A vital element of any serious business is networking. Craigslist is the ideal venue for such networking opportunities. It doesn't matter if you are a well-established business needing to advertise; if you are hoping to find out more information on a certain business; or you simply wish to connect with like-minded individuals - Craigslist is an ideal resource. They offer the above opportunities, and others, for those looking to start networking or increasing their current network.
Offline Networking With Craigslist
One of several ways for people to utilize Craigslist is to organize offline networking possibilities. A business person involved in direct selling is just one example where this feature can be beneficial. Many times direct selling involves the hosting of parties so others may get a chance to try the products or learn more about getting involved in the company. Needless to say, parties like this can be quite profitable for salespeople who do it right.
Businesses using the party method of direct sales include makeup, toys, pet items, romantic goods, food supplements, along with others. Regardless if the product practically sells itself or if it needs a salesperson skills to demonstrate their worth, networking is a necessary step to direct sales success. And Craigslist shines in this regard. Posting ads in the proper category on Craigslist allows salespeople holding parties the chance to make many people aware in an efficient manner.
A brief word about safety: When using Craigslist for offline networking take care to assure the safety of each of the people involved. The smart thing to do when first setting up such parties is to schedule them to happen in a public place that has lots of people. This is one way to reduce the chances of something harmful happening. It also has the benefit of putting potential participants at ease, thereby making it more likely that they will take part in the networking opportunity.
Online Networking With Craigslist
The fact that Craigslist is a thriving online community makes it well-suited for online networking as well. Here are some ways that you can use Craigslist to put together an online network:
* Sending traffic to your website
* Sending traffic to your message board
* Requesting participation in your newsletter
People with a website that offers products or service will likely find Craigslist a good place to advertise it. Posting an ad in the right category on Craigslist has the potential of reaching a large audience. To determine the best category for posting you need to first determine who your target audience is. Once you do that all you have to do is find the corresponding category that they are most likely to use.
People wanting to organize networking opportunities online for like-minded persons to share similar ideas should also find Craigslist useful to accomplish that goal. Posting an ad for a message board, in the right category, can help in creating a thriving online community. As mentioned, the key is to reach your target.
For those publishing a regular newsletter, Craigslist can be used to increase the overall number of people subscribing. It doesn't matter how often your newsletter is published Craigslist can still be used to request the email addresses of people who might have an interest in receiving your newsletter.
Finding Networking Opportunities With Craigslist
Of course, that only covers people who want to organize or build networking opportunities. There are also some who are hoping to join networks that already exist. With so many people posting to build their networks, it makes it easy for those seeking to find these opportunities on Craigslist.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Notebook Computers in the Age of the Internet
Everyone knows that our world cannot exist without computers. Ever tried to make a purchase at a convenience store when their computers are down, ever waited for someone to make change when their register computer is down, or have you ever tried to find a book in a library when the system is down? If you have ever experienced one of these inconveniences, you know that our world hinges on whether or not our computers are working.
Remember when you told your teacher that the dog ate your homework? Did she believe you? Probably not. Now the excuse is my computer crashed, my printer wouldn't print, or we were out of ink. Even kids rely on computers to do their schoolwork. The days of pen and pencils are almost over. In fact most students know more about computers than their teachers or parents. They don't even remember a time without computers.
As computers become more and more intuitive and powerful, we must proceed with them. If you are still among the population that resents the encroachment of the computer, think about this scenario. If Eve in the Garden of Eden had access to the Internet, she could have looked up information about snakes. She would have found out that they have forked tongues and an evil reputation. Instead of listening to the snake's lies, she would have thrashed him with a tree branch. Think how much better our world would be now.
