The Refresh Orlando Heirs

As computer manufacturers begin to phase out old standards (e.g. IEEE 1284, RS-232), there is an increasingly large base of computer users who want to use their old Hewlett-Packer parallel printer with newer USB-only laptop and desktop systems. They purchase a USB to Parallel adapter, only to find that the parallel end doesn’t fit on their HP printer. What’s the problem?

In 1992, citing compact size and a simple connection to the printer, Hewlett-Packer decided to go with the IEEE 1284C connector, also known as mini- or micro-centronics. However, this connection has proved to be largely unpopular with other manufacturers, resulting in an interface that is nearly unique to HP printers.

As the IEEE 1284 standard became outdated in favor of USB, adapters sprang up to fill the gap between the older parallel printers and newer USB-only computers. However, manufacturers of these adapters went with the most popular printer connector: CEN-36 or centronics, which is considerably larger in size, although comparable in capability to the mini-centronics connection. So where does this leave those with old but useable mini-centronics parallel HP printers?

The answer is found in the centronics to mini-centronics adapter. This adapter converts a larger-sized centronics connection to the smaller, more compact mini-centronics end, allowing people to connect their parallel HP printers to their newer computers. A word of caution: the USB to parallel adapter is still necessary to complete the connection because the conversion from parallel to USB must still be made.

The contronics to mini-centronics adapter is a niche product that can be difficult to find, but it represents the best solution for those wanting to hold on to that old HP printer.

Nathan Kartchner is a product development rep for Sewell Direct, an online retailer of hard-to-find computer connectivity products, like the USB to Parallel adapter.

This article was written to answer many of the most frequently asked questions on this topic. I hope you find this information helpful.

When you buy stereo equipment the speakers customarily come with the system. The quality of speakers depends on the type of stereo system and how much you paid for it. The cheaper system usually doos not have high quality speakers and they will wear out quickly. You might blow your speakers if the volume is over half way. If you are not satisfied with your speakers then you can buy new ones to fit your system. These are usually more costly; once again it depends on the cost and quality of the speakers. Speakers are manufactured for two types of listeners: those who want accurate reproduction and those who want a more vivid colorful reproduction.

Many people are looking for a set of speakers that will produce a great sound and a loud noise. Here are some tips for buying new speakers for your stereo system.

1.Look for someone who is has experience with speakers. This could be a person who works in the electronic department of your local electronics store, or you can find information in magazines or check out the internet. This information will help you decide what type of speakers that you are looking for.

2. Speakers require cables and wires to hook them up. Cables are not automatically included with your system, so before leaving the store with your new speakers, ensure that you have checked for the necessary cables and wires.

3. You should also look for speakers that are bass reflex and that they have ported speakers. You will like this feature if you want a lot of bass. This is available on most types of speakers. You should also have acoustic suspension. This will give you a clean, tight and accurate bass. This improves the sound of your speakers.

Where you shop for your speakers will depend on the type of speakers you want to buy. If you are looking for inexpensive speakers then you can shop for these in your local electronics store. If you want high fidelity speakers, then you should shop at a specific audio store.

I want to thank you for visiting. Go ahead and look around to find additional helpful tips and information.

www.bornspeaker.com with host, Sintilia Miecevole, provides you with resources from wireless speakers and tweeters to audio speakers and more. Be sure to visit www.bornspeaker.com for further information.

Online Dating. Is it good or bad? With last years online dating turnover of nearly half a billion dollars, and expected to rise to 780,000 dollars by 2008, it must be said, it’s good.

You will always here scaremonger stories of how it isn’t safe, and too many online dating services have fake profiles. If this was the norm, then surely it wouldn’t be growing at such an enormous rate.

With millions of singles with access to the internet, one can only assume that it’s going to grow for a very long time. The price of going out to bars and clubs isn’t getting any cheaper, and neither is the transport that you have to use. The price of the taxi there and back could cost the same as one months subscription to a top online dating service.

Then you have the other side of the coin where people will say online dating is expensive. These are probably not the singles paying over $50 for a night out, only to be told “I’ll probably call you later in the week”.

