Designing Web Success

The top dogs are confident consumers will soon change how they make phone calls lessening the need for a phone service from a traditional provider. VoIP essentially turns telephone calls into data which is transferred via an IP network, and due to this simplicity the future for VoIP seems pregnant with possibilites.

From the very start when Skype emerged on the scene the industry has been buzzing. Google has entered the internet telephony marketplace with an IM and voice app and is testing a wireless customer service that could help it deliver phone and information services to wireless devices.

The technology companies are already beginning to launch double purpose products such as cameras which appear standard but when a person slides the back of the device down, it reveals a full keyboard. Memory sticks that store from 64 megabytes to 1 gigabyte preloaded with a softphone are also now available. They come with a microphone and earphones.

Companies such as Google, Yahoo, and EarthLink have already experimented with this technology. Last winter Yahoo added improved Voice over IP calling to its its instant messenger program. Google has debuted Google Talk. AOL has told the world it would be providing a VoIP service called TotalTalk. AOL’s TotalTalk will essentially let people replace their traditional landlines. It has advanced communication features, such as unified voice, e-mail and instant messaging, and call-management.

Its probably accurate to say the phone companies will face a challenge with these momentous changes emerging with VoIP technology.

Just a while ago it looked like gaming notebooks were only being produced by a few select companies and were built to spec, not produced in massive numbers. They were small volume sellers and massive profit producing systems. I think that the majority of people would agree they always wanted a gaming notebook however it was just out of range for the majority. Everybody thought they were the best laptops and justifiably so. Even though they did get everybody thrilled I don’t believe they sold in volumes because not many people actually buy laptops that are that pricey. Lately all that has appeared to have transformed as the international players have noticed the opportunities in gaming notebooks.

These notebooks have a certain price range and these manufacturers are aware they don’t have to be price aggressively here. With computers being perceived like commodities this is a good profit channel for them. Giant manufacturers would certainly find it effortless to get us to buy these laptops. For sure this would be the death of littler retailers? Clearly what I see happening here is that the bigger manufacturers cutting prices initially to get rid of the competition from littler system builders. Clearly the association of a familiar brand name comes into play here.

I believe they certainly are making a couple of the best laptops available today. This is probably the remaining advantage that smaller competitors can provide which the tier one manufacturers cannot. Being able to get specifically what components they desire is a huge bonus for most people who are considering buying a gaming laptop computer. These particular potential customers are typically really acquainted with the technology and can judge each of the components individually. when deciding between performance and looks, these people usually choose the former. This would be viewed as a beneficial change for the customer. The competition amongst the big players should force prices down when they attempt to distinguish from each other. Even though I say that, I’m not actually confident with my claims. Prices will possibly remain consistently high as there are constantly new products being introduced. The bigger manufacturers have already introduced their own gaming notebook line, so all we can do now is stand back and see.

Laptops have propbably been on the top of everybodies must have list lately. Manufacturers are aiming to keep up with this but have said that supply could be low. It doesn’t seem like anything will stop the growth of laptops at the moment. This is a trade that is looking to better on so many things all at once so new trends and curiosity is created all the time.

One of the popular trends is gaming laptops. Good gaming laptops can be purchased at a low price for mediocore gaming needs. Power is also improving and gaming on laptop computers is becoming more adaquate for gaming by those who need to be on the go. Compact parts that perform faster and are more heat efficient also means that gone are the era’s of the enormous laptop computers for gaming. Desktop Pc’s are greater in size and drink greater amounts energy so no matter how good gaming laptops have become desktops will always run faster. Everybody always wishes to squeeze massive amounts of power from small packages so I would expect thats where gaming laptops are destined.

Now and then the common mass market notebook computers just are not adequate for what we require them for so custom laptops will forever be about. Usually performance parts go into these systems. Specialist sectors benefit because they only have get what they require. The notebooks found in retail outlets are usually configured based average, mass market customers and well not everyone is standard now are they? This is exactly why custom laptops are around. There are loads of companies providing custom laptops, with amazing customer care. To me this is a great positive.

Breathtaking is a word that comes to mind when thinking of the upcoming rang of notebook computers. Internet devices seem to be an expanding segment right now. I don’t think anyone thought they would be received that well. People desire laptops that are light as a feather yet additionally large enough to be practical and easy to use. Rigid casing required for such laptops are still too expensive. Analysing the trends it looks like gaming laptops will get slimmer and faster. Us enthusiasts will see something exciting in the next few months that’s for sure.

