The Refresh Orlando Heirs

You can, if you are ambitious, start a Mail Order Business selling collectables to hobbiest by mail. To begin, you must first find a hobby that appeals to YOU. Next, you must spend several weeks researching that hobby. You must learn what collectors want and how much they are willing to pay for it. You should also know what other dealers are willing to pay forthe merchandise which they sell. And you must be willing to pay the same amounts.

Perhaps you already know exactly what you want to sell. If youhave been collecting old Valentines, then start a Mail Orderbusiness buying and selling old Valentines. Or Stamps. Or Comic Books. The first rule of Mail Order selling is to sell what you yourself would buy.

To give you an idea of what collectors buy and sell by mail, here is a partial list of today’s collectables:

Once you have selected your field, start a file. Keep copies ofall the ads selling your kind of merchandise. Also keep adsshowing the dealer’s buying prices. If price lists ar offeredin ads, send for them and STUDY them. MAKE YOURSELF AN EXPERTIN YOUR FIELD.

Try to locate any publications that deal with your field. Often, you can locate small mimeographed publications andnewsletters which will give you all kinds of useful information.

Your next step is to look for merchandise in your own community.Here are some suggestions:

Start by attending flea markets and antique shoes. Don’t be afraid to make inquiries of dealers. They often have what they consider “junk” stashed away, assuming that it isn’t of muchvalue to anyone. I once discovered a fabulous stamp collectionthat way!

Browse around through Thrift Shops.

Study the garage sale ads in your local newspaper. Visit any that sound promising. (Sometimes, it pays to telephone first. Also, by telling people what kind of merchandise you are looking for, they may be able to direct you to others who have exactlywhat you need!)

Place “Wanted to Buy” ads in your local newspaper. Be sure to list your phone number.

It is amazing what you can find in your local community if you work at it. However, if you can’t find enough merchandiselocally, run ads in the Collector’s Magazines listed above. Their rates are very, very low. And you will soon discover that they are widely read!

Once you have accumulated a decent stock of merchandise, you are ready to begin selling it. If there are publicationsspecializing in your field, by all means advertise there. Youhave a ready-made audience! Also run ads in the big hobbymagazines.

Type up a list of what you have and have an Instant Printer make a hundred or so copies for you. Hobbyists don’t mind typewritten, mimeographed, or xerox copies . . . it’s half thefund of collecting. Then run your ad. Your ad can merely offeryour list to interested collectors free (or for a stamp, to weedout coupon clippers). Or you can offer to make a sale straightfrom the ad. If you do the latter, stick in your price listwith the merchandise. It will be read . . . eagerly!

Here are a few sample ads run by hobby dealers for your
consideration:

“Railroad Timetables, 1940’s
Four different - $4.00 postpaid..

“Old Children’s Books and Texts. Stamp for List.”

“85,000 Comic Books, Movie Magazines, Funnies, etc.
1900-1957. Catalog $1.00 (Refundable).”

“Original Movie Poster, Pressbooks,
Stills, 1919-1975. Catalog - 50 cents”

“Sleigh Bells! Stamp for list.”

“Sheet Music. SASE for list.”

Just in case you are not familiar with the phrase, “SASE” means “Self-addressed, stamped envelope”. As you progress, you will learn continually. Most hobby dealers will tell you that they learn more from the collectors who buy from them than they could ever learn from any other source.

Note to editors:
To show my appreciation to the editors that use my articles, I offer a free solo ad. Simply send an email to me by using the form on the contact me page on my website to tell me the url the article was used on or send me a copy of the ezine it was used in.

Are you content with your advertising budget?
Schedule a coaching session with Frugal Solutions Expert, DeAnna Spencer.
She will design an affordable online advertising plan for you.
Contact her by sending an email to deanna.spencer(at)gmail.com
Visit this small business resource for more information.

Spyware Solution

Probably Today’s Biggest Computer Problem.
You Suffer Without Knowing Your PC is Infected!
“The effects can be devastating…and very costly.”
“Probably the biggest problem PC User’s
are experiencing right now.”

Symptoms

PC runs very slowly for no apparent reason.
It is difficult to access the Internet.
Bandwidth seems to be reduced.
Unwanted popup ads and often when you are not even surfing the web.
Changed Internet Explorer home page, (known as Hijacking).
Your PC is slowing down to a crawl.

Why You Should Fear Spyware

Personal information is collected from you without your knowledge or permission. Scary!
Spyware collects information from you on a range of areas, from all the Web sites you visit, to more sensitive information like user names and passwords and even banking details. Personal Information you would never give out if someone asked you for it! Spyware collects it covertly. The primary objective of Spyware is to steal information. Your ‘personal’ information!

Be aware, some Spyware may run unnoticed without any outward signs of infection. Do not be fooled. It could still mean you have a major problem! Spyware removal is required.