The best present any graduate can get this June is a desktop computer or a laptop. In my day, girls were given matching luggage to take their clothes to school. Yes, I know I am dating myself, but I do have a point. Today buy your child a computer and let them take their clothes is a paper sack. They don't care; an old gym bag will do. I know; schools have computer labs, but they are always full. Wouldn't you rather your son or particularly your daughter not be out of the dorm or apartment working on projects or papers? Also, when your newly graduated senior has moved away to school, e-mail will become your best friend. Even if you hate computers, you will learn to love them because they will become your link to your child. The nest will never be empty as long as you have e-mail.
Computers are links to the outside world. The world has never been more accessible or smaller. You have to keep up or you will be left behind and who wants to be the last straggler on the planet? Not me!
Remember when you told your teacher that the dog ate your homework? Did she believe you? Probably not. Now the excuse is my computer crashed, my printer wouldn't print, or we were out of ink. Even kids rely on computers to do their schoolwork. The days of pen and pencils are almost over. In fact most students know more about computers than their teachers or parents. They don't even remember a time without computers.
As computers become more and more intuitive and powerful, we must proceed with them. If you are still among the population that resents the encroachment of the computer, think about this scenario. If Eve in the Garden of Eden had access to the Internet, she could have looked up information about snakes. She would have found out that they have forked tongues and an evil reputation. Instead of listening to the snake's lies, she would have thrashed him with a tree branch. Think how much better our world would be now.
The best present any graduate can get this June is a desktop computer or a laptop. In my day, girls were given matching luggage to take their clothes to school. Yes, I know I am dating myself, but I do have a point. Today buy your child a computer and let them take their clothes is a paper sack. They don't care; an old gym bag will do. I know; schools have computer labs, but they are always full. Wouldn't you rather your son or particularly your daughter not be out of the dorm or apartment working on projects or papers? Also, when your newly graduated senior has moved away to school, e-mail will become your best friend. Even if you hate computers, you will learn to love them because they will become your link to your child. The nest will never be empty as long as you have e-mail.
Computers are links to the outside world. The world has never been more accessible or smaller. You have to keep up or you will be left behind and who wants to be the last straggler on the planet? Not me!
10 Simple Ways To Increase Speed Of Your Computer
Most of us who use computers maximally get frustrated when our computers have slowed down. Naturally, we look for someone to help us so we can increase the speed of our computers. This can sometimes be a further waste of time as we try to look for someone when actually, we can do the jobs ourselves. Here's how:
1. Get rid of those unnecessary wallpapers. Simply go for the basic built-in designs to improve the speed a great deal. If you can't help it, don't stretch the wallpaper because dragging can slow down the functions. Also, remove animations that aren't needed by your programs.
2. If you have drivers installed on your computer, make sure you do frequent updates because updating can improve the speed of your programs.
3. Sometimes we can't help but open several programs at the same time because we need to do multi-tasking. If we have to do this, we need to minimize those programs we aren't currently using.
4. Remove the message that says you are starting Windows 95/98 because this can slow down booting. To remove this, just go to c:\ and look for the file Msdos.sys. Then remove the Read-only option. Open this in Notepad then go to options and change by adding BootDelay=0.
5. To restart Windows, simply hold down the Shift key to restart Windows instead of restarting the whole system which can take longer.
6. You may also try working on a lower resolution so that you can move faster with your PC.
7. Regularly defragment your computer so that files can be consolidated into single files. This will surely speed up the functions of your computer.
8. For faster ejection of CDs, simply right-click on the CD drive letter in My Computer and choose Eject. Icons will be removed as well which could somehow slow down the process.
9. Get rid of fonts that you don't usually use. Just go to fonts under c:\windows and remove those fonts that you no longer need.
10. Get rid of unnecessary files by constantly emptying your Recycle Bin and removing temporary Internet files. These take up space and of course, needs to be read by your CPU every time you boot. Even your email inbox should be regularly cleaned up to enhance the speed of your usage.
Now that you know it isn't hard to speed up your very own computer, simply follow the said steps and you are on your way to having a reliable and faster computer.
