The Refresh Orlando Heirs

What do you use your computer for? Long gone are the days when the computer was strictly a data processing tools. Today, the computer is an all-purpose media entertainment center. Its capabilities have gone far beyond keeping a catalog of all your movies and music – it’s even gone beyond playing all your favorite music and movies. These days, with the right tools you can splice, cut, record, edit, mix, create and publish your own media. And to accompany the new capabilities there’s a dizzying array of new software tools that can help you do everything from rip CDs to encode complete animations and videos. How do you find the best new software tools?

Enter www.audio-video-tools.com, one of the fastest growing download sites for audio and video software. Just like their name says, the site is all about the software that you need to do everything you want with anything audio or video. This is not just another software directory. www.audio-video-tools.com lists powerful audio and video tools in 14 different categories from CD rippers to cell phone utilities. Whether you want to do something as simple as convert a wav to an mp3 or as complex as create a full-length video from scratch, you’ll find the tools you need to do it at audio-video-tools.com.

And you’ll find them easily. There’s no need to wade through page after page of directory structure. You can search all categories from the front page on the site, or click on a category to go directly to browsing that category. You’ll find video editors, audio editors, CD rippers, imaging software, video and audio converters, complete all-in-one packages and more. There are shareware listings, commercial listings and freeware listings – in short, just about everything you’d ever want to play with your media.

Each listing includes a capsule description and a full review as well as a side box that lists all the important details about the software – including both a staff and user rating, and the chance to enter your own rating. The categories include All-in-One, Media Players, CD Rippers, CD Burners, Converters, DVD software, Editors, ID3 Tag Editors, Mobile Phone Tools, Plugins, Radio and Broadcasting (plogcasting, anyone?), Recorders, Utilities and Voice and Text editors.

The reviews are comprehensive, listing all the capabilities of each software package and how well it performs each function. It’s a nice bonus that’s not often found on pure directories.

For software publishers, audio-video-tools.com offers multiple opportunities for exposure. There’s an easy submission tool to add a free listing of you audio or video software, and many different ways to increase the exposure of your listing at very reasonable rates. You can opt for a featured listing, front page exposure, top level search results, footer text links and more.

Among the most popular software featured at audio-video-tools.com is Blaze Media Pro, the popular powerhouse all-in-one media tool that converts between all available video and audio formats .Rip, burn, convert, edit, capture, create, extract and combine files to create your own unique media.

www.audio-video-tools.com is a young and growing directory with a lot of promise. The directory structure is easy to follow and intuitive, the reviews and descriptions complete enough to intrigue and the array of features for software publishers wide enough to attract the best tools the net has to offer. If you need the tools to do absolutely anything with media files, this is the place to find the tools that you need.

This article was prepared for this Audio and Video Software Tools
website , please visit them for all your audio and visual software downloads.

In many respects, e-Learning has matured as a technology and industry. Today we will look at how web-based learning management systems can be and are being used as part of the partner support function in a company or organization.

What is a learning management system?

Learning management systems (LMSs) are web-based software application platforms used to plan, implement, and assess learning processes related to online and offline training administration and performance management. LMSs provide an instructor a way to create and deliver content, monitor learners’ participation, and assess student performance. They also provide learners with the ability to use interactive features, such as threaded discussions, web conferencing, discussion forums, and other methods of communication.

Where and why are learning management systems being used in partner support settings?

LMSs are being used in business-to-business, high-process, value-added, and technology-oriented business environments in industries like telecommunications, advanced electronic technology, semiconductor manufacturing, insurance, banking, medical products, and others. Learning management systems are being used in partner support settings because they can be a cost-effective solution to providing performance support for a company’s products and services.

In some ways, partner support operations may be similar to customer support settings, but they possess some distinct differences. More often than not, and by its very nature, a partner channel of distribution exists because the partner adds value to the product and services your company offers. Partner support operations may be more concerned with tactical distribution or other issues because they are responsible for providing their part of the value chain in the delivery of your product or service.

