Bad PC Sales Staff Exposed

Bad PC Sales Staff Exposed on Monday September 28, @01:33PM

iBarence writes "An undercover investigation has revealed how Dell's online sales staff take liberties with the truth when trying to sell customers new PCs. One member of staff told an undercover reporter that he would need a PC with a good graphics card to download digital photos. Another, who was more incompetent than devious, was asked how many photos could be stored on a 250GB hard disk. 'Its[sic] on average 2 MB then 1024 MB * 2,' came the bewildering reply. Meanwhile, a sales assistant at supermarket Tesco told the reporter that netbooks got their name because 'a Japanese man on a plane fell asleep with a laptop on his thighs and was horribly burned, so the industry has dropped the name laptop.'"
Read More...Slashdot

Scam Warning

Scam Warning

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I received a call the other day. Person on the other end had an Indian accent. Told me he was calling about my "computer problem" and wanted me to walk through settings on my system.

I engaged this person in conversation, repeatedly asking him who he was, who he was with, how he got my number and why he was calling me.

He insisted that I had placed a support call and he was trying to help me.

I had not placed any such call.

Today I learned that my mother also received a similar call. (She has no computer).

Needless to say I didn't allow any "support".

THis link seems to indicate there's a new technique going around.
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-698-9034

I'm uncertain what the scam exactly is, wether they collect your info directly, have you visit a link that installs spyware or a system hijack, but if you receive ANY calls from anyone offering support, I strongly suggest you reject them.

Also, be aware that Microsoft wont call you out of the blue, so be doubly aware of that.

Q&A: How do you get your website to appear on the first page, at the top, of a Google search?

Q&A: How do you get your website to appear on the first page, at the top, of a Google search?

Question:
How do you get your website to appear on the first page, at the top, of a Google search?

Answer:
Short answer, you don't. Most people when they think of searching will type in something very broad and very generic like "karate" or "training" or even a little more precise like "self defense" and see millions of results. Trying to tackle that amount of competition for the top spot is really a losing battle, unless you have very deep pockets. A better approach, and one that has a better chance of being successful for you is to focus your attention on specific search phrases.

For example, many of my martial arts clients are in the Western New York area. They aren't looking for someone in London England to hit their site, but for someone in the WNY area. So, a smart searcher will type in something like "Buffalo martial arts" (which results in 3 of my clients, and 5 of my sites on the 1st page) or "wny martial arts" (4 sites, 1 client on page 1), or "wny karate" (3 sites 1st page). Typing in something like "modern arnis seminar training" has 2 of my clients on the 1st page. Another example is "natural resource consulting" which has 1 of my clients on the 1st page of results.

It's important to think in terms of search phrases when you optimize your site, and focus on those. A combination of proper key words, solid descriptions, and appropriate text will greatly enhance your chances for high placement. Also, be certain all of your images are captioned using ALT tags. Those are an often overlooked place for extra optimization.

===
Bob Hubbard, is the CEO of SilverStar WebDesigns Inc. and an Administrator at MartialTalk.com and KenpoTalk.com. He can be reached through those sites.

Q&A: How fancy and how big should your opening page be?

Q&A: How fancy and how big should your opening page be?


Question:
How fancy and how big should your opening page be?

Answer:
There are several different views on this. Some will recommend long and wordy, others hort an terse, others flashy, others simple. My suggestion is to tailor the page toward your goals for the site.

I recomend using a couple of graphics, 2-3 paragraphs of good descriptive text, loaded with strong keywords for the search engines to latch onto. This gives you a good starting point. You can add more paragraphs, but be mindful of how many graphics you place. Each one adds to the overall size of your main page, and slows down it's loading, especially for dialup users. A slow page detracts from the user experience.

===
Bob Hubbard, is the CEO of SilverStar WebDesigns Inc. and an Administrator at MartialTalk.com and KenpoTalk.com. He can be reached through those sites.

Flush the crap out of your PC!

Quote:

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware!

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Friend recommended this to fix some issues I'm having. First pass through it cleared out over 300 megs of orphaned drivers and bits.

