May14th
Posted by at 6:14 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized
Are there many people on the planet who have not heard of the phrase Web 2.0? Everyone, good, means that we are all paying attention then. For those of you who have either entered the world of Internet Marketing lately or have been elsewhere for the past twelve months, it has been nigh on impossible to miss the phrase.
Web 2.0 was supposed to be the answer to everyone’s dreams. Through the correct use of it, all things were to become possible, all doors would open.
Well if we are honest the jury is still out on most of these issues as yes good old Web 2.0 and its sites do tick some of the boxes but as in all good things when it comes to mankind, why do we never quit when we are ahead?
By this I mean that there are some cracking sites out there with some extremely useful features and functions but as in all cases, sooner or later along come a bunch of folks who proceed to screw it up for everyone else.
Hands up those who know anything about Facebook?
Good, lots of you and this is good as it means that the PR people behind Facebook have been doing their job so bonuses all round, we can all afford to stand up properly for a change!
Hands up all of you who understand properly the way that all of those nice cute little applications on Facebook work when all your mates keep sending you cute and cuddly little virtual friends and flowers, exploding eggs, plants whatever?
Hmnnnn. Not quite as many as who answered in the affirmative the first time round. Not so good, as there are a number of reasons why you should be aware of how they and other applications like them work.
As I switch on and log into my Facebook account (yes I have one) I can’t help but notice the growing number of cute and cuddly wee applications that keep cropping up when people sent me items. Now this is all very nice and it does indeed keep you all warm and fuzzy inside to know that people care but there is a more insidious side to all of this. Every time you try and open a “hatching egg” or a growing plant” you are asked to download and open an application to run these gifts. Hidden behind the scenes in some of these applications are bots and crawlers who are unleashed onto your hard drive, email in box or wherever they can go to “mine” personal data and store this data. Yes folks you have just been the victim in some cases of the first stages of Identity Theft. In the worst cases your hard drive may be infected and you are on the slippery slope to your data being harvested and the hard drive roasted and fried.
Not a nice picture is it and one that the folks behind Facebook (and others) are less likely to portray? The trouble is that a lot of these applications are third party applications that are not hosted on Facebook’s own servers and as such Facebook and its personnel have no control over what is going on by and large.
Welcome to the hidden dark side of Web 2.0, where it is all too easy to submerge yourself into a collective consciousness and forget about how you may be exposing yourself to hidden theft.
Now if you are the victim of this type of Internet Mugging and yes you have suffered data loss as a result. What are you going to do now?
Scott James writes regularly on such matters and more can be found onHard Drive Recovery and at http://www.diskdoctors.net. Disk Doctors helps consumers and users recover computer data when all it appears is lost.
Feb8th
Posted by at 6:46 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized
Finding musical instruments
and accessories at closeout prices is easy if you know where to look. If you are
searching through the thousands of musical instrument stores and just not
finding the product or price that you want, then you should know that All Needs
and Wants offers musical instruments at very low Amazon discount prices on
everything from guitar picks to headset phones, and every musical instrument or
accessory in between. By shopping at the musical instrument online discount
shopping mall at All Needs and Wants, you can purchase the musical instrument or
accessories that you need at more than 50% off the normal retail price. It is
very normal to be skeptical of internet shopping. Many people feel that they are
forgoing quality for a lower price, however, purchasing your musical instruments
at closeout prices does not mean giving up quality. There are many name brands
such as Coby, Bose, Fender, Plantronics, and many more that are available.
Whether you are looking for a Casio keyboard or a Yamaha keyboard at a low
price, you can find exactly what you need by browsing the many available items
in the musical instrument sale section at All Needs and Wants.
When you are looking to add
a new musical instrument, or searching for parts or accessories for your current
musical devices, it is best to search for products that ensure high quality.
High quality, however, does not always have to be reflected in a higher price.