How does Spyware get onto your PC if you don’t knowingly download it?
Many PC user’s ask this question. The answer is that if you or your teenage children download music from file-sharing programs, free games from certain sites, ring tones or other software programs from unknown sources -you can easily become infected with Spyware!

Spyware uses security holes in the Windows Operating System, and many people are very surprised to hear that infection can occur without any actual conscious actions of your own.

Do not confuse Spyware with virus’s. Even if you have a virus checker this will not stop Spyware. It is a totally different threat.

It is annoying. All you probably want to do is surf the internet as simply as possible. The proliferation of threatening attacks to your system make this more and more difficult, unless you have the right set of tools in place to protect yourself.

How Do You Protect Yourself?

The best way to check for infection is to scan your machine with an effective program capable of protecting you. One thing you should be very aware of, are the ‘free’ programs offering to solve such a problem. Unless they are recommended by a professional source, you should steer clear of such programs. It has been found that many ‘free’ programs simply add to your problems, by adding more Spyware or other malicious programs to your computer. Even if you have not experienced it, you probably know or have heard of someone that has had their home page hijacked or their web search pages involuntarily redirected.

Recommended solutions?

There are a few legitimate programs which actually do what they say they will do. ‘Counterspy’ is such a program. ‘CounterSpy’ uses extensive Spyware signature databases, real- time security agents, and ThreatNet to protect your machine from many types of Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, malware, search hijackers, keyloggers, ghost spammers, and spy software. If you do not want to be targeted with offers of goods you don’t want and you want to feel secure, knowing your personal information is safe - then CounterSpy is the program you are looking for.

One great benefit of CounterSpy is the real-time agents that monitor your computer 24/7, securing certain key areas. Malicious Spyware authors are dubious and crafty. With CounterSpy you stack the odds in your favour and dramatically reduce the odds of Spyware installing on your machine.
There are no know issues with CounterSpy running with other programs, so you should find it blends in nicely with any existing programs you are running. I work in the PC maintenance and repair field and have found the program works as it says. A good number of other satisfied users that I have referred also rate this program.

The program has a 15 day free trial and a 30 Day Guarantee to ensure you are satisfied with the program. Its excellent value for money at $19 (or approximately £10 ) for one full year, including updates. The price in year 2 is roughly half the original price -so it really is a good deal.

I believe that £10 spent on prevention, is far better than paying out £100 later, if you have a real bad problem this program could have prevented.

Referring back to the guarantee, if you are not satisfied, your money is refunded in full. (Guarantee is provided by the makers of the software). A very good guarantee from an established company, with a quality product. I use the product myself daily. My opinion is that it will help in your fight to keep your computer running in top condition and more importantly, keeping your personal information more secure. You can try out the program for yourself just go here: http://www.gotopchelp.com/web/spyware

Stephen Wilk
PC Help

Copyright © all rights reserved.

About the Author: Stephen Wilk (MCSE) is the author of various technology articles and runs a commercial PC maintenance, repair and sales business. Stephen has already helped many people solve their frustrating computer problems.

Web Site http://www.gotopchelp.com
Article URL: http://www.gotopchelp.com/web/spyware
Send email to: itman6666-m2@yahoo.co.uk

We all believe

How do you believe? We are all believers, did you know that? Whatever your religious background or creed, you believe! Even when you are an agnostic, you believe!

You might get already that I am not talking about purely religious beliefs here. I am talking about the beliefs each and everyone of us holds about the world around us, like: “the earth is a beautiful place”, “I do not deserve to be treated this way”, “I do not like cold weather”, “my father was the nicest man on earth”, “rain sucks”, “you are a good friend”, “I am too good for this world”, etc. etc.

These statements are all beliefs (some people even believe they are facts….!), mental belief-statements and/or judgments you make about –what you call- “reality”.

Road-map

We have beliefs about everything (yes, everything) we (have) experience(d) in this world. You have beliefs about you, about other people, about work, the weather, your past, your future, the world, mental concepts, and on and on the list goes. You believe!

The sum total of these beliefs form your “road-map” of the world, the map you use to navigate your way through your worldly experience with. In other words, they are the spectacles you’ve –consciously or subconsciously- decided to put on to view your life through. Or, to put it differently, what you believe is what you will see, and what you see is what you will believe. Believe it or not.

A fact is, your beliefs are not mine, and mine are not my neighbour’s. We all hold different sets of beliefs. Nonetheless we can hold the same belief about certain things in life, and then we call each other “like minded” (or something similar)! When a bigger group of people have beliefs in common they usually join up and form a movement (like catholics, protestants, democrats, etc).

How do beliefs come about?

The interesting question in this context is: how are beliefs formed in the first place, and how can we use the answer to this question to create our own life’s experience consciously? That’s the topic I would like to touch upon. I will not be talking about specific content of beliefs, but about “beliefs” in general, so it basically covers any belief we might hold.

