Insurance Agency

How do you prepare for 2009? Do you have prepare many things? Including insurance? Insurance is very important! We are living in the era that is not stable, an era that can not be predicted. Therefore, we must keep all the assets that we have (auto, condo, health, home, life, renters, etc) seriously and maximum, with insurance.

I want to tell you about a website that contains many valuable information about the various types of insurance: insurancerate.com. This is an insurance agency that covers most major lines of insurance. Through this website, you will get many benefits, such as:

1.Compare multiple quotes from the nation's top insurance agencies.
2.Get competitive quotes anywhere in the United States.
3.No obligation to buy today and available to you absolutely free!
4.And many more.

Shopping for insurance quotes online can be tough - there are hundreds of websites dedicated to providing quotes for their rates, but there's no easy way to compare one policy to another without filling out a million forms or making dozens of phone calls!
insurancerate.com have revolutionized the insurance rate process by creating a one-time, easy to use form that will provide you with quotes from the nation's leading insurance agencies. Fill out one form & get at least 5 quotes to choose from. It's that easy!

So, what are you waiting for? Visit this site now!

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Posted in: informations,Other

Easy Online Payday Loans

Happy new year! Hopefully, in 2009, we can do better life in all aspects of life compared to previous years. Btw, how your financial condition in this year? Good? Yes, I hope. But I want to provide a very valuable information to you, that is about payday loans. What is a Payday loan? In outline, a payday loan is a short-term loan to cover your spending needs. It is secured against your future paycheck. These loans have grown in popularity for years, and now this is the main tool of assistance to get you out of that sticky situation or get you that new luxury toy.

Talking about payday loans, there is a website that obliged to you visit if you want to get a Payday loan up to $ 1500 with fast, easy and simple. Without collateral, without need to prepare various documents, and without having to go to the bank. Do you want to know the website which I mean? The answer is easyonlinepaydayloan.com. When you need a Payday loan, think of Easy Online Payday Loans! About the requirements? Easy:

• Maintain a job or have an income from welfare or social security.
(If employed, you must make at least $1000 per month or $800 if you receive income through a governmental program).
• Be at least 18 years of age and a citizen of the United States.
• Have an active savings or checking account with a direct deposit set up.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit this site today and sign up!

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Posted in: Other,Review

Rely on Alpha Mortgage

If you looking for Wilmington NC mortgage? Alpha Mortgage is the answer, they are one of the most trusted names in mortgages in the Wilmington NC area. They are offering really attractive refinancing options because mortgage rates at near record lows, Alpha Mortgage can work deals for first time home buyers with 100% financing even during a terrible recession right now.

About Wilmington NC real estate, Alpha Mortgage Corporation is a full service mortgage banker with in-house processing, underwriting, closing and funding of your home. Rely on Alpha Mortgage for your new purchase loans, Jumbo loans? Super Jumbo Loans? Fixed rates? Adjustables? Vacation homes? Self-employed loans? Up to 100% loans? Five-day closings? Our mortgage professionals will come to you and find the best way to make your new mortgage work best for your financial goals. Plus, you're guaranteed the very lowest rates, the finest in personal service, and a money management plan to fit your exact needs.

If you in the Wilmington, Southern Pines, High Point, Charlotte, Lake Norman, Winston Salem, Southport, Topsail Island and Blowing Rock areas of North Carolina, Alpha Mortgage Corporation is proud to offer mortgage and lending services for you. Our goal is to help structure our customers' financial futures toward a goal of monetary independence and well-being. Strong business ethics, the highest quality service, and guaranteed customer satisfaction are our formula to be success.

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Posted in: r,SitesReview

USB Flash Drive Watch

Another unique USB flash drive for you, the Secret USB Flash Drive Watch comes with a tiny 4 GB USB flash drive cleverly concealed inside the body of the device,Simply remove, add data and then re-insert and you’re ready to conduct secret missions to building B on the other side of campus. This watch has a plastic case covered by stainlesssteel mask with brushed silver finish and convex mineral glass with shiny raised index. The USB flash drive fits flush with the watch case – ready to hold your data safe and secure.

Now all it takes is a bit of ugly gadget know-how and $49.99.

Source

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Posted in: USB Memory

Context Organizer for MindManager-Screencast

I recently did a post about Context Organizer for MindManager and thought that you would be interested in seeing how it actually works within MindManager with this screencast. Please note just how easy it is to use within MindManager and how it is able to extract and summarize the key words to give you the context. In the screencast you will see how it works to give you the context within a PDF and Microsoft Word file as well as within a blog. Enjoy. Look for another post about how Context Organizer can be used for Microsoft Office and the Web to summarize information.

If you or your company are interested in learning how you can integrate Context Organizer into your workflow, please feel free to email me. This is an ideal tool for executives, research analysts, or for anyone who has to plow through reams of reports or do research on the web. Context Organizer can also be integrated into existnig software applications- so please contact me if you need additional information.

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Posted in: Context Organizer,mind mapping,MindManager 7,Mindmanager 8

Happy New Year!

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year! It has been a busy year at the AssistiveTek Blog and want to thank you my readers for making it a wonderful year. I have learned a lot from my interactions with you and have developed some great working relationships with some of the leading software developers in the field. Being the eternal optimist I am looking forward to the upcoming year and have some things in the work that you will be interested in reading about. So stay tuned and looking forward to hearing from you in the year ahead! All the best - Brian

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Posted in: Happy New Year

How does YOUR state measure up with Graduation Rates?

http://www.all4ed.org/publication_material/understanding_HSgradrates

One link leads to another which leads to another... and for me they ended up here. Something I read said that the US still only graduates 75% of its public school students. I had to check that out. After all, NCLB has been around long enough to have made a difference, if it was going to, right?

PA graduates 80%. Of course, when broken down by race there is a 35% gap from highest to lowest, but when I first saw that figure I thought, "Go PA!" But then the reality of that figure set in and I just shook my head in disbelief. We fail to educate 1 in 5 kids in PA. The figures by municipalities are REALLY depressing. How is YOUR state doing?

