How to Finish Setup If You’ve Used Quicken Before

If you’ve used a previous version of Quicken, the Quicken 2012 program might show option buttons to indicate what you want to do after the initial setup: Open the found data file. (Alternatively, you can indicate that you want to open some other data file.) You’re done. You’re ready to begin Quicken-ing.

The Quicken setup process can usually tell whether you’ve used Quicken before. The setup process knows where the Quicken installation program usually puts the Quicken program and data files, and the installation program will look there.

If you’ve used Quicken before but Quicken can’t see this, two possibilities exist: The first possibility is that you put the Quicken data file someplace weird. (If that’s the case, hopefully, you remember the weird place you hid the Quicken data file.)

The second possibility is that you didn’t do anything with the Quicken data file but that the data file has somehow gone missing. (If that’s the case, hopefully you backed up the Quicken data file to a CD or to some other disc from which you can restore the data file.)

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-finish-setup-if-youve-used-quicken-before.html

For Seniors: Utilize a Fingerprint Reader

Fingerprint readers use biometric technology to identify you by a unique physical characteristic. A finger print reader scans your finger after you start your laptop and place your finger on it. If the scan of your finger matches the one on file, the laptop is unlocked and ready to use.

There are several things you should know about laptop fingerprint readers before you decide whether or not to use one.

• Many laptops include a built-in fingerprint reader for security. Fingertip readers are useful to keep anybody but you from accessing data on your laptop because your fingerprint is unique. If your laptop includes a fingerprint reader, see your manual for instructions on using the reader.

  
  



• If your laptop doesn’t have a built-in fingerprint reader, you can buy an external model such as the Microsoft Fingerprint Reader. These have a wide price range (from about $40 to $200), but they are relatively portable, such as this device from Eikon.

  
  



• Some fingerprint readers allow you to log in to your laptop by simply swiping your finger over the reader, and some can also store passwords for your online accounts. Laptops or tablets with a touchscreen may allow you to press your finger to the screen to read your fingerprint.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/for-seniors-utilize-a-fingerprint-reader.html

Build Your Mom Blog to Match Goals and Plans

You need to take a long-term approach to the decisions you make about how you build your mom blog today. Blogging is an extremely powerful medium, and can be like that perfect job that can take you to where you want to go.

Here are just a few examples of how your short-term goals may need to change to accommodate your long-term goals:

• Write a book. If your long-term goal is to write a book someday, it will be important now to build a following and establish yourself as an expert in your craft. These aspects of blogging are very important to publishers who scout for new writers. Getting there may mean (in the short term, at least) that you don’t have the time to build advertiser relationships.

  
  



• Own a blog that earns passive income from advertising. If your long-term goal is to build a business that generates passive income from advertising and affiliate marketing, then it will be crucial now to build a blog that has a lot of traffic — and that means writing with search engine optimization in mind.

  
  

  Focusing on advertising income may mean (in the short term) that you won’t have time to build an active community around your site.

  
  



• Be a marketing consultant. If your long-term goal is to be a social media marketing consultant, it will be important now to be extremely active on Facebook and Twitter, and to get involved with brands that are developing high-profile blogger-outreach campaigns. This focus may mean, in the short term, that you won’t have time to build a lot of traffic to your own site or do your own projects.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/build-your-mom-blog-to-match-goals-and-plans.html

Network Administration: Developing a Business Continuity Plan

A business continuity plan (BCP) is simply a plan for how you will continue operation of your key business processes should the normal operation of the process fail. For example, if your primary office location is shut down for a week because of a major fire across the street, you won’t have to suspend operations if you have a business continuity plan in place.

The key to a BCP is redundancy of each component that is essential to your business processes. These components include:

• Facilities: If your company already has multiple office locations, you may be able to temporarily squeeze into one of the other locations for the duration of the disaster. If not, you should secure arrangements in advance with a real estate broker so that you can quickly arrange an alternate location. By having an arrangement made in advance, you can move into an emergency location on a moment’s notice.

  
  



• Computer equipment: It doesn’t hurt to have a set of spare computers in storage somewhere so that you can dig them out to use in an emergency. Preferably, these computers would already have your critical software installed. The next best thing would be to have detailed plans available so that your IT staff can quickly install key software on new equipment to get your business up and running.

  
  

  Always keep a current set of backup tapes at an alternate location.

  
  



• Phones: Discuss emergency phone services in advance with your phone company. If you’re forced to move to another location on 24-hour notice, how quickly can you get your phones up and running? And can you arrange to have your incoming toll-free calls forwarded to the new location?

  
  



• Staff: Unless you work for a government agency, you probably don’t have redundant employees. However, you can make arrangements in advance with a temp agency to provide clerical and administrative help on short notice.

  
  



• Stationery: This sounds like a small detail, but you should store a supply of all your key stationery products (letterhead, envelopes, invoices, statements, and so on) in a safe location. That way, if your main location is suddenly unavailable, you don’t have to wait a week to get new letterhead or invoices printed.