Remember to back up your registry before doing changes!

Q&A: How many different fonts should you use on a webpage?

Q&A: How many different fonts should you use on a webpage?


Question:
How many different fonts should you use on a webpage?

Answer:
Using too many different fonts can make your website look amateurish and random. For best effect, I would suggest sticking with no more than two or three at most. You can use one easily read font for the body which is where most time will be spent reading, and a more stylish one for headers, headlines and menus.

Follow up question #1 "How Big should I make my fonts"?

Common practices would use a 10-13 point font, usually a 12 point for the body, with a couple points larger for headers, headlines and menus, and a couple points smaller for footer and foot notes.

Follow up question #2 "What fonts would you recommend?"

There are 2 main types of fonts, Sans Serif and Serif. Sans Serif fonts like Arial and Helvetica are recommended due to their being easier to read on computer screens. My personal favorite is Verdana. Avoid Serif fonts like Times Roman or Courier, which work much better in print form.

===
Bob Hubbard, is the CEO of SilverStar WebDesigns Inc. and an Administrator at MartialTalk.com and KenpoTalk.com. He can be reached through those sites.

Q&A: Free MP3 editor?

Question:
Does anyone know of a (preferably) free or inexpensive program for editing MP3's?

Answer:
For simple recording and editing needs, you can try Audacity. It's free, easy to use and can export to good quality MP3's with an additional free add-in. Visit http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ for the program and see here for more discussion on this topic.

Q&A: what are the best spywear and anti virus downloads on the market?

Question:
what are the best spywear and anti virus downloads on the market?

Answer:
The answer to this is often a matter of opinion. I've used a number of different programs over the years and in my opinion, the best are these:

Antivirus
http://free.grisoft.com/

Spyware
http://www.lavasoft.us/
Make sure you follow the free options, not the trial options

See also this discussion

Benefits of Computers For The Martial Arts Industry - Part 3 of 3 By Bob Hubbard

Benefits of Computers For The Martial Arts Industry - Part 3 of 3
By Bob Hubbard

Shopping for Computer Training

The last few years have seen an explosion in the number of training centers catering to both novices and experts. The options can seem overwhelming. Before spending the time and money on computer training, research your options. Here are several questions to ask and consider:

#How big are the classes?
Just as in martial arts training, smaller classes mean more personal attention from the instructor.

# Are the computers up to date?
All computers should be up to date running modern software. It does you little good to learn on old outdated equipment that won’t be much like the system in your school.

# Do students have to share computers or does everyone get their own?
Each student should have their own computer to work on. This allows you to do more hands on training, rather than watching someone else do the exercises.

# Are the class times convenient?
In order to learn, you need to be able to attend the classes. Many places offer day, night and weekend classes. The more flexibility they offer, the easier you can schedule the time to attend.

#How long has the school been in business?
Older schools will have established track records. Talk to other people, especially those in professional fields for recommendations.

# What are the instructors credentials?
Computer certifications are a dime a dozen today. There are however a few names that will hold credibility. Do the instructors hold certifications from Microsoft, Adobe or other makers of the software you want to learn? For example, if you are going to learn Microsoft Word, looking for someone holding a certification from Microsoft is a good idea.

# Does this instructor regularly teach this class?
Many training centers rotate instructors with each one teaching various topics. You want someone who regularly teaches the class you are interested in as their skills will be sharpest, and they will be most likely to be properly prepared.

Some questions to ask:
# Can you observe a class before enrolling?
# What are all the fees involved?
# Can you talk to existing students for their opinions?
# How long will the classes run?

Some other advice:
# Don’t sign anything on your first visit.
# Don’t make a hasty decision, even if they tell you that seats are limited and going fast.
# Review all paperwork carefully before signing.
# Be certain to get a receipt for all payments.

With some planning and an investment of both time and money, computers and the flexibility and benefits they offer can be a great boon to your business, improving efficiency, cutting costs, and boosting your bottom line.

=========

Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction Without Written Permission of Author.

Q&A : PC Clock keeps resetting, what's happening?