If you want to buy laptops check a few of these out.

Basic Telescope Designs

The job of a telescope is to collect light, not to magnify an image (the eyepiece does that job). The larger the objective (the part that collects the light) whether it be a lens, in refractors, or a mirror, in reflectors, the more light the telescope will collect. The more light you can collect, the more detail you will be able to capture, and also important for astrophotography, the shorter your exposures will need to be to capture this detail.

Refractor Telescopes

The type of telescope most people visualize when they hear the word telescope is the ‘Refractor’. This is what Galileo used for his break-thru discoveries. A refractor has an objective lens at the front which passes the light straight through to the back of the tube, focusing this light at an eyepiece or for astrophotography a camera.

Advantages:

-No central obstruction (see more in the reflecting scopes), giving higher contrast.

-Due to the simple design they require little maintenance.

-Excellent for planetary and lunar viewing and photography.

-Excellent for wide field viewing and astrophotography especially in shorter focal lengths (more on this later).

-Because the objective is permanently mounted and aligned there is no need for collimation (again more on this in another article).

-Excellent color in apochromatic and ED (Extra Dispersion) designs.

Disadvantages:

-Costlier per inch of aperture (objective) than reflectors and catadioptric telescopes.

-Can become bulky and difficult to manage, especially in larger lens designs.

Newtonian Telescopes

This design was invented by Sir Isaac Newton (he of the apple on the head fame). Instead of a lens at the front of the tube this telescope design uses a concave, parabolic mirror to collect light reflecting it back towards the front of the tube to a flat diagonal mirror which reflects the light out the side of the telescope to the eyepiece or camera for astrophotography.

Advantages:

-Lowest cost per inch of all the telescope designs.

-More light gathering power per dollar because of the lower cost design.

-Absolutely perfect color rendition.

-More compact design compared to a refractor of similar light gathering ability.

-Excellent contrast for planetary and lunar astrophotography and viewing in longer focal lengths.

-Can get excellent wide-field astrophotos and short exposures in shorter focal lengths.

Disadvantages:

-Slight loss of contrast due to the central obstruction (the flat secondary mirror) as compared to a refractor.

-Requires more maintenance, such as collimation (discussed in another article) which is vital for great results in your astrophotography, although you will learn how to do this quickly with practice.

Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes

This is a very popular design, with a high tech look. Also known as a CAT (Catadrioptics). They use a combination of lenses and mirrors to collect and focus the light onto the eyepiece or camera. The light enters the telescope through a thin ‘lens’ called a schmidt corrector plate, goes to the back of the scope to a spherical primary mirror which reflects the light back towards the front. Here the light strikes another mirror, the secondary mirror which is mounted on the corrector plate. This secondary mirror then reflects the light back towards the back where it is focused onto a hole in the primary mirror where the light is collected by an eyepiece or your astrophotography camera.

Advantages:

-Compact and portable.

-Low maintenance although once again collimation is required for top performance.

-Many, many astrophotography accessories available.

-Cheaper per inch of aperture as compared with refractors.

-Excellent all-round telescope, good to very good for both visual and astrophography.

-Very good for planetary and lunar viewing and astrophotography.

-Very good to excellent for DSO (Deep Space Object) astrophotography with a caveat (see the disadvantages).

-Very good to excellent optics, both Meade and Celestron are putting out excellent optics on a consistant basis.

Disadvantages:

-Costlier per inch of aperture as compared with Newtonian telescopes.

-Loss of contrast due to the central obstruction which is even larger than that in the Newtonian scopes.

-Due to their longer focal lengths the field of view is smaller and longer exposures are required for astrophotography, although a lens known as a focal reducer is available which minimizes or removes this problem. The longer focal length is actually an advantage in planetary and lunar photography.

Maksutov-Cassegrain

The Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope design is basically the same as the Schmidt-Cassegrain design except it uses a meniscus lens at the front instead of a Schmidt corrector plate. The main advantage to the Mak telescope design is you will get sharper higher contrast planetary and lunar images when compared with the Schmidt design.

Carl Gilbertson has been involved in amatuer astronomy for over 30 years and astrophotography for over twenty-five years. Learn more at his site: Telescopes For Astrophotography

This article isn’t from Microsoft, it’s from in-the-field technicians that work with clusters in real world situations. At Phoenix Synergy we are contacted regularly to help local businesses (small and large) with any clustering help they may need. In this case the customer had 7 Windows 2003 Dell servers, each with the standard Dual Broadcom NIC that comes with 1-U servers these days. As you know those network interfaces can be “Teamed” to form a single interface. The client wants to make their existing production environment as fault tolerant as possible. These 7 new servers are new and are setup in a lab environment. Each running Windows 2003 standard.