  
  



• Hard copy files: Keep a backup copy of important printed material (customer billing files, sales records, and so on) at an alternate location.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/network-administration-developing-a-business-conti.html

Visual Voice Mail on the Droid Bionic

A better option than carrier voice mail for your Droid Bionic is something Verizon calls Visual Voice Mail. It’s an app that lets you organize and listen to your messages in an interactive way, similar to e-mail. The only drawback to using Visual Voice Mail is that it costs extra. You must subscribe to the service, which runs about $2.99 per month.

Setting up Visual Voice Mail

To configure Visual Voice Mail to work on your Droid Bionic, first set up carrier voice mail. Visual Voice Mail is simply an interface into your existing carrier voice mail.

After you get carrier voice mail up and running, and especially after you set your password or PIN, touch the Launcher button to pop up the list of all apps installed on your phone. You want to start the Voicemail app and then touch the button Subscribe to Visual Voice Mail. Follow the directions on the screen to sign up and subscribe to the service.

You have to input your existing voice mail PIN to proceed, which is why you want to first set up carrier voice mail. You may also be required to install a new update to the Voicemail app.

Accessing Visual Voice Mail

Visual Voice Mail serves as your access to all voice mail left on your phone. After Visual Voice Mail is configured (see the preceding section), you never need to dial carrier voice mail again. Simply pull down the Visual Voice Mail notification, or start the Voicemail app and all your messages are instantly available on the screen.

When new voice mail arrives, you see the Visual Voice Mail notification icon, with the number of new messages shown in the icon. To access your messages, pull down the notifications and choose New Voicemail. You see your voice mail inbox, which lists all pending messages. Also shown are any messages you’ve already listened to but haven’t deleted.

Use the controls in the Visual Voice Mail app to listen to messages, call someone back, and otherwise manage your voice mail, similar to the way you manage messages in your e-mail program.

Visual Voice Mail uses the same greeting that was set when you first configured carrier voice mail. To change the greeting, you have to dial carrier voice mail and follow the menus.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/visual-voice-mail-on-the-droid-bionic.html

Maintenance Schedule for Your Saltwater Aquarium

To keep the fish and other marine life in your saltwater aquarium happy and healthy, you have to do some basic maintenance. Some tasks you need to do every day without fail; other jobs you do weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. And every three months you need to conduct a thorough examination of all aquarium systems, including lighting, heating, filtration, aeration pumps, and tubing. Replace or clean parts as needed.

The following table shows the tasks to do on a continuing basis:

Every Day	Once a Week	Every Two Weeks	Every Month
Turn the query lights on and off. Most aquarists prefer to use an automatic timer. If you choose not to, try to turn the lights on and off in a consistent pattern.	Remove excess algae	Clean filters as needed. Partially change or rinse the filter media on some filters, if the bioload is high, the media is dirty, or the flow is restricted.	Conduct thorough filter checks. Replace the filter carbon and rinse the filter media and components, as needed and depending on bioload.
Check for fish and invertebrates for signs of stress, diseased, or death. Be prepared to remove or treat fish that aren’t well.	Clean the glass	Change twenty percent of the tank water while vacuuming the gravel.	Clean the protein skimmer.
Feed the fishes and invertebrates twice a day, removing any uneaten food.	Conduct water tests weekly after the water matures and the nitrogen cycle is established. Record all test results and add trace elements and buffers.		Replace air stones as needed.
Conduct water tests until the water matures and the nitrogen cycle is established. Routine tests include ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. Record the test results.	Remove excess algae.		Clean the outside of the aquarium, removing salt and calcium deposits, dust, and dirt.
Check the water temperature and specific gravity or salinity. Adjust the heater as needed.			Rinse any tape decorations that suffer from excess algae.
Empty the protein skimmer collection cup as needed.
Check the water level and top off as needed.
Check all aquarium systems: heater, filters, aerators, protein skimmer. Make sure they’re running properly and smoothly and pay special attention to intakes and siphon tubes. Make sure nothing is leaking.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/maintenance-schedule-for-your-saltwater-aquarium.html

Daily Care for Your Microphones

After investing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in microphones for your home recording studio, you probably want to know how to take care of them properly. A good microphone lasts a lifetime. Take care of your mics, and they’ll give you years of service.

The most important thing to keep in mind when using your microphones is to resist the temptation to blow into them. You’ve probably seen someone on stage blow into a mic and yell “Test” to see whether it is working. And you figure that’s how the pros must check their mics.

Well, it isn’t. Blowing into a mic is a sure way to literally blow out the diaphragm in some mics, especially those expensive ribbon mics. To determine whether a mic is working, just speak into it in a normal voice.

You don’t need to blow or yell into any mic unless, of course, your singer’s style is to yell into the mic and you’re trying to set the input level. In this case, offer him or her your trusty dynamic mic and keep that expensive ribbon mic hidden.

Another thing to remember when handling your mics is that they can be fragile. Condenser and ribbon mics don’t survive rough handling well. In fact, if you drop a condenser or ribbon mic, you may break it (this is another good reason to have a sturdy stand).

Dynamic mics, on the other hand, are more durable, which is why they are often used for live applications and on drums. (It’s not uncommon for an overzealous drummer to whack them by accident.)

