Web Hosting And Search Engines And Optimization

Web site hosting and search engines are two inseparable institutions that every Internet marketer depends on for active exposure of publications on the Internet. Neither is mutually exclusive as they complement each other in the scheme of things. This is a write-up that renders information from a practical and technical point of view with, hopefully, sufficient comprehensibility and facts.

Web Hosting

There are many web hosting companies with different price packages to choose from. Any customer can select a web hosting package to suit the needs of his/her intended publications. Internet marketing cannot be sufficiently effective without this application which establishes online exposure to web sites, blogs, videos, images, and so on.

What exactly is a web hosting company? Wikipedia describes it as follows: 'A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as provide Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.'

This teaches us that clients or customers have a reserved space or partition on the server who accommodates their publications, and borders them off from neighboring partitions. A web server is traditionally shared by many users. Sharing divides the price and makes web site hosting far more affordable.

Professional and well-managed hosting is a tool an Internet marketer cannot live without if he wants to generate a successful online business launch.

Web hosting can be done for free or at a cost. Web site content determines the space it needs to successfully display your site online. That's why there is a line drawn between cost-free and paid web hosting. If you are new to this and do not want to start spending money on web hosting, a template design that comes with a sub-domain is probably your best choice. WordPress.com and Google Blogger are two such examples among many. Without spending money, these make good tools for practicing and testing the Internet.

After mastering the basics of web design and studying marketing methods you may start to look at paid web hosting, which offers domains, email addresses, auto responders, detailed SEO (Search Engine Optimization). These are essential background tools to run a professional website, affiliate website or blog online. There is a long list of web hosting companies, and I would always recommend comparing price packages and features before committing to their services. There are websites that have listed them one by one and cover the pros and cons of what they offer. A very highly recognized web hosting company is Go Daddy whom you may like to examine and use for comparison.

Understanding Search Engines and Optimization

These programs will help key word users to ring up websites that are responding to specified search requests. Search engines operate on key word instructions and use crawlers to find the resources that match key word content. Examples of highly capacitated search engines are Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN.

Search engines use automated software also known as bots, robots or spiders. These follow page-to-page/site-to-site links to gather information and create a web index that is made searchable for keyword users via search engines.

Bots, robots or spiders regularly revisit web pages for indexing and page changes. The software applies updates to the index and then relays fresh information to search engines. This course of action may not happen instantly as the updating process depends on the return frequency of the software and the speed at which this information is gathered and inserted. Until then, fresh information will not be available until a web page has been modified and freshly indexed.

Now that you have a deeper understanding of how search engines work, you probably would like to know some pros and cons.

The pros are that search engines have an immense capacity of providing access to web pages that are publicly visible on the worldwide web, the number of which are growing daily. Search engines are the only means to information search, and they are effective, efficient and fast at responding to customer queries. Since they serve you, they comply with your instructions and search out a library source to go to with the data you typed in.

The cons are that they could return extensive websites with just one single keyword. This could minimize the amount of information a keyword user is looking for. It also means that you would have to change your strategy and apply a variety of specifics. I personally use short to longer phrases to single out my information and do not always achieve my goals. I circumvent my key word content and try to get to the bottom from a different angle.

That is why Search Engine Optimization requires keywords or short keyword phrases that harmonize with website content if you become a publisher. Attaining a high search engine ranking is pre-conditioned by the upload speed that a web hosting company provides. The faster the upload, the better the ranking so a highly powered web hosting service makes a much better choice for SEO efficacy.

Emily A White is a writer who aims to convey the technical data in this article in a comprehensible manner to the reader with regard to a more in-depth understanding of the systems features.

I started publishing articles late in life. Nevertheless, there is always a beginning to every thing and so I did and would recommend it to anyone. What I write is based on my point of view and inspiration of bringing information to the readers in an easy to comprehend manner.

Of an international background, I have lived in countries other than the US. I gained European language knowledge and became employed with well known international organizations. I have traveled much and find that it forms character.

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The Streams of Electrical and Computer Engineering

I'm going to take some time today to explain all the different options in the Electrical and Computer Engineering program at the University of Toronto. Many first years don't know what they're getting themselves into and I wanted to explain briefly the different options they can look at when they reach their third and fourth years. So let's get right into it.

Electrical Engineering:

1. Photonics & Semiconductor Physics:

This option deals with the material physics of all semiconductor electronic devices. You will learn the physics behind all the material that makes up today's transistor. Everything from doping to manufacturing to the physics of the protons, electrons and all the other materials that makeup the transistor.

2. Electromagnetic & Energy Systems:

This has two options, the first is energy systems. this options allows you to explore how to exploit the energy in the form of power in electrical and electronic devices. The electromagnetic option is more involved towards the physics of waves. You will eventually learn how to look at things like microwaves circuits and antennas, this is an extremely interesting option. There are also many jobs in power in the Hydro industry.

3. Analog & Digital Electronics:

This explores the design and physics of the transistor and passive devices that are involved in modern electronics. The analog electronics looks at how to use transistors as amplifiers for example. While in digital electronics we take a look at how transistors are used as gates for zeros and ones.

4. Control, Communications & Signal Processing

This deals with two fields. Controls and communication. Control systems look at how you can use feedback loops to control dynamic, electrical and computer systems. This involves the heavy use of mathematics mostly. The communication side looks at signal processing of different kinds. You will study the fundamentals of signals, transmission, attenuation, frequency and all the things that you would find in your modern cellphones.

Computer Engineering:

5. Computer Hardware & Computer Networks

This deals with computer network programming and how today's internet works for example. You will learn about sockets, packets, transfer protocols and all the other things that will make you an internet wiz. Computer hardware deals with digital logic, it can get very involved and you will be making a lot of designs and improvements on circuits. This is extremely interesting. Also there is computer architecture, which is a more in depth view of how computers work.

6. Software:

This is self explanatory. The mains fields here involve learning programming on different platforms. You can learn different programming languages, algorithms, operating systems, databases and software engineering. This is really cool stuff to get into. This will get you the job on your coop year for sure. Lots of companies want software people.

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Engineering Dreams And Passion For The Math And Sciences

It all started in my kindergarten class when my teacher and my mom recognized my need for tutoring in my math class. I was a slow learner as a child but I always applied myself and tried my best. It was the dedication of both my teacher and my mom that set me straight and helped me in developing my mathematical skills and reinforced my desire to learn. As a result I gained an appreciation and a love of the math and sciences.

I was always interested in learning how things worked and l also enjoyed working through and completely understanding my math assignments with the help and encouragement of my mom. As I learned and progressed with mathematics I started to gain confidence and actually enjoyed learning and looked forward to the challenges of the assignments. My dad was a very dedicated ironworker and he shared many stories of his experiences working in construction and he showed me many pictures through the years working on the high iron. As a result I had a desire to learn about bridge building and the construction of highways, roadways, tunnels, ball parks, buildings, homes, automobiles, rockets and electronic devices.

For a child growing up in the 1960's I was influenced a great deal by the space program and I found it very exciting watching coverage of the Gemini and Apollo space missions. I was just a baby when President John F. Kennedy made his famous speech about landing a man on the moon's surface before the end of the decade. Great strides had been made from that day onward evidenced by the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs. I was too young for both the Mercury and Gemini programs but I have pretty vivid memories of the Apollo space program. I remember the tragedy of the Apollo I launch pad fire occurring during a simulation that claimed the lives of 3 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee in January 1967. This was a very sad start to the program but NASA was determined to move on and accomplish what president John F. Kennedy had envisioned and expressed so eloquently in his speech.

The Apollo 11 mission was the one that stands out most in my mind because that was when we saw on July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon's lunar surface and say the famous words, "That's one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind."

As a kid I was impressed with NASA and the astronauts training program and the educational backgrounds of all the astronauts. Most of them had studied engineering, mathematics, physics and chemistry in college and all of them were extremely well disciplined as a result of their military experience in the service of their country. They also were very dedicated to their training regiment upon acceptance into NASA's astronaut program.