You can purchase all your musical instrument needs through home shopping and
also receive the best buy for these products. For instance, if you currently
have a Sony or Belkin device, then the accessories that you purchase should
probably be made by the same manufacturer. Although you may have paid a hefty
price for the musical instrument, you do not have to pay a high price for the
accessories that can accompany it. You should also consider that name brand
devices, such as harmonicas, guitars, keyboards, and even cleaners and polishers
for musical instruments can all be purchased for a very low price compared to
musical instrument stores and shops. By choosing to purchase these items online,
you save time and money, both of which are important in today’s society.
Name brands such as Belkin,
Memorex, and Denon, which are normally considered to be fairly expensive, can be
purchased for quite a discount, leaving you money to purchase other items that
you may need, such as accessories for your existing musical instrument.
No matter what brand or what
musical instrument or accessory you may be searching for, you can find it at low
prices when you purchase these items at a musical instrument discount mall. Not
only do you get the ease of home shopping, but you get an amazing Amazon
discount price that is unsurpassed.
For more information on our
excellent selection of name brand items, click here to take you to the musical
instrument discount shopping mall at All Needs and Wants.
http://www.allneedsandwants.com/MusicalInstruments-Musical_Instruments.html
http://www.allneedsandwants.com/MusicalInstruments-11971241-Guitars.html
http://www.allneedsandwants.com/MusicalInstruments-11970071-Pianos.html
http://www.allneedsandwants.com/
Further links worth investigating
Jan17th
Posted by at 6:11 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized
OK you have made the decision that you are actually going to go and buy the TV of your dreams and what do you do next?
Unlike other guides here we believe in giving good old plain common sense and want you to think about the money aspect first.
Now this might sound daft and as if we are trying to talk you out of spending your hard earned (or “ill gotten” just delete or insert where applicable) cash when you should be basking in thoughts of Plasma or LCD, Aspect Ratios, Screen sizes etc but this all matters not one jot if you get your budgeting wrong.
Stop and just consider this for a moment.
You are about to embark upon possibly the third or fourth most expensive financial investment (after the House / Flat, Car et al) you have made and it is important that you understand the ramifications of what you are about to undertake.
Plan well in advance how much you have got to spend and how much of a leeway / margin of error you can play with.
As they say make the wrong decision too soon and it could be along time for you to correct your mistakes.
The thing is that without proper planning you could be left regretting the fact that you could have scored big-time with a “sales bargain” for just a few hundred more at this stage in the proceedings or you allowed yourself into being talked into spending way more that you had budgeted for and now you can’t afford the electricity bills to power it!
The moral of the story is “Fail to Prepare or Prepare to Fail” as they say in all good marketing handbooks but in this case it is certainly true.
So let’s get started with looking around at what is on offer at the moment and continuing the trend of giving you independent advice (not always what you want to hear but never mind) in this article we are going to take a look at what you should NOT spend your money on despite the best intentions of the sales guys!
We’ve highlighted three particular Flat Screen TV’s that you should steer clear of if you are looking for a decent TV and they are as follows.
The first one we recommend you steer clear of is the Evesham V32EMRO.
The V32EMRO is a 32in LCD TV and currently these TV’s can be found for 600 pounds sterling or 1200 US dollars. The resolution of the screen is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Evesham has 2 (no RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the V32EMRO uses is HDMI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Evesham is available from limited outlets only.
All these points being taken into consideration, how would we view the Evesham V32EMRO?
First up, we would look at the picture quality and our score here would be 4, and for the sound quality we would rate it at 4. Another useful aspect to review is the availability and number of relevant connections and our score here would be 4. As far as overall features are concerned we would give it 4 and the final individual verdicts would relate to the ease of use and overall value for money and our scores here would be, 8 and 4 respectively.
Finally our overall opinion would be to be honest there is not a lot to be positive and enthusing about this TV even allowing for the fact that it is relatively cheap. That factor allowing, it still doesn’t represent good value for money (in our opinion) so thumbs down I’m afraid. The real fact is that Evesham actually have other sets that are infinitely superior to this one and this does let the side down I’m afraid.
Next up we think that you should avoid the Funai T27004.
The T27004 is a 27in LCD TV and the prices for these are around 700 pounds sterling or 1400 US dollars. The resolution of the screen is 1280 X 720 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Funai has 2 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the T27004 uses is DVI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Funai is available from limited outlets only.