Partners walk a different road with product end users. Partners need the flexibility to provide information and support customer needs, but in a way that supports and amplifies the value their company brings to the partner channel.

Why is it cost-effective to use an LMS for your company’s partner support operations?

Learning management systems have lots of functionality that can be used in partner support organizations. A good LMS lets you create multiple partner campuses, which the partners themselves can customize to meet an end-user customer’s needs. Each partner can have their own look and feel, with a large selection of capabilities to deliver their unique value-add to the product or service.
Learning management systems can be used to create a library of custom online courses that demonstrate how to use products and services. These courses can be easily updated with the information/service offering unique to the partner’s contribution to the product. They can have the same look and feel as the partner’s site, to maintain a branded experience. The course can be updated at will, so you’re not paying every three months to print new product guides and support manuals.

LMSs can be used to track and monitor your partner’s activities, instead of using a bunch of spreadsheets. This is very effective in scenarios where partners must be certified to use your products and services. The learning management system can be set up to notify a partner when their certification is set to expire, using an email tickler so they can recertify on your product. The partner organizations themselves can be configured into a hierarchy within the learning management system, which can be used to manage the partner distribution channel.

What other features in learning management systems can be used for the partner support function?

A well-designed LMS comes with a help desk feature that can be used for 24/7 partner and end-user customer support. Learning management systems can have integrated web conferencing technology, which can be used in a number of ways to support partners and end-user customers Such as:

· synchronous training used in product implementation;

· web conferencing on a new feature set that can be archived for later viewing;

· actual, on-the-spot tech-support using the “share your desktop” feature so your tech can go in and fix any problems

· and more.

LMSs can have a built-in survey tool that allows you to query your partners and end-user customers with the results stored in the learning management system database for later use. Learning management systems can have a single sign-on/e-Commerce registration feature that can be used to sell add-on features. LMSs also may have events management/seminar logistics add-on applications that can help you manage both your off-site and onsite partner and end-user customer support training. Each individual partner campus that is created can have its own reference area for materials, to help supplement online course content.

A company can realize effective resource planning and substantial cost savings by using learning management systems in partner support settings. The support offered through the functionality of a learning management system can go a long way to cement the relationship between the company and its partner distribution channel, and will have a direct impact on both organizations’ bottom lines. Using a learning management system, one or two channel partnership managers or business development managers can manage and direct thousands of partner firms at substantially reduced costs, with the ability to provide precise support requirements customized to that partner’s individual needs. In conclusion, web-based learning management systems can be a very useful, cost effective way to manage a company’s partner support function.

Dave Boggs is the founder and CEO of SyberWorks, Inc www.syberworks.com. He has been involved with computer-based and web-based training for more than twelve years. Before founding SyberWorks, Dave was the VP of Sales and Business Development for Relational Courseware. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

When many people start their own businesses, one dream that nearly always features is the ability to work in your own time, preferably in your own home. Well, I regularly work all over the world, from just a laptop. It helps that my “shop window” is my group of web sites, but I still have to talk to and meet my clients from time to time. So how do I do this from an office that fits into a small bag and weighs less than 7lb!

Well first start with your laptop – make it as light and as powerful as you can afford. I say light, because anything that weighs more than 5lb is going to be one laptop that you really hate after you have hauled it around for a few hours. Some models have CD/DVD units that plug in to the main PC. These are useful if you leave them behind or pack them separately. I prefer them to be included if possible. A small mouse and slim mouse pad – the latter which stores inside the “clam” of the laptop when traveling to protect the screen – completes your basic office.

I also have a handful of those memory sticks that plug into your USB socket. These hold my key documents and any documents that I am working on at the moment. In that way, if I can’t find a broadband link to hop onto when traveling, I can at least use the local internet café and still have my documents available. It is always a good idea, to set up a Yahoo account, to use your own email settings, as a fall back. Lastly I always carry a couple of CD’s with all my documents and emails on – just in case the awful happens and my laptop ceases working or gets stolen.