Question:
My computer keeps resetting its clock backwards--sometimes a few hours, sometimes a few days, sometimes as much as two months. It's only started in the past week or two. I'm not hooking another device up to it, and trying to get it to synch with Micro$oft or NIST fails. It even happens while it's continuously powered up.

What does it think it's doing?

Answer:
The usual cause of this is a dead or dying internal battery. Easy fix in most cases following these simple steps.

Step 0 - turn off the PC and unplug the PC. Yes, unplug it.

Step 1 - open the case. This will usually involve removing 2-5 screws of some kind. Under no circumstances should you call an engineer. They will be there all week.

Step 2 - locate the battery. This will usually be a small round and flat disc somewhere on the mother board.

step 3 - GROUND YOURSELF! touch part of the metal case -before- touching the pc guts.

Step 4 - Carefully remove the old battery by prying it up with a small screw driver. You shouldn't have to force it.

Step 5 - Drive down to the local battery store or Radio Shack and ask the pimple faced person behind the counter for a replacement. Do not mix them up!

Step 6 - Ground yourself again before attempting insertion. If you can feel the zap, it's enough to fry your system.

Step 7 - insert new battery, close up the patient and power it on. Set your clock. It should now stay settled.



If that's too hard, find a local pc shop, call them and ask how much to swap in a new battery. It's a 10 minute job for most desktops.

See also: Discussion

Tip Of The Week : How to Stop the Email Monkey

Today's world of instant access has us used to sending emails and receiving replies within minutes. But, how much of what we email really is that urgent? Set your email program to check for new messages every 20-30 minutes, rather than every minute. You'll have more time to work uninterrupted rather than rushing to see what just dinged your inbox every couple of minutes. Remember, if it's urgent, they can always call you.

Benefits of Computers For The Martial Arts Industry - Part 2 of 3 By Bob Hubbard

Benefits of Computers For The Martial Arts Industry - Part 2 of 3
By Bob Hubbard

An important part of getting the maximum benefit from your computer is to be certain you understand it and it's use.

#Understand how to use the basic features of your computer
Knowing how to properly turn on and turn off your computer will save you many headaches later on. Other skills needed are how to use your CD or DVD drive, the mouse, how to manage your documents, and how to access the Internet. Basic maintenance skills such as backing up crucial information and protect yourself from computer viruses, hoaxes and other security risks will come in very handy as well

#Understand the basics of the Internet
You don’t have to be an expert, but understanding how to find your way in the electronic world will give you an edge over your competition. Basic skills such as using search sites like Google and Yahoo, and the basics of electronic mail are two keys to this. Search sites are excellent sources of information, provided you use them correctly. More people today are turning to them than turn to their phone books or print encyclopedias for news, information and recreation. Properly used, the Internet can help you keep a step or two ahead of your competition. If your school has a web site, it is very important that you and your key people have these basic skills, so that you can make full use of it as both a marketing and news tool.

# Understand how to use electronic mail as a communications tool.
Today, more and more communications is being done through the world wide communications network called the Internet. A great deal of this is done through the use of electronic mail or email. There are dozens of different programs used, some free, some for a small fee, so I’ll avoid program specific tips here, but give a few suggestions for best use of this tool.

• Know what your email address is and have it listed correctly when you contact someone. Too often I reply to messages where the sender has typos or other errors in their return address, which slows and sometimes stops any chance I have of responding to their message.
• Make certain you have your name correctly entered into your program. Again, too often I get messages from the default names and have no idea who contacted me.
• Make sure you use the “Signature” feature of your email program to include basic contact information on every message you send. Think of it as a mini business card.
• Understand how to write, send, read and reply to messages.
• Check your email regularly. People today expect almost immediate responses, so daily at least is recommended.

#Understand how to use the basic features of your computers word processing software.
All computers sold today include a basic text editing software, and more advanced programs are also available and often times included. You don’t need to be a wizard, but basic functions such as starting a document, writing, centering, bolding and italicizing text, printing it, saving it and finding it again are very important. Other advanced skills such as complex formatting, including pictures or artwork, as well as specialty layouts can save you printing costs, design costs and give you a professional business presence.