What do we have to work with:

They have two dedicated Domain Controllers for Active Directory, they are running the DNS for these for both internal and external name resolution. Their domains zone records will be hosted here, they will become ns1 and ns2.

They have web two servers, and three complus servers. Later they will implement their SQL Clusters, but we wont get into that here.

So far it’s a straight forward configuration. They want to have the NIC’s teamed, having NIC1 from each server plugged into switch-1, and NIC2 plugged into switch-2. Allowing for a switch to fail. They will have a cross-over cable between the two switches allowing either NIC to fail. Each switch will be plugged into it’s own Firewall/Router, but the Gateway on each server will be set to primarily point to the FW that their switch-1 is plugged into, we add a second Gateway IP with a different metric to allow for any failure of the primary firewall. Each Firewall is plugged into a different ISP and has a different External IP configured. This allows ns2 to be an IP on ISP-2, which allows for a complete failure of the first ISP. By having all the host records on ns2 pointing to IP’s from the second ISP allows for complete failure of an entire segment of their line.

That is the layout. Once we get AD setup and DNS configured, we team and setup the NIC’s. Pull a few plugs to test the theory of the setup and we’re confident everything is doing well. So now we have to setup and test the cluster.

The cluster:

Since we do not have a network load balancer we have to balance the load across the web servers and complus servers by way of Microsoft’s Network Load Balancing. We proceed with the NTLB Management interface to cluster the web servers. Each of the two servers converge into the cluster without a hitch. When we try the same on the complus servers it does not go as well.

The problem:

We add complus1 to the cluster. It adds fine, of course it does it’s the only member of the cluster. It says “converging” for a moment and then goes green. We attempt to add complus2 to the cluster and it says “converging” forever, it never converges. It stays in the state of “converging” for over 30 minutes, refresh after refresh, stopping and starting, pausing, trying anything. We can not get the second node to converge. We try adding complus3 and get the same result. We retrace our steps, checking DNS for internal resolution of both the servers themselves and the cluster IP’s, all looks good. We attempt to ping all nodes, everyone seems to ping each other fine. IPConfig shows the Cluster IP on each of the complus servers. NTLB is bound on each “Team” interface. Searching Microsoft’s support they insist there is a problem with the NIC. So we proceed to unteam and try each NIC individually. As we retrace our steps we find the same problem regardless of how which NIC’s we use on any system. On a whim we uncluster each, reboot, and add complus2 first. Then we add complus3 to the cluster. And they “converge” within seconds. Trying to add complus1 fails. So we have isolated the problem to just one server.

The solution:

It turns out that NTLB was bound on complus1, it was bound to each NIC (both members of the “team”). Once we re-team the NIC’s and remove NTLB from nic1 and nic2, the server converges into the cluster without a problem.

Summary:

When clustering be sure to only select the NTLB service on one of the NIC’s being used as the cluster. No other NIC should have NTLB bound to it. As we continue with our proposed configuration, everything works well. All tests are successful and it looks like they will have a great fault tolerant production environment. Next is the SQL Clusters, implementing two SQL Clusters on an EMC SAN live, with no tolerance for downtime, this should be fun. Until then…

Adam Yax is CTO of http://www.phoenixsynergy.com, which provides IT services in Phoenix, AZ.

Internet Explorer version 7 Beta 2 will help computer users get used to some of the concepts behind the upcoming Windows Vista, but also cure some of the security problems which have been afflicting Internet Explorer for the past couple of years.

The latest Beta release is immune to the latest unpatched vulnerability warned about by eEye Digital Security. For this reason alone, it is worth the upgrade.

That exploit affects MSIE versions 5.01 SP4 through 6.0 SP2. eEye Digital Security says it targets “a critical security vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer. The exploit pertains to an unpatched vulnerability that has been released on various public mailing lists.

“The vulnerability results from the method in which Internet Explorer handles HTML Objects. This flaw allows for remote code to be executed on the target system. If successfully exploited, an attacker will only have the rights of the currently logged on user. System Administrators should be careful to not use Administrator accounts for general system use.