I wonder if this is a good lesson somewhere. A writing prompt, maybe? "PA's dropout rate is 20%. What do YOU think are some of the reasons for that amount, and what needs to change in order to improve it? Prioritize your choices." Or, "Working with a partner, list five things that must change in order for PA's dropout rate to improve. Prioritize your choices."

Relevance? Authentic assessments and authentic audiences? Being able to learn based on individual learning styles? Having school at least RECOGNIZE the reality of new technologies and incorporate them into our lessons? What would they say, I wonder.

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Posted in: dropout rate

XML Contest for You

If you think you are a master of XML, open source and database management just visit this site, participate the XML contest and win the prizes, this site serves as a learning ground for both students and professionals, seeking to empower them to learn more about open source, XML and database management. This contest offer to you to learn more about these new technologies that will help increase their marketability in the IT industry. Before participating, you are required to complete a Quick Quiz. Start now by registering for one of the following contests: Video Contest, Gadget Contest, Query Contest, Ported App Contest1, XML2 Contest. Participants will stand to win iPod Nanos, Nintendo Wii and other attractive prizes.

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Posted in: SitesReview

The New Era of Keyboard

The Virtual Laser Keyboard (VKB) is a revolutionary accessory for Blackberry, Smartphone, PDA, MAC & Tablet PC. The VKB comes with an elegant leather jacket, making it the perfect 
business / Christmas gift (and just what you want to take out of your inner suit pocket in front of your amazed business colleagues.

 
When using the VKB settings can be changed either via your laptop, your PC or your compatible Smartphone and PDA:
Sound: controllable Virtual Keyboard sound effects (keyclicks)
Connection: Connection to the appropriate Laptop/PC port
Intensity: Intensity of the projected Virtual Keyboard
Timeouts: coordinated timeouts to conserve the Virtual Keyboard's battery life
Sensitivity: adjustable sensitivity of the Virtual Keyboard
Auto-repeat: Allows the VKB to automatically repeat a key based on prescribed parameters

Where Can I use It:
Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's)
Cellular Telephones
Laptops (MAC compatible)
Tablet PCs
Space saving Computers
Clean Rooms
Industrial Environments
Test Equipment
Sterile and Medical Environments
Transport (Air, Rail, Automotive)

Note : The only keyboard that operates in total darkness

Source

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Posted in: Misc. Gadgets

IT Contract Work vs. Starting Your Own IT Company

Have you been considering IT contract work, but you don’t know where to start? Before you start working piecemeal, contract-by-contract, consider opening your own IT contract business.

Many interested in IT contract work aren’t sure they have what it takes to start an independent business. But basically, if you have a good understanding of computer systems, strong problem-solving skills and a desire to help other people, you probably already have what it takes to consider going out on your own.

The following 5 points can help you build your own IT contract company and avoid the frustration of trying to constantly find revolving-door, thankless IT contract work.

1. Open Your Own IT Contract Business to Maximize Your Income. When you have a regular corporate IT job or even act as an IT contract worker in a corporate environment, your career opportunities, advancement possibilities, and the chance to earn a higher salary are restricted sometimes significantly by elements outside of your control. You are at the mercy of lazy or incompetent peers, ineffective management or a seniority system that rewards employees that don’t pull their weight and punishes new, aggressive, competent employees. When you start your own IT contract business, these career issues all but disappear, because you have control over your peers. If you don’t like your partners or subcontractors, you go find better ones. And if you don’t like your “bosses”, your major clients, you can look for new clients for your business. When you run your own business, you can also forget about being under-appreciated or unappreciated. No client will pay you or your consulting firm $100 per hour (or even more!) for your services if they don’t value your expertise. Even if your clients don’t constantly express gratitude, your bank account will reflect your hard work.
   
   
2. Enjoy Great Business Opportunities. The market for those that want to start their own IT contract businesses is diverse and steadily growing. Every company and organization needs some type of IT help and will get it from a variety of sources: internal employees, outsourced consultants or some combination of the two. The choice to start your own IT business can be the start of a successful, highly-profitable business. While there will be a lot of competition, competition is good for your IT contract business. If there were no other consultants succeeding, you’d have to wonder, “Is the industry even viable?” You wouldn’t want to be in an industry where no one else had been able to succeed. Many IT contract businesses are very poorly run and have big problems with customer service. These problems become your opportunity as you develop cost-effective solutions to exactly what small businesses need. Also as technology changes, the changes create huge opportunities. New small business technology problems crop up every day that you can help solve. The industry is constantly producing more prospective clients.
   
   
3. Know Which Skills You Need to Start Your Own IT Contract Business. As you think about how to launch your IT contract business, think about your skills. Start by listing your computer-related skills. If you are the person that everyone turns to when they have problems with their computers, you are probably off to a good start. You don’t need to be an expert in every detail and aspect of IT. Because the industry is so diverse and huge, you could never possibly know everything there is to know. You can bridge skills and service gaps by finding excellent partners and subcontractors to help you.
   
   
4. Think About the Transition from Employee to Business Owner. If you are already doing IT contract work, or you're working as an employee of a company in the IT industry, making the transition from employee to business owner will be a big decision. You may want to start out by moonlighting to get a feel for the experience of finding your own clients and owning your own IT contract business. You can also use moonlighting to make sure you know what to expect once you go out on your own, or to try out working independently before committing full time. Moonlighting is also a great way to build a client list and reference accounts that can give you a head start building your business.
   
   
5. Evaluate Your Non-Technical Skills. Remember, you need a lot of non-technical skills to be successful at starting your own IT contract business. There are some personality traits that will make working for yourself much easier: the ability to be self motivated; the drive to work independently when you have no employer looking over your shoulder; the ability to multi-task and wear many hats in order to run the accounting, marketing, sales, operations and other aspects of your business; good delegation skills. If you are weak in any of these areas, don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed. They are important to your business, but there are many ways to develop these soft skills and build relationships with people to whom you can delegate.
   