Lastly I need some kind of communications – I use VOIP (voice over internet protocol). I can set up telephone numbers in major cities or countries and be contactable whenever I am logged on. Of course if I am not logged on, then voicemail will take over and my clients think that I am busy. A good quality, small headphone and microphone and I have a full telecoms facility. I don’t use fax, but those that do, can easily open an efax account to obtain that facility. Lastly, I use a small web camera for my consultancy calls.

I carry my basic pens and stapler in a small pencil case as well as a small note book for my messages and notes. A larger note book holds all of my planning, consulting notes etc. A small notebook holds all my contact details as well as business and software details etc. A few personal items and my office is set up.

To carry my laptop, well aware that passing through numerous security checks with the laptop out of the bag, as well as a higher risk of it getting stolen. I actually carry my laptop inside a case logic slip case – inside of my rolling bag. In this way it is hidden from view, but easy to get to when going through airport checks. For general use, I have another case logic carrier that hangs off my shoulder. For the less secure areas, and if I have to store the laptop in the hotel room, I have a “safe” which is a mesh bag attached to a long lead that can be wrapped around something solid and then locked. The bag and the lead cannot be cut. These can be found at good camping shops. Of course my laptop is password protected and can be attached to the desk by a lead if necessary.

A mobile/cell phone and small digital camera completes my office and a MP3 player my working environment.

So that’s my office, but of course I am dependant upon broadband for it to work. Luckily wi fi areas are easier to find now – let’s just say I drink a lot of coffee. Places like Starbucks and McDonalds, hotels, airports etc. You get to know the possible areas very quickly, you can seek them out beforehand using the internet, or buy a small wi fi hotspots seeking gizmo. I have always found these places welcoming, if you sit down, buy their products and don’t cause any disruption. I usually ask if I can plug in as well. The only problem I find, apart from too much caffeine, is when you need to use the facilities – in this case, knowing that my laptop can run faster than I can, it comes in with me. More of a problem for the gents I think.

Of course, if you don’t want to travel, and I’m just planning a 3 month round the world trip, you can always use your mobile office by the swimming pool, in the garden/back yard or on your client’s site.

Happy wandering.

© Copyright 2006 Biz Guru LLC

Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own sites http://www.BizGuru.us and http://www.clikks.com for all our informational products.

With over 20 year’s management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Dating online probably appears on its surface to be much safer than traditional dating; you proceed at your own pace and only as far as you feel comfortable, and you don’t have to worry about somebody slipping something into your drink. However, the relative anonymity afforded by online dating means that some measure of caution always needs to be exercised. By taking a few simple steps, you can insure that your online dating experiences will be successful and safe.

The truth is that, at least initially, you don’t really know the person that you are talking to online. All they are to you is a series of words and possibly a photograph, and with that sort of ambiguity it can be easy to create any number of different impressions or images. Detractors of online dating will always point to the extreme examples of physical meetings gone awry after online courtships. I would argue that these examples are extreme and actually more infrequent than with similar stories involving traditional dating. However, they do illustrate several basic guidelines that should be adhered to when you begin to date online.

First and foremost, never proceed at a pace that makes you feel uncomfortable. Whereas in a physical setting you can generally get a “read” or a “vibe” as to the sort of person you are speaking with, online dating makes that sort of gut impression more difficult to come by. It can take extended conversations before you feel comfortable enough to actually meet somebody, and that is perfectly acceptable. Remember that you truthfully don’t know this person at all, and if they begin to pressure you into meeting them sooner than you’re comfortable with, it may be a good idea to simply nip the relationship in the bud.