Let’s start at the beginning. When we are born (some people say) we hold no beliefs, so literally we have no idea. But from then on until the day we die, through our 5 senses, life happens. We are bombarded and imprinted with all kinds of experiences and events. These happen through our parents’ teachings, our schooling, events that take place in our lives, things that we’ve experienced before, etc. etc. In experiencing all this we slowly start to have our own thoughts about reality, and start linking thoughts together (cause & effect). We have an idea, form a concept, attach a meaning to it, feel a certain way about it, and solidify those thoughts more and more by doing so. We might still have some doubts and questions about how to organise our thinking into logical concepts, but we are on our way to forming beliefs!

For instance: at first, you have no idea about yourself. Then, parents and family tell you you are a human being, they name you a certain way and may tell you you are beautiful and are born to be happy. You start to form an identity based upon you being a beautiful, happy human.

As the thoughts gain more clarity, and you find confirmation and validation through “facts” and acceptance of your thoughts by others, they become knowledge. You ARE a human being, and your name IS, and you ARE beautiful and feel happy …This knowledge solidifies into a knowing, and then into a belief. The more clarity and affirming thoughts and/or experiences, and the lesser doubts and questions you have, the stronger your belief, which finally becomes a conviction.

The truth of it is, that the mere repetition of an idea or thought often sees that thought turn into a belief. To use a negative example: if I emphatically tell you long enough and often enough that you are ugly and no good, in the end you’ll start to believe that, and will start to doubt your self-worth for sure!

Coffee table

You can liken this system to a coffee table. The idea or thought you hold is the table top, and the “evidence” in the outside world that you base your idea/thought on are the legs under the table. The more legs your coffee table has, the stronger the thought (which then becomes a belief or conviction). The lesser legs the table has, the more shaky that belief is, and the more easy it is to make the table topple by questioning the validity of the belief.

From this follows, that your beliefs are based upon your experience with and in the outside world. There must be pieces of evidence for you to hold (or doubt!) a certain belief. The evidence comes up as soon as I ask you the question “why do(n’t) you believe that?” You will come with an answer “well, because……..”, and OUT comes the evidence that supports your belief or challenges another one’s belief.

Coaching

As you hear this, you might appreciate that I make use of this system of belief-forming in the coaching work that I do. For instance, a client has a business, and he claims the business is not going well. The underlying belief of the client may be that he is not a good marketer, and that is why (in his opinion!) the business is going badly. And there might be more “reasons” why it is not going right. All these reasons are legs under the coffee table’s top called “business is going badly”.

In this example, I will challenge the legs (i.e. reasons) under the table top to shift the perspective and make the belief shake. I use questions like: is the business going badly overall, or just on parts? And: what parts are going really well? In doing so, I saw away the legs under the coffee table, which eventually will weaken the belief (“it’s not so bad after all”).

In addition, I will have the client create new beliefs (new table tops), ones that are more conducive to business success. The only thing left to do is find legs under the table (i.e. evidence in the outside world) that exist already, and actively look for evidence (however small) that will support the new belief in the future. Repetition of the new belief, and taking the focus off the old one will make the new belief stronger and stronger, and eventually the new belief will become reality. Believe me. It works that way.

Recap

As a recap: beliefs are built over time, growing from thoughts, concepts and ideas, becoming more solid through life’s experiences, through education, through what influential people tell you, through events you’ve experienced before, etc. This continues until this thought/idea is so rock-solid that you do not doubt it anymore: it has turned into a belief/conviction. This is true for any belief, whether self-honouring or self-deprecating.

Still, however solid the conviction, it is possible to “uncreate” old negative beliefs and to create new positive ones. Destroy the ones that do not serve you well (by questioning their validity), and create ones that honour you and are effective.

When you understand how the process works, life comes under your control. You can change your life drastically, even though you think you cannot. In realising that you hold the tools, life becomes a very interesting game to play, with fascinating prospects. I, wholly and truly, believe THAT!

Marc de Bruin

Marc is a certified life/business coach and master NLP Practitioner on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He specialises in coaching people at critical junctions in their careers and/or lives, in order for them to find out what has been hindering them all along in achieving what they want, and to then make the conscious choice to take their lives and/or careers to the next level.

Having been a lawyer for nearly 6 years in his “previous life”, before immigrating to Australia from The Netherlands, Marc knows exactly how daunting taking the first step in a new direction can be. On the other hand, he also knows how fulfilling taking that step is, and has the knack of imparting his knowledge and wisdom in a stunningly simple and highly effective way.