Online dating gives singles ( mainly men ) the opportunity to get to know someone before they start spending their hard earned taking them out. No one can say online dating is 100% guaranteed to find you a perfect partner the first time you take someone out. The best dating Guru in the world couldn’t do that, but it gives two singles the chance to connect with each other before a first date. It could be considered an “Ice Breaker”. It saves all the “Where do you work”? questions, and builds on the connection that has already taken place online.

Online dating would probably have a better strike rate of matching singles together if information was more freely available. This will give singles the chance to fully prepare themselves for their online dating experience. So many singles have poorly written profiles, and put a photo on their profile where they are barely visible.

If singles were to get this information before they joined the online dating service that they choose, the strike rate would expand markedly. This would then create a more positive feel to online dating, and give the industry a lot more stature.

Online dating is growing at a fast rate, and will continue to do so even more when singles realize ( and learn how to use ) the benefits.

For extensive online dating reviews, and advice for a higher quality online dating experience visit - http://www.the-online-dating-reviews.com

Yuk!

One thing, I really have a problem with is criticism. Oh I can do the criticism. That I can do. It’s too easy (but that’s not today’s point!) Receiving it, well that’s another story. So, today, from now on, I thought I need to take it like a mature, grown person. I don’t want it to bother me so much. How do I do that? Well I started reading up on the subject and this is what I gathered.

This is what criticism does to you.

1. Criticism is nothing more that an observation made by another person, one that we don’t necessarily agree with.

2. Criticism is directed at our actions and the way we think.

3. Criticism makes us defensive and wanting to justify our actions. It makes us want to point the finger and so on…

4. Our defense mechanism takes an enormous amount of mental energy, which usually leaves us angry, hurt, and with negative feelings towards the other person.

How to deal with criticism.

Read this. About agreeing with the criticism ?!?!?

Let say that you simply acknowledge it. OK. Don’t believe every single criticism is true or accurate or you will end up feeling like dirt and your self-esteem will turn into mush. No, but sometimes simply agreeing with the criticism will alleviate it.

Two things will happen.

First, someone else has had the opportunity to express himself or herself freely. This person has given you an opinion that you might never have even thought of even though you might not entirely agree with it.

Second, you learn something about yourself, which may be true.

And the best part; no anger, no tension, no hurt feeling. Healthy communication.

Now, how do I accept criticism?

I tried it with my spouse. Here is the conversation:

Him: “You are always late!” The famous “YOU”. I reflected for 5 seconds and replied:

Me: “You are right, I am often late.” Because it’s true, I tend to be late occasionally, well… often.

It’s was much easier to agree than to defend myself; and a good point was made (I can be more punctual, I know I can do better).

No hard feelings or anger and that was that. What a difference.

Reacting negatively automatically to criticism will have nothing but a negative effect. Acknowledging criticism and really considering it will lessen conflict and miscommunication.

I can live with that.

Can you try it?

Till next time,

Lynne

“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.” -Elbert Hubbard

“If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.” -Malcolm X

“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.” -Frank A. Clark

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What is RAID RECOVERY?

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. It is a method of combining several hard drives into one unit. This method offers fault tolerance (the ability of a system to continue to perform functions even when one or more hard disk drives have failed) and higher protection against data loss than a single hard drive.

Why do I need RAID RECOVERY?

RAID provides real-time data recovery when a hard drive fails, increasing system uptime and network availability while protecting against loss of data. Another advantage of the system is that multiple disks working together increase overall system performance. Any individual or company could benefit from having a RAID RECOVERY system in place.

Different Levels

There are several different levels of RAID available. Each level offers various advantages in terms of data availability, cost and performance. Your best bet is to assess your needs in order to determine which level works best for you. The most popular RAID systems are the following:

RAID 0 - Data striping (no data protection). The benefit of this system is that it offers the highest performance.

RAID 1- Disk Mirroring (provides data protection by duplicating all data from a primary drive on a secondary drive). The benefit of this system is it offers the highest data protection.

RAID 0/1- This combines both Raids 0 and 1. The benefit here is highest performance + highest data protection.

RAID 5 - Data striping with distributed parity (a form of data protection that recreates the data of failed drive in a disk array). This system offers the best cost performance for multidrive environments.

Having a RAID system installed can provide peace of mind. With RAID installed you can rest assured that even in the event of a system failure your important data will be safe.