Try to keep your mics away from dust and high humidity. Dust is probably the number one enemy of a microphone because the dust can settle on the diaphragm and reduce the sensitivity of the mic — and even alter its frequency response. Always cover your mics or put them away when you’re not using them.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/daily-care-for-your-microphones.html

How to Preserve Leftover Wine

8 of 9 in Series:
The Essentials of Serving and Storing Wine

How can you preserve leftover wine if you don't finish the bottle? The best method of preserving wine varies depending on the type of wine and how much is left in the bottle.

A sparkling-wine stopper, a device that fits over an opened bottle, is really effective in keeping any remaining Champagne or sparkling wine fresh (often for several days) in the refrigerator.

What do you do when you have red or white wine left in the bottle? You can put the cork back in the bottle if it still fits, and put the bottle into the refrigerator. (Even red wines will stay fresher there; just take the bottle out to warm up about an hour before serving it.)

Four other methods are also reliable in keeping your remaining wine from oxidizing; these techniques are all the more effective if you put the bottle in the fridge after using them:

• If you have about half a bottle of wine left, simply pour the wine into a clean, empty half-sized wine bottle and recork the smaller bottle. You might want to buy a few wines in half-bottles, just to make sure that you have the empty half-bottles around.

  
  



• Use a handy, inexpensive, miniature pump called a Vac-U-Vin in most wine stores. This pump removes oxygen from the bottle, and the rubber stoppers that come with it prevent additional oxygen from entering the bottle. It’s supposed to keep your wine fresh for up to a week, but it may not always work that well.

  
  



• Buy small cans of inert gas in some wine stores. Just squirt a few shots of the gas into the bottle through a skinny straw, which comes with the can, and put the cork back in the bottle. The gas displaces the oxygen in the bottle, thus protecting the wine from oxidizing. Private Preserve is a good brand, and highly recommended.

  
  



• A device called WineSavor is a flexible plastic disk that you roll up and insert down the bottle’s neck. Once inside the bottle, the disk opens up and floats on top of the wine, blocking the wine from oxygen.

  
  

To avoid all this bother, just drink the wine! Or, if you’re not too fussy, just place the leftover wine in the refrigerator and drink it in the next day or two — before it goes into a coma.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-preserve-leftover-wine.html

AutoCAD 2010 Drawing Scale and Limits Charts: Feet and Inches

AutoCAD 2010 helps you design nearly anything you can think of, but you do have to recognize some limits. The following table shows limits for drawing scales from 1/16 of an inch to 3 inches to a foot:

Drawing Scale	8-1/2" x 11"	11" x 17"	24" x 36"	30" x 42"	36" x 48"
1/16" = 1'–0"	136' x 176'	176' x 272'	384' x 576'	480' x 672'	576' x 768'
1/8" = 1'–0"	68' x 88'	88' x 136'	192' x 288'	240' x 336'	288' x 384'
1/4" = 1'–0"	34' x 44'	44' x 68'	96' x 144'	120' x 168'	144' x 192'
1/2" = 1'–0"	17' x 22'	22' x 34'	48' x 72'	60' x 84'	72' x 96'
3/4" = 1'–0"	11'–4" x 14'–8"	14'–8" x 22'–8"	32' x 48'	40' x 56'	48' x 64'
1" = 1'–0"	8'–6" x 11'	11' x 17'	24' x 36'	30' x 42'	36' x 48'
1-1/2" = 1'–0"	5'–8" x 7'–4"	7'–4" x 11'–4"	16' x 24'	20' x 28'	24' x 32'
3" = 1'–0"	2'–10" x 3'–8"	3'–8" x 5'–8"	8' x 12'	10' x 14'	12' x 16'

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/autocad-2010-drawing-scale-and-limits-charts-feet-.html

What Are Estate and Trust Gift and Generation-Skipping Taxes?

7 of 7 in Series:
The Essentials of Taxes for Estates and Trusts

As the administrator or an estate or trust, be aware of the gift tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax. Large transfers made during lifetime, may be subject to the gift tax. To pay the gift tax, file Form 709. The generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) applies when property moves from one generation to another, skipping intermediate generations along the way. To pay the GST, file either Form 709 or Form 706.

Estate and trust gift tax

Large transfers made during lifetime (what a way to say “a gift”) may be subject to the gift tax, one of the group of transfer taxes that also features the estate tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax. If transfers are made into a trust during the grantor’s lifetime, those transfers may be subject to the gift tax and filing Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.

Generation-skipping transfer tax

The generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) is assessed when property moves from one generation to another, skipping intermediate generations along the way.

• Property that goes from a grandparent (or grandparent’s estate) to a grandchild (or in trust for the benefit of a grandchild) is subject to this tax, provided that the grandchild’s parent is still alive at the time the transfer is made.

  
  



• Property transferred between unrelated people who are more than 37 1/2 years apart in age is also subject to the generation-skipping transfer tax.

  
  

Unlike the estate tax, which is only assessed after the decedent’s death, and the gift tax, which only comes into play while the donor is still alive, the generation-skipping transfer tax may be assessed either during the donor’s lifetime or after his or her death.