I thought mission control was an amazing grouping of engineers, scientists and some of the best minds in the country and world. When Apollo 13 had encountered difficulties that put the lives of the crew members in danger in their return mission home it was the dedicated and joint effort of mission control to help simulate the potential problems and come up with solutions so they could properly advise the astronauts in their safe return home. That after-all is what an engineer is trained to do.

Engineering is all about precision, technological innovation, problem solving and finding solutions. It is a very challenging curriculum in school and demands a great deal of focus, concentration and dedication. Some students are naturally inclined in learning the principals and theories and others have to really apply themselves and study all the time. I fell into this category as a student where I had to apply myself and I worked hard at it and was determined to do my best. My favorite subject throughout my studies in school was mathematics which is a powerful and very interesting course of study. The whole basis for engineering is the study of math and science principals.

I am inclined to think that engineers have a different mindset in that they are real problem solvers and like to understand and evaluate the inner workings of something and make the appropriate decisions that require a great deal of analysis based on scientific and mathematical theories. I have always found that engineers who study fatigue, stress failure or the aftermath of a plane crash and piece the evidence together to find a viable explanation whether it be aircraft parts scattered at crash sites or a part of a bridge that collapsed due to fatigue and stress failure truly incredible. They use what they learn in a classroom and apply it to the outside world and the situations that require their expertise and knowledge.

After every airline crash it is a mandatory practice to gather the pieces of the aircraft, the black box and any other relevant evidence and painstakingly reconstruct the airliner in a hanger as best they can with what they recover to determine the reason or potential reason for the crash. Somethings you just don't learn in a textbook as their is no substitute then the real thing.

In the automotive industry their are all sorts of testing for driver and passenger safety and simulated collisions with varying speeds are always being performed to make safer cars to ensure the continued safety of drivers and their passengers. Engineers are always looking to design sleek cars that are fuel efficient and safe. These are the criteria they establish in the design stage of an automobile.

When I drive near an airport with my son and we see large aircraft passing over us it is really quite amazing to see. I always point this out to my son enthusiastically and remind him how truly incredible it is to see such large planes flying and remind him that they were all designed by engineers.

There are many fields of study I would suggest to young students and one in particular would be engineering. Within engineering there are so many specialties to consider. The main fields or endeavors that are engineering related are:

Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer and Software Engineering, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Ocean and Environmental Engineering, Mining and Materials Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.

All students are required to take a core of engineering, mathematical and science related courses in their first two years of study with a core of English, arts and humanities as well that typically include:

Calculus I, II and III (Differential, Integral, Multi-variable), Linear Algebra; Physics (Heat and Sound, Electricity and Magnetism, Principals of Modern Physics; Chemistry I (Inorganic), Chemistry II (Inorganic); Statics and Strength of Materials; Engineering Dynamics; Engineering Circuit Analysis I & II; Engineering Thermodynamics; Computer Science I & II; English Literature, English Composition; Micro Economics, Macro Economics; Principals of Accounting I & II and Engineering Electives.

An Engineering curriculum is a well balanced program that includes Math, Science,Technical and the Arts and Sciences. It is a challenging course of study and a very interesting and exciting endeavor and the student has the flexibility of studying at a 2 year college and transferring to a 4 year institution.

There are many fine institutions for Engineering studies and the most prestigious would likely be the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. My preference is Virginia Tech having studied there and enjoying my time as an undergraduate engineering transfer student.

Raising a son with asperger's I find my son has amazing aptitude and has a love of math and science which I think is wonderful. I will always encourage him to learn and challenge himself and to continue his interest in the math and sciences. I also believe that many asperger kids gravitate to the math and sciences and eventually continue their love of it by pursuing engineering as a field of interest. It is well documented that many engineers display common patterns and traits associated with asperger's and many diagnosed individuals on the autistic spectrum are engineers, mathematicians, scientists, writers and teachers by professional choice.

As I think back to my days as a student of engineering and the challenges and accomplishments I look back with great fondness and joy and wonder how that time has seemingly passed me by so quickly. We all should enjoy our years as college students as those days define us in the success we seek and the job we perform. I will always have a love for engineering and hope that we find happiness and joy in all we do. I learned from the best, my parents and my teachers.

When we are students learning we try to focus on subjects that interest us and provide a challenge while we are evolving and learning in pursuit of developing our skills and our mindset. We all have the capability of doing great things and when we find what we love and we truly desire it and apply ourselves with the dedication and effort we find from within. This will help shape us and make us better and show others that we too are special and have the passion and drive to learn, accomplish and make our contribution. As an engineering student and a college student we learn and are exposed to many experiences and we share our vision with others and take pride in who we are while learning from others who have achieved great success and can teach it to us as young students who have dreams, goals and hope for making it and doing something they enjoy. Sometimes that spark is developed as a curious child innocently wanting to understand how something works. That is truly a story worth sharing with others because we then feel we can also inspire and teach something of significant importance in our own way and I choose to do it with my writing and shared enthusiasm as a student, professional and now a writer with vision and the love of sharing and relating my own personal experiences. If I can touch one person with my experiences and wisdom then I will have done something right. My mission as a father, who is transgender (Male to Female) is to guide my autistic son and teach him to find his passion, explore, believe in himself and accept others no matter their differences. We all have a purpose and a need to share. I know this.

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Software Development Companies - Discussing Their Roles and Areas of Business

Software development companies are very popular today and their business is very beneficial to the world. They have notable contributions in virtually every industry. Their programs make processes easier, quicker and manageable. These companies follow Software Development Life Cycle or SDLC to perform their activities. SDLC is a tactic used to guide the development of any software product. It is the foundation of the activities performed when creating any application. Good examples of SDLCs include Agile, Waterfall, Rapid Application Development, Spiral Mode and Joint Application Development among others.

Software development companies must follow one of the best cycles described above to start and complete projects. The Planning phase always comes first and it is about forming project goals, scope of work and deadlines. The next phase is requirement gathering where data collection and studies about the users occur. The other stages involve design, coding, testing and maintenance. The testing role is a very crucial stage because it allows the test engineers to put their products on various trial situations for analysis purposes.

This enables the testers to identity bugs in the product being tested. Then they forward a report to the developing team. Quality assurance techniques are applied to ensure that the quality of programs is good before they are released to the public. The software development companies take part in various areas of development such as web development. As many people would concur, the World Wide Web has taken the world by storm. The internet seems as if it is everything that businesses and individuals want. To make the internet more exciting and useful to all users, the software developers have come up with various web development applications that make creation, maintenance and management of websites effortless.

Good examples of these applications include Silverlight, JavaScript, ASP.NET MVC, HTML5/CSS3 and PHP among others. Mobile development is another area that software developers participate in mostly by creating cost-effective apps for all types of popular phones. Their main areas include hybrid mobile applications, Window Phones apps, and Mobile Web apps such as CSS3, HTML5 and JavaScript. Desktop applications are another area where software development companies focus on. Desktop applications offer convenience, security and boosts performance.

They are based on technologies such as Silverlight, Microsoft.NET Framework, WPF and so on. Developers aim at the MS SQL server, Windows Operation Systems and MS Windows Server aspects when developing a platform for the desktop software. As mentioned earlier there are many areas of software development other than the three mentioned above. One may wonder how the engineers carry out their jobs. The traditional approach used by a variety of software development companies is forming a team of in-house engineers.

Nowadays this method is gradually losing taste as more and more companies embrace outsourcing. The industry is doing great, too, explaining why many developers are receiving more work than they can complete. Outsourcing is the means through which extra projects are assigned to other top programming companies. Nearshoring and offshoring are the two main strategies used by software development companies. The former involves assigning work to a company that is within the same geographical region while the former entails offering projects to a company that is very far away.

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Teaching Seasons With Technology in Early Childhood Classrooms - Integrating Science and Technology

A Michigan radio commercial announces that the "Greatest Show on Earth" happens every fall. I ask children to identify this show. You don't need a ticket. It happens outside. You can probably see part of the show from your bedroom window. There's no age limit. This show is enjoyed by people of all ages.

Reinforcing the concept of seasons is often found in the autumn months of early childhood classrooms.

Using a drawing program such as KidPix, children can show their understanding of seasons while improving their concentration, dexterity with the mouse and knowledge of drawing tools.

