about 160 MB.

How are cluster sizes determined?

Clusters are always some power of 2 times 512 bytes, but just which power of 2 depends on the disk size. Why should this be so? I mentioned above that clusters are numbered sequentially. The problem is that the directory structure and the FAT have room for only 16 bits for a cluster number. Since the largest unsigned number that will fit into a 16-bit field is 2^16-1 = 65535, the disk can hold at most 2^16 = 65536 clusters. This gives the formula

disk size

cluster size = ———, rounded up to a power of 2

65536

In general the wasted space per file will be half a cluster.

—–

What is Wasted Space?

Whenever a file is created, space will be allocated to the file in the form of clusters. A cluster can be of 8 KB , 16 KB or 32 KB depending upon your hard disk partition size. Following is the chart for cluster size.

FAT FAT32

Partition Size Cluster Size Partition Size Cluster Size

128 - 256 MB

4 KB

1 - 8 GB

4 KB

257 - 512 MB

8 KB

8 - 16 GB

8 KB

513 - 1024 MB

16 KB

16 - 32 GB

16 KB

1025 - 2048 MB

32 KB

>32 GB

32 KB

So the formula for wasted space is Wasted Space = Allocated Space - Actual File Size.

We will take an example of file which is of 900 bytes in size and your partition type is - FAT and its size is 1024 MB. So the allocated space for your file will be 16384 bytes or 16 KB whether you store 900 bytes or 1 byte in the file. So the wasted space in this case will be

Wasted Space = 16384 - 900 = 15484 bytes.

So the conclusion is : Lesser the file size, more the wasted space.

Solution

So to analyze how our disk space is being wasted we need a smart program which will show us the space hogging files and their locations.

We are working with File system softwares since last 2 years. We have developed a powerful disk space analysis and cleaning software - DiskAnalyzer Professional 1.5 which allows you to take control of your disk space and reclaim gigabytes of lost disk space.

You can visit our website to get more information about the software http://www.craveworldwide.com

Manoj Shinde

Crave Worldwide, India.

The optimal digital workflow for print begins at the beginning—at the content creation stage. When digital files submitted to the printer are correct and complete, the workflow is most efficient and cost-effective.

Printers have led the global print industry through a revolution—first, with the
introduction of computer-to-plate manufacturing (CTP), and then with direct digital
imaging. They made these critical changes for the benefit of their businesses and
their customers. But along with the leadership role comes a certain amount of
responsibility. Printers must also be committed to educating their client base on
how to prepare appropriate and reliable digital content files, and equip their
customers with the digital tools and technologies that will enable them to attain the
goal.

Enabling the print customer with digital workflow tools
Beyond simply telling the customers how to prepare the files according to the print
shop’s specifications, printers should also be prepared to promote digital file
verification tools to their client base—low-investment-cost software that will help
their clients ensure that the files are correct and complete before they’re ever
submitted to the printer’s prepress environment.

There are a several “preflighting” or “postflighting” software solutions on the market
today—some significantly more expensive than others, some better suited for high-
volume printers, others better suited for content creators. Preflighting solutions are
capable of verifying digital files in their native application stage—such as a
document being prepared in QuarkXPress or Microsoft Word—while an application
that postflights is capable of verifying specs in a final exchange format, such as PDF
or PDF/X-1a file.

These solutions electronically look inside the digital file to make certain that all of
the elements are resident, placed properly, and specifications like resolution, color
space and document dimensions are correct. The software will often print out a
report of its findings, so that the content creator can see the problems immediately
and make any necessary changes before the file moves forward in the workflow.

Keeping with the idea that the ideal workflow is one that catches any potential file
problems as far forward in the process as possible, Markzware Software—one of the
leaders in preflight/postflight software—has come out with a new idea, on-the-fly
file verification. This United States-based software developer (best known for its
flagship FlightCheck Professional software) recently introduced a new tool
specifically designed to help content creators and graphic designers avoid file
preparation mistakes from the start.

FlightCheck Studio is a brand-new plug-in application that works alongside the
native application, such QuarkXPress and Adobe’s InDesign. Before they begin
create a document, they can assign certain parameters to the document. For
example, if the document is bound for print, the designer will not want to
mistakenly insert an image that’s 72 dpi. Based on the output specifications,
FlightCheck Studio will sound a visual warning to the designer if any of the
specifications are mistakenly disregarded.

For less than a few hundred dollars, graphic designers can invest in software of this
kind, never have to leave the comfort of working in their familiar native applications,
and never again send a digital file to a printer that’s incomplete or ineffective.
Printers would be served well to introduce their customer base to best practices in
digital file preparation, including recommending software solutions that assist their
customers in content correctly, from the start.

Gretchen Peck is a U.S.-based author who writes about the global printing and
graphic arts industry.

Malicious software, or malware, is likely the most widespread problem faced by computer users today. As a computer technician, I find that about three out of four jobs I do for home computer users are to remove malware in one form or another.