Introduction

Amid the pervasive talk about the promises of the information economy, it’s easy to overlook the logistical challenges of delivering the necessary infrastructure to ensure everyone who wants connectivity is connected—regardless of where they live. Projected growth in customer demand for bandwidth will go wanting without connectivity, and the real challenge for fully realized networks is to create connections despite the very real physical and economic obstacles presented by today’s modern cities. The rewards for providing these connections are the likelihood of recouping previous investments in the fiber-optics network core/backbone—and establishing customer reliance on high-bandwidth networks for continued economic growth.

At one point, many telecommunications industry leaders and technology observers dreamed of all-fiber networks. But this vision is impractical for several reasons. The process of laying fiber in cities is time-consuming and often prohibitively
expensive. Ongoing preservation and restoration of fiber-optic systems in the event of accidental disruptions or natural disasters is also time-consuming and technically challenging, as service providers must address the concerns of bandwidth dependent customers frustrated with every hour of lost network access.

That having been said, all-optical fiber-optic networks—with their high-bandwidth capacities—are promising. Still, a world complete with fiber connections for all is decades from reality.

Deciding how best to complete high-bandwidth connections across networks is one of the great quandaries of the information age, and choosing which technologies to deploy to complete network connections will depend on costs and reliability(1) A combination of high-capacity access technologies provides the most cost efficient and reliable solutions for addressing both primary connections and backhaul. For all-optical networks, fiber optics and optical wireless solutions are the only two technology choices.

(1) Source: Free Space Optics, Merrill Lynch Global Securities and Economics Group, 15 May 2001

Parallel Histories

It may seem to telecommunications carriers and industry analysts that FSO technology only recently appeared, like a beam of light, to the optical communications landscape. But FSO is only new in one respect: as a market proven technology for optical wireless solutions that provide customer connectivity in private and public networks spanning more than 60 countries.

FSO technology itself is older than fiber optics. Technically, optical communications includes all forms of communications using light, including mirror signals and lighthouses, offering a rich and storied history.

The electrically powered optical technologies referred to by the term “optical” or “electro-optical” began with the introduction of the laser in 1960, which enabled the transmission of digital information
as pulses of light.

FREE-SPACE OPTICS

Recent developments in FSO technology target telecommunications improvements for Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), but the technology has its roots in government applications dating back
to World War I when military units and covert agencies needed secure communication systems that did not require cable and could withstand intentional interference, also known as “radio jamming”. Portability of these early FSO devices was a hallmark and made them particularly valuable to military personnel who needed secure communications equipment that was simple to set up, transmit information and move from location to location.
Additional optical communications developments occurred during World War II, and post-war economic restructuring led to further telecommunications technology progress. While electronics
innovations such as the transistor and integrated circuits enabled post-war telecommunications progress, the laser’s launching of electro-optical communication fueled research and development of advanced optical communications using the only medium for laser transmission available
then to military and aerospace industry physicists: the atmosphere, or “free space,” hence the term free-space optics. Research and application of free-space optics continues to thrive in the aerospace industry to this day for applications beyond commercial and private telecommunications networks. Today’s commercially deployed optical wireless solutions are the result of a culmination of FSO technology advancements.

FIBER OPTICS

After 1970, the introduction of the fiber-optic cable as optical transmitter—along with the establishment of digital technology—combined to usher in a worldwide telecommunications revolution. Key among fiber’s attributes is its immunity to electrical interference (no electricity is run through the fibers, so fiber signals do not interfere with each other); therefore, fiber can be run in areas without regard to interference from electrical equipment. Other benefits of fiber are:

• Security. It is resistant to taps and doesn’t emit electromagnetic signals.

• Compact size. Less duct space is required for these hair-strand sized fibers.

• High-bandwidth capabilities and low attenuation. Less fading or weakening of signals occur over long distances, which means fewer amplifiers are needed to boost the optical signals.

Given these advantages, fiber-optic cable held the promise of revolutionizing the telecommunications
sector, which was eager to build the initial fiber networks.2 The first practical fiber systems were deployed by the telephone industry in 1977 and consisted of multimode fiber. Single-mode fiber, a more recent development, was first installed by MCI in a long-haul network system that went into service in 1983.3 The result of fiber-optic cable deployment is an extensive network of fiber crisscrossing the land. During the 1990s, the telecommunications network capacities grew nearly 10 times as much as the traffic itself, with most of the bandwidth concentrated in dark
fibers along the network backbone often inaccessible to the end-user.5 The massive investment to put optical capacity in the long-haul telecommunications network backbone looks relatively simple compared with today’s metropolitan network challenges.

Beginning in 2000, carriers intensified their focus to building fiber-optic cable connections between the United States’ 25 largest metropolitan areas to the nation’s long haul backbone networks. This network gap is often called the “last mile,” where only 7 percent to 10 percent of end-users have access to fiber. “Routes in cities typically run to incumbent telephone company central offices and carrier hotels, which often are clustered together in the same areas, frequently near AT&T’s switches.