We begin with the line tool to cut the screen into quadrants. Then with the alphabet stamper we put one season name into each quarter. With the "wacky paintbrush" bare branch trees can be added to each section. Finally, using the spray can in the "wacky paintbrush" tools we can add the proper leaves to each section. Lots of colors for the autumn trees. No leaves for winter. Bright green leaves for the new emerging leaves of spring along with some pink for all the flowering trees, and then full green for the summer.

I encourage writing the names of the seasons in a location where children can see them from their computer work stations.

With first graders, each season can be elaborated upon with the background, by adding some seasonal stamps and some common weather.

While this project can be difficult for kindergarten students at the very beginning of the year I often begin the week prior by just making a collection of fall trees all over the screen and spray painting them with the proper fall leaf colors. This helps the students be able to easily create the trees when having to segment them for each season.

After printing in color, I staple each paper to construction paper to emphasize how important our work on the computer has been. Regularly I hear from parents who hang the matted work on the refrigerator and around the house. As this becomes the practice, I see children putting in extra effort in order to have a work of art to proudly take home with them.

Visit [http://kindergartentechnologyideas.com/] for examples of this project and many more.

Kathy Cothran is an elementary media specialist committed to helping teachers turn toys into learning tools. Her vast teaching experience ranges from preschool through Master's level education classes.

For years Kathy has been a "Gadget Girl." She loves technology! Tie that to her extensive teaching background and she has been able to interest, invigorate, and inspire children and teachers to use technology in a rich, exciting manner.

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Social Engineering, Email Harvesting

Social engineering is commonly understood to mean the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. While it is similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery or deception for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or computer system access; in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victims.

I am going to talk about a skim used by spammers to harvest for legitimate email address from your contact list. There are plenty of ways used to harvest emails, but the one I am focusing on is "Email forwarding"

Normally when you create an email account, you will start building contact list, containing email addresses of your friends, relatives, co-workers, etc. Over time, you will have a substantial number of contacts in your contact book.

Email forwarding

"Forward" is a very handy function available in almost all email clients, this allows one to pass over the email to some other recipient. But something to note is; the forwarded mail includes the email address of the original sender and any other forwarded addresses of the same instance.

Email harvesting scenario

Say you are a GoodGuy with your email and 50 contacts on your mail account. The BadGuy sends you a mail with a very emotional religious message, or a very nice joke, or an irresistible offer to something that you are likely to fall for, and guilt's you into forwarding to at least 10 friends including the BadGuy. And you end up doing that, with good faith. Now 10 friends from your contact will receive your humbled mail message, with the instructions to do the same, "forward to at least 10 friends". At the same time the BadGuy receives a copy of any forward from the recursive senders.

Simply put, if you forward the mail to 10 contacts, and they do the same in good faith and the third circle does the same. "Roughly something like this happens"

1 + 10^1 + 10^2 + 10^3 approximately 1000 email contacts will have been harvested in just three circles, now this will keep growing depending on the number of forwards to the amount of contacts forwarded to. And then you and your friends start receiving some commercial mails from services that you never even visited or heard of. And you wonder how on earth they did they get my email. Well, you gave it to them; you actually helped them get even some of your friend's emails.

This is the effect of social engineering, the mail will play with your psychological consciousness, and you will think you are doing a good thing to respond; in return you are falling for somebodies social engineering scam.

Solution

There is no software to fight social engineering attacks, because it is you that you will end up giving up information, or executing some processes, or allowing some application to do something on your private sensitive information. The important thing is to build awareness, change the culture of the way we operate and disclose sensitive information.

To avoid becoming a victim of a social engineering attack:

• Be suspicious of unsolicited contacted from individuals seeking internal organizational data or personal information.


• Do not provide personal information or passwords over email or on the phone.


• Do not provide information about your organization.


• Pay attention to website URLs that use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g.,.com vs..net).


• Verify a request's authenticity by contacting the company directly.


• Install and maintain anti-virus software, firewalls, and email filters.

If you think you are a victim of a social engineering attack:

• Report the incident immediately.


• Contact your financial institution and monitor your account activity.


• Immediately change all of your passwords.


• Report the attack to the police, and file a report with the authority.

I am Phesto Enock Mwakyusa, Owner and founder of Qusaz intelligent solutions Ltd. I am a software engineer by profession, currently working in Helsinki. I love what I do. I also do professional training on different ICT related subjects on demand, I like adventures road trips, exploring the beauty of Gods creation. I love music, listening and playing. It has great emotional power in me, and lifts my spirit high.

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The Distinction Regarding Web Application Development And Software Development

Web development and software development are two widely used idioms that individuals, who are not involved in the computer field, tend to mix up. Software engineering or design is basically the process of creating any software product whereas web application development pertains to the coding necessitated to produce any form of web site or program for the world wide web or private networks.

Software development is a comprehensive term with various fields and expertise, incorporating the various forms of web application development. A Software Development Company will typically provide more than one software related solution. It engages specialists in both web-based applications and desktop apps.

Previously, web developing incorporated less coding skill and pretty basic practice and courses could authorize individuals for the work. However, at present the online applications require advanced functions and frameworks, larger systems and demand an extensive knowledge in several computer languages and operating systems. As a result, the historical differences between software and web development are blurring. The main difference left is the interface being used.

When contacting a reliable software development company, as opposed to individual freelance developers, you can be confident that your needs will be solved by the most appropriate technologies. A software development company has the competency to match you up with a team that concentrates on the solutions your project requires. All you have to do is be coherent and clear with your list of specifications and give a complete description of your objective, desired performance, the system functions and other necessities. The software development life-cycle is more or less identical for non-web and web application developing but the stages order may be modified according to different styles. The main steps involve analysis, market research, software requirements specification, software and interface design, implementation, examination, arrangement and maintenance.

The internet simplifies things. Even if you still do not quite understand the nuances characterizing software and web application development you can not go wrong with choosing the right company or person to carry out your plan. Search the web for software developing company and check out the solutions and previous work endorsements to make certain it can provide you with the best solution.

It is always advisable to compare proposals, services and prices of a few providers, especially if you are not familiar with the kind of work required for the project. Some developing companies might try to use software, previously developed for other needs, instead of creating a new one that perfectly fits your specific demands. Make sure nobody cuts corners on your account in order to avoid excess work.

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Cloud Computing and Data Security

Cloud computing is changing the way IT is delivered to businesses and how businesses can now leverage the technologies to be very nimble and agile, yet large. Cloud is a technology that maintains data and applications by making use of the internet and central remote servers. Cloud computing enables users to run their necessary applications without actually installing the software or hardware. The consumers can access their necessary files at any remote computer having internet access. This technology is handy as it facilitates efficient computing by a central storage, memory, process and bandwidth.

Cloud computing can be broken down into three components:
• "Application"
• "Storage"
• "Connectivity."

Each segment serves a different purpose and offers different products for businesses and individuals around the world.
Cloud computing has two primary deployment models. They are:

• Community cloud - In this concept of Cloud, several organizations from a specific community with common concerns share infrastructure between themselves. They could be managed either internally or by a third-party and the hosting could be internal or external. The costs have are distributed among fewer users.

• Public cloud - This concept of Cloud is established when several organizations having similar requirements and seeking to share infrastructure are concerned. This definitely is more viable in terms of monetary benefit, as the resources (storage, workstations) utilized and shared in the community are used by a huge number of consumers.

The advantages of Cloud Computing offering in IT services include the following:
1. Transformation into on demand IT-as-a-service
2. Greater business agility, on-demand provisioning
3. Self-provisioning & deployment of applications
4. Significant savings in total cost of operations through right sizing and operational efficiency
5. Dynamic capacity on demand to reduce time to market
6. Strategically align the business on long-term opportunities while optimizing on operations

The transition to Cloud however, is accompanied by a number of data security issues that need to be looked into. Most organizations use relational databases to store the most sensitive data, hence the need of data security while moving to Cloud becomes all the more important and imperative. So, as the consumers work on migrating applications to Cloud, they need to be careful about three main attributes involving data security.