In this article, we talked about 5 reasons you should stay away from IT contract work and move towards starting your own IT contract business. Learn more about how you can get great, steady, high-paying clients for your IT contract business now at the attached link.

Copyright (C), ITContractWorkStinks.com, All Rights Reserved

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Posted in: IT contract

Video production at home!

If you feel that the time has come to reveal your best talents and skills in video production - this is the right time! Financial Crisis has lessened the possiblity to increase income from manufacturing or producing goods but has opened new perspectives for the video productions and especially advertising. Nowadays it is really cheap to advertise on the Internet than on billboards or newspaper advertising and the most important here is the fact that you gain much more feedback.

So you have decided to shoot and compile the ads and process them after shooting. Digital signage converters as well as quad processors are absolutely a must as you need to postprocess the huge amount of gigabytes and store such ads on your hard disk drives. Think twice if you still want to develope your video production skills as even at home you can't create now what is available at special studios. The professional equippment is still very expensive and only a few can really afford creating a professional video production studio at home.

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Posted in: inspiration,video

Context Organizer for MindManager

I have been meaning to write about Context Organizer from Context Discovery for some time now and was recently reminded just how important this tool will become as we become increasingly inundated with information that we will be required to juggle in the work that we do. In my last post about, Wordle I received an interesting comment that made me think about Context Organizer and its value in the work that we do as information workers. Wordle is an online application that can pull out the keywords that are in the text and create a way to help us visualize the key content that is body of the text. One of my readers has been using Wordle to do just that- by copying and pasting text into Wordle it can quickly give you the context of the material entered. It was this comment that sparked me to delve more into the Context Organizer which can be used to summarize web pages and documents of different types to help you pinpoint relevant information.

I was first attracted to Context Organizer because of the fact that it is an add-in to MindManager 7 & 8. Using Context Organizer you are able to quickly get the context of attached documents as well as web sites right within MindManager 8, that are visually displayed as topics and subtopics. In the screen shot to the left you can see that I have a PDF document attached to the topic, Inclusion Times Issue.
With Context Organizer running it automatically created the rest of the topics and subtopics to the left of the topic Inclusion Times Issue, by looking at the content of the PDF file that was attached. You can see that it pulled out the 3 top keywords as well as the Summary which gives me a great idea of what I would find if I were to open the PDF file and readthe entire document. Context Organizer will also will give you more extensive summaries of the PDF that are included within the the MindManager 8 map as you can see from the screenshot to the right. Context Organizer is very easy to use and when you Right click on a topic the Context Organizer menu options are displayed along with any Options that you would like to set. Context Organizer can also be used for determining keywords from websites that are connected to your visual maps from within MindManager 7 & 8. If you are a MindManager 7 or 8 user and are looking for a tool to help you wade through piles and piles of documents and or websites than you should definitely take a look at Context Organizer for MindManager. Context Organizer works with MindManager 7 as well as 8 and is a very handy tool to help you find the context of the documents as well as websites right within MindManager. There is a free trial available at the Context Discovery website. So give it a try and post your comments here.

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Posted in: Context Organizer,MindManager 7,Mindmanager 8,mindmapping

All About Notebooks

Notebook or laptop is a small mobile PC used to perform similar tasks done by PCs. A laptop has all the necessary parts of a general personal computer, the monitor, keyboard, CPU, etc. but compact in a much smaller space, done by using a lot of microchips. Since it can be used while on the move; hence, it has got a rechargeable battery inside it. Generally it has a thickness of 1.7 to 4 cm.



The first portable computer, Osborne 1 came in the market in the year 1981.With a small 5`` CRT screen. It was a massive device as compared to the present day laptop. GRiD Compass 1100, was the first laptop which used the clamshell design, produced in 1982. Just the following year the Gavilan SC came in the market, which was the first notebook to use the term laptop.

On the basis of purpose, laptops are generally being classified as follows:

Subnotebook laptops, which have been built keeping the portability, factor in mind. Hence, they are not very big in size and have a maximum of 13`` screen, with less features and ports and quite a long battery life, even as long as 10 hours. They are made by using the latest technology and advanced materials. They generally use the desktop operating systems like Linux, Windows or Mac OSX.

An inferior and smaller version of the Subnotebook is the Netbook laptop, which also keeps portability as the main building feature. They generally have a screen size of 10`` or less. For saving power consumption, some models use SSD drives instead of the normal HDDs. Netbooks are generally used for performing basic office tasks and surfing the net.

Table PCs are laptops having a touch screen interface, with or without a keyboard. They are generally used for performing certain specific functional tasks only.

Desktop replacement laptops keep performance as the major feature over portability and have a screen of 17``, with many ports. They can be called as a miniature form of PC, which can perform almost all the functions of a PC. Generally the batteries of such laptops can supply power for lesser amount of time, as their large sized screen consumes huge amount of power.

Standard laptops are those laptops which keep a balance between the performance and portability. They generally have a 13-15`` screen, having a moderate battery life.
Apple, HP, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer, Panasonic and Samsung are some of the renowned brands manufacturing laptops.

The basic hardware components of a laptop are similar to the desktop`s counterpart, but are miniature variants of the one used in the later. The areas where laptop scores above the normal desktop computers are; they can be used as mobile devices; they can also be used during power cut offs, as they are powered by chargeable battery. Moreover they consume less energy than the usual desktop computers.

However, there are certain disadvantages of laptops too. The major problem being: upgradability, due to the compact design of the laptop. Again due to the compact design, they cannot be cleaned properly and it leads to improper functioning due to accumulation of dust inside. Researchers have shown heat generated from laptop decreases the sperm count in male users.

Though laptops have a few disadvantages, but they are here to stay with us. In a recent market survey the results revealed a rise in laptop sales as compared to the number of PCs sold, in the recent year. Hence, in this twenty first century, we can say we need mobility and laptops are here to meet the bill.

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Posted in: laptop

How do you acquire new Technologies, Innovations or Inventions?