All these points being taken into consideration, how would we view the Funai T27004?
First up, we would look at the picture quality and our score here would be 4, and for the sound quality we would rate it at 4. Another useful aspect to review is the availability and number of relevant connections and our score here would be 6. With regards to the overall level of features, our view would be 4 and for ease of use and overall value for money we would give it, 8 and 4 respectively.
Taking everything into consideration our overall view of the package would be for the asking price of this TV, the picture quality is very poor and therefore our verdict has got to be thumbs down for this offering so go and part with your hard earned cash elsewhere!
Lastly we think that you should give a miss to the Sanyo CE-32LD6.
The CE-32LD6 is a 32in LCD TV and these TV’s at present can be found in the region of 790 pounds sterling or 1580 US dollars. The screen resolution is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Sanyo has 3 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the CE-32LD6 uses are HDMI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Sanyo is available from limited outlets only.
So how would we rate the Sanyo CE-32LD6?
Well to start with our score for the picture quality is 6, and closely tied in to the picture quality is the sound quality and our score for this would be 4. Taking a look at the number of relevant connections and their availability, our score would be 8. If we take a look at the overall “featureability” our score would be 6 if we then take a look at the ease of use and overall value for money then our scores would be, 8 and 4 respectively.
Taking everything into consideration our overall view of the package would be there is not much to recommend this I’m afraid despite however hard we tried. To be honest this TV gives the impression that all Sanyo were really trying to do was find some use for excess spare parts. Very much a case of “what do we do with these electronic bits - Oh I know lets build a TV and see how much we can offload.”
With regards to the prices in this article we have tried in all cases to take an average across the industry from a number of well known web sites and so we ask you to bear this in mind and treat these prices as advisory only rather than absolutes.
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Jan17th
Posted by at 1:01 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized
Three Flat Screen TV’s To Avoid If At All Possible
Right, you have raided the piggy bank and found out how much you don’t have but you are still hell bent on getting that brand new Flat Screen TV you’ve always wanted, so what’s next?
Think long and hard about this after all it is better to have second thoughts now rather than when you are at home later on.
Now this might sound daft and as if we are trying to talk you out of spending your hard earned (or “ill gotten” just delete or insert where applicable) cash when you should be basking in thoughts of Plasma or LCD, Aspect Ratios, Screen sizes etc but this all matters not one jot if you get your budgeting wrong.
Think about one small important fact.
You are about to spend more money in one go on what is arguably an unsecured asset than you would spend on anything else in your life (after the House / Flat and Car that is) so make sure you know what you are doing.
Plan well in advance how much you have got to spend and how much of a leeway / margin of error you can play with.
The theory behind this is that if you make a mistake now it could cost you more than just the financials in the long run so decide how much room for error you have budget wise.
Conversely you are also going to be left regretting the fact that you let the salesman sucker you into spending an extra thousand on going Plasma rather than LCD and now you are having trouble with the mortgage payments.
As I said before, think carefully and plan well and you should be OK.
So let’s get started with looking around at what is on offer at the moment and continuing the trend of giving you independent advice (not always what you want to hear but never mind) in this article we are going to take a look at what you should NOT spend your money on despite the best intentions of the sales guys!
We’ve highlighted three particular Flat Screen TV’s that you should steer clear of if you are looking for a decent TV and they are as follows.
The first one we recommend you steer clear of is the Evesham V32EMRO.
The V32EMRO is a 32in LCD TV and currently these TV’s can be found for 600 pounds sterling or 1200 US dollars. The resolution of the screen is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Evesham has 2 (no RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the V32EMRO uses is HDMI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Evesham is available from limited outlets only.
All these points being taken into consideration, how would we view the Evesham V32EMRO?
First up, we would look at the picture quality and our score here would be 4, and for the sound quality we would rate it at 4. Another useful aspect to review is the availability and number of relevant connections and our score here would be 4. As far as overall features are concerned we would give it 4 and the final individual verdicts would relate to the ease of use and overall value for money and our scores here would be, 8 and 4 respectively.