1. Get rid of those unnecessary wallpapers. Simply go for the basic built-in designs to improve the speed a great deal. If you can't help it, don't stretch the wallpaper because dragging can slow down the functions. Also, remove animations that aren't needed by your programs.
2. If you have drivers installed on your computer, make sure you do frequent updates because updating can improve the speed of your programs.
3. Sometimes we can't help but open several programs at the same time because we need to do multi-tasking. If we have to do this, we need to minimize those programs we aren't currently using.
4. Remove the message that says you are starting Windows 95/98 because this can slow down booting. To remove this, just go to c:\ and look for the file Msdos.sys. Then remove the Read-only option. Open this in Notepad then go to options and change by adding BootDelay=0.
5. To restart Windows, simply hold down the Shift key to restart Windows instead of restarting the whole system which can take longer.
6. You may also try working on a lower resolution so that you can move faster with your PC.
7. Regularly defragment your computer so that files can be consolidated into single files. This will surely speed up the functions of your computer.
8. For faster ejection of CDs, simply right-click on the CD drive letter in My Computer and choose Eject. Icons will be removed as well which could somehow slow down the process.
9. Get rid of fonts that you don't usually use. Just go to fonts under c:\windows and remove those fonts that you no longer need.
10. Get rid of unnecessary files by constantly emptying your Recycle Bin and removing temporary Internet files. These take up space and of course, needs to be read by your CPU every time you boot. Even your email inbox should be regularly cleaned up to enhance the speed of your usage.
Now that you know it isn't hard to speed up your very own computer, simply follow the said steps and you are on your way to having a reliable and faster computer.
Creating My Speedy Communication Device
Emails are now as indispensable as mobile phones, especially if you are communicating with people from a location where mobile phone communication is unfeasible. The convenience that it offers in terms of sending your message to people is highly commendable compared to the traditional snail mail, which could literally take you ages before you'd be able to receive it.
Though a many people have been using this system for quite some time now, there are still a few people who are yet to be familiar with the emailing system. All the more with the system of opening an email account.
My First Email Account
Yahoo is among the list of the Web's most dependable and established email providers. Usually, beginners can start with their system due to the fact that they are offering free email service along with its advanced and trouble free set up arrangement. To get started with your own email account you need to follow a couple of simple steps.
1. Drop by the yahoo mail home page to get started.
2. You must click the link which says 'sign up' which is usually located at the upper right portion of the yahoo home page.
3. After that you must type in some of your basic information like your name in the fields provided.
4. In the portion where you have to select your username and password, you have to come up with a username that you will be comfortable with for a long period of time. Moreover, it should also help the other users identify you when you send them emails.
Your password on the other hand must be six characters long and you must bear in mind to remember how you have exactly typed it because the system is case-sensitive.
5. After you completed the fields which are necessary, you may then proceed to the verification process. This step is where you select a question which you need to answer in case you forget either your password or your username.
When you have finished all the steps then you may proceed in opening your account on the yahoo mail home page by keying in your username and password. Now, you can start sending emails to anywhere and anyone on the globe by using your email account. Communicating with other people need not be hard, you just have to be resourceful.
Though a many people have been using this system for quite some time now, there are still a few people who are yet to be familiar with the emailing system. All the more with the system of opening an email account.
My First Email Account
Yahoo is among the list of the Web's most dependable and established email providers. Usually, beginners can start with their system due to the fact that they are offering free email service along with its advanced and trouble free set up arrangement. To get started with your own email account you need to follow a couple of simple steps.
1. Drop by the yahoo mail home page to get started.
2. You must click the link which says 'sign up' which is usually located at the upper right portion of the yahoo home page.
3. After that you must type in some of your basic information like your name in the fields provided.
4. In the portion where you have to select your username and password, you have to come up with a username that you will be comfortable with for a long period of time. Moreover, it should also help the other users identify you when you send them emails.
Your password on the other hand must be six characters long and you must bear in mind to remember how you have exactly typed it because the system is case-sensitive.