Malware programs come in several forms: Spyware and adware track your activities when surfing the Internet and bombard you with pop-up advertisements. Hijackers change browser start pages and redirect you to unwanted web sites. Viruses and trojans erase data and allow hackers to access your files. In many cases, the end result is that your computer becomes unusable and in need of repair.

Many computer users try to protect their computers by installing anti-virus and firewall programs. While these programs are of value, they alone are not sufficient to fix and prevent all types of attacks. Many computers with up-to-date anti-virus and firewall software arrive at my door infested with malware to the extent that they are unusable.

I have found user education to be the most effective deterrent to malware. Here is a list of things you can do to keep your computer healthy:

1. Be skeptical of free software

There are many free software programs available on the Internet. Unfortunately, many of these are bundled with malware designed to display pop-up ads or monitor your browsing activities. Some even go further by regularly downloading additional malware without notifying you.

Here are some common examples of free software that can contain malware:

Screen savers

AIM buddy icons
Desktop background pictures
Email “smileys”
Peer-to-Peer music-sharing services

Many troublesome adware programs are legal because they explain what they do in the license agreement, which the user typically must agree to before the program is installed. If you’re not sure about a program, it pays to glance over the license agreement. You may be surprised what you are giving permission for.

You should also be skeptical of spyware removal tools and pop-up blocker programs. Believe it or not, many of these tools actually contain adware and spyware themselves. If you’re not completely sure about a piece of software, ask a savvy computer user or technician before installing it.

There are some good freebies on the Internet, but there are many undesirable ones as well. To protect you computer, you must exercise discretion. Be very cautious about giving a web site permission to install software on your computer. A hacker with $20 and some spare time can construct a professional-looking web page that is designed to install malware on your computer. Some parents have found it necessary to forbid their children from downloading any software without permission.

2. Install critical Windows updates

Many malware programs have the ability to infect your computer only because of a mistake made by Microsoft during the development of Windows or Internet Explorer. When Microsoft learns of these mistakes, the company releases updates to fix them.

The well-known “Blaster” and “Sasser” worms infected millions of computers, all of which didn’t have the latest Windows updates installed. These and other viruses could infect out-of-date computers without any action on the part of the user other than connecting to the Internet.

If your computer is using Windows XP, you can configure it to receive updates automatically. To find the automatic update option, click Start, RIGHT-click My Computer, click Properties, and then click the Automatic Updates tab.

If you are using an older version of Windows, or if you’d like to install the updates manually, visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com or click on Start > Windows Update (if you’re using Windows XP, it will be found under Start > All Programs > Windows Update).

3. Don’t open suspicious email attachments

One of the most common ways for viruses to spread is through the use of email attachments. Under usual circumstances, it is OK to read the text of an email that contains a virus. Your computer will not be infected unless you make the mistake of attempting to open the attachment. Although some viruses can infect even without the use of an attachment, this is normally not a problem if you keep your software up-to-date as described earlier in the article.

Most people follow a simple rule that they assume will protect them: They do not open any attachment unless they recognize the sender. However, knowing the sender does not make an attachment safe. In fact, many viruses appear to be sent by somebody you know. Every day people are infected with viruses because they open an attachment on an email that appeared to come from a family member or close friend. Before you open a file attached to an email, make sure BOTH of these statements are true:

1.You know the person who is sending the email.
2.The email contains a personal message that describes the attachment and makes it clear the message was written by the person it appears to be from. A one line message like “open this, it’s cool!” is not enough because many viruses are designed to automatically generate such messages.

If the message is vague as to what the attachment is, email or call the sender to see if they intended to send it to you.

4. Consider using an alternative web browser

The computer program that you use to look at web pages on the Internet is called a web browser. Microsoft Internet Explorer is the web browser that comes packaged with Windows, and is therefore used by the vast majority of computer users. Contrary to many people’s assumptions, there are a handful of other free Internet browsers that meet or even exceed the ease of use and features of Internet Explorer.

Many viruses and other malicious software infect computers by taking advantage of security vulnerabilities or “holes” in Internet Explorer. While vulnerabilities exist in other browsers, Internet Explorer is the one that is targeted most frequently by virus and malware authors. While keeping Internet Explorer up-to-date as described earlier in the article provides some protection, some security experts are recommending that users abandon Internet Explorer altogether.

One of the most promising alternative browsers is called Mozilla Firefox, which can be downloaded free from www.mozilla.org. Firefox has been quickly gaining popularity in the recent months. Firefox also automatically blocks advertising pop-ups triggered by the websites you visit. You’ll want to keep whatever browser you use up-to-date, as security problems are discovered even in non-Microsoft browsers occasionally. Firefox automatically informs you of updates when they become available.

Eldon Martin owns a computer consulting firm in south central Pennsylvania. He also operates FultonPA.com - the unofficial guide to Fulton County, Pennsylvania.