#Understand how to use your printer.
Many systems sold today include an inexpensive printer. You should know how to load paper, change the ink cartridge, and use it’s basic features, as well as use it from your various programs. Using your printer correctly can cut your costs, save you time and allow you more time to talk to clients and prospects rather than driving to printers.

#Understand how to use book-keeping software.
There are countless systems out there for book keeping. File cards, multicolumn ledgers, folders, boxes and even bags. All have serious disadvantages. Properly used, a basic book-keeping program can greatly improve your ability to track your income and expenses, contact information, employees, customers and more. You can see at a glance how you are doing, and where you need to focus your attention.

As we’ve seen, the proper use of computers to your martial arts school can save you time, improve your efficiency, and keep you ahead of the competition. But we are all challenged for time today, so how can you gain these skills in a timely manner so that you can get back to the business of martial arts?

There are three main ways to learn these skills.

1- Trial and Error, or the old “poke it with a stick til you figure it out” method. This is of course one we all try from time to time. It is unfortunately, the least efficient.

2- Learn from books or videos. Books and videos are great references, and on some programs, all you might need. Two series I highly recommend are the “Dummies” books, and the “Visual Guides”. The former puts things in simple terms, explains all the jargon and offers a nice introduction to the basics, while the latter is loaded with step by step pictures pointing out almost every mouse click or key hit.

3- Find a qualified teacher. This one should be the most familiar to us. Learning computers is much like learning martial arts. We need the right tools, and the right teacher to really do our best. But, finding that qualified teacher can be a challenge. Today, specialty training centers, most of our big computer stores, office supply chains, and even electronic stores seem to offer some form of computer training. So, when shopping for training, what should you look for?

Join us next week for part 3, shopping for your new PC.

=========

Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction Without Written Permission of Author.

Benefits of Computers For The Martial Arts Industry - Part 1 of 3 By Bob Hubbard

Benefits of Computers For The Martial Arts Industry - Part 1 of 3
By Bob Hubbard

Today in the opening years of the 21st century, computers are everywhere. They are in our cars, our stores, our phones and our home appliances. To exist in the business world of the 21st century, we need to understand the benefits that their use can provide our businesses. There are two main benefits to using computers today.


Benefit #1: They can help organize the chaos of modern life.

You’ve seen them. The walls full of sticky notes, the piles of paperwork on the desk, stacks of business cards, half done “todo” lists, and other assorted cluttered time stealers.

Proper use of a computer can organize this chaos and save you hours of time each week.

• Contacts can be organized into an easily searchable list; thereby avoiding stacks of easily lost or misfiled index or business cards.
• “ToDo” lists can be sorted, redone, reorganized, and worked from, all in seconds, compared to standard paper based systems.
• Scheduled appointments can be setup to automatically remind you about them, saving you from having to remember to check the paper planner in your drawer or on your wall that’s half hidden by sticky notes.
• Financial information can be quickly, securely and easily accessed, updated and maintained avoiding keeping track of paper registers and old fashioned accounting ledgers.
• Student information can be easily tracked, including contact information, special needs, attendance history, payment records, and promotions.
• Personal and Business expenses can be tracked allowing a more efficient means of financial planning.
• And many more.

Benefit #2: The can save you both time and money.

How many times have you thrown out old business cards, flyers, brochures or other paperwork? How much time do you spend doing paperwork each day rather than teaching or training? Have you ever needed 1 more flyer, or ran short of business cards during an event at your school? How much time do you spend tracking down paperwork needed each day or filing the days paperwork? Properly used, computers can save you time, and we all know time is money.

• Student attendance can be tracked quickly on a computer, replacing or improving the efficiency of old paper based systems of index cards, time cards, or similar.
• Student payments can be quickly checked, letting you know before class who hasn’t paid that month, thereby improving your payment speed.
• Rather than spend a lot of money on flyers at a print shop, you can print smaller quantities of flyers as needed, saving you money and helping the environment by cutting back on paper waste.
• You can quickly print out a few business cards as needed, even have several different ones using affordable off the shelf card stock that works in almost every printer.
• Using certain tools that either come with a computer or can be affordably added, you can plan out your day, week, month, and even year, increasing the efficiency of your use of time.