From there, they have runs to customers, data centers, Internet service providers and application
service providers.”5 While this network configuration sounds relatively simple, the logistics of
laying fiber connections in metropolitan areas are quite complicated and time-consuming.
The expense of construction and right-of-way permits for laying fiber often amounts to 20 percent of the cost of building fiber routes for networks. Moreover, the convoluted process
of obtaining permits can delay projects for 12 months to 16 months or longer. Metropolitan landscapes, with their busy streets, politically powerful neighborhoods, historic districts, and public works bureaucracies make the permit process more complex to navigate than those in
suburban and rural long-haul network routes.6 Time delays can be created by municipal public works departments whose staff members feel a responsibility to protect public investments in road surfaces, water mains and gas lines, plus quality of life concerns regarding noise, dust and
traffic disruption during construction projects to lay fiber.

Source 2: Just the Facts, Corning Incorporated, 1995
Sorce 3: The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, Annabel Zodd, 2002
Source 4 What Ever Happened to Broadband?, Erick Schonfeld, Business 2.0, October 2002
Source 5: The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, Annabel Zodd, 2002
Source 6: Can They Dig It?, Kate Gerwig, Teledotcom, March 2001

Today’s Emerging Synergistic Optical
Wireless/Fiber Landscape

From rural farms to suburban hospital campuses to big city high-rise offices, high-speed network connections must be made available everywhere people live and work, if the information age is to reach full realization. Although rural, suburban and metropolitan connections each have their own sets of challenges; the metropolitan market is presenting the greatest difficulty for true highbandwidth connectivity. Complete, efficient, and profitable networks to meet emerging customer needs cannot exist without the creation of metro area connectivity using diverse medium and resources. While some may consider an all-fiber network the ideal connectivity solution, the
medium’s high-bandwidth capacity comes at a high price that is not feasible everywhere.
A number of compelling factors justify further integration of optical wireless solutions to
complement fiber deployments to meet the growing connectivity demands. Service providers that
have invested significantly to build network fiber backbones now need communications traffic to
fully utilize network upgrades and generate revenues to pay for such investments. Developing
metro optical network deployments (substantial bandwidth upgrades) extends the reach of metropolitan networks to the network edge. This is the same portion of the network where
regulation changes have encouraged telecommunications players to “race” to gain competitive advantage and deliver the best value to customers

EVOLVING INFRASTRUCTURES
Because metropolitan telecommunications network architectures—particularly those in the
United States and Western Europe—have evolved as a patchwork of technologies, communications data is often slowed by protocols translations to manage and direct high-bandwidth
information through metro networks. In growing economies such as China, India and Latin America, the growth in bandwidth demands presents a different challenge, due to relative lack
of network infrastructure.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGES
Optical wireless solutions and fiber are the two optical technologies today that deliver high-speed optical bandwidth to meet market needs. Their integration offers several technological advantages. First, fiber optics and optical wireless solutions share several characteristics. Optical wireless solutions can use the same optical transmission wavelengths as fiber optics (850nm or 1550 nm).
Second, optical wireless solutions and fiber can utilize the same system components such as lasers, receivers and amplifiers. Third, both fiber and optical wireless can transmit digital information using a range of protocols. Fourth—and critically important in meeting technological
demands—optical wireless delivers the bandwidth (up to 2.5Gbps) necessary to complement fiber networks.

STRONG BUSINESS MODEL
The business advantages of optical wireless for network extensions include deployments at an average of one-fifth the cost of fiber-optic cable and in one-tenth the time. Optical wireless systems are a flexible investment that can be re-deployed to meet changing customer needs. Optical wireless and fiber also integrate seamlessly, and because optical wireless equipment is simple and easily installed, the technology can bridge optical network gaps effectively with reduced CAPEX risk. Installing optical wireless solutions to complement fiber enables service
providers to secure customers in a specific location first before installing the system to bridge to the fiber network, providing optimal alignment between capital expenditure and income.

Complementary Future
The future of the information economy depends on profitability. Despite large debt loads and low cash flow, service providers cannot afford to forego investments necessary to grow their customer base—and that requires extending their networks to complete “last mile” connectivity.

Now that they are being more discriminating about the way they spend their money, service provider managers are demanding high-bandwidth technologies that will also lower OPEX. Flexible networks that can adjust to changing customer concentrations and metro environments are needed. Combining optical wireless and fiber to create optical networks offers the best solution to these problems. The reward for successfully combining these two optical technologies is attainable and economically viable.

Complementary deployment of optical wireless and fiber serves the needs of a variety of carrier types in metropolitan networks. Market growth for both last mile access and network
extension applications is predicted to experience a 219% growth rate in 2001 over 2000 and has the potential to extend metro last-mile networks.7
Despite questions about economic growth, there is no reason to expect that customer demand for bandwidth will slow in the near future, and although carrier capital spending may have slowed to a crawl, prospects for growth remain strong.8 SG Cowen projects carrier spending on new
equipment, after two years of decline, should hit $102 billion by 2003. Metro optical networks are expected to see $57.3 billion invested by 2005.