About The Author

Alexandria Haber writes both fiction and non-fiction for a variety of people and places. As a result, she has had the benefit of gaining a little bit of knowledge about a lot of different subjects she would otherwise remain totally ignorant of. While researching this article on RAID recovery she gained a new respect for computer technology. For more information on RAID RECOVERY you can visit: http://www.raidrecoveryguide.com.

info@raidrecoveryguide.com

Our challenge as craftsmen and intarsia artists is to discover our markets. You need to know your market, who is your customer?
Are you selling a product to local or global customers.

If you’re selling to local customers say out of a storefront, you must know if you are in the right market and selling at the right price for this local customer. If you’re not showing the right product to the right customer base, chances are there will not be any sales, are at least very few.

It only makes sense that If your selling a product that is not of use to the customer and its not something that they see they want or need, you had better find either different markets or a different product to sell from your store.

I use to have a shop that sold simple crafts like little animal yard and driveway signs. I sold lots of country style decorative items for the interiors of their homes. These items sold well because I was living in a rural area where my customers had big yards and long driveways.
These people loved the country style of decorating. They loved the crafts I was making for them. I had other craftsmen producing items for me to sell for them. I was producing and selling to my market base.

If I was trying to sell the country style signs or plaques where I am living now, in the city, I would not do so well. For my customer base is not the same. Their yards are different, their driveway is short and their interior decorating may not be the same kind of “country style.” So for this new customer base you have to change your product line.

Does your product fit into the decorating scheme of most of your customers, if not very few are going to buy. You must be certain that your craft fits with your prospects or your business will fail. You must take the time to study this. Find the proper market place.

Crafts people are used in having friends and loved ones telling them how cool and how beautiful there craft is, this is encouraging. The problem is that it’s not realistic. You need to get input and about your product from a source that will give you a helpful honest response about your product.

When your customers come into your shop and say how much they like what you’re doing but walk out without buying anything you have to ask yourself, what’s wrong?

Are you in the right market for the craft you sell?

If your craft fits your customer, how is your price? The price you sell your product for may need to be adjusted up or down.

For the price setting you need to look at your competition.
At what price are they selling a comparable product. Ask yourself can I make a profit selling my product at that price. Can I sell my product and get a higher price? What can I do to make my product worth more money?

I now sell art, “intarsia woodworking art” that is higher priced, which means for the customer to let go of the money, she will have to really love your product.

Crafts, can be a tough market. I am a cabinetmaker, caught up in the world of art. I love to add artistic designs to cabinet doors to make them stand out from what other people build. The cabinets add atmosphere to a room by giving the room character and there by adding value.

I have managed to sell a lot of my work over the years. My prices are usually from about $200 to $15,000 depending on the work involved. As I said before, some time ago I had a craft shop in a small town. I built every wood craft I could think of to build and it was fun, but not really much money.

The money only comes after you learn the business end of the craft market.
As a cabinetmaker I have learned the hard way that you must get paid for the hours that you work, even when you love the work.
 

How much should I charge for my work?

It’s basically the same for most businesses, how much do you want to pay yourself per hour. Just add to that a percentage for overhead plus a percentage for profit and add material cost. That gives you a charging rate for all of your products. You must add the profit, that gives you the money to grow, like buying more tools.
My charging rate depends on if it’s commercial or residential, $45-$85 per hour depending on how custom the work is.
In my old “craft shop” my charging rate, at that time, was $35 hour, the price fit the product and the overhead.

If you can sell your craft as “ART” it will increase the amount you can charge for your product. Perceived value!
Do you have awards! Do you have newspaper and magazine articles about you! Do you have references? Have you developed a recognizable name for your market? If not, you need to work towards these things. All of this adds to the perceived value of your craft.

Intarsia woodworking is my craft, my art. It’s the work I look forward to doing.
Find the craft you love to make, find the correct customer base, set a reasonable price for your work and your on your way to a successful satisfying life.

Jerry Mifflin creates many works of Intarsia Art and gives away patterns of his work for other crafters to use. Articles and information on how to build intarsia are on his website, http://www.intarsia.us , specializing in that woodworking art and business. For patterns and a how to do intarsia art e-book go to http://www.freeintarsiapatterns.com to get yours.