Computers are a valuable tool today, in both our personal and professional lives. To use them correctly and efficiently however, requires that we know how to use them correctly. In today’s ever changing world, that means we must regularly improve our knowledge and skills, just as we seek to keep our skills on the mat top notch.

In order to get the most from your computer, there are a few basic skills you must have, and several advanced ones that will be of great benefit. Both you as a school owner, and one or more of your staff should have these basic skills.

Join us next week for part 2, understanding your computer.

=========

Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction Without Written Permission of Author.

Tip Of The Week : Why a Complex Password?

Because the more complex, the harder it is to crack, and the harder it is to crack, the less likely you are going to be hacked.

For more info, see below. :)

Interesting article on password strengths and time to crack.
http://www.lockdown.co.uk/?pg=combi&s=articles

When I worked as a network admin, I ran quarterly crack attempts against the server database. I had the inside edge of direct access to the server's password file. On the average, I cracked 80-90% of the 150 accounts overnight, on each attempt. They used standard mixes of complexity, and length. I usually had a dozen within minutes.

Today's complex cracking software uses combination's of brute force and dictionary attacks, and table lookups, which cut the time down, incredibly.

From one program's readme "A traditional brute force cracker try all possible plain texts one by one in cracking time. It is time consuming to break complex password in this way. The idea of time-memory trade-off is to do all cracking time computation in advance and store the result in files so called "rainbow table". It does take a long time to pre-compute the tables. But once the one time pre-computation is finished, a time-memory trade-off cracker can be hundreds of times faster than a brute force cracker, with the help of precomputed tables."


Discussion

Q&A: How do I get my new website listed on the search engines?

Question: How do I get my new website listed on the search engines?

Couple ways:

1- Pay someone (sometimes worth it, sometimes a waste of money. If they mention 'thousands of search engines' they are full of crap.)

2- Find the free "add links" for each list/directory/search engine you want to try for, then wait the 1-6 months to be listed.

3- Use the pay 'rapid review' links on most of em to cut your time down.

4- Build a network of link exchanges.


Focus on Google(60%), Yahoo (30%), AOL (5%) & MSN (5%).
Rest of the sites out there tend to pull from those 4 to build their listings.

Googles Adwords and Adsence are good. Just pay attention to the rules they have as they will cut you off if they think you're trying to cheat the system.

Metatag use is an art. Make sure whatever you use in your tags is in your page. You can focus different tags for each page and fine tune.

Don't expect immediate results.

Search engine optimization and listings are an ongoing work.

Tip Of The Week : What to do first with a new PC?

Some tips on what to do before using your new pc:

Remove Norton or McAfee.
Install Grisoft or another system friendly free AVS.
Install Adaware and/or Spybot spyware protection
Check that firewall is up and running correctly.
Make sure all Micro$oft updates and security packs are installed.

For more advice, check out this thread on MartialTalk.

Q&A: What should I look for in a web developer?

Q&A: What should I look for in a web developer?

Answer:
A good web developer must know what they are doing, be able to produce a solid site on time, be accessible, and honest. Some things to remember are:

- Check References.
Use Google to look up their reputation, and include certain other key words like 'fraud' and 'scam' to see if there are any complaints. Check webhostingtalk.com as well. It's the largest web host forum around.

- Do NOT pay by wire transfers like Western Union.
Western Union is a great way to send money to people you know. It's not a reliable way to send money for services however unless you have an existing relationship with the reciever. Avoid any host or designer who pushes for a western union payment.

- Check Previous Work
Looking at a web developers portfolio will help you to know if their design style suits your own. Some work with complex multi-leveled layouts, while others aim for simple and straight forward designs.

- Look under the hood.
When visiting websites that the developer claims they did, check the code. Does it have meta tags? Is it clean, or is it scrambled? Is there an author link back to the developer or does it list someone elses name? Many designers put hidden tags in to site code as a form of signature. It doesn't hurt the site and isn't visible to your regular surfers, but it does sometimes expose liars.