“Currently, there have been numerous reports of this vulnerability being used on various websites in attempts to install Spyware and remote control ‘bot’ software for use in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. The recommended action required to protect systems against this attack is to disable Active Scripting from within Internet Explorer.”

The latest version of the program is a free download, but you will need to be running an authenticated version of WinXP SP2 to get it. Before installing it needs to “Validate” your WinXP installation. If your machine validates, you will then be presented with the choice of installing the beta or quitting at the point. Once the install is complete, it prompts you to restart your computer. My computer restarted without a hitch.

When you launch MSIE 7-Beta-2 you will notice that the look is very different — almost Mac like. The first thing it asks is whether or not you want to “Turn on automatic Phishing Filter”. You also have the option of participating in ongoing product evaluation, which involves Microsoft monitoring your online activity.

Since I did an upgrade I was worried about my bookmarks, saved passwords, and saved cookies — ones which make it easier for me to visit sites important to my work. Happily, I did not lose any bookmarks, saved user names and passwords and all websites to which I was logging into automatically, because I had set a cookie to make this possible, worked as expected.

The new version uses something called a “Favorites Center” which is found by clicking on an icon which looks like a star in a yellow box. I found it by hovering over all the icons looking for my favorites folder. In MSIE 6.x this was in a named menu item, which is really easy to spot and find. You can get this back by selecting the Tools menu in the, which beside an icon that looks like a gear, and choosing Toolbars and selecting “Classic Menu”.

The big change in MSIE 7 is the introduction of tabbed browsing. This is where new sites are opened in tabs instead of in new instances of MSIE. This lets you keep everything in front of you when you are switching back and forth between sites, as might be the case when you are shopping. If you like the old way of doing things, that is available as well.

Is It Worth Upgrading? Yes, if only for the security improvements. You can download it here: Microsoft MSIE 7-Beta-2 beta download

Brian Clancey is a journalist, programmer and web developer who has been building websites since 1995. Websites managed by his company include the http://www.10-Minute-Rule.com, offering software reviews and articles about web design.

Have you ever thought of a handbag as a symbol of female power and authority? Of course everyone is different so a purse for one person may mean something totally different and unique for another but let’s look at handbags from a different perspective.

The press of England has spent time and effort speculating and commenting on ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s handbag. To quote “The Times” in June, 1982 written by Julian Critchley, “She…tends to believe the worst of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She cannot see an institution without hitting it with her handbag…”

It’s obvious that the press equates Margaret Thatcher’s handbag with her assertion of power and the ability to impose her will. If you look closely, you will notice that her handbags closely resemble the Queen Mother’s handbags. Is is because both of these powerful women choose the same type of bag or is Ex-Prime Minister Thatcher deliberately mimicking this female symbol of ultimate authority in her country?

Negotiations are underway for the famous handbag to be placed in a museum that houses Winston Churchill’s papers and historical documents from the War. There is no indication that Mr. Churchill’s wallet is stored in this prestigious collection but, then again, Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to impose her powerful presense (and pocketbook!) on 10 Downing Street!

About the Author

I run an online handbag resource site located at:
http://henriettashandbags.com

There’s a lot of blogs out there on the Web, most of which don’t entice one to go back regularly to read updates. What is missing from these on-line journals that would essentially make them ‘good’ blogs? Well, the answers in life usually come down to simplicities. So let’s look at the problem like we were children. Children don’t complicate life with miscellaneous information, and when they speak they tell you straight to the point exactly how they feel and think about a subject.

First of all, we should ask the questions,” Why do blogs exist? And what are they here for?” Well, in an ideal world ‘good’ blogs would help people connect, sharing knowledge and feelings about issues in life. As they are journals written by individuals we would hope that they’d be readable and open to comment by all other people, not just a select group of friends. The key is speaking in a way that is understandable by the masses, get rid of acronyms and local slang that only few will comprehend. Keep the sentences grammatically simple and generally short and concise.

Try to write in your blog as often as possible because if people enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas they’ll want to communicate or at least be filled in regularly on ‘your world’. Ask questions, comment on other blogs of similar content, start communities with others you’ve never met, based on your interests. Keep focused; if your blog is about thoughts on war and peace, keep your thoughts on the latest movie and how hungry you are for somewhere else. The idea is to incite intelligent communication so that in time our collective stockpile of knowledge and wisdom will gradually grow like a tree in fertile soil.