Conclusion
The most exciting possibilities for the future of the information economy will only be practical and profitable when network connectivity is expanded to reach a broad customer base. Telephone lines have this connectivity, but they don’t offer the capacity to enable true high-bandwidth
communications. The network fiber backbone or “core” can carry the bandwidth, but has yet to be connected to the majority of potential users.
A new paradigm for building optical networks offers an alternative to expensive and timeconsuming fiber-only metro networks. By combining optical wireless and fiber, networks can be
built quickly and provide affordable and scalable connections to end-users, who are expected to continue increasing demand for bandwidth.

Source 7: The Strategis Group, Free Space Optics: Global Trends, Positioning, and Forecasts, September, 2001
Source 8: Optical Networking Industry, SG Cowen Securities Corp., August 2001

About the Author

Lightpointe are a pioneer in the development of Optical Wireless products based on free-space optics (FSO) technology. LightPointe’s Wireless Systems are installed and supported in the UK and Europe by WAN Partnership Ltd. More information and further discussion about Wireless technologies can be found at: http://www.wanpartnership.co.uk

Although the application of CCTV security have not changed very much over the past years, the tools and equipment have significantly.
Cameras became smaller, cheaper and better, but the major breakthrough happened in recording equipment.

Therefore many customers shopping for complete CCTV monitoring and recording systems are confused by such a verity of available products.
Goal of this article is to guide buyers toward best possible and most economical type of CCTV equipment, based on intended implementation and requirements.

Selecting the right cameras.

It is virtually impossible to describe all types of available security cameras in this short article. We will focus our attention on most popular and widely used camera types instead.

CCTV security cameras produce images using CMOS or CCD (Charge Couple Device) chips. Tiny, very low price CCTV cameras usually use CMOS technology, produce poor quality images and have very poor light sensitivity. Decent quality CCTV cameras use CCD technology. The size of the CCD chip is normally 1/4″, 1/3″ or 1/2″. As a rule of thumb, the larger the size, the higher the quality of the image produced and the higher the price. However, higher density 1/4″ and 1/3″ CCD chips can now produce as good an image as many 1/3″ or 1/2″ chips.

The number of TV lines in the security camera image is a measure of picture resolution (sharpness). The larger the number of TV lines, the better the resolution and hence, overall picture quality. Standard resolution camera may have 350-380 lines, over 400 TV Lines is generally considered good resolution while over 500 TV lines is considered high resolution.
B/W chip cameras produce greater resolution and better light sensitivity, therefore suitable for use in dark areas where light conditions are poor most of the time.

On the other hand color cameras offer more realistic and natural picture.
CCTV cameras are usually divided into different types based on the body of the camera used.

Professional grade cameras.

Have box type body with the ability to use different types and size of lenses. Exchangeable lenses enable this camera, to monitor objects from virtually any distance.

Although for indoor use, they can be used for outdoor when combined with weatherproof housing. They are considered to be the most flexible and widely used by professionals for commercial installations.

Bullet cameras.

Bullet cameras are, as the name suggest contained inside bullet shaped housing.

Most bullet cameras are weatherproof and sealed without the ability to use different lenses. Great advantage of bullet camera is the small size and integrated design, some bullet cameras will even have infrared LED future built-in. Infrared technology is simply LED light in infrared spectrum (not visible to human eye). This light will illuminate viewing area, making possible monitoring in complete darkness. This is great future, but it only works up to certain distance (usually between 10 and 50 ft. depending on model)
Vary simple to install and estheticly designed, bullet cameras are great choice for residential and do-it-yourself installations where monitoring objects are within about 25ft from the camera location (with standard 3.6mm lens).

Board Cameras.

Board Cameras are basically fixed lens mounted on a circuit board. These cameras may be packaged in a small case (Mini Cameras) or dome (Mini Dome) or simply sold unpackaged, for mounting by the purchaser. Lenses in these cameras are either of a normal industry aperture or a “pinhole” lens of very small aperture. Pinhole lens cameras are often called “spy” cameras and may be mounted in a concealed way for covert surveillance purposes.
The most popular examples of covert board cameras are smoke detector and motion detector cameras.

Since the lenses in board cameras are pre-mounted, have a fixed iris and are usually of a short focal length (i.e. wide angle), their flexibility of usefulness is limited. However, this type of camera can provide a low cost solution in the right situation, particularly in a home environment.

We have shortly described most popular types of cameras, lets now discus, how and where they mite be used.

Professional type cameras with C/CS mount lens attachment generally offer best performance and many important futures, like lens control output, Back Light Compensation and many more…

Distance from monitoring object to the camera is not an issue, that is why ability to select different lenses, based on camera location is so important. Installation is bit complicated and professional installation strongly recommended.
We recommend this type of security cameras for commercial installations.