How do you acquire your new technology? Do you look out for inventions or innovations? And how? Everybody or business does, yes sooner or later but of course the expensive and hard way. There is an easy way, You Techno. You Techno is an information resource dedicated to technologies, innovations and inventions and their applications in IT, Software, E-commerce, Business, media and Health. In today's world faced with a new problem of choice due to floods of technologies with no guarantee which one will really work for your one in a million particular situation and how? Why not find such a quest answered for you at You Techno, be it a business or an individual.Search Engine Submitted & Optimized by ViVva

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Posted in: Other

Wordle- "Word Clouds"

For some time now I have been playing around with Wordle, a web based application that can take your text or feed from your blog and create "word clouds" which you can display or post to the web. It is an interesting visualization tool and one that gives you some context, at least for me, about what I have been writing about. I recently entered my blog URL into Wordle and came up with this word cloud. What do you think of Wordle?

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Posted in: visualization,word cloud,wordle

The 12th Carnival of Computer Help and Advice

Seasonal greetings and welcome to the twelfth monthly Carnival of Computer Help and Advice. Another digest of blog articles that help you to avoid problems with and to get the most out of your PCs.

Dan Coveney of Print n Post offers advice to anyone thinking of Buying a laptop in the January sales. On the subject of mobile computing Nim at dixlinx reviews Logmein - “the best free remote access available" - in the article, Logmein - excellent web-based remote access to your computer.

If you want to see those Xmas TV shows that you missed streamed over the Internet on your television then fear not, ramaraobobby has written a tutorial explaining How-To Connect your Computer to your TV over at Wonderful tech. stuff.

For converts to Firefox, carol smith present a post explaining how to configure Firefox opening screen at Friendly Computer Training.

Last but not least we have two posts from regular carnival contributor, Andrew Edgington, from his Learn Photoshop Now blog: Steps In Restoring and Repairing Your Photos and Turning Your Photographs into a Work of Art. Ideal for getting the most out of those holiday snaps.

If you have a blog with posts about computer issues and would like to host the next carnival then please leave a comment on this post or use the contact form over at our Blog Carnival page, where you can also submit your blog posts for inclusion in a future carnival.

If you would like to host a future carnival but don't wish to have the responsibility for selecting articles or writing the carnival post, don't worry I can do that for you.

See you all for the next carnival in the new year...

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Posted in: Blog Carnival

Choose the Best Gaming Laptop

Let's discuss the features of a gamers most look for and what is most important for the best gaming experience:

1) The GPU
GPUs in notebooks used for gaming are going to either be made by ATI or NVidia and have dedicated memory. Many notebooks have shared video which uses the notebooks resources to produce the video (CPU, RAM) and it can not produce framerates to run most of today's high end games. They often even are unable to correctly render 3D effects that games require.

More expensive isn't always a better notebook GPU. For example NVidia has a line out called the Quadro FX. It is more expensive than their own Geforce series. The price difference isn't because it performs better in gaming, it's because it's designed for professionals in applications like CAD work. You have to make sure you're informed or you can end up spending extra money on less performance.

2) The LCD
(Liquid Crystal Display) or flat panel display

There is a lot of confusion with LCDs and which is the best choice not only in gaming notebooks, but any notebook purchase. A lot of the reason for confusion is that some LCDs are better for different uses and personal choice can be a big factor also. For gaming notebooks, there are mainly 6 different specs that play a role in how good your LCD is. These specs are : Rise/Fall time, Brightness, Angle view, Contrast, Resolution, and Size.

SPEED
You need the fastest computer money can buy. Period!

In order to get the maximum performance from your ultimate gaming computer you must have the fastest speed you can get or afford. Your ultimate PC must be able to process and handle the latest 3D video games with ease. There is nothing as annoying as your PC freezing up in the middle of some major gaming action!

Therefore, your Processor’s speed is very important.

CPU or Central Processing Unit, you probably know it as the processor! It’s the heart or rather the brain of your notebook or computer. It does all your computer’s data processing and applications. Since it does most of the work, it’s usually the most expensive part of your notebook computer.

Go with SATA!

SATA is a type of hard drive and stands for Serial Advanced Technology Architecture. It was developed by a whole group of companies including Seagate, Intel, Maxtor, Dell and others. SATA transmit data in a serially (in a single stream) as opposed to PATA or Parallel ATA which is commonly referred to as an IDE hard drive.

Serial ATA hard drives uses less power and are ideal for notebook computers, they are also more advanced than PATA hard drives which uses multiple streams of data - go figure! But Serial Technology carries data in a single stream and unlike PATA is not limited to a particular clock speed, Serial transfers data packets almost 30 times faster than parallel.

If top performance in your notebook is one of your goals, go with a SATA hard drive.

Intel Pentium M processors are commonly found in a lot of notebooks and laptops. When in doubt also go with a Pentium!

The speed of microprocessors is measured in MHz.

MHz is short for megahertz. One MHz equals one million cycles per second. The speed of processors, usually known as clock speed, is measured in megahertz (MHz) or these days in gigahertz (GHz).

The higher the clock speed, the faster the computer will process applications and data. It determines how powerful your notebook computer will be. Processor speeds for notebooks or laptops are steadily increasing, not quite the same as a desktop but the gap is narrowing quickly. Speeds of 3.4GHz or more.

Don’t forget to ask or check the hard drive speed! A 7,200rpm hard drive is faster than a 4,200rpm or 5,400rpm and usually gives better performance.

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Posted in: gaming,laptop,tips

Almost forgot - John Henry Faulk's Christmas story

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1115979

I've been sending this link out for years. Almost forgot this year. If you're new to my blog, make CERTAIN that you listen to this story. I've made it a Christmas tradition.

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Posted in: Christmas

Can YOU help keep Wikipedia free to all?

I stopped in to Wikipedia just a few moments ago and saw that the headlines asked us to read a special appeal from founder Jimmy Wales. I did. In it he asks for our help to keep Wikipedia free and open to the World. Their small staff of just 23 - and their 150,000 volunteers - have helped to publish over 11 million articles in 265 languages. Their site is among the first to visit when we look for things on the web. (Sorry, librarians, it's true.) "Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's our commitment."