Intro

One of the big advantages of PCs over earlier types of computers is that they’re upgradable. If you get to the point where you need a faster computer, more storage space or whatever, you don’t have to buy a new PC. You can upgrade it by buying just the extra part you need. But sometimes it’s better to just take the plunge and replace it… and how do you know what part to upgrade? Here’s my guide:

Memory

Adding memory is one of the most popular upgrades. It makes a big difference to how fast your PC runs. When your PC runs out of memory for what it’s doing, it stores information on your hard drive instead. Your hard drive is nowhere near as fast as the memory. The more memory you’ve got, the less often your PC will need to store things on the hard drive as it works. So the faster it will go.

How much memory is enough does depend on what version of Windows you’re running. With Windows XP, 256MB is considered a bit on the low side, though it’ll be just about OK. 512MB is decent and 1024MB is really good. If you have Windows 95 or 98, you can get by on 64MB though it’s worth going to 128MB even if you just use your PC for basic office work. More will make it really hum along.

It also depends on what you’re using your PC for — if you’re just typing up the odd letter and sending emails, then 256MB will probably do you but if you’re editing video or playing the latest 3D games, it’ll be worth getting the full 1024MB.

If you buy memory, make sure you get the right type for your computer — the best thing to do is go to a shop and get them to pick the right type and to fit it for you. You CAN fit it yourself if you know what you’re doing but be careful!

Hard Drive

Another upgrade that can be worthwhile is a bigger hard drive. If you don’t have enough space for all your files and programs then it’s obviously a good plan! I’d also recommend it if you have only just enough space. When your hard drive is nearly full your PC has to scamper around it trying to find empty space every time it wants to save something… and that takes time.

I’d recommend keeping your existing hard drive and adding a new one instead of actually replacing your existing one. No point in throwing it away if it’s still working!

A typical hard drive nowadays is anywhere from 40GB to 160GB — if you’re getting a new one it might as well be big!

With a hard drive you can either fit it yourself or get a shop to fit it… or there’s a third option. You can buy an external version which plugs into your computer via a USB port. These are great for moving information from one PC to another. If it’s always on one PC, I prefer the hard drive neatly tucked away inside the case… but again, it’s up to you.

Bigger/flat monitor

If you’ve got a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor (the type with a box sticking out the back, like a television) you might fancy one of those stylish flat ones. It’s not just a fancy gadget, they also fit better on a small desk and you can have it closer to the wall than a big cumbersome CRT.

If you decide to go for it, think about whether you want one with built in speakers. It keeps you desk nice and tidy and looks more stylish. But you can get much better sound quality with separate speakers.

You also could think about what size of screen you want. It’s measured in inches from one corner to the opposite one. 17inch is pretty standard for desktop PCs though the flat screen types tend to seem bigger than the CRT type even when they’re the same size. For normal use, I wouldn’t particularly recommend getting a big one but if you do a lot of design or gaming, it might be worth it.

Processor

I’m not a big fan of processor upgrades. People talk about the processor speed when they’re saying how fast a PC is but there’s a lot more to it. Upgrading the processor without upgrading the other parts doesn’t tend to make much difference. And if you’re going to change the other bits too, you’re probably best off just buying a new PC. It’ll probably be cheaper.

CD Writer/DVD player/DVD writer

This is a simple one. If you don’t have a CD writer and you want to be able to write CDs, get one! As usual, I’d advise you to get it fitted at the shop you buy it at. Or you could get an external one that plugs into a USB port.

If you fancy it you could even get a DVD player or DVD writer, if you want to put your home movies on DVD. Again, you can either get it fitted or buy an external one.

Graphics Card

This is a bit of a specialist one. If you’re into fast 3D games, then it might be worth getting a faster graphics card. If you aren’t, it probably isn’t. A standard graphics card can handle ordinary graphics pretty well. It’s only when the PC throws fast 3D at it that it struggles. Then the PC itself has to do some of the work for it, leaving less time for the PC to work out whether you’ve been clobbered by a goblin.

Epilogue

The crucial point about upgrades is that it really does depend on what you use your PC for. If you’re happy with what your PC is doing for you, don’t let anyone talk you into feeling you have to upgrade.