1. User access privileges: Any sensitive data that is processed outside the enterprise is prone to an elemental risk. As the services are outsourced, they kind of discount the physical, logical and personnel regulations which the IT departments could exercise over the in-house programs.

2. Server Elasticity: One of the key perks of Cloud computing is flexibility. So, keeping apart the fact about users having knowledge of the exact location of where their data is hosted, the servers hosting the concerned data can be provisioned and de-provisioned regularly to mirror the current requirement capacity. This evolving topology can be a challenge for the technologies banked on today and could be very hard for the management to constantly update configurations fitting to every such change.

3. Regulatory Compliance: Data integrity and data security are but the ultimate responsibilities of the organizations even if it is held by a service provider. The whole system of educating the auditors, demonstrating that their data is safe and secure even when there is no physical control over systems, is challenging. They need to provide them with the quintessential visibility into all activity.

Controlling access and monitoring of cloud administrators is a cutting point to make sure that sensitive data is secure. While the users may want to maintain background checks of their own privileged users and may also enforce significant physical monitoring, even if this be done by their cloud provider - it is a process which is not their own. Therefore that would mean compromising some element of power or control. These individuals may have almost unlimited access to the infrastructure, something they require in order to maintain and check the performance and availability of the cloud resources for all customers.

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Some Of The Special Features From Adobe Computer Software

There is a countless number of special features from Adobe Computer software out there partially because of the fact that Adobe makes so many different kinds of software. They have web design programs available that enable you to create very professional websites. They also make Photo shop and other editing and design software. They also offer different kinds of music creating and editing programs. They offer a great line of products for the more creative and artistic person.

The company is probably best known for their flash player. The flash player is a program that allows you to play and upload video content to your computer. Combined with some of their video editing program options you can create and upload some pretty unique videos. The editing program allows you to add animation and other kinds of things to your videos.

Another one of their programs that can often times be downloaded for free is the Adobe reader program. It allows you to read and translate PDF documents. You can also fill out a lot of printable forms from the reader. Many people use Adobe reader as a standard for delivering documents. If you search the web long enough you are bound to receive information that is opened using the program.

They are also the company that makes the Dream weaver program. This is one of if not the most popular website design programs available. The user can create a professional website with the program. This is nice if you need to create a lot of websites because hiring it out can cost a great deal of money. It is also a very user friendly program.

Photo shop allows the user to edit their images. From small touch ups to picture to blending to pictures together you can do quite a bit with the program. The software also allows you to illustrate as well. It enables you to design images of things you plan on building before you start building the piece. Artists frequently use this program for a number of different things. From subtle editing to doing full drawings the program is very good at working with images.

Sound booth CS5 allows the user to integrate music into their projects. You can easily edit audio to play in unison with your video or other parts of your website. You can also edit the audio. The system allows the user to take out any unwanted sounds in the audio. It will actually display unwanted sounds in the form of sound waves and from there you can go in and remove the unwanted audio noises.

Adobe also has many business solutions to offer. They specialize in web analytic and web development programs. You can also get a lot of different forms through many of their programs. They can help many businesses who are based on the internet. They can help you track and manage as well as organize your company.

As you can see there are a lot of special features from Adobe computer software available. They tend to focus on the creative and more artistic user with some of their programs while focusing more on IT with other programs.

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Why Should You Use Engineering Software

When the technology of electric power supply and the telegraph were introduced at the end of the nineteenth century, the world became truly modern and the body of knowledge in applied electricity eventually became known as electrical engineering. Today, after more than a century of rapid development, this sphere of engineering includes many different fields like electronics, telecommunications, power generation, computers and integrated circuits. With electrical consumption on the rise to meet the requirements of industrial equipments and millions of home appliances like radios, television sets, refrigerators and many others, the importance of electric power generation have surged to great heights placing the career of electrical engineers at the highest level of importance. Engineering technology is greatly needed to keep the engine of the modern world in perpetual running condition.

If one wants to become an electrical engineer today, he has to pursue a Bachelor's of Science Degree majoring in Electrical Engineering which is a four or five year course, depending on where he takes up his studies. After he graduates, he will have to undergo a program to satisfy some requirements before he is finally certified by a professional body of engineers. After he is certified, he is then ready to practice his profession and take his place in society as an electrical engineer. He will probably be hired as an employee in a power plant or in a company that sells electrical equipments.

The present crop of electrical engineers will be not be surprised that computers have replaced many old gadgets like the slide rule and other such gadgets since computers have been around for some time. What will surprise them is the engineering software that is available to make engineering calculations easier and faster. They will wonder at computer software products that contain programs designed to instantly work on engineering applications like power management, ground grid design, transformer operations, power quality assessments, and data exchange which usually takes long hours of tedious work to set-up.

The impact of engineering software on the work of electrical engineers is phenomenal because the different calculation work that takes a team of workers to accomplish can be done faster and more efficiently by an engineer with sufficient knowledge in computer operations. If one really wants to get ahead in his career, he must take interest and learn how to apply the right engineering software to the different applications confronting him in the work place.

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What Is Cloud Computing and What Are Public, Private and Hybrid Clouds?

Cloud computing is considered to be the next big computer trend revolutionising the way existing IT infrastructure is run and developed within companies. But what is it? If you type the term into a search engine there will be a whole host of websites that attempt to answer the question but you will often see that many different definitions come back as everyone seems to have a singular take on what cloud computing means to them and their businesses.

Fundamentally, cloud computing is the way that a company will access software, applications, services and data in the future. It is a way that businesses can store and access data through a shared web browser meaning that a company no longer needs physical hardware onsite to store this type of information. The cloud will be provided by a cloud hosting provider meaning a new delivery model for IT services in businesses where the company can gain from economies of scale and virtualised resources. The cloud is an on-demand technology meaning that it can be accessed when required and companies only pay for what is used. It is also a technology that can be accessed from anywhere on a variety of devices including mobile phones; so offering companies greater flexibility and accessibility.

Therefore, put succinctly, cloud computing is the move to make IT management and provision of data, applications and information a service. This service will be run for businesses by their chosen cloud computing provider over the Internet on a consumption-based model.

The security of a company's data is an important factor in their IT related activities and cloud computing can offer different levels of security to suit business types and needs as data can be held within public clouds, private clouds and hybrid clouds. But what do these terms mean?

Public Clouds
A public cloud as it suggests is information that is held over the Internet for use by the general public in applications such as Gmail and Hotmail. The user of these applications doesn't know where the data is stored and if the cloud has any downtime it means that the user experiences this downtime as well with no understanding of when applications will be up-and-running again. These types of clouds do not offer any guarantees or service level agreements (SLAs) so are more suited to companies that don't have business critical applications.

Private Clouds
A private cloud is a cloud service offered to a limited number of people behind a private firewall in a data centre. This type of cloud technology does come with guarantees and SLAs to ensure that data and applications are always available and that there minimal downtime (if any) for a company. This type of cloud is more secure to protect the safety of information.

Hybrid Clouds
A hybrid cloud is an amalgamation of public and private clouds. For example, a business may choose to provide some resources internally (as they have spent money setting-up their existing IT infrastructure) while choosing to outsource some externally.

It can be seen that cloud computing is changing the way that applications and data is both delivered and accessed. When looking for a provider you should look for a company with renowned experience and one that you can fully trust with your businesses software, data and applications.

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A Brief Introduction to Information Security Engineering

Information security engineering is a very new field of study and it deals with providing security in the world of Information Technology. It deals with the analysis of vulnerability, the risk, threat and protecting the integrity of the next-functional logic (software) of a computer system and data contained in or exchanged in a communication with a user. This protection is achieved through organizational and technological measures aimed at ensuring that only authorized users have access to the database of the organization. This is mainly achieved by following a process of authentication, which verifies the credentials of the individuals before providing them with data access.

Information security has become a major concern in most industries, especially those which are heavily dependent on Information technology. The IT and ITES industries have over the years, started hiring Information Security engineers to help them with securing their database and the transfer of information between centers. These professionals work in large multinational companies and help them in improving their security parameters. Database security depends on several factors that interfere between the users and the system, such as robustness of the software and the basic application etc. The information security engineers utilize many tools to provide maximum data security.