The generation-skipping transfer tax is assessed in addition to, not instead of, the estate or gift tax. It generally equals the amount of transfer tax that would’ve been generated had the property made all the generational steps, not just the skipping ones.

Depending on whether this tax is being assessed for a gift made during the donor’s lifetime or for a bequest or devise made after death, the GST is calculated either on Form 709, U.S. Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return or Form 706, U.S. Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-are-estate-and-trust-gift-and-generationskipp.html

What Are the Office Web Apps?

The "Office" portion of the name "Office Web Apps" comes from Microsoft's famous Office software. The Office Web Apps are online versions of four popular Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Respectively, the Office Web Apps are called Word Web App, Excel Web App, PowerPoint Web App, and OneNote Web App.

If you're familiar with Office software, the Office Web Apps won't look entirely new to you. But the Office Web Apps don't offer nearly as many functions and features as their Office counterparts.

The "Web App" portion of the name "Office Web Apps" stands for Web application. A Web application is a software program that runs from a Web site on the Internet, not from a computer's hard disk.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-are-the-office-web-apps.html

Raising Equity in a Corporation by Issuing Stock Shares

When raising equity capital, a corporation issues stock ownership shares to persons who invest money in the business. These ownership shares are documented by stock certificates, which state the name of the owner and how many shares are owned.

The corporation has to keep a register of how many shares everyone owns, of course. (An owner can be an individual, another corporation, or any other legal entity.) Actually, many public corporations use an independent agency to maintain their ownership records.

In some situations stock shares are issued in book entry form, which means you get a formal letter (not a fancy engraved stock certificate) attesting to the fact that you own so many shares. Your legal ownership is recorded in the official “books,” or stock registry of the business.

The owners of a corporation are called stockholders because they own stock shares issued by the corporation. The stock shares are negotiable, meaning the owner can sell them at any time to anyone willing to buy them without having to get the approval of the corporation or other stockholders.

Stockholders own shares of public corporations or private businesses:

• Publicly owned corporations are those whose stock shares are traded in public markets, such as the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. There is a ready market for the buying and selling of the stock shares.

  
  



• The stockholders of a private business have the right to sell their shares, although they may enter into a binding agreement restricting this right.

  
  

  For example, suppose you own 20,000 of the 100,000 stock shares issued by the business. So, you have 20 percent of the voting power in the business. You may agree to offer your shares to the other shareowners before offering the shares to someone outside the present group of stockholders. Or, you may agree to offer the business the right to buy back the shares. In these ways, the continuing stockholders of the business control who owns the stock shares.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/raising-equity-in-a-corporation-by-issuing-stock-s.html

Set-Up and Follow-Up Transactions for Revenue and Expenses

Set-up and follow-up transactions are supporting transactions for the profit-making activities of a business that take place before or after revenue and expenses are recorded. These set-up and follow-up transactions are necessary, as you can see in the following examples:

• Buying products for inventory (the goods are held in inventory until they’re sold and delivered to customers)

  
  



• Collecting receivables from customers

  
  



• Paying liabilities for products, supplies, and services that were bought on credit

  
  



• Paying certain expenses in advance, such as for insurance policies, shipping containers, and office supplies

  
  

Profit-making activities are reported in the income statement, and investing and financing activities are reported in the statement of cash flows. In contrast, set-up and follow-up transactions for revenue and expenses aren’t reported in a financial statement.

These housekeeping activities have financial consequences and must be recorded in the accounts of a business. Although no revenue or expense account is involved in recording these activities, these transactions change assets and liabilities.

As an example, a business purchases fire insurance on its building and contents. The insurance policy covers the next six months. The business writes a check for $25,000 to the insurance company. Also, the business recently purchased $328,000 of products for inventory on credit. The products were delivered to the company’s warehouse, and after inspection, the company accepted the products.

The journal entries for the two transactions are as follows:

Account	Debit	Credit
Prepaid Expenses	$25,000
Cash		$25,000

The cost of insurance policies is entered in the asset account called prepaid expenses. Over the six months of insurance coverage, the cost is allocated to insurance expense. The payment for the insurance policy decreases one asset (cash) and increases another asset (prepaid expenses).

Account	Debit	Credit
Inventory	$328,000
Accounts Payable		$328,000

The purchase of products doesn’t result in an expense; rather, the transaction is the acquisition of an asset called inventory. The cost of products remains in the asset account until the products are sold to customers, at which time the cost of goods sold expense is recorded, and the asset inventory is decreased. Because the purchase was made on credit, the liability accounts payable is credited (increased). When this liability is paid later, the account is debited (decreased), and cash is decreased.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/setup-and-followup-transactions-for-revenue-and-ex.html

Rebalance Your ETF Portfolio

There are circumstances where it makes sense to trade ETFs rather than buy and hold. For example, you need to rebalance your portfolio, typically on an annual basis, to keep risk in check

Few investors walked away from 2008 smelling like a rose. But those who were slammed, truly slammed, were those who had more on the stock side of their portfolios than they should have. It happens, and it happens especially after bull markets, such as we saw in the several years prior to 2008.