There are a couple great videos of Jimmy Wales telling folks about how Wikipedia works. This one on fora.tv and this one on TED are two that I point to frequently. In them, Jimmy tells how articles are monitored, edited, and their strict enforcement of the rules for writing. It's MUCH more than many give it credit for.

In any case, Jimmy Wales is asking for a small donation to help the site stay free to the world. There are servers to maintain, bandwidth to pay for, and much more. I sent in a small donation immediately. I can't begin to imagine this site ceasing to be free to the world. Wouldn't you agree that it's FAR too important to permit that fate?

Yes, times are VERY hard for all of us. But, if YOU can spare a small donation you will be helping to ensure that this site remains free to all. An important goal, yes?

Thank you in advance for whatever you can do.

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MindMeister 3.1 Released

One of the first mindmapping Web 2.0 applications that I tried awhile back was MindMeister and it continues to be one of the leading online mindmapping applications available. Just today MindMesiter released version 3.1 with lots of added features. One of the features which I feel will be a welcome addition is the ability to add relationships to your map. MindMesiter calls these graphic cross connections which are easily added by clicking on the Connect button on the Tool bar. You can see in the map below how I added the green connection arrow from one node to another one in the map. In Version 3.1 it is now possible to alphabetize the nodes and so that they are sorted alphabetically. If an individual who has been invited to collaborate on the map but has not yet entered the map a coffee cup icon will appear and by clicking on the coffee cup icon you can "nudge" them to participate. It has also just gotten a lot easier to take your maps offline. No longer do you have to wait for endlessly for all your maps to synch when you go to offline mode - a new dialog allows you to choose which maps you want to take offline. Very useful if you have a lot of them!So check out MindMeister and sign up for a free account. You will also find it easy to embed yourMindMeister maps on your website or blog to communicate your ideas. Below is an actual map that was created with MindMesiter that you can interact with. Let me know what you think.

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Posted in: MindManager,mindmapping,mindmapping 2.0,mindmeister

XMind -- An Open Source Brainstorming and Mind Mapping Software!

XMind, a leader in mind mapping, visual thinking and collaboration software, helps you to think and create, and to collect and organize information with great flexibility.

Even more, you can also easily share your mind maps online with any people. As an Open Source software application , XMind also brings Web 2.0 concepts and community online sharing.

XMind will enable you to:

* Easily capture your ideas from brainstorming sessions

* Easily organize information for meetings and presentations with a wide range of formats

* Share your ideas and broadcast your knowledge to the world

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Posted in: mindmapping,sharing,Web 2.0,XMIND

Happy Holidays

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of my readers a happy and healthy holiday season! We have a lot to be thankful for. Enjoy your time off and look for some new posts later this week.

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Posted in: happy holiday

Slideshare plugins for powerpoint AND Keynote!

I don't suppose that this is coming as much of a surprise to many of you, but now you can upload your powerpoint or keynote (Mac) presentations directly to Slideshare without even opening your browser. Very nice, eh?

http://www.slideshare.net/developers/apps/pptribbon - details for powerpoint (requires .net framework) I couldn't get the code to embed this one. It wouldn't load for me)

http://www.slideshare.net/ashwan/upload-keynote-to-slideshare-presentation - for keynote

Upload Keynote to SlideShare

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: keynote slideshare)

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Mac Tip - get TAB key to tab into checkboxes, etc

http://www.mactips.org/archives/2008/12/16/tab-through-checkboxes-and-radio-buttons-in-firefox-and-safari/

I don't know about you, but one thing about the Mac that was driving me nutty (until moments ago) was the fact that, when filling in forms I couldn't tab to a checkbox or to a dropdown menu like I could in Windows. What a shame, I thought. Until I read the above post.

Turns out it's a system preference. Now I'm a happy camper again.

System Preferences>Keyboard and Mouse > Keyboard shortcuts. At the very bottom of that screen, underneath the list of your options. Click the All Controls option.

Woohooo!

Don't subscribe to the Mactips blog, Mac owner? Get on over there and sign up. Great stuff!

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Posted in: mac

Ventrilo Hosting and Servers

Do you like to play game? Do yo want to get more exciting and fun experience when playing your favorite game? Want to be able to communicate with your friends (team) when you play game? That is why UGT-Servers.com comes in. In general, they offers 2 main products, UGT’s Ventrilo Servers and Teamspeak Servers.

For you know, UGT-Servers.com is owned by Underground Tournaments LLC. They are building a gaming network for the everyday gamer. Their pricing is very agressive in order to provide an inexpensive gaming experience without giving up customer service or performance. Their standards are in place to keep the customers gaming experience in mind. They will not be overpopulating their servers. I think you also need to know more about Ventrilo Hosting. What is ventrilo hosting? And why you should use ventrilo hosting?

With a premium Ventrilo Host, your guild or clan, can coordinate your gaming experience realtime with a push of a button. When typing instructions for a raid or a fps match, you lose valuable time. In that split second, without ventrilo server hosting, you could find your self surrounded and out numbered. Gaming has never before been simpler then with Ventrilo Hosting.

Ventrilo Hosting Features:
No Obligation to renew
Service does not require an active paypal subscription
Instant Setup
No Setup Fees
No Price Changes
99.9% Uptime Guarantee
All codecs, including high quality ones, free
11 Locations to choose from
Licensed Provider
Upgrade & Downgrade at any time
Unlimited usage
Daily backups ensure your settings
Ugt Feature Rich Custom Control Panel. No one of the limited premade control panels.
Only company with a Ventrilo Server Wizard to assist with the configuration of your server

So, what are you waiting for? Order ventrilo servers now that match your needs and wants. Ventrilo Server is the best choice for better gaming experience.

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Posted in: gaming,VOIP

MindManager 8 Web Services Video Up

Each month for the past year I have produced a video tutorial or tip for Mindjet Connections Newsletter and I am happy to report this month's video is up on the topic of Web Services, a new feature found in MindManager 8. MindManager 8 Web Services offers users some very powerful search features that can be accessed right within the MindManager8 without having to leave the application. In the video I demonstrate how you can use both the Amazon and Google Web Services right within MindManager 8. I hope you enjoy the video tutorial.