They have to create safety programs which can help different companies in protecting their database and the flow of information. The fundamental concepts of information security are as follows:

Safety - ensuring that the database of an organization, along with the software and application used by the organization, is safe and secured;

Reliability - to make sure that the data is reliable by preventing events that can produce any serious damage to the database.

If there is any problem with the software used in any organization, of if there is any breach of security, it can lead to the following possible effects (in ascending order):

• No effect


• Negligible risk


• Significant risk


• High risk


• Catastrophic risk

This is why, the engineers and security experts take necessary steps to prevent any damage or loss caused by software failure or security breach.

Main techniques of defense used by the information security engineers

Antivirus: an anti-virus is a program which protects computers against attacks by malicious software known as viruses. A good antivirus should be constantly updated to have continuously running scan functions in real time. The security experts in an organization will regularly use the anti-virus to scan the hard disks, CDs, DVDs and floppy disks, to detect the presence of viruses, worms, malwares etc. To prevent the spread of virus, the antivirus will also check all the files that are received or sent via emails to verify that they are safe.

Anti-Spyware: it is a software which is very effective in the removal of "spy files", or spyware that can steal information about the user's online activities and send them to an organization that will use them for profit. An anti-spyware application can go a long way in protecting the intellectual property of an organization.

Firewall: a firewall protects the computer network in an organization against outside hacking attacks and blocks any programs on the computers attempting to access the Internet without the user's permission. A firewall installed and well configured system provides compile access control by monitoring all traffic that passes through it.

Digital Signature Encryption: information security engineers protect sensitive documents and data from unauthorized access by using specific security mechanisms such as encryption, digital signature, and the use of digital certificates and cryptographic algorithms to identify the certifying authority i.e. a site, a person or software.

Backup: security experts create backup of the company database as it helps them to recover lost or damaged files. In any organization, creating backup of the database is very important because if the organization loses important data, it might even have to face lawsuits from the clients. It will also find it difficult to conduct day to day operations.

Honeypot: a honeypot is a system or piece of hardware or software used to "trap" or "bait" for protection against attacks by hackers. Usually consists of a computer or a site that seems to be part of the network and contain valuable information, but in reality is quite isolated and has no critical or sensitive content. It could also be a file, a record, or an unused IP address.

Causes of Data Loss

The probable causes of loss of data in computer systems may be multiple, but are generally grouped into two events: Adverse events and Accidental events.

Adverse Events

Between the two events mentioned above, the unwanted ones are mostly unexpected, although it is prudent to expect anything. One should also expect the so-called attacks by unauthorized users to steal valuable data. Adverse events are often caused by unauthorized users who would try to access different computers and systems without taking permissions from any required authorities.

Hacking attacks

The hacking attacks are controlled by the hackers through the internet network, by using special software, sometimes created by them; they sneak in by hacking the system, achieving full control of the machine, to manage resources and data without the proper permissions. They often steal vital information and then use it for their own benefit, causing harm to the company which has been hacked.

Access to systems by unauthorized users

This type of attack is substantially similar to the previous one, but has a different shape. This attack involves unauthorized use of systems and data, but unlike a hacker attack this time the system itself is used for the attack and not the network.

Effects

The hacking and unauthorized usage of company information can cause a lot of loss to the company. If vital data is lost, the customers can even sue the company for large amount of money and can even take legal action. The company may also find it difficult to meet its professional responsibilities.

Accidental events

The accidents do not refer to an attack by a third party, but they refer to events caused accidentally by the employees of the organization, like installation of incompatible hardware parts, unexpected failures, etc. All these events however, compromise system security.

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Life Cycle for Software Development

A software development process is a making and development process of a software program and it is popularly known as software development lifecycle process. It is also called software process, and shortly as SDLC. SDLC has several models and each of them is used for different types of tasks for different levels of activities which get incorporated in between the development process. However, there are several instances where the life cycle models are accounted as a generic term and specifically the term software development process is applied as more specific term in aspect of new implementation, renovation, and modification of existing modules related to business or for some other purpose.

In short SDLC describes different phases of software cycle and the orders in which these developmental phases are executes either in individual way or by some series of developmental ways. Although there are countless options for SDLCs these models vary from one to another but despite their discrepancies, the models maintain a great implicit similarity in between.

A general model is described by the phases it involves in its development process. The requirements are converted in different modules of designs. Different types of codes are produced at the time of implementation while it is being driven by design. Proper and methodical testing process decides the appropriateness of the designs in accordance to the proposed structure of the system and the deliverability of the designs also are judges in this developmental phase.

In nutshell the SDLC model is made of four steps like analyzing the requirements, planning the design as per the requirements, implementation of designs for the accommodation of the requirements, and then it needs proper testing of the designs and requirements in order to justify the programming and ultimate arrangements.

In SDLC designing holds a significant role; and the design is implemented from the root level of basic requirements of the development process. The focus of the developers remain high on this phase because designing phase is the foundation work of the whole developmental plan on which the whole structure of development is introduced in step-by-step format. The end product of this SDLC foundation process is communication, UML, architecture, and relevant development of hardware and software etc.

Implementation process is the second phase which comes after designing. It is one of the longest design phases in the course of SDLC. In This phase the codes are generated and thus it holds a significant role in implementing the whole process of development; however in some course, the steps are followed in automated process.

Testing is the last phase of SDLC; in this phase the balance between the requirement, designing, and coding are back-checked and verified from the point of functionality. Unit tests are used for checking specific components while system check deals with the complete system's functionality.

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Microsoft Dreamspark Gives Tech Students Free Visual Studio Software!

I absolutely refuse to write a misleading title just to get you to read my article, so I made sure to clarify the "free" Visual Studio software is for students.

Students interested in a future as an IT tech or computer support specialist require skills in Microsoft technologies. Training for these technologies are intense and constantly updated. Purchasing all the necessary Microsoft tools can also be quite expensive especially for students who don't already have a career.

Fortunately, Microsoft offers free licensed versions of Visual Studio, Expressions, SQL and other great software to college students through DreamSpark. DreamSpark is a website that provides professional-level developer and design tools to students and educators around the world at no charge. These Microsoft tools help IT professionals in training advance their learning and skills through technical design, technology, math, science, and engineering activities.

While this free software offer isn't new - every time I mention it to students enrolled in a Microsoft bootcamp, almost everyone lights up with surprise. So, if you know someone in college - surprise them by sharing this incredible gift. Signing up is quick and easy. When registration is complete, you will be given access to download the software. Pretty cool.

Programming technology changes at a pace faster than books can be published which make tools like this indispensable. If you're looking for additional training or Microsoft certifications on Visual Studio 2010 or other Microsoft technologies then look into some of the online Bootcamps available. As for achieving the Microsoft MCPD Certification it is important to look for a Microsoft Bootcamp that has a very high first time success rate for students passing the exam.

The majority of successful Microsoft Bootcamps are successful for two very simple reasons; smaller classes and the best instructors. If you search online you will quickly see dozens of Microsoft Certification camps that boast high volumes of students. Look for class sizes limited to 12 students per instructor for the best learning environment. When you're investing this much into your training - you deserve better than 30+ students in your class.

It's a great idea to jumpstart your IT education by signing up for Free software and taking advantage of these tools of the trade. To make the most of your education and training, and to ensure you start your career on the right track, be sure to enroll in a program that offers smaller classes for technical training, new equipment, more workspace and one that has a proven higher test pass success rates by your instructors.

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Custom Software Developments And Other Services

When one talks about custom software developments, a professional developer comes to mind. This concept is actually very true and there are many different companies that offer these services, among others, to their clients. Establishing these services becomes increasingly more important in a world that relies mainly on computers and the Internet. Many firms and companies are in dire need of customized solutions that are very specific to their needs and preferences. Many pioneers of this field have realized this need and they have tried successfully to fill it.

Services

Professionals from several fields provide custom software developments. People with skill in engineering, marketing, management and research and development are usually tapped for such jobs. They are well versed in searching for solutions based on what they have found out regarding specific needs and preferences of their client. It is important that they meet these needs and preferences in order for their clients to be happy and satisfied with their results.