Let’s take the case of Samantha. In 2003, when she was 50 years old, she sat down and looked at her financial situation and goals. She determined that she warranted a 60/40 (60 percent stock/40 percent bond) portfolio and duly crafted a darned good one.

But then she got lazy. She held that portfolio without touching it through the stock market boom years of 2003 through 2007. As a result, her portfolio morphed from a 60/40 mix to a 70/30 mix by the start of 2008.

Uh oh.

In other words, just when the market tanked, just when she could have really used the ballast that bonds provide, her lopsided portfolio, due to neglect, was primed for disaster.

The stock market fell by about 37 percent, and her 70 percent stock portfolio fell by about a quarter. That’s a big fall. And to add insult to injury, just when stocks hit rock bottom, she had no “dry powder” (cash) with which to reload her stock portfolio.

It is in large part to prevent such big falls, and lack of “dry powder,” that you need to rebalance. That is, on a regular basis, you need to do exactly the opposite of what most investors do: You need to sell off some of your winners and buy up the losers.

By doing so, not only do you cap your risk, but studies show that you will juice your returns. By systematically buying low and selling high, you may, over the long run, increase your average annual returns by as much as 1.5 percent. That’s not a bad return at all for an exercise that shouldn’t take you more than a couple hours!

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/rebalance-your-etf-portfolio.html

Four Painters You Can Learn From

You already know famous painters like Leonardo da Vinci, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Claude Monet; well, here are four well-known artists that you may not be so familiar with. Look them all up and don't pass over any just because you don't like to paint the same subject matter. Be like a sponge and soak up what they can teach you.

Rene Magritte (1898–1967)

Belgian artist Rene Magritte (ma-GREET) was a Surrealist like Salvador Dali. Dali painted eerie landscapes with melting clocks. On the other hand, Magritte combined unrelated objects and ideas in creative, unusual ways. Locomotives emerge from living room fireplaces; cloned men in bowler hats seem to rain from the sky. He created mysterious paintings that seem like dream images.

Magritte's paintings are imaginative and innovative. He used color masterfully to make solid, realistic forms and establish moods that range from fun and lighthearted to dark and sinister. Looking at how he combined images in creative ways can help you boost your own creative abilities.

Mary Cassatt (1844–1926)

Mary Cassatt (ca-SAHT) was an American painter associated with the French Impressionists. Because she was female, she didn't have the same freedoms to move about as her male colleagues did, so she painted scenes of home life. Her paintings are peopled with members of her family going about their daily routines. She's especially known for the tender manner in which she painted children.

When you look at her work, pay particular attention to her colors. Look at the overall color composition. Also look at the colors she used in light and shadowed areas of flesh tones or in the folds of fabrics.

Jan Vermeer (1632–1675)

Jan Vermeer (ver-MEER) lived and worked in the same era as his more-famous colleague, Rembrandt van Rijn. Dutch painters of that time specialized in painting specific kinds of images, called genres. Vermeer specialized in domestic scenes, but he painted a couple of beautiful landscapes, as well.

Vermeer is interesting because of the patterns of light and dark in his paintings and his use of color to create mood. The patterns in his paintings are so strong that you could reduce many of his paintings to just pattern and still have beautiful, abstract artworks.

Wolf Kahn (b. 1927)

Wolf Kahn is a German-born American who paints landscapes that straddle the line between realism and abstraction. They look like landscapes, but they emphasize fields of color rather than details.

He studied under Hans Hoffman, whose ideas about color have guided many contemporary artists. The colors in Kahn's paintings relate to the natural colors in the environment, but they're much stronger than the colors you see when you actually look at the environment. For example, subtle violet shadows become strikingly electric under his hand.

When you look at Kahn's work, examine the shape and color choices he made. His shapes are similar to those you might make if you were working from general to specific but stopped before you developed the specifics. He keeps his colors fresh and immediate without overworking or muting them too much.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/four-painters-you-can-learn-from.html

Watch Trends to Find Lucrative eBay Selling Opportunities

Taking advantage of market trends is a great way to make money on eBay. You can find all kinds of inside information from newspapers, magazines, television, and of course, the Internet. Believe it or not, you can even find out what people are interested in these days by bribing a kid. Keep your eyes and ears open. When people say, “Harry Potter stuff is all over the place,” instead of nodding your head vacantly, start getting ideas.

In newspapers

Newspapers are bombarded by press releases and information from companies the world over. Look for stories about celebrities and upcoming movies and see whether any old fads are making a comeback (you can sell items as retro chic).

Read the accounts from trade conventions, such as the New York Toy Fair or the Consumer Electronics show. New products are introduced and given the thumbs up or down by journalists. Use the information to help determine the direction of your area of expertise.

On television

No matter what you think of television, it has an enormous effect on which trends come and go and which ones stick. Why else would advertisers sink billions of dollars into TV commercials? For example, one Oprah appearance for an author can turn a book into an overnight bestseller. Tune in to morning news shows and afternoon talk shows. The producers of these shows are on top of pop culture and move fast to be the first to bring you the next big thing. Take what they feature and think of a marketing angle. If you don’t, you can be sure somebody else will.

Catch up with youth culture . . .