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Posted in: camtasia studio 6,Mindmanager 8,mindmapping,video tutorial,Web Services

Animoto

I came across Animoto today and wanted to share it with you. It is a web site that lets you upload your pictures, select your music form their library and then puts the whole thing together for you. You can see the sample video in this post. It is very cool and with a click of the mouse let me embed it in my blog. Try it out and let me know what you think!

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Posted in: animoto,Flickr,pictures,video

new images in Google Earth

Have you seen the new hi-res images in Google Earth? Check out New York City. Then, go check out Dubai, UAE. THAT'S how the OTHER half lives, for sure.

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Posted in: Google earth

bCisive 2.0 is Here!

I want to thank Katherine from Austhink for spending some time over Skype this evening going over bCisive 2.0, which was just released. As soon as you open bCisive 2.0 you will immediately notice a new and improved user interface with a Start Screen that lets you select from several templates to get your business decision making process off the ground. If you are new to the software, Austhink now includes an introductory video which helps you get started- a nice touch. bCisive 2.0 now supports a Spell checker which was one of the most asked for features for users of the previous version. Austhink has added some new Tools to bCisive 2.0 which are a welcome addition- it is now possible to add various colored Notes to your business map. To highlight certain ideas in your business decision map you can now color them using the Color tools. bCisive 2.0 also adds Task as well as Source Tools for making your business decision map more meaningful by allowing you to communicate your ideas with appropriate icons. bCisive 2.0 now allows you to create powerful presentations from your business decision map with their all new in-product Presentation and export to PowerPoint feature. But best of all users of bCisive 1.0 can get a complimentary upgrade to bCisive 2.0 for free by simply clicking on the ‘Check for latest version’ button on the Help ribbon within your bCisive 1.0 software. bCisive 2.0 is a welcome addition to the field of business decision mapping and I for one am going to dive deeper into this rich application to find what other jewels await me. For more information about bCisive 2.0 go to Austhink website. Enjoy bCisive 2.0!

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Posted in: Austhink Software,bCisive,bCisive 2.0,business decision mapping

Top 100 Inventions of 2008

Thanks to a former student, Eric, for sharing this with me tonight via the Gmail chat. The Top 100 Inventions of 2008.

I didn't get very far before I thought I should just stop and point you folks to it. No, it's not going to raise test scores, but these inventions will amaze and inspire. From buildings that generate 15% of the electricity that they use, to car finishes that repair themselves, to Photosynth and Spore and beyond. The world is an amazing place, eh?

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Posted in: top 100 inventions

Career Forward

Just saw this in the ASCD Brief. http://nroc.careerforward.org/careerforward/mvu/default.htm

"The CareerFoward program takes on the challenge of assisting young people as they prepare for careers in the global market that is impacting their lives now and in the future."

It's for students, parents, and teachers of US citizens only, I believe. Share this with your guidance counselors.

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Posted in: ascd,career

Lots of Jokes!

Do you want to guffaw? Want “unique and high quality” jokes? Stress? And you want to eliminate your stress? Saturated with daily activities, and want cheap entertainment but has high taste? Okay, I have good news for you. Start from now, you can guffaw without the money. lotsofjokes.com is a site that is able to eliminate your stress.

For your information, they has a very large selection of jokes in many categories, including all the standards like blonde jokes, dirty jokes, Yo mamma jokes, political jokes, nerd jokes, computer jokes, lawyer jokes, clean jokes and many more. Several of the listed categories are unusual like Real Man Test, Fun While Driving, Fuzzy Language, Rules For Women, Signs Of Insanity, Self Evaluation, Horror Movie Survival, Bathroom Wisdom and a whole lot of other strange kinds of jokes.

So, what are you waiting for? Oh yes, don't forget to visit 101FunJokes.com and JackAssJokes.com too, so that your life more enjoyable and hopeful, ha..ha..Enjoy your life!

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Posted in: inspiration,Other

I Love PS3, and You?

Well! The Nintendo’s and Apple’s of this world can wait. Sony keeps arriving with a bang each time and subtly mars any of their chances. Again, this time with the gaming console PS3 or playstation 3, Sony has come up just the perfect way. The PS3 has completely caught the imagination of masses and the gaming console is fast turning people into islands. Most of them just need this unique piece in their hand and the rest of the world might go to the dogs for all they care. Funny! The way the playstation gets stuck in our psyche. Now the PS3 is completely blessed with graphic interfaces and multimedia capabilities. The multimedia-enabled videos open a different world in the gaming consoles. The playstation 3 revolutions can be gauged by the download statistic associated with it. Portals are having a field day. There are a sizeable amount of them and each is making tidy business letting people download games on to their PS3. Now few cautions: while downloading on to your PS3, never go for a peer-to-peer file sharing program. It introduces a lot of malware and Trojans and also the quality of download is debatable. Downloading from an authentic portal is just the right idea. It may take an initial subscription fee but that is only a one time fee with no further hidden costs. With each extra download on to PS3, the cost per download effectively minimizes. There are many ways to get a free PS3. Let’s understand one of them. Register with a free PS3 site and insert a genuine shipping address so that they may send your PS3 to the right place. Now Sony is fighting home brew battles and though it is sincerely upgrading the firmware for playstation 3, each time it is outsmarted by hackers. Hackers do not like themselves being called pirates. They believe that Sony fundamentally denies its user the highest pleasure that can be drawn through PS3. Its aim is to profit and hence it does not open all the locks to the hardware as it might enhance manufacturing costs. The PS3 homebrew wizards simply run unassigned codes in the hardware and enable a lot more multimedia features in the unit. The users suddenly feel a new PS3 breathing within the old one. The only issue is that your warranty will be annulled by Sony if you use any of the modified codes for your PlayStation 3. The PS3 hardware is strong enough to be used in supercomputers and other advanced computing models. Sony has introduced system software and the update can be downloaded from playstation network. The Playstation 3 has outsold Xbox 360 since sometime in the middle of the year 2007. The dreaded red rings of the Xbox have already fuelled a lot of buyer apprehension towards it. As of now, Playstation 3 is not suffering from any hardware reverses. Free PS3’s are up for grabs. Just make hay while Sony is shining.