Other services that may be included in this field are integration with existing systems, customer support and internal processing. Many of the clients who approach development companies often have old systems that still work well and are currently in use in their company. It is important that the new processes developed will be able to merge well and coordinate with the older or current ones. This integration will ensure that there will be little or no hiccups when it is time to launch the new programs. Custom software developments also include making sure that the clients are satisfied with their interaction with the system. Customer support is important in the sense that this will help the clients with their interaction with the company. Internal processing is also another important aspect of the field. Here, the developers need to make sure that there is transparency when it comes to the systems in the entire company of their client. This transparency will bring to light any problems or issue which may affect the integrity of the system. The management of inventory and human resources are among the top aspects that need to be managed well internally.

The functionality of a program is necessary in order for it to be fully appreciated by the people who use it in the company and by those who use it externally. Both the customers and the workers need to be able to understand and do things that are necessary for their interactions in daily life. The custom software developments may seem more expensive than off the shelf programs that are readily available for any company. In reality, the customized programs are more streamlined and specific for each firm and company that orders them. This means that needs and preferences are met with a perfect fit that only comes from customized jobs. The developers can do tweaking when necessary but usually before it is launched.

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Opt For Product Engineering Services And Enhance Your Business Experience!

If you have explored the domain of product engineering services, you must be aware that it looks after the manufacturing of products so that they can be sold in the market. This sector not only takes care of the on goings associated with the cost and performance of the product but also its reliability and validity. The field of product engineering comprises of several other features like conceptualizing, crafting the product, improving it and finally producing it.

It is very important for the person involved in this sector to take all the necessary steps for enhancing the product and cutting down its final price. The software marketing sector is growing with every passing day and the new technologies are becoming a part of it. The business giants have started creating their own product development software so that they can be a part of the ongoing race for production of new products and software service distributions. With the help of these systems, software development companies can come up with new production and get a good number of leads.

The product engineering services sector has created a complete transformation of software support management. These companies work hand in hand with industrial giants in order to reach the clients all over the world. The popularity of social networking has increased so much that it has led the upcoming companies to come up with new web products by making the most of applications like Web 2.0. With the advent of product engineering services, the usual time taken for system and software testing has reduced up to a great extent.

When the software development is in the making, some steps have to be taken to maintain its reliability and validity. These steps include everything right from creating the design, programming and integration and last but not the least, testing. If all these aspects are not looked after during the development phase, the output of the product can turn out to be really weak. These days, due to the increasing demand for new and unique products from the clients; product engineering domain is becoming quite robust. The companies which are a part of this sector also avail customized software development according to the requirements of the client and develop the product accordingly.

Thus if you want a superior quality experience with your software, you must choose to get it done from a professional product engineering services firm.

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Computer Science: It Is Not Programming But Problem Solving

I have had the pleasure and the opportunity to do one of my favorite hobbies in the past two years, and that is teaching. I have had the opportunity of teaching several different topics in the field of computer science, from introductory courses to upper division courses, and I have seen a pattern along the students which has been a puzzle for me especially in the upper division classes.

One of the main surprising facts I have noticed, is that most of the students have little or no practical experience in software development, especially in the upper division classes. That is, they have not been given enough opportunity to do hands on projects to improve and fine tune their programming skills in the lower division classes, and when they take courses such as Software Engineering, most of them don't have the ability to create a fully functional system from the ground up.

Now I can understand if this is the first year for the student and they are just starting out and getting to know their first computer language and all of the tools and environments that are available to them. And it is also understandable that there are different levels of students with different levels of skill sets and motivation. But to be in an upper division course and still be uncomfortable with the basics is a little frightening for me.

What I also noticed and honestly surprised me, is that most of the students who are just starting out in the computer science curriculum don't have a clue of what computer science is all about. Now maybe this is an unfair statement, you may argue that they are still unsure or undecided, but I think that is not the case. If you are in a science or engineering curriculum, then there are certain things that are critical for the student to know, like a good foundation is mathematics and physics.

Again maybe, the issue is how we prepare our youth in their earlier years of life.

For instance, as part of the computer science curriculum, the students are required to take a course in Software Engineering. I am not going to discuss what software engineering is, but to enlighten you, here is a description from Wikipedia: Software engineering (SE) is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the design, development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software. The term software engineering first appeared in the 1968 NATO Software Engineering Conference and was meant to provoke thought regarding the perceived "software crisis" at the time. Software development, a much used and more generic term, does not necessarily subsume the engineering paradigm.

In such a class, the students is expected to have a good understanding of at least one programming language such as JAVA, C#, C++ and etc... as well as a good understanding of Object-Oriented Methodology and Design. On top of the programming skills, the student should have good understanding of data structures and algorithms. Don't forget, a Program = Data Structures + Algorithms! It would also help if the students have database knowledge and etc...

These are just some of the technical skills that they should have and keep fine tuning on a daily basis. The more important aspect of computer science has nothing to do with programming of JAVA or C# or anything like that. It has to do with the ability to ANALYZE and SOLVE PROBLEMS!

In my last class, I had created six different teams composed of three members each. Each group was given the option to come up with their own project to design and develop throughout the course, and if they were unable to do so, I was going to assign them a project.

The students were very good at coming up with defining their own projects. We had a good variety of projects from Hospital Management System, to Hotel Management System, to iPAD application for Retail Shopping and Inventory, to Android application for a simple 2D game, to a Learning Management System on the web, and a Windows based application creating customized MIMES.

Now it was time to start the real deal! Let's start Engineering our Product!

Throughout the course the students were responsible of defining: the requirements and specifications, the design and implementation, and finally the testing and release (demo) of their software project.

The surprising thing for me was that most students didn't know where to start! Given a particular problem, how would one take it and dissect it into smaller parts to be able to solve it in small portions and come out with the final solutions by the divide and conquer method!

As mentioned some teams did a really good job at each and every step, and others started out weak, and then increased their efforts and effectiveness throughout the course. As you can see the projects themselves are somewhat complex for the students and all of them require the knowledge of good User Interface Design, Object-Oriented Design, Database Design, and for most some sort of Network Communication!

Some students didn't even have any programming skills, and for the matter of fact, they really didn't care much about investing the time to learn it! Relying mostly on their peers for the technical aspects of the project! Now we should not expect every person to be a guru, but they should at least show some interest and have some self-motivation to learn on their own.

Overall the majority of students in the class were hard workers and they really put a lot of time and effort in their respective projects. Most of them wanted to learn and be challenged. They just lacked the proper skills that were necessary prior to taking this class.

There was a lot involved for the students in this particular class, and this put a lot of pressure on the students to push themselves and to become self-motivated and self-starters. And that is exactly what my objective was in not only this class but all my classes. I want my students to push harder and to think bigger and explore more areas and ideas because this is the only way to grow and be competitive later on in their professional careers.

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Field Engineering Software: Five Things You Should Look For

There is a wide range of field engineering software packages available for utilities, their vendors and consultants, but they aren't all created equal. Because most utility providers and their clients employee a number of individuals who serve different functions, it can be difficult to coordinate across different platforms effectively. When you're interested in a software solution, it's important to evaluate your company's needs and those of your engineers and other critical employees. Once you've determined what you need, do some research to find out which software companies provide the most reliable and flexible programs.

Key Elements That Make A Great Field Engineering Software Program

1. The Ability To Design And Document In The Field

Working in the field is always a challenge. If you don't truly have mobile capability that allows you to quickly, easily and accurately design, review or change extensions or repairs, you'll quickly realize that you aren't keeping up with repairs, extensions or other activities. Falling behind simply isn't an option in the utilities industry, so be sure your field engineers are using mobile solutions that give them plenty of latitude for work management regardless of their location.

2. Easy Integration With Other Company Platforms

No matter how great your field engineering software is, if it can't be easily integrated into your current system, it's useless. Be sure to talk to a representative about what you need and how well it will work with your current system. The best programs seamlessly tie together data such as utility maps and planning tools,including electronic sketching on specifications and drawings. Ask if the field engineering package can work with your accounting system or any other work-related systems back at the office. Keeping your engineers in the loop greatly enhances productivity.