. . . or at least keep good tabs on it. If you remember cranking up The Beatles, James Brown, or The Partridge Family (say what?) until your parents screamed, “Shut that awful noise off,” you may be at that awkward time of life when you hardly see the appeal of what young people are doing or listening to. But if you want tips for hot auction items, tolerate the awful noise and listen to the kids around you. Children, especially preteens and teens, may be the best trend-spotters on the planet.

Check out magazines

Magazines geared to the 18-to-34 age group (and sometimes to younger teens) can help you stay on top of what’s hot. See what the big companies are pitching to this target audience (and whether they’re succeeding). If a celebrity is suddenly visible in every other headline or magazine, be on the lookout for merchandise relating to that person.

Visit social Web sites

So, you say you haven’t been to MySpace or Facebook, and you haven’t started to Twitter? Wow, you’re living in the days of black-and-white television! Social networking is the place to be. The “social Web” as it’s called, is branded with the top of the top — the most happening things and products. Visit these sites and you’ll soon discover what the “cool kids” are doing now.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/watch-trends-to-find-lucrative-ebay-selling-opport.html

Quit GeoMaster on the TI-84 Plus Calculator

You can use either a clean way or a dirty way of quitting the GeoMaster application on the TI-84 Plus calculator. The clean way truly terminates GeoMaster, without saving your work; the dirty way leaves GeoMaster running in the background. When you re-start GeoMaster after a dirty exit, your work will be the way you left it — provided you don’t run any other applications in the interim.

Before performing a clean exit from GeoMaster, you may want to save your work since this type of exit eradicates anything that you have not saved. A clean exit is achieved by using the Quit command in GeoMaster’s File menu ([Y=][6][1]).

A dirty exit, which leaves GeoMaster running in the background, is achieved by pressing [2nd][MODE] or any other key combination that sends you elsewhere — such as [MODE] which sends you to the Mode menu. After performing a dirty exit, you re-enter GeoMaster by pressing [GRAPH] or [APPS][2]. To reinstate the menu headings at the bottom of the screen, press [GRAPH] or [ALPHA].

When you start GeoMaster, the application removes the highlights from all equal signs in the Y= editor so that no function will be graphed when you press the [GRAPH] key to, for example, display GeoMaster’s menu bar. It also resets the viewing window. When you exit GeoMaster, the application leaves all the equal signs in the Y= editor not highlighted and does not return the viewing window to its previous settings.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/quit-geomaster-on-the-ti84-plus-calculator.html

For Seniors: Watch Movies Online from Your Laptop

You can watch movies on your laptop through various sources such as YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu. Online videos are streamed to your laptop through your Internet connection. With streaming, bits of the video you wish to play are sent through the Internet (streamed) to your computer and played immediately, without waiting for the entire movie to download.

The plus side of video streaming is that you can watch videos — many of which are free — without overloading your laptop’s memory. The negative side is that, depending on your Internet connection, streaming can be less than smooth. When this happens, the video replay may be jerky, full of artifacts, and you may see a message that the video is still buffering.

Try out YouTube and Hulu as a starting point. YouTube is made up of people who want to share their shorter video clips, from the guy next door to movie studios and news stations. Hulu offers many movies and TV shows for free, or you can get a paid subscription to access more content.

Either service will give you a taste of how well your connection will deliver video to your laptop. Just go to their websites, use the search feature to find a video, and then double-click a video to play it.

Amazon.com recently added a lot of free instant video content to its Amazon Prime membership. If you pay the yearly fee for Amazon Prime — which gives you unlimited second-day free shipping on anything you buy on the site, you also get the free video content. If you buy much at all each year from the online retailer, this works out to be a great deal.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/for-seniors-watch-movies-online-from-your-laptop.html

Coaching & Mentoring For Dummies

Forget tired old management techniques that enforce a strict hierarchy. The way to engage employees is to actively coach and mentor them. Make meetings lively and purposeful and employees engaged and committed to the team and the company. Successful coaching and mentoring incorporates company, team, and individual goals to meet the objectives of each.

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The Goals of Coaching and Mentoring Your Employees

Coaching and mentoring is the modern, effective way to get the most from your employees — and to keep them committed to your company. The following list contains ten outcomes that coaching looks to achieve. When you coach your team, you’re aiming to make these ten outcomes happen.

• Drive performance results that meet the needs of the group and the business.

  
  



• Build high levels of employee commitment.

  
  



• Develop employee skills and abilities.

  
  



• Challenge employees to perform to their best and as self-sufficiently as possible.

  
  



• Increase productivity by maximizing your resources.

  
  



• Build constructive working relationships with your staff.

  
  



• Maximize the use of your time so that you can have the greatest impact.

  
  



• Provide leadership to encourage progress not only today, but also in the future.

  
  



• Reinforce quality performance and employee accountability.

  
  



• Make your life as a manager just a little bit easier.

  
  

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How to Organize an Employee Coaching Meeting

If you want your employees to get the most out of your coaching and mentoring, you have to make it a collaborative effort through two-way conversation. The idea is to spend quality time with your staff; that is, to make the time together count so that your employees go back to the job ready to perform better and more self-sufficiently.