Finally our overall opinion would be to be honest there is not a lot to be positive and enthusing about this TV even allowing for the fact that it is relatively cheap. That factor allowing, it still doesn’t represent good value for money (in our opinion) so thumbs down I’m afraid. The real fact is that Evesham actually have other sets that are infinitely superior to this one and this does let the side down I’m afraid.
Next up we think that you should avoid the Funai T27004.
The T27004 is a 27in LCD TV and the prices for these are around 700 pounds sterling or 1400 US dollars. The resolution of the screen is 1280 X 720 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Funai has 2 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the T27004 uses is DVI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Funai is available from limited outlets only.
All these points being taken into consideration, how would we view the Funai T27004?
First up, we would look at the picture quality and our score here would be 4, and for the sound quality we would rate it at 4. Another useful aspect to review is the availability and number of relevant connections and our score here would be 6. With regards to the overall level of features, our view would be 4 and for ease of use and overall value for money we would give it, 8 and 4 respectively.
Taking everything into consideration our overall view of the package would be for the asking price of this TV, the picture quality is very poor and therefore our verdict has got to be thumbs down for this offering so go and part with your hard earned cash elsewhere!
Lastly we think that you should give a miss to the Sanyo CE-32LD6.
The CE-32LD6 is a 32in LCD TV and these TV’s at present can be found in the region of 790 pounds sterling or 1580 US dollars. The screen resolution is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Sanyo has 3 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the CE-32LD6 uses are HDMI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Sanyo is available from limited outlets only.
So how would we rate the Sanyo CE-32LD6?
Well to start with our score for the picture quality is 6, and closely tied in to the picture quality is the sound quality and our score for this would be 4. Taking a look at the number of relevant connections and their availability, our score would be 8. If we take a look at the overall “featureability” our score would be 6 if we then take a look at the ease of use and overall value for money then our scores would be, 8 and 4 respectively.
Taking everything into consideration our overall view of the package would be there is not much to recommend this I’m afraid despite however hard we tried. To be honest this TV gives the impression that all Sanyo were really trying to do was find some use for excess spare parts. Very much a case of “what do we do with these electronic bits - Oh I know lets build a TV and see how much we can offload.”
Remember that all the prices we use in these reviews are very much designed for illustration purposes only and in some cases you may well find the actual price cheaper but also in some cases, more expensive.
Scott James writes quite regularly on the Internet about TV and Home Entertainment issues and more on the above can be found at flat screen digital tvs and also at http://hubpages.com/hub/Flat-Screen-TV–LCD-and-Plasma-Displays—Background-Information
Jun24th
Posted by at 12:06 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized
The Campaign to increase the taxes paid by the Super-Rich and Wealthy Hedge Fund and Private Equity Managers got some serious backing and a massive boost on Friday with the endorsement of leading Congressional Democrats on Friday
Charles Rangel, House Ways and Means Chairman and Barney Frank, Financial Services Chairman joined a dozen lawmakers co-sponsoring legislation that would require managers of certain private partnerships to pay ordinary income-tax rates of as much as 35% on “carried interest” — a cut of profits they receive — which currently is taxed at the 15% long-term capital-gains rate.
More info: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118255424973845346.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
Check also American Air Freight , American Autoquote and Travel Galicia
Jun23rd
Posted by at 11:42 am. Filed under: Uncategorized
Up to $3.2 billion in loans yesterday was pledged by the investment bank Bear Stearns Companies to help prevent the imminent collapse of on of the Hedge Funds it managed.
The potential crisis came about through apparent poor lending decisions and bad bets on sub prime mortgages.
This would appear to have been the biggest rescue of a Hedge Fund since a consortium of lenders provided $3.6 billion to help stave off the collapse of Long Term Capital Management in 1998.
This problem arose basically because of a deteriorating housing market in the United States and a mixture of poor decisions brought about through bad management and greed.
Jun22nd
Posted by at 1:46 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized
On its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (Friday 22nd June 2007), Blackstone Group opened at $36.45 a share which in effect was a 18% premium over its IPO price of $31.
For more information about this: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118252107097944849.html?mod=djemalert
Check also American Air Freight , American Autoquote and Travel Galicia