3. Printable Reports

Whether you're holding a staff meeting, pitching your services to new clients, reviewing your inventory or invoicing clients, you should be able to print customizable reports that utilize the variety of information at your fingertips. Being able to view the "whole picture" instead of just bits and pieces of information will make everyone more efficient, which can improve your bottom line.

4. Systems Engineering And Analysis Capability

It's not enough to be able to see the information that's been input into your system. You have to be able to effectively analyze the information in order to determine the best course of action. Look for programs that let work crews not only view maps and sketches, but retrieve valuable information in order to engineer valid solutions. Systems engineering and analysis is the backbone of good field work, so be sure it is supported properly. The right engineering analysis software can save you thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours.

5. Customer Service And Support

Any time you install new software on your network, there could be glitches. The learning curve can be steep for some members of your organization, but with the right customer service and support, they will soon be performing flawlessly. Ask vendors about the level of after-purchase support you can expect. Will they help your employees properly configure their computers, notebooks and smart phones? Will they be available if you run into an unexpected problem?

When you're ready to graduate to the latest in engineering analysis software, take the time to ask the right questions so that you invest in a product that will work across multiple platforms and quickly help turn problems into solutions.

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Selling Software At Online Auctions

Computer software is one of the biggest sellers online, everyone using a computer uses software, don't they? There can be problems, however, if you try to sell certain kinds of software that auction sites doesn't allow. Used software is a minefield, and you could end up buying something dodgy to resell without even realising it.

Here are the various kinds of software that you're not allowed to sell on most auction sites, and how to spot them. You should always try installing used software before you sell it, as this might give you a few clues.

Pirate Software.

This one is reasonably obvious, but pirate software can be hard to spot. The biggest things to look out for are auctions that don't have pictures or only have pictures from catalogues, unrealistically low prices, and come with no manuals or documentation. Microsoft software comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, which you should check. Software that is on recordable media such as CD-RWs is usually pirated. If you see software that offered for download only, it is often pirated but not always. Some small software developers allow download licenses for their software to be resold on other auction sites. Type the name of the software into a search engine, and go to the manufacturer's site to check. Remember that software you download is very unlikely to come with resale rights, though.

Beta Software.

Beta software is pre-release software, issued by companies for testing purposes. Companies generally do not give permission for their beta software to be sold or redistributed, as it won't be as good as the final product. Do not buy anything that says it is beta, and return anything you receive that says beta or not for resale or distribution anywhere on the CD or during the install.

Academic Software.

Some companies sell special educational edition's or student license's for their software, which are designed to make it affordable to students and teachers. You can only sell this software if you are a licensed educational reseller for the company, and your buyers are educational users. Academic software will usually say somewhere on its CD or in its installation what it is.

OEM Software.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer' this is software that is only supposed to be distributed with a new computer, as it came pre-installed on the computer. The licenses for this software usually stop you from selling it without also selling any hardware. Look out for the message for sale with a new computer only, or similar. Note, though, that it's usually fine to bundle any OEM software you come across with computers that you sell online. If you sell any kind of software that isn't allowed, then most reputable sites will shut down your auction, or your sellers might realise what they've bought and leave you bad feedback. It's not really worth the risk.

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What Is Java And Why Should You Learn It?

In the computing industry, being able to use Java is a crucial skill. Java is a programming language used to make interactive content for webpages, stand-alone software, and server-side programs. The Java platform is the invisible force behind numerous apps we use in a variety of equipment, from personal computers to game consoles, as well as networks. Today, it is used by approximately 9 million software designers, and millions of end-users worldwide. Java is truly everywhere. 1 billion desktops and 3 billion cellular phones run Java. At the same time, 100% of Blu-ray players run this program. There are also more than 900 million Java runtime environment downloads annually.

History of Java platform

Java technology was created by James gosling, along with a small group of software engineers at Sun Microsystems in the early 90's. The team had the belief that the next phase of computing was the union of electronic gadgets and users. Earlier on in this programming language's development, Java was named differently, specifically Oak and subsequently Green. The Java language project was initially designed for interactive television, but back then it was too complex for existing digital cable systems. By 1995, Sun Microsystems introduced Java 1.0, and the company promoted it as a Write Once, Run Anywhere computing language. This implies that, Java applications can be created on any device, compiled as a standard bytecode, and run on any device that is loaded with a Java virtual machine.

Why software designers make use of Java

Through Java, software designers can write in one platform and be guaranteed that it will run on virtually any other platform. Apart from its cross-platform benefits, it is also efficient, secure, and portable, making it invaluable to developers. Using this programming language, software builders can create powerful and efficient software for a number of devices like set-top boxes, printers, peripheral devices for computers, video games, medical equipment, and so much more. It can also be used along with extensions like OSGi or CORBA to produce highly customized software or services.

Ways to learn Java

If you are interested to learn Java, there are many colleges and universities that are offering courses in this language. You can also develop your skills by browsing articles added to Oracle's Java developer website, being a member in online Java forums, newsletters, and signing up for instructor-led courses available on the Internet. Additionally, there are a lot of books you can use to learn Java. With so many alternatives to learn Java, there is high chance that you can find one that matches your requirements.

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Is This Really the End for Flash Animation?

Change is inevitable and many of the things we count on today will not exist in the future.

This seems to be especially true in the cyber world, where new technologies are continually being developed to replace old or outdated software.

One older technology that has been refusing to 'go gently into that good night' is Adobe's Flash animation.

Flash has been the animation standard for many, many years and can be found on nearly every computer in existence. (Some research suggests it has been downloaded onto 98% of computers).

According to one article, Flash technology is the main reason sites like YouTube and Hulu have exploded in popularity over the past few years. And the main reason we have fast, reliable access to online videos at all.

But now, after years of fighting to save Flash, Adobe has abandoned plans to continue developing new versions of Flash for mobile devices.

It's difficult to understand why such a popular product has fallen out of favour, but it seems maybe Flash was its own worst enemy. The very fact that Flash was everywhere and used in so many different ways - some of which it was never originally intended for - ultimately led to its demise.

Flash animation is a great way to add movement and life to web pages. It is also used to facilitate streaming of videos on line. Moving characters, changing colours, rotating text, your imagination is really the only limit.

It was so successful that someone had the brilliant idea to build an entire website using Flash animation. The idea caught on and soon Flash websites were everywhere.

One major downside of a Flash-based website is that the search engines can't read the content, which leave Flash websites in the dust when it comes to search engine rankings. That problem has actually been addressed to a certain extent in recent years and the search engines have found ways to read the more of the content on Flash websites, but non-Flash websites are still better for search engine optimization.

Another issue with Flash websites is that they are not easy to edit. It's vital to keep the content on your website current and fresh for both the search engines and for visitors to your website. Outdated content is a sure way to bring your website down in the search engine rankings. With Flash animation sites, very few end-users are capable of editing their own web pages, which means they must pay a programmer every time the website needs to be changed, costing them time and money.

Splash down

Splash pages were a so-so idea that really took a turn for the worse with the addition of Flash animation. A splash page, also known as a splash screen, is a website intro page, rather like the cover of a book. Unlike books, however, websites don't need a cover page! Well, OK, there are certain cases where an intro page has some benefit, such as choosing which language version of a website you want to navigate to.

For the most part, however, these intro pages are either a chance for the website administrators to advertise products or for web designers to show off. The addition of Flash animation took splash pages to a whole new level of annoying as users were often forced to sit through some fantastical animated graphics loop - usually accompanied by an unwanted elevator Muzak audio track - while searching frantically for the 'skip intro' button.

Splash pages aren't so bad if directions for navigating through them are clear and precise.

But if almost everyone who stumbles on a splash page immediately starts looking for the exit, what is the point of having a splash page?

Other common complaints about Flash animation include the following: it slows down page loading and can actually bring older computers to a virtual stand still, especially in combination with dial up Internet service; Flash sucks power and creates security and privacy issues on mobile devices; basic keyboard functions like copy and paste don't work properly on Flash animation sites.

Apple bites back

With all of that, Flash was doing just fine, thank you, until it came up against the power of Apple.