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Posted in: Games,gaming

Taking the pulse of the nation

This year has seen the seventh opinion survey by the American Dietetic Association. It has been monitoring attitudes towards diet and nutrition since 1991 with irregular surveys. In this most recent, the headline is that three-quarters of those surveyed refused to give up the food they liked, with 80% stating there was no need to change their current diet. Now, as headlines go, this could be good or bad. If everyone liked healthy food in smaller portions, they would not have to give up anything they liked in order to maintain a low body weight. But if everyone likes a diet rich in fat, laced with salt and full of sugar, then their waistlines will continue expanding at an ever faster rate. Since the ability to lose weight depends on a willingness to change what you eat, the headline is more likely bad news. No matter how good a drug like acomplia - in clinical trials, participants lost an average of 10% of their body weight - it only works in conjunction with diet and exercise. For the purpose of analysis, the survey divides people into three groups. Just over 40% claimed they were already taking the action necessary to reduce their weight. Just under 40% fell into the "guilt" group, i.e. they knew they should and would just as soon as they could but, until then, they would just feel guilty about not doing it. The remainder fell into the group unable or unwilling to struggle against the enormity of the problem. There has been a slight reduction in the number of people falling into this last class, but the percentage of those who claim to be taking positive steps remains fairly steady. All the Association can say is that more people seem to be aware of the need to think about their diet and the need to take some exercise. The majority, however, seem focused on the belief that there will soon be a miracle cure. As it stands, acomplia and the other appetite suppressants rely on the individuals to diet and exercise. Most seem to be waiting for the mythical "fat-buster" - a tablet that will produce instant weight loss with no pain. As a group, women claim to be more responsible when it comes to dieting, but neither gender has any real interest in exercise. Both sexes seem to have a slightly better awareness of health issues such as those involving the use of trans-fat, but this is yet to translate into action to eliminate "bad" foods and eat smaller portions on a less frequent basis. The hope is that, as more do search out information, they may become convinced of the need to act. Unfortunately, television is the most popular source of information and, with advertising interests so strongly represented, this is not the most reliable source. It all comes down to convenience both in the food itself and the source of information. When that seems to be failing, it is convenient to try a tablet like acomplia. You never know, it might work - actually, it does work, but only when people confront the reality and both diet and exercise.

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Posted in: Other

A New Drug to Fight Cholera Epidemics

A recent medical study held in Bangladesh investigated the effectiveness of traditional cholera treatments and possible alternatives. The problem of cholera is very complicated in third world countries where the water supplies can be the source of numerous bacteriological diseases. Apart from the aspect of water supplies another problem, which contributes to the development of cholera epidemics in poor countries, is that traditional medication gradually loses its effectiveness with bacteria developing resistance to it. In such situation finding a new drug for treating cholera is crucial. Having these goals the study compared Cipro (ciprofloxacin), which is commonly used in cases of severe cholera for over a decade, and a macrolide antibiotic. The study involved 195 men suffering from severe cholera, divided into two groups. The first group was given Cipro and the second - macrolides respectively. The results where impressive and gave base to an intense discussion about the effectiveness of medicine used for cholera treatment today as well as the possibility of using macrolide antibiotics in such cases. Cipro, which only a few years back was effective in a single dose against cholera, failed in ¾ of the patients in the study. This can be explained by the fact that Vibrio cholerae - the bacteria causing cholera - was able to rapidly develop tolerance reaction to Cipro, rendering it ineffective with time. In contrast, macrolide antibiotic treatment has shown significant results with 73% of the patients being cured with a single dose. Furthermore, the group treated with macrolides has had illness symptoms manifested only for 30 hours after taking the medicine in comparison to more than three days in case of Cipro. Although, the studies were held on men only, there's no reason to believe the results would be different in case of women. The results of this study have displayed the importance of developing new drugs which would be as effective as Cipro was a decade ago. Macrolide antibiotics used in the study seem like a great alternative to the traditional medication. There are numerous generic variations to this class of drugs, like Zithromax, which are available all over the world. But still, the doctors argue that a single drug will not solve the problem of cholera, because it is primarily caused by poor sanitation and water supplies. The bacteria may develop resistance to Zithromax with time too, like in case of Cipro, thus it can't be regarded as a constant solution to the problem. The radical changes concerning sanitation and water supplies, which Europe and America have undergone a century ago, should be taken in developing countries too, but that seems like a much more complex solution compared to medications.

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Posted in: Other

Electronic Graveyard - Wanna be depressed?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/06/60minutes/main4579229.shtml

Thanks to Chris Champion and his post (http://blog.cchampion.net/?p=44) I saw this video on what happens to our old computers and printers and cell phones when we get rid of them. I, too, had thought that they were being properly recycled. I had once heard that the plastics in the cases were being used in materials to repair potholes, for instance. And I THOUGHT that a safe practice was used to remove the gold and lead, etc.

Such is NOT the case. Watch that video from 60 minutes. Show it to your students.

But, maybe you'll want to wait until after the Holidays. This is most depressing.

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192021.org

http://192021.org/

This one may well be of interest to the sociology classes out there. I was pointed to this from a post in the Long Now blog. This self-paced animation site plots demographic and resource trend data from the past to ninety years out. Do YOU agree with its vision? Would your students?

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IT Maintenance Conttract Tips Increase Your Profitability

Are you offering an IT maintenance contract package as part of your computer consulting business?

Many small business computer consultants fail to understand how important a solid IT maintenance contract can be to building relationships with clients and developing a profitable, stable business. Therefore, many don’t choose to offer IT maintenance contracts right off the bat, instead settling for one-shot deal customers or low-paying, fly-by-night customers that leave them working way too hard for way too little money.