If at all possible, see if you can find out any information about the person online through mutual friends or acquaintances. One thing is true about the internet: It has made the world infinitely smaller. Chances are good that, between you and your online interest, you share at least one common relationship. Use this to your advantage! Any information that you can find out about this potential romantic prospect is bound to be beneficial, if only for your own peace of mind. If said mutual relationships don’t exist, follow the above advice and proceed at a pace that you are comfortable with.

When it does come time to meet your online interest for the first time, a little common sense goes a long way. It is probably a good idea to make your first meeting public rather than private. Until you know somebody well enough, you might forgo the seclusion of dinner and a movie at one of your homes and instead opt for a restaurant and theater. Until you know somebody well enough and are comfortable with them, having people around when you meet is beneficial. It allows you to get a better feel for the type of person you are speaking with whilst maintaining a safe amount of distance from them.

Finally, never venture out to meet somebody without first telling a friend or family member where you are going. Again, you don’t know this person very well at all, at least initially. Ere you meet them, simply tell a friend of your plans. Give them the other person’s name and phone number, and make sure that you tell your friend where you are going and at what time. Through a series of simple steps, online dating can be just as safe, if not safer, than traditional dating.

http://www.online-dating-tips-guide.com - Provides advice and tips about online dating.

Each of the stories that follow is absolutely factual.

• When their clothes dryer blew up, the young couple escaped with her cell phone, their toddler son, and one shoe. The house was incinerated in fifteen minutes. She was supporting the family with her home-based business while her husband looked for work. Her business computer was now part of the ashes and rubble that had been their home.
• A talented and creative freelance writer and curriculum developer had no time to grab her computer when she and her husband had to evacuate their house during Southern California’s wildfire season. All her current and past projects were lost.
• Leaving her laboratory office after a long day working on a grant proposal, the neurobiologist had no idea that when she returned the next morning to review and submit the proposal – due that day – her computer would refuse to boot up. Fortunately, the problem was not the hard drive; even more fortunately, the proposal had been sent to the university’s finance department for review, and was submitted on time.

I have heard so many heartwrenching stories about people losing family memories, captured in photo albums and personal correspondence, in fires, floods, and other disasters. In this digital age, many of these treasures are stored on our computers: digital photography starts as a computer image before being printed and framed, and nowadays most correspondence is handled through email.

People admit, albeit reluctantly, that yes, they should back up their computers more often – or even at all! Despite my dislike of the word “should,” I completely agree. We really, really should back up our computers, on a planned and regular basis!

So, what keeps us from doing so? There are three primary reasons.

1. We may be unaware of how many treasures – financial and medical records, digital images of family and friends, emails from college-student sons and daughters and, yes, those all-important business records! – are stored on the hard drive whose reliability we take for granted.
2. We don’t like to think about unpleasant possibilities, especially when there’s no way to prevent such surprises. The young couple whose clothes dryer blew up certainly never dreamed that their house would – or even could! – burn to the ground that quickly.
3. Many people are confused and baffled by what to do and how to do it. Even for those who are technically proficient, creating a personal backup and disaster recovery plan ranks only slighly higher than cleaning the bathroom; for the many who find technology confusing and scary, cleaning the bathroom starts looking downright fun compared to figuring out a backup plan!

The good news is that help is available for both planning and for the technology. The biggest job facing you is deciding how detailed you want your plan to be – which depends on how valuable your data is to you. There are three primary questions.

1. If you were to lose everything on your computer tomorrow, what would it mean to you?
2. Is there crucial business, medical, and/or financial information on your computer?
3. Do you know where your software CDs and license keys are?

Once you have answered those questions, you can use my Backup and Disaster Recovery worksheet to create (and then implement!) your own plan. (Find the worksheet on my website at http://www.svahaconcepts.com/backups) If the technology feels too overwhelming and unfamiliar, my fellow coach Beth Lyons (at http://www.techiecoach.com) is a technical guru who loves helping people solve technical challenges.

Whatever you do – please take the time to do something. For your own sake and for the sake of your family, who need the history and the memories that are stored so tenuously on your computer, take the time to define and implement a backup and disaster recovery plan. You’ll be glad you did!