Flash animation is usable on both Mac and Microsoft computers, but it is definitely NOT an Apple product.

That was made abundantly clear a few years ago when Apple made the decision to bar Flash applications from the iPhone. In fact, the Flash animation prohibition became a part of the iPhone user agreement.

Apparently the problem, at least as far as Apple is concerned, is that Flash is not just animation software, it is an application development platform. In other words, by downloading Flash onto the iPhone, users could potentially find a way to download apps, music, videos and games without going through Apple or the iTunes store. This would, of course, cost Apple money. More importantly, it would subvert Apple's absolute control over their users, in terms of their choice of apps, software and programming.

New direction

Adobe put up a valiant fight in support of Flash and even relished the victory of securing a place for Flash on Android and Blackberry mobile devices.

But in the end, Adobe decided they will no longer continue to develop new versions of Flash for mobile devices, opting instead to embrace HTML5 for the future. In fact, Adobe Edge, an HTML5 and CSS3 animation and design software - in other words, an eventual replacement for Flash - has already been in previews since August 2011.

However, to paraphrase the great Winston Churchill, "this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. It is, perhaps, the end of the beginning..." for Flash.

Flash is still widely used to facilitate online video streaming and it still exists on the vast majority of computers around the world so there is no danger of it disappearing into the ether anytime soon.

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To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade: The Advantages and Risks of Changing Up Hardware

We are at that point in technology when we have the tools and capacity as well as confidence to create our very own computer. With spare parts and all those good stuff, all you need is technical know-how and you can build your own computer with the speed and power that you need. However, it is really not that easy. It is very crucial to know that if you mess up your computer for the sake of an upgrade, you might end up spending more than what you could actually hope for. The question now is if computer upgrades are good or bad and if you should even consider this option than buy a readymade one?

There are some people who take upgrading as a very good exercise of their technical skills and capacity to build or enhance a computer. That sounds ideal but it requires skill so if you are a regular user without any knowledge about adding components and stuff for your computer, it would be best to have an expert do it for you.

Upgrades, to some extent can either be DIY or professional level. DIY is if you are just replacing whole hardware like monitors or maybe an entire new CPU. Maybe you want a new hard disk drive. This is probably the easiest upgrade that you could ever do. In some cases, like with regards to chips and cards and doing some software upgrades, it takes a professional in order to identify the risks, recognize the problems and ensure that the computer is working well.

Some people have conservative takes on computer upgrades. Let's face it, not all repair experts and technicians are brilliant or honest. You will see problems like haphazard installations, replaced parts or maybe even utter downgrades instead of downgrades. As you can see, it is not just about the items. It is really all about the entire system and how it will actually work for the needs and demands of the consumers. Sometimes, even if the intentions of the technician or computer owner are good, the results of the upgrade can ultimately be terrible disasters or impending disasters in the long run.

In all these things, it is necessary to take some time and ponder more about the aspects of computer upgrades before investing your money on expensive parts and fees. Here are some very useful, practical and easily implemented tips to give the real score regarding upgrades.

If it is not broken, there is no need for fixing.
Just because you have so and so computer and someone advertises that they can uplift it to become a great computer, you will just deliver your computer and pay the price. One thing to save you money and disappointment at the end of the day is that if it is doing the things you do regularly quite brilliantly, the there is really no reason to upgrade the computer. Sure, new features may have better aspects but what about the other features? Especially for software, they offer great graphics and added features but are they really worth the cost of the upgrade?

If it is broken, there is no need to fix it, either
It is like adding a new side mirror on a battered car. Or maybe a new battery for a poor running engine. It does not make sense and could potentially affect the overall functionality of your desktop. If you really must, fix the problem first. Upgrade will not fix the issue. For software, there are also some programs that can be added to make the computer run faster but be aware that some of them can cause the computer to get damaged even more.

However, that is not to say all kinds of upgrade are bad. If the purpose of the upgrade is to add better security like antivirus protection then so be it. Maybe a component is already becoming a nuisance just like bad keyboards or an ineffective speaker. Upgrading the hardware can be great. In some cases, upgrades can be great investments in the future as they can boost functionality to get things done in a shorter period of time.

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Stumbling Blocks in Voice Identification Technologies

While a forensic expert has the skills to properly match a recording to the person, computers still have a long way to go. Existing voice identification software programs continue to deal with several problems that hinder it from recognizing the speaker, making it ineffectual as a biometric tool. Here are a few of those obstacles.

Stress

Under extreme duress, a person's speech patterns change. His pitch rises, his intonation changes, and his volume increases. As he gets more frustrated or angry, all three factors escalate higher. Voice identification is especially difficult if his usual intervals between words have changed. This is why it's important to be calm and clear when using voice-activated commands on a mobile phone.

Illness

A cold or cough can dramatically change how a narrator sounds. Even voice identification experts will have to exert extra effort to recognize somebody whose stuffy nose hinders them from properly pronouncing their n's and m's. A scratchy throat from excessive coughing will fool voice identification software in the same way. Vault owners who are easily susceptible to the flu should always have an equally secure backup routine in place should their primary speech recognition systems fail.

External Noise

Forget about asking for help along a busy street if the toll-free number directs you to an interactive voice response system. Your words are likely to get caught in between the honking cars and revving engines. The good news is technological breakthroughs in voice identification are now enabling the software programs to separate out different sound waves to isolate human speech.

Developing Vocals

As a person ages, his vocal chords change. One concrete example can be attributed to puberty wherein a boy starts out with a high-pitched voice that becomes an almost inaudible squeak before going down to a baritone level. This makes it challenging even for voice identification experts to recognize a 20-year-old man's voice ten years ago.

Recording Quality

Background din aside, the reverberations from a recording can affect the quality of voice identification as well. These echoes are caused by the sounds bouncing off nearby surfaces. This phenomenon is what makes recording studios particular to acoustics and noise-cancelling microphones.

In no way are voice identification software programs and biometric systems on a par with the real forensic experts. As an emerging technology, the former has made several achievements in the past few years but they are still a long way from being considered a total success.

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A Step By Step Look Into 3D Printing

3D printing is a pretty interesting form of manufacturing technology that is already starting to change the way that we look at creating things, on any scale. Whether you are a part of a huge marketing firm, or you are a consumer working out of his or her garage, you can have access to 3D printing. What can this technology do? Well, frankly, it can create things. These things that are created range from toys, to complex parts for machinery, to character models, to jewelry, to whatever! 3D printing can create virtually anything. Before I jump into what it can make, let's discuss what takes place when it comes down to creating a print through 3D printing.

In order to use this manufacturing technology, some form of a blueprint is required. This means that a n artist, designer, engineer, or whomever will have to create a model on the computer. This model will be made through some form of 3D software. This software might be Maya, Autodesk, Solidworks, Blender, or whatever.

So an artist will work to design a 3D model, and then when the piece is finally designed, we will have the blueprint. After this is made, throwing the design into the printer I required. 3D printers will create pretty much whatever you'd like to have them create as long as enough material is available, the printer Is large enough for what you want, and you're using the right style of 3D printing for that said job. This is very powerful for designers, artists, engineers, et c, but what does 3D printing actually entail.

3D printing is sort of slang for additive manufacturing, or the layer by layer creation of various objects through a layer by layer process. For 3D printing to work, there have to be a few things. Like I mentioned earlier, a designer of some kind will have to create a 3D model of the part you're looking for. After that is done, this model will then be sent to the manufacturing facility, where it will be put into a printer. The printer technician essentially presses go, and the print starts! Layers of material will be laid down on top of this build tray, and after a certain amount of buildup, you'll see a final product come about. This is great, as the layer by layer process used in3D printing allows for the creation of some seriously unique products and images. This gives the beneficiaries a lot to work with. There is almost too much that these printers. Various materials come into play when thinking about 3D printing. Some materials feature mechanical properties, such as stainless steel or Inconel. Others offer ceramic capabilities,. Others offer things like full color from within a sandstone ZP150 printer. The possibilities as to what can come out of a 3D printer are pretty endless. There are so many options! If you're considering purchasing a printer, leasing a printer, or using a 3D printing service, it would be good idea to check it out - this technology is pretty neat!

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