5. After you completed the fields which are necessary, you may then proceed to the verification process. This step is where you select a question which you need to answer in case you forget either your password or your username.
When you have finished all the steps then you may proceed in opening your account on the yahoo mail home page by keying in your username and password. Now, you can start sending emails to anywhere and anyone on the globe by using your email account. Communicating with other people need not be hard, you just have to be resourceful.
How To Use A Webcam To Capture Images And Videos
The Internet today allows almost everything - sending emails, publishing write-ups, and of course, photo and video sharing. The most fun thing to do among them would be photo and video sharing, indeed. And to effectively share your pictures and videos, you have to first learn how to use a webcam.
Webcam is the short term for web camera. It is the device that has the ability to capture images, both still and moving, and save it on your computer. Most webcams are connected to the computer's USB port.
Learning how to use a webcam is fairly easy. All you have to do is follow the steps below:
1. Make Sure That The Webcam Is Properly Installed On Your Computer.
When you buy a webcam from a computer or an electronics store, the package will come with a disc. Run the disc and make sure that the camera is properly detected by the operating system. Load the software according to the instructions so it will work.
2. Determine How You Are To Use The Webcam.
The camera will come with its own software. You can use that to capture images. But it can also work with online messaging services like Yahoo, Skype, and AOL. Using your webcam to share images and videos using these services is free. You might want to check them out.
3. Position The Webcam Properly And Launch The Software.
If you have decided to use the webcam's built-in software, just click on the icon that was created after the program was installed. The camera will work the moment you launch the software. If you want to use the webcam with an online messaging service, sign-in with your username and password. After that, look for the option that will activate and share your webcam.
4. Capture And Save The Images As Desired.
The webcam's built-in software is created with buttons that you can click to save and store the images produced on the screen. Strike a pose. Wear your biggest smile. Then click away! However, with a messenger service, click on the broadcast check box. The images captured by the webcam will then be shared immediately with the users you have approved.
These are the simple steps to use a webcam. You need not be an expert Internet user or computer programmer to learn how this simple device works. Enjoy!
Webcam is the short term for web camera. It is the device that has the ability to capture images, both still and moving, and save it on your computer. Most webcams are connected to the computer's USB port.
Learning how to use a webcam is fairly easy. All you have to do is follow the steps below:
1. Make Sure That The Webcam Is Properly Installed On Your Computer.
When you buy a webcam from a computer or an electronics store, the package will come with a disc. Run the disc and make sure that the camera is properly detected by the operating system. Load the software according to the instructions so it will work.
2. Determine How You Are To Use The Webcam.
The camera will come with its own software. You can use that to capture images. But it can also work with online messaging services like Yahoo, Skype, and AOL. Using your webcam to share images and videos using these services is free. You might want to check them out.
3. Position The Webcam Properly And Launch The Software.
If you have decided to use the webcam's built-in software, just click on the icon that was created after the program was installed. The camera will work the moment you launch the software. If you want to use the webcam with an online messaging service, sign-in with your username and password. After that, look for the option that will activate and share your webcam.
4. Capture And Save The Images As Desired.
The webcam's built-in software is created with buttons that you can click to save and store the images produced on the screen. Strike a pose. Wear your biggest smile. Then click away! However, with a messenger service, click on the broadcast check box. The images captured by the webcam will then be shared immediately with the users you have approved.
These are the simple steps to use a webcam. You need not be an expert Internet user or computer programmer to learn how this simple device works. Enjoy!
Data Backups
For many people, computers have become a daily necessity. We use them for work, for correspondence and for entertainment. Many of the files are important documents and losing them would cost us time and money. Backups are the best way to prevent their permanent loss.
Don't make the mistake of believing that backups are only for computer geeks or large corporations, or a task that can be performed 'when I get around to it'. On the contrary, backups are a necessity for everyone. Even if your computer has been running reliably for years, it will fail one day - either through virus attack, user error or just age.