(c)Grace L. Judson

About the Author
Grace Judson is the founder and driving force behind Svaha Concepts, and specializes in helping smart people find easy ways to do hard things.

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Have you noticed how some of your competition gets all of the free search engine traffic? Have you wondered why that is?

Getting ranked on the first page for your keywords is vital for online success and it isn’t as difficult to do as you may think. Most people just don’t know how to go about taking back some of that traffic that their competition has secured.

Some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) gurus will tell you that, “It’s difficult to get high rankings in the search engine”, so hire me and I’ll do for _____ . You fill in the dollar amount because I’m sure you’ve heard it all. Of course they are going to tell you that it’s difficult because
They want your money
You’re willing to pay to get ranked high
They know you more than likely aren’t as skilled as they are
I’m not saying that SEO companies are vicious and sitting around conjuring up ways to suck your money from your wallet. They are very good at what they do and should be compensated for the great work that they do. I’m saying that it isn’t necessary to hire one before you try it for yourself.

SEO companies spend all day optimizing and marketing websites and have become very effective in getting sites ranked, but I’m hear to tell you that it is very easy to do. You no longer have to pay the hundreds or thousands of dollars you are used to or have heard of.

Some website owners I’ve spoken with think that SEO is a complicated topic and that only SEO professionals can do it well. That’s not true at all. You just have to know what the search engines are looking for.

Would you rather spend a grand on search engine optimization or would you rather spend a grand on other business process and take the time to optimize your website yourself? If you have the right tools and the know-how that is exactly what you can do.

Some website owners may not have the time to spend on optimizing their websites and that’s ok, but if you can find an hour or two a day to work on your optimization efforts you will be surprised what you can do and for free.

I started my first e-commerce website back in 1999 and we hired a SEO company to get us well ranked. That investment paid off as we went on to sell more than $300,000 in product our first year. However, that investment cost me over $9,000.

I thought to myself I just paid nine thousand dollars and they worked on my site for about 5 weeks. So I started to research SEO to see what it was all about.

I was surprised what I learned.

I had researched so much that I could have started my own SEO company. I found out that SEO actually wasn’t all that hard to do. So when I launch my second business I had all of the knowledge to do it myself and I did just that. I essentially saved myself thousands of dollars and my website was pulling in 80,000 unique visitors a month as a result.

This was after only 4 months from launching it.

So how do websites do it? How do they get those top ranking for the most competitive keywords? It’s quite simple actually

I’ll explain.

SEO involves many factors, but the most important factor is anchor text/link text of incoming links. Search engines place heavy emphases on the anchor text/link text of incoming links. Anchor text can be the determining factor in whether or not you place high for your most competitive keywords.

Anchor text in incoming links is so powerful that you may rank well for your most competitive keywords without any other SEO work done period. That’s how important it is.

Link-building should be your top priority in your search engine optimization campaign as it is one of the most influential SEO tactics. Target yourself for success by targeting link building.

About the Author

Ron Hollingsworth is an Internet Entrepreneur and Internet Marketing professional and has been involved with e-commerce in one way or another for over five year. You can find many reviews of software marketing tools and marketing tips at his website. http://www.rons-internet-marketing-tools.com

Anyone who makes candles will need a good candle making supply and can easily find a wide variety of wholesale products on the internet. Casual candle makers can easily restock their candle making supply at a local retail or craft store, but the serious crafter may want to consider buying in bulk.

A number of online candle making supply stores showcase everything from wax, wick, molds, essential oils and fragrance, coloring and even equipment to help crafters increase their candle making supply without decreasing their wallet size. If at all possible, it’s always a good idea to buy in quantity because many wholesalers offer terrific candle making supply discounts.

Depending on the vendor, some wholesalers will only sell to businesses. If you have a business license, this includes you. If not, you will need to obtain a license if you want to order. Not all wholesalers abide by this policy, but be sure to read the terms before making a purchase.