Most Bullet cameras in comparison, do not offer high resolution and lens selection flexibility, but are likely to be weatherproof, some will have infrared light built-in and most of all they are relatively easy to implement.

Bullet cameras usually come with 3.6mm lens witch are considered to be suitable for most standard installations (good for covering small to medium size room or equivalent).

For larger roomsor longer distances, cameras with 6mm or higher lens may be required.

They are great choice for any do-it-yourself installation.

Board cameras in contrast are widely used in covert camera installations, sometimes called Spy Cameras. Many wireless cameras are basically board cameras with built-in transmitter.

We are not going to go into wireless cameras right now, as this would be enough material for completely new article.

Board cameras are sold as plain circuit board, for integrating into hidden camera devices. They are also available in dome housing, as vary popular Dome Camera or integrated with Smoke Detector, Motion Detector, Exit Sign and so on.

Most board cameras also come with 3.6mm lens although some will allow lens to be replaced.

Over the time, most practical design has been Dome Camera with its esthetic appearance it blends into surroundings, especially with drop down sealing, great for use in stores, lobbies, gas stations and other public places.
Practical solution for covert installation are also, Motion and Smoke Detector cameras, they are absolutely not substitute for your security alarm or fire protection.

Cameras should always be selected based on the location of the camera (inside/outside), distance from the monitoring object, light condition and budget.

When shopping for security cameras, customers are faced with the fact that they will need to select one or another recording device.

The days of well-known CCTV time-lapse VCR recorder are almost over.

Although some customers still prefer this old fashioned recording solution, it is well worth to invest some extra money to purchase a good quality digital video recorder (DVR). Digital recorder transfers analog camera video feed into digital format, and stores it on hard drive. There are two major types of digital recorders on the market right now.

PC Based Systems.

A special board and software installed on the computer will allow camera inputs and store video on the hard drive.

Many people are under the misconception that personal computer with additional hardware installed, will do the job. This explains the hundreds of companies that have hung up a sign, taken out some ads and begun working out of basements and garages, holding themselves out to be DVR manufacturers and security specialists. The main problem with this type of CCTV recorders lies in the main component of it… Yes, it is a computer, designed to do unlimited tasks, but non well. The truth is that any computer based digital video recorder is, and will always be vulnerable to software crashes, hang-ups, system instability, virus related problems etc…

Stand Alone Systems.

Very similar in appearance and control functions to standard VCR recorders, are truly remarkable devices. Most video processing is done by hardware, therefore eliminating system crashes, video is also stored on hard drive in digital format. The basic operating system, usually Linux, is permanently stored on special processor, witch is impossible to overwrite or corrupt. Designed and manufactured with single application in mind, it is by far better in performance and reliability to its PC based rival.

Some DVR systems will even have remote monitoring capability, useful when monitoring is required in different locations thru Internet or network.
Most important futures to look for when selecting the right DVR recorder are motion detection and frame speed. The higher the frame speed the more fluent video recording. Motion detection will allow recording video from each camera only when motion is detected; this is great for extending video recording time.

Security Monitors.

Video from Security recorder could be displayed on regular TV monitor. It is OK to do it this way, for baby monitoring or residential application, when quality of the picture is not that important. However for professional installation, security monitors are as much important as cameras. They offer extended life of picture tube (necessary with any static picture, that can cause picture burnout) and much grater resolution.

Cables and wiring.

Finally any camera installation will require proper wiring. Good quality cable will prevent video degradation over long distance runs. It is recommended to use RG59 or RG6 coaxial cables as it is fully shielded and will prevent video loss up to 400 ft. Coaxial cables will require BNC connectors and proper installation possibly done by experienced technician. In short runs plug and play non-coaxial cables with factory installed BNC connectors may be used (up to 150 ft.). The plug and play cables are easy enough to install by not experienced users.

Cables for CCTV cameras consist of two cables bundled in one jacket. One cable for video and one for power delivery.

Conclusion.

Every CCTV system is as good and reliable as its weakest component. With this in mind, investing on highest quality and performance cameras, while purchasing low performance recorder, from economical and practical standpoint just does not make sense.

For example, why use cameras with 500 TV lines of resolution with monitor that offers only 380 or less. All the benefit of high-resolution camera is affectively sacrificed by limited capability of monitor.
Asking questions is important before purchasing video security system, and your vendor will probably be able to give more details and recommend equipment for specific needs and requirements.

Robert Moskal is Technical Department Manager at V2Comp,Inc, a major distributor of security equipment located in Chicago area. More information about new products can be accessed at http://www.amazingcameras.com or http://www.v2comp.com

Roll over lumbering desktop computers, the limber laptop is here, and it’s here to stay! For a while now notebooks have outstripped their ageing desktop PC siblings, easily winning the gold medal in the computer sales olympics. We will illustrate how the PVP effect has contributed greatly to the increase in popularity of notebook computers.