I think of most importance is the fact that you want this journal to be ‘good’ reading. Of course we all have ideas about what genres and styles we like, but writing from your heart and soul is imperative for the connection with others that you’re looking for. Share yourself; don’t hide behind walls of fear of ridicule and judgment. In real life relationships trust, respect, intimacy, and unity are all necessary for a bond to form. It’s the same in the ‘virtual’ world; people want to hear from real people-not just one-sided, highly opinionated arguments from egos that don’t want to hear the ‘other side of the coin’.

Now, in my last article I really tore apart most writers out there, and here I’m giving some pretty complex ideas on how to fix the problem of ‘bad’ writing. In my next article I’ll attempt to go back to the simple basics of how to write for beginners. I hope I haven’t come across as too judgmental, I just truly believe the ‘blog world’ could become a real asset to humanity, and at the moment it’s missing the mark.

Ideas about sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, using a thesaurus (varying terms used so as not to sound repetitive), whether or not your blog is suitable for a personal or professional approach, are all important to creating a simple and enjoyable read for the blogging visitor. If you are a beginner, please check out my next article on the basics.

By Jesse S. Somer

M6.Net

Jesse S. Somer is a concerned human attempting to inform his fellow people of the real possibilities hidden in the Internet.

www.thepowerofeverythingthatis.com

priyankaa@m6.net

Free adware and spyware scans are something that you should
certainly take advantage of if your computer is running slow and
you do not presently use an adware program. They can easily be
utilized in one of 2 varying ways.

Firstly you can actually get an online scan without downloading
any software’s. The disadvantage of this is that this method is
usually not as accurate and will more often than not leave some
hidden malwares or adwares lurking deep within the depths of
your pc files.

Secondly you can take advantage of the free adware scans that
are all over the internet. These take just minutes to install
and are very easy to work. These free scan software’s will
usually carry out a more thorough job of locating and isolating
any adware of spyware problems that you may have picked up
whilst surfing the net.

You will find that a free scan software will carry out what is
called a deep system scan and the adware that has locked itself
in the deepest and most intricate workings of your computer will
easily be located in order for you to destroy it.

You might also wonder how did the adware get into your system in
the first place? You know you did not download any program’s so
how did this happen? Well unfortunately it is all to easy to
pick up these nasty viruses simply by visiting a website or
portal. Some unscrupulous webmasters will plant scripts or codes
on their WebPages in order to infiltrate your pc.

Adware / spyware viruses from websites will usually try to carry
out tasks such as hijacking your net browser or home page in
order to get you to come back to their site and purchase. Others
might probably have darker intensions such as stealing your
personal information and data, This is not to be taken lightly
if you store such things as your financial details or passwords
within your pc.

With such dastardly deeds taking place on the net I am afraid
that only an idiot would go unprotected, for the sake of a free
spyware or adware scan please check out your computer as soon as
you can.

Each and every day new adwares are making their way onto the
world wide web, This is why it is essential to get an adware
eraser that is regularly updated with the newest and most deadly
of spywares and adwares.

So first.

Get a free scan.

Use the erase function it if you are infected with an adware.

Regularly check your computer and cleanse it.

Regularly update your adware/spyware software [ this will be
free of charge ]

If you follow all the above your computer should be adware free
and running like new for as long as you keep to your anti adware
regime in place.

Computers are one of the most interesting and complex machines on the planet. They have the ability to intrigue anyone who sits down and attempts to use it. On the other hand though, they also have the ability to confuse the heck out of you! When I think about computers, I think about the internet, Microsoft Word (for school), and games. What sort of computer I buy should be user friendly in all three of these aspects.

First you have to make a big decision… Apple or Windows. They both have great features, and are both more user friendly for each individule user. Windows is compatible with several computer manufacturers, including HP Pavilion, Compaq, and Dell.

Now, in my case, I need to take a close look at each option, as I have specific uses for my machine. When purchasing a computer you should be aware of what your main purpose with it is. For some it is business, others gaming, and for many, it is used for school. Make sure you test each version, Apple and Windows. If Apple seems the most compatible with your purpose, then congradulations! Your choice is made. But if you decide Apple is not right for you, take a look at all the operating systems that there is for Windows. There are several, each with different features, and you should choose the one that is right for you.

As you can see, the purchase of a computer is not always black and white. What’s it going to be for you?

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

Tyler Brooker is the owner and operator of Free Dell Coupons - http://www.free-dell-coupons.com, which is the best site on the internet for all Coupons related information.