Following is a list of questions that helps you plan and organize your one-on-one coaching meeting with staff members to maximize your time together:

• What is the objective for the meeting?

  
  



• What is the positive outcome you’re seeking for this meeting?

  
  



• What do you, the manager, need to be prepared to do at the meeting?

  
  



• What do you want your employee to come prepared to do?

  
  



• What is the plan or agenda for the session that will encourage employee participation?

  
  



• How will this meeting help the employee perform better or more self-sufficiently in the future?

  
  



• What follow-up should be set?

  
  

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Tips for Successful Employee Coaching and Mentoring

Coaching and mentoring your employees requires a continuous effort to make it a part of your management practices. Use the tips in the following list to help incorporate coaching and mentoring techniques into your management practices:

• Delegate: Articulate the results you want to see, set parameters, determine what support the employee needs, and set times to conduct progress reviews along the way.

  
  



• Give performance feedback. : State what you observe, be specific and direct, show sincerity, and communicate face-to-face for both positive and negative performance efforts.

  
  



• Motivate employee performance: Give timely recognition for a job well done and provide favorable assignments that challenge your staff and meet business needs at the same time.

  
  



• Mentor employee growth: Pass on words of wisdom that guide behavior for success and ask employees for ideas to make improvements and solve problems.

  
  



• Focus employee performance: Collaboratively set goals with action plans that define the key steps for achieving the goals.

  
  



• Set meaningful goals: Define the results that need to be achieved and how the goals will be measured.

  
  



• Assess employee performance: Don’t wait for the annual review. Meet one-on-one with each staff person at least once per quarter to review performance; adjust plans accordingly to keep priorities current.

  
  



• Aid career development: Collaboratively set plans that define how employees will prepare themselves — from training to work assignments — to grow in their skills and capabilities.

  
  



• Deliver training: Give step-by-step instruction a that involves your employee doing the skills or procedures in a hands-on way.

  
  



• Reinforce good performance: Catch employees doing quality work and demonstrating positive behaviors with the same effort that you catch them when performance doesn’t go as well as needed.

  
  

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/coaching-mentoring-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Quilting For Dummies

Quilting results in pieces prized for both usefulness and beauty. The long history of quilting offers ages-old tips, and modern technology throws in some shortcuts, if you want to take them. But the lingo hasn’t changed very much and tips for choosing quilting fabric remain practical as well as creative. Knowing how to apply common fabric yardages to quilting is useful, and so is having a list of all the materials that go into a finished quilt.

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Quilt Shopping List

Much of the fun of starting a new quilt comes from planning the shopping trip to get the supplies you need. Even if you’re using fabric scraps you already have, you may need to find some complementary material, and you’ll probably need backing and batting at least. Use the following list as a reminder of all the ingredients that go into a finished quilt:

• Quilt pattern of choice

  
  



• Fabrics for your quilt

  
  



• Batting for the filler

  
  



• Backing fabric that’s 2–3 inches larger all around than the finished quilt size

  
  



• All-purpose thread for piecing and assembly

  
  



• Specialty threads for appliqué projects

  
  



• All-purpose or monofilament thread for machine quilting

  
  



• Fabric scissors (dressmakers’ shears are perfect)

  
  



• Rotary cutter, ruler, and self-healing mat for rotary-cut patterns

  
  



• Thimbles and finger protectors for hand quilting

  
  



• Quilting hoop or stand for hand quilting

  
  



• Walking or even-feed foot for machine quilting

  
  



• Free motion foot (darning foot) for free motion quilting

  
  



• Templates for hand or machine quilting

  
  



• Enough bias quilt binding to go completely around the quilt plus 6 extra inches for overlap

  
  



• Quilters’ pins

  
  



• Glue stick for holding appliqués in place

  
  



• Seam ripper and needle threader, just in case

  
  

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Common Fabric Yardage Cuts for Quilting

If you’re quilting, you’re dealing with fabric and yardages. The following chart is a useful tool to have on hand when you’re purchasing fabric yardage. You can also refer to this chart when pulling fabrics from your own stash to make sure you have enough of your fabric of choice. (Measurements are based on the standard 44-or 45-inch fabric width.)

Be sure to measure any large templates you plan to use so you don’t purchase a piece of fabric that’s too narrow for the task.

Yardage Cut	Size In Inches	Size In Centimeters
1/8 yd	4.5 x 44 in	11.4 x 111.8 cm
Fat eighth	18 x 11 in	45.7 x 27.9 cm
1/4 yd	9 x 44 in	22.9 x 111.8 cm
Fat quarter	18 x 22 in	45.7 x 55.9 cm
1/3 yd	12 x 44 in	30.5 x 111.8 cm
1/2 yd	18 x 44 in	45.7 x 111.8 cm
2/3 yd	24 x 44 in	61.0 x 111.8 cm
3/4 yd	27 x 44 in	68.6 x 111.8 cm
1 yd	36 x 44 in	91.4 x 111.8 cm

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How to Select Fabric for Quilting

A quilt is all about the fabric used to make it. Sure there’s batting and backing, but the design and integrity of a quilt comes from the fabrics you choose to compose it. Use the tips in the following list when choosing fabrics for your latest quilt or for your stash of materials for future quilts:

• Always purchase 100 percent cotton fabric for your quilts. Avoid anything that has polyester fibers. Cotton handles beautifully, holds a crease well, and isn’t slippery between your fingers. It’s also the traditional choice for quilting.