In addition to the convenience of shopping online for candle making supply wholesalers, crafters often find a wealth of tips and tricks to help their candle business soar. If you are thinking of selling candles as a business, you will need to increase your candle making supply in order to keep up with the demand. Candles, especially those that contain scents, are very popular at craft shows, internet auctions and through website orders. If you plan to make candles as a hobby, and perhaps give as gifts to friends and family, you will want to have an ample candle making supply on hand.

When shopping for a candle making supply, crafters should look at various types of wax and coordinating wicks, popular fragrances and molds. There are a great number of candle molds, which allow candles to take a unique shape. For example, a crafter who wanted to make a candle that resembles an ice cream sundae would need a coordinating mold. The fragrance for such a candle could be chocolate or vanilla depending on the color of the candle. This is just an example of the array of possibilities, which are truly limitless. In fact, the only limit to candlemaking is that of the crafters imagination.

When purchasing from a candle making supply wholesaler for the first time, order only a small amount. The reason for this technique is so that you can test the shipping time and quality of the vendor and experience their customer service. You would not want to place a large order only to learn that half of the products were missing when the package arrived or that the quality was less than desired. When shopping, always try to deal with established companies who possess a good reputation with the Better Business Bureau and who offer a reasonable return policy. If you are running a business, shipping time for your candle making supply will be very important to being able to create new products. The internet has created a whole new world for anyone interested in increasing their candle making supply, which was earlier limited to local stores and excessive prices.

Visit http://make-awesome-candles-today.com to learn more about candle making supply and making awesome candles. Sign up for our free newsletter where we offer more tips than you can shake a wick at!

It’s generally agreed in SEM circles that search engine submission is dead, or at least mass-submission is dead. Firstly, there are only a handful of engines left that are real traffic generators and, secondly, this handful would prefer to find your site than have it forced down their neck. So can someone tell me why are there still submission software titles being sold?

Well, someone did tell me. I recently exchanged a series of emails with Michael Kovnick of Cyberspace HQ, the company behind Addweb, and it provided me with the ideal opportunity to discuss the submission software debate. The latest version of Addweb claims to “Submit your website to thousands of search engines instantly”. Now any SEM professional will know that many of these “search engines” will be nothing more than link farms, and the automated submission of websites to should be viewed as an attempt to spam genuine search engines.

To my surprise, Michael agreed. Apparently the team at Cyberspace HQ are well aware of current consensus, but there is a bigger force at play. Like any product, Addweb is a slave to its customers. A couple of years ago Cyberspace HQ decided to move with the times and cut out the 330,000 search engines that it offered automated submission to. The response was instant. Thousands of email complaints and plummeting sales prompted them to restore the submission feature with haste. Since then they have continued to modify the submission module of Addweb, but with much more care than before.

Most of the submission software titles currently available have diversified from simple submission programs. Addweb now boasts of a suite of 19 software modules from link trader to domain manager. They have also bulked out their submission modules by including paid link submission, and enable engine selection to try and avoid being labelled as a spam promoter. Other titles have taken similar action. Dynamic Submission,for instance, has beefed up its paid submission and is now really just part of the Dynamic Promotion Suite.

So what is the future for submission software? I would wager that the submission components of the major products will gradually disappear – at least for search engines submission. Despite customer resistance, eventually the message will get through that submission is not necessary. Directory submission will prove more durable, although the modules will be much simpler because of the one-time name of directory submission.

However a new breed of submission software titles are beginning to emerge. In these content sensitive times, article and blog comment submitters are rapidly being developed. They pose similar ethical questions to search engine submitters, and we will watch with interest at the reception they receive.

Paul Fisher is a professional in the search arena and is editor of SEOsoftware.net – a website dedicated to the independent comparison of SEO marketing software programs. Read more about Addweb and Dynamic Submission as well as other major submission software titles.