On that day, one of two things will happen. You'll either suffer the grief that comes with losing financial information, passwords, music collections, personal photographs and all the software you've purchased. Or, you can repair or replace the computer and restore from the backups you've been making regularly. The latter is an annoyance, the first a disaster.
There are, unfortunately, an infinite variety of ways to lose data. Besides hardware failure, computers can be destroyed in fires or floods. Hard drives can be damaged by power surges caused by lightning strikes or data lost by a child randomly hitting the keyboard. Viruses can infect systems and erase hard drives.
But there's only one way to get it back - by having it available to be restored.
What to Backup?
For the average user, it's usually not necessary to backup every file on the computer, which would require large storage space. But at bare minimum home users should backup personal files and irreplaceable software. Spreadsheets with financial records not easily available from other sources, legal documents, work-in-progress... the list is large.
But backups needn't be.
The easiest way to do backups is to use the backup software that comes with the operating system. Windows has a free, usable backup program while similar ones are available for Mac, Linux and others. The software is easy to use and backing up is a simple matter of selecting which folders to backup. It even has a scheduler so backups can be automated to occur at convenient times.
For a modest sum backup software can be purchased that will only backup files changed since a certain date, or since the last backup. Alternatively, new files could be copied daily to a backup folder where they can be backed-up by your backup program. To ease the task of identifying which, use the Search option to list files 'newer than X'. Once the list is complete, copy them into the backup folder and run the program for just that folder.
Some data, such as e-mails are only slightly more difficult to protect. Some e-mail clients can be configured to keep copies of received and sent e-mails on the e-mail server. When that's not an option, most can export messages to a file, which can then be backed up.
Backups can be done to any kind of removable media - writeable CD's/DVD's, removable hard drives or even the newer 'keychain' devices that plug into a USB port. Even floppy disks can still be used in many cases. Documents often take a small amount of space. Just set aside 7 disks and rotate them from week to week.
Daily backups are one more thing to do in a busy schedule. But the day you lose that file you need and can't restore, you're going to be a whole lot busier.
Don't make the mistake of believing that backups are only for computer geeks or large corporations, or a task that can be performed 'when I get around to it'. On the contrary, backups are a necessity for everyone. Even if your computer has been running reliably for years, it will fail one day - either through virus attack, user error or just age.
On that day, one of two things will happen. You'll either suffer the grief that comes with losing financial information, passwords, music collections, personal photographs and all the software you've purchased. Or, you can repair or replace the computer and restore from the backups you've been making regularly. The latter is an annoyance, the first a disaster.
There are, unfortunately, an infinite variety of ways to lose data. Besides hardware failure, computers can be destroyed in fires or floods. Hard drives can be damaged by power surges caused by lightning strikes or data lost by a child randomly hitting the keyboard. Viruses can infect systems and erase hard drives.
But there's only one way to get it back - by having it available to be restored.
What to Backup?
For the average user, it's usually not necessary to backup every file on the computer, which would require large storage space. But at bare minimum home users should backup personal files and irreplaceable software. Spreadsheets with financial records not easily available from other sources, legal documents, work-in-progress... the list is large.
But backups needn't be.
The easiest way to do backups is to use the backup software that comes with the operating system. Windows has a free, usable backup program while similar ones are available for Mac, Linux and others. The software is easy to use and backing up is a simple matter of selecting which folders to backup. It even has a scheduler so backups can be automated to occur at convenient times.
For a modest sum backup software can be purchased that will only backup files changed since a certain date, or since the last backup. Alternatively, new files could be copied daily to a backup folder where they can be backed-up by your backup program. To ease the task of identifying which, use the Search option to list files 'newer than X'. Once the list is complete, copy them into the backup folder and run the program for just that folder.