(P) Portability:

Firstly it may be stating the obvious, but people buy laptops because they can take them anywhere. Office workers need no more be confined to their claustrophophic cubicles. Instead those statistic charts and data reports can be compiled on a train, in the comfort of an arm chair, or even on the beach! Portability equals flexibility, but alas this hasn’t always been the case. Todays ultra portable laptop computers have a come along way since the bulky, sewing machine sized machines of the late seventies and early eighties. Indeed one of the first portable computers was built by IBM, and this machine (IBM 5100) weighed in at a hefty 50lbs! Today’s corridor warriors would have trouble lugging that puppy from meeting to meeting, unless of course they subjected themselves to an intensive dose of steroids

(V) Value:

In the seventies the aforementioned IBM 5100 would have set you back a staggering 20,000 dollars. Today a top of the range IBM Thinkpad can be bought for around 3000 dollars. Cheaper Thinkpads can often be obtained for well under a thousand dollars, especially if you don’t mind purchasing a used or refurbished model.

(P) Performance:

Many laptops today come fitted with Centrino processors which offer superb performance and improved battery life. What is Centrino I hear you ask? Well this is Intel’s name for their new notebook technology that combines their Pentium M processor, 855 chipset and the Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 WiFi 802.11 network interface. Laptops fitted with these processors are usually lighter because of the smaller components used.

Couple this attractive feature with wireless networking technology and you have a powerful technological package. Wi-Fi is short for “Wireless Fidelity” and it’s usage is growing quickly amongst home users, office workers, even coffee shops. If you enter Wi-Fi areas with a properly equipped notebook, you can access the Internet at broadband speeds.

Tom Fox writes for the The Laptops Weblog, a web site providing information and articles related to notebook computers.

For years, man has been prognosticating the future in technology. Doc and Marty made it to 2015 to see flying cars and a fake-looking Jaws hologram. Star Trek fanatics live in a dream of phasers and transportation via ‘beam-me-up’ beams. The Jetsons had a robot to cook and clean. While the iTheater doesn’t promise to press your pants, it is a huge step forward in personal entertainment technology.

Applications

Dentistry
I hate dentists. I take that back. My best man at my wedding is studying to be a dentist. I hate the dental experience. I hate the chair. I hate the smell. I hate the noise of the drills and crying children in the next room. I hate the poking and the jabbing and the picking and… well, you understand, I’m sure. The iTheater is the perfect friend for the dental chair. Watch Wallace and Gromit shorts rather than that blasted light and the built-in ear buds help drown out the pain-induced groans from all around you. You still feel the poking, but maybe you won’t notice it as much.
Exercising
When I first tried one of these on, I was actually surprised at how light it was. It makes sense, I guess, since the only thing you actually wear is the screen and ear buds (the video processing and batteries are stored in a little box attached to the head unit). This means that you can finally watch movies at the gym without hurting your neck to keep your eyes on the screen. Plus, you get to pick what you watch. The iTheater rests comfortably on your nose and ears while you jog (not recommended for swimming yet, sorry).
Flying
So you’ve got the red-eye from New York to Dallas and you got a new Video iPod. Great. Four hours with your tray table, Lord of the Rings, and a 2 inch screen. What you di
dn’t think about was the horrible crick in your neck, the sore wrist, and the squinty eyes. The iTheater answers it all. Enjoy your movie in privacy and comfort while you’re in the air. Simply fold it up (like sunglasses) and tuck it into your purse or manbag when the flight is over.
Specifications
The iTheater comes with built in stereo ear buds and plugs into any RCA source (adapters are available for iPod Video). It is powered by 2 “AA” batteries. It is only 3.5 ounces (head unit only) and runs for 6-8 hours on the 2 batteries. It works with NTSC, PAL and SEACAM systems.

Lewis Gunter is a business developer with sewelldirect.com and a technology admirer. More information on the iTheater as well as purchasing information can be found here.

Do you want to know your poverty graph? You are poor if you:

- do not have a firm commitment with yourself to succeed

- do no set goals and follow them through

- do not put your best efforts at work

- do not keep yourself updated on new information and
technologies

- do not adopt a positive attitude and get rid of negative
thinking

- are not strong enough to accept the challenges of day-to-day
life

- are not ready to take any risk due to fear of failure

- lack self respect and respect for others

- discriminate people on the basis of religion, belief, cast,
creed, nationality, etc.

- do not appreciate the good work done by others

- do not apologize to others for your misdeeds

- do not help the people in need

- do not thank God for all that you have

The list goes on and on. Let me leave it unfinished and ask you
a simple question. Do you really want to get rid of your
poverty? The answer, you know the better!