Tim Wakeling is the Author of Computers One Step at a Time, a home course using plenty of pictures of the screen to show you how to use your PC. He also writes a free monthly newsletter about computers for non-experts. Find out about both at http://www.osaat.co.uk

© Tim Wakeling, UK 2005. You may re-publish this article online and in print as long as you leave it unchanged.

So I’ll start from the very beginning.

One day I was surfing in the web and I found one site — www.digitalblasphemy.com and I browsed it. I was inspired by the 3D graphics’ realism and suddenly I noticed the “My tools” button. My heart stopped for a moment and after that I entered the section and some time later I already had the tools and started working.

In the beginning I don’t know why I thought it would be easy but later on I realised that I was wrong and it seemed impossible to create what the author had already did. But when I created my first render I compared it with some other from that site and I noticed that I had a female figure and he did also, so I am on the right way all I have to do now is tweak it a little. And once again with new motivation I started more deeply to study the chosen — Poser 4 program. As I was learning rapidly the essentials my circle of knowledge grew and I realised that there is so much more that I don’t know. The next couple of days I gave myself some time to think about that and I haven’t even touched the program. Going further I even realised that I can’t limit myself to that particular program and decided to learn some more less hard programs. Oh I forgot to mention that I did not learn everything with try and error, I also read some tutorials with difficulty level — easy. Now I am reading with moderate and I can’t dare thinking for the hard ones.

Well so much for my 3D experience before doing that I usually played games when suddenly I realised that this is a terible waste of time… well I still play them but way too little and I often use their models to practise with 3dsmax; for example all the models in Warcraft 3 are made using 3dsmax so I often open them to change animations and textures. Soon I may even create my own model and import it and create a custom map… maybe. So much for the offtopic.

Well…thats all I can think of. It was nice writing it, hope you enjoyed it.

For people that will redestribute this please keep my resource box untouched.

Age: 17
Location: Lom, Bulgaria, Europe
Personal site: http://www.freewebs.com/ic03d

If you’re looking to get into videography and video editing as a hobby, the options can be daunting. Here is a small question and response that may help you get started in this fun and rewarding hobby.

What type of camera do you recommend?

Response: For a beginner, a Canon single CCD camera will suit you well. It has a cost range of $500 to $700. Canon is well respected at all levels of video camera quality and has probably the best quality for the price at the low end.

If you want to start out with something more professional, you may want to look into the Canon GL2 which is a low end 3 CCD (1/4″ each) camera running about $1500. This camera is great for an enthusiastic hobbyist or a beginning special events videographer.

If you’re looking to make some money on the side (or as a career) with your camera doing special events such as wedding videography, you may want to look into the Sony VX2100, a high-end consumer 3 CCD (1/3″ each) camcorder, running at a price between $2100 and $3000, check out prices here. The high definition capable version of the same camera is called the Sony HDR / Fx1 and goes for $3700 at all major retailers.

What is CCD?

CCDs are imaging chips. CCD stands for charge-coupled device and is a light sensative circuit which stores an electrical charge representing each tiny part of an image. The difference between low and high end video cameras is usually determined by the number of CCDs (one or three), and the size of the CCD. In video cameras the number of CCDs determines the clarity of the picture in low lighting (most indoor) situations. The size of the CCD is directly linked to the amount of “color bleeding” present in the video.

It is also interesting to note that for video cameras, unlike photography cameras, the size of the pixels is far more important than the number of pixels. Fewer pixels that are larger make a better video camera. It is also interesting to note that as you go from low-end to high-end cameras, you will be getting fewer “extras” on your camera such as the ability to take “still photography”.

Next question: What video editing software would you recommend?

Response: Pinnacle Studio 9 has many great features for beginning in photoediting. It runs between $70 and $90 at major retail stores. It gives many options and is very user friendly. If you’re looking for some more advanced options in lighting, transitions, and sound editing, you may want to consider the more professional editing software Pinacle Liquid Editions for around $600.

This article may also be found at http://www.researchtechs.com/videoediting.htm

Jim Wagner

Contributor to www.ResearchTechs.com

Enjoys anything Tech.

Majoring in Computer Science.

jim@researchtechs.com