Some data, such as e-mails are only slightly more difficult to protect. Some e-mail clients can be configured to keep copies of received and sent e-mails on the e-mail server. When that's not an option, most can export messages to a file, which can then be backed up.
Backups can be done to any kind of removable media - writeable CD's/DVD's, removable hard drives or even the newer 'keychain' devices that plug into a USB port. Even floppy disks can still be used in many cases. Documents often take a small amount of space. Just set aside 7 disks and rotate them from week to week.
Daily backups are one more thing to do in a busy schedule. But the day you lose that file you need and can't restore, you're going to be a whole lot busier.
The Importance Of Screensaver And How To Enable It
Screensavers are those animated pictures that you usually see on the computer screen after leaving it unattended for a certain period of time. Some people think screensavers are merely created to add to the computer's aesthetic properties. Other think they are unimportant. That conception believe it or not is wrong.
Every computer user needs a screensaver, especially those who are still using CRT monitors. CRT stands for cathode ray tube. These are the monitors that look a lot like a television set.
CRT monitors display images on the screen by emitting radiations of high energy. Now if you leave your computer for too long and it doesn't use a screensaver, the images showing on the monitor could burn onto the screen permanently. The task of screensavers is to take the images left on the screen away, store it on the computer, and substitute it with moving pictures. That way, your monitor won't have ghostly afterimages.
To activate screensaver on a Windows Xp or any Windows-based computer, follow these steps:
1. Right click on the desktop.
2. Click on Properties.
3. Click on the Screen saver tab.
4. Click on the drop down arrow under Screen saver.
5. Choose your desired screen saver. You can preview the screen saver you have chosen it by clicking on the "Preview" button.
6. You can also adjust the settings of the chosen Screen saver by clicking on the "Setting" button. This step is optional. The screensaver will run even if you don't make changes on its setting.
7. Set the wait time. The wait time is the period of time you are to leave the computer unattended before the screen saver is activated. The default time is 10 minutes. You can set it lower if you wish.
8. Set a password if so desired. If you don't want others to use your computer as you leave it with the screensaver running, you can set a password by putting a check mark on the "on resume, password protect" box. If you are not so good at remembering passwords, better leave the box empty.
9. Click Apply and OK. Your screen saver should be set.
These are the steps on how you can activate a screensaver on your computer. If you don't like the screensavers stored in your computer, you can download a variety of them from the Internet. Just make sure you are getting screen savers from reliable sources.
Every computer user needs a screensaver, especially those who are still using CRT monitors. CRT stands for cathode ray tube. These are the monitors that look a lot like a television set.
CRT monitors display images on the screen by emitting radiations of high energy. Now if you leave your computer for too long and it doesn't use a screensaver, the images showing on the monitor could burn onto the screen permanently. The task of screensavers is to take the images left on the screen away, store it on the computer, and substitute it with moving pictures. That way, your monitor won't have ghostly afterimages.
To activate screensaver on a Windows Xp or any Windows-based computer, follow these steps:
1. Right click on the desktop.
2. Click on Properties.
3. Click on the Screen saver tab.
4. Click on the drop down arrow under Screen saver.
5. Choose your desired screen saver. You can preview the screen saver you have chosen it by clicking on the "Preview" button.
6. You can also adjust the settings of the chosen Screen saver by clicking on the "Setting" button. This step is optional. The screensaver will run even if you don't make changes on its setting.
7. Set the wait time. The wait time is the period of time you are to leave the computer unattended before the screen saver is activated. The default time is 10 minutes. You can set it lower if you wish.
8. Set a password if so desired. If you don't want others to use your computer as you leave it with the screensaver running, you can set a password by putting a check mark on the "on resume, password protect" box. If you are not so good at remembering passwords, better leave the box empty.
9. Click Apply and OK. Your screen saver should be set.
These are the steps on how you can activate a screensaver on your computer. If you don't like the screensavers stored in your computer, you can download a variety of them from the Internet. Just make sure you are getting screen savers from reliable sources.
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