The following 4 tips can help you learn how to incorporate a strong IT maintenance contract into your business, so you can establish great relationships with your clients, increase your profits and provide a solid foundation for your computer consulting company.

1. Start Offering and Selling Your IT Maintenance Contract Services. Even if you are afraid or unsure of how you will package on-going services, you need to start offering them right away. Go slowly until you build up your confidence level. Confidence is not going to come through training, reading a report or preparing a template for a standard IT maintenance contract. You will only build confidence when you actually start selling on-going maintenance services and going out to clients to deliver them. This will in turn build stable, trusting and mutually-beneficial relationships with your long-term clients.

2. Start Small. As you are building your small business computer consulting firm on strong IT maintenance contract packages, start with relatively small accounts and ease into larger accounts. This doesn’t mean you should dismiss the idea of taking on a large account at the beginning if it happens to fall in your lap. But remember that accounts that are on the small side can be good for getting your feet wet and building your business responsibly, in a way that helps you manage growth.

3. An IT Maintenance Contract Package Requires Advance Preparation. In order to get anyone to sign up for an IT maintenance contract with you, you need to manage the sales process and let relationships with clients evolve naturally. But you also need to have a very strong plan for on-going services and a compelling contract offering ready to go as you move through the sales cycle. If you don’t have a strong IT maintenance contract ready to offer, you will stay in a perpetual state of reactive fire extinguisher mode. Your customers will call you when there’s a problem, but you will not have any recurring relationships. The IT maintenance contract connects you to a client in a way that gives you a relationship that is the business equivalent of a marriage.

4. Your IT Maintenance Contract Package is What Makes Your Business Profitable. You can’t build a stable computer consulting business when you are just waiting for the phone to ring or doing a couple of billable hours here and a couple of billable hours there. Your business will be easier to run and more profitable when you find the right kinds of clients that need the long-term hand holding, long-term oversight and long-term assurances. An outsourced Virtual IT department provides this all through well-crafted IT maintenance contract agreements. When you have a strong IT maintenance contract plan, your clients will know you are going to take care of long-term projects and upgrades, be the intermediary with phone companies, ISPs and Web hosts, as well as with specialty application developers. Clients want the peace of mind that you will be there to bail them out of IT emergencies, which comes naturally from the relationships built on the IT maintenance contract packages you offer to your loyal clients.

Without a strong IT maintenance contract, you will be keeping your fingers crossed that customers will keep calling you and that you will have a regular relationship with them. A contract for on-going services is what facilitates a long-term relationship.

In this short article, we discussed 4 tips to help you make your business more profitable with a solid IT maintenance contract plan. Learn more about how you can get great, steady, high-paying clients on your IT maintenance contract offering now at the attached link.

Copyright (C), ITMaintenanceContract.com, All Rights Reserved

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Posted in: IT maintenance contract

Dimdim 4.5 Released

I know I have written about Dimdim in the past but just wanted to let you know that their product offering has been upgraded and I had a chance to use it today with a colleague to share with him just how easy it is to start a web conferencing session. Dimdim is an very easy to use web conferencing application that runs through the browser and lets you upload your PowerPoint presentation for seamless webinars complete with Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and access to your webcam. Dimdim provides for a shared whiteboard and as the host you can pass control to your participants with the easy to use interface. Considering that this is a free webconferencing tool it packed with features- in fact even if it were not free it would be worth the price of admission. The free account will let you host sessions with up to 20 participants and the Premium account for just $99 a year will allow you to host up to 100 participants. Your participants can use the VOIP to hear the presentation and can use the built-in IM feature to ask questions. With Dimdim you can also record and playback your meetings which makes it easy to post and archive for future use. If you would like you can also use Dimdim to share your desktop or any applications on the hosts computer. If you haven't tried out Dimdim give it a try you will be happy you did.

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Posted in: dimdim,web conferencing

Flight Simulator in Google Earth

Am I the last one to know about this? Flight Simulator in Google Earth?

Read about it here: http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/08/google-earth-easter-egg-flight.html

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Posted in: Google earth

Check it out: Getting the most out of Google Maps

Again, one thing in my reader pointed to another which led me to another, etc, and I landed here: http://mashable.com/2008/12/04/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-google-maps/

You say you can't use Google Earth at school? This may just be a very acceptable alternative. The trick to getting the most out of it is having a gmail account. Schools should REALLY be looking hard at getting the Google Docs for education. It opens up SO much!

Anyway, check out the tips on this page, including the video that he did that shows some great tricks in Google Earth. They may not all be for you, but there's sure to be at least one.

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Posted in: google,Google earth,google maps

Windows Hopping reprise

Hopping Between Windows
Have you ever needed to swap windows while you are using the keyboard? Have you needed to jump quickly from that email you are composing to the report you are supposed to be writing? Then try holding down Alt key and pressing the Tab key. Select the window you want and release the Alt key to bring that one to the front. A little dialog box will open that looks like this in Windows XP or 2000:


And looks like this in Windows Vista:


There is also an alternate way of hopping between windows that does not show this box. Simply hold down the Alt key and press the Escape key (marked Esc) to hop between windows in the order that you opened them. If you hop using this method Windows will leave any minimised windows in that state, it will not restore them like the Alt+Tab method does.

Hopping Within Windows
While we are on the subject of the Tab key, whenever you are filling in a form in a Windows program, the Tab key will generally move the cursor to the next field or button.

To move the cursor back to the previous field hold down the Shift key and press the Tab key.

Filling in a whole form from the keyboard means you get the job done more quickly and more easily, leaving more time available to 'Alt-Tab' back to that blog you were reading.

Try these shortcuts out on the following form. Click on the first field to select it, then tab between fields to your heart's content.

Field1:
Field2:
Field3:
To change the value of this press the space-bar when selected:
To change the value here use the up and down cursor keys: MondayTuesdayWednesdayYou get the idea...

[This post is an edited version of two that I originally posted on 22 August 2007 & 24 September 2008... I have been very busy writing up an assignment lately, but rest assured there will be more original material here soon]

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Posted in: Keyboard shortcut,Windows GUI