  
  



• Select fabrics that compliment each other rather than clash. For example, if you choose a large-scale floral as the focal point of your quilt, complement it with two or three smaller print fabrics that don’t compete for visual attention with the large print. Also, choose colors that are similar to the ones used in the larger print.

  
  



• Be adventurous. Sticking to all small-scale prints makes a quilt look like it’s made from solid fabrics when viewed from a distance. Varying the scale of the fabric designs adds interest from both near and far.

  
  



• Try something out of the ordinary now and then. Mix things up by experimenting with woven plaids or warm, fuzzy quilter’s flannels. You can even mix flannels with regular cotton fabrics; in fact, flannel quilt backs are wonderfully cozy!

  
  



• When in doubt, choose fabrics from the same collection. Fabric manufacturers do the work for you so by creating collections of fabric in different colors and print scales meant to be used together so you can rest assured that everything works well together. In addition, sometimes store personnel assemble collections that go well together, just to give you some extra ideas to ponder.

  
  



• Pop your fabric into the washing machine as soon as you get home, then dry and press it before storing. Taking care of this prep work early on guarantees that the fabrics in your stash are always ready to use when inspiration strikes.

  
  

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Quilting Lingo

Hang out in a fabric store long enough and you’re bound to hear some quilting lingo that you may or may not be able to translate. To help you feel more comfortable and in-the-know, here’s a quick rundown of “quilt-bonics”:

• Appliquéd quilt: A quilt made of fabric shapes stitched to a foundation piece of fabric to create a design.

  
  



• Backing: The fabric used for the back side of the quilt — the bottom-most layer.

  
  



• Basting: Using large, easy-to-remove stitches to hold the layers of a quilt in place. You remove basting stitches after you complete the quilting design.

  
  



• Batting: The filling that makes a quilt warm and wonderful.

  
  



• Binding: The bias-cut trim used to conceal, or bind, the raw edges of a quilt. Bindings come premade, or you can make them yourself.

  
  



• Charm quilt: A pieced or appliquéd quilt in which many different fabrics are used and don’t appear more than twice. Bundles of charm squares are often exchanged at quilting guilds so that quilters can collect a wide assortment of fabrics.

  
  



• Conversation prints: Also known as novelty prints, these fabrics often have large-scale or unusual designs.

  
  



• Directional prints: Fabrics that have an obvious one-direction design, such as a stripe or floral bouquet with a north-south orientation.

  
  



• Fat quarter: This fabric cut measures 18 x 22 inches, giving you a more usable space than you have with a standard 1/4-yard cut of fabric (which would be long and skinny at 9 x 44 inches).

  
  



• Fat eighth: This fabric cut is a fat quarter cut in half to measure 18 x 11 inches. Fat eighths are handy when you need just a small amount of fabric.

  
  



• Fussy-cut: A pattern piece that has been cut to accommodate a specific design in the fabric. An example is centering a floral bouquet in the middle of a square to show it off in the finished block.

  
  



• Loft: The thickness of batting. Low-loft is a flatter, less fluffy batting than high-loft, which is very fluffy and plush.

  
  



• Long-arm quilting machine: You’re likely to find this special machine in a lot of quilting shops. Its sole purpose is to machine quilt an assembled quilt. If you don’t want to quilt your project yourself, many shops (and a good number of individuals) will quilt it for you for a fee using these machines.

  
  



• Muslin: Plain cotton fabric that’s either unbleached or bleached white. It can be used as a backing or in the quilt top.

  
  



• Pieced quilt: A quilt made of pieces that have been cut and stitched together to form a new design.

  
  



• Quilt top: The topmost layer of the quilt; it features piecing or appliqué designs.

  
  



• Strip quilting: Stitching strips of fabric together and cutting the multi-colored strip into pieces to create a new design.

  
  



• Subcut: Cutting an already cut piece into many smaller pieces.

  
  



• Templates: Premade plastic or acrylic pattern pieces or paper patterns mounted onto cardstock and used to trace shapes onto fabric for cutting.

  
  

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/quilting-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Understand M&A Personality Types to Improve Your Negotiations

Regardless of whether you’re buying or selling in an M&A transaction, one helpful trick for getting deals done is to assess the personality of your negotiating counterpart. You’re liable to run across the following types of people:

• The highly motivated: This person has to get a deal done or he’s doomed. He’s so desperate to do a deal that he may — strike that, will — leave dollars on the table.

  
  



• The ruler-of-the-universe business magnate: He’s from Experienced, Wily, and Cagey, Ltd.; he’s made countless deals and knows exactly what he’s doing. If you find yourself matched against this person, look out. The worst thing you can do is to turn into the highly motivated (see the preceding bullet); you’ll get your clock cleaned.

  
  



• The know-it-all who’s never sold a company: This person is one of the potential problem children of the M&A world. Quite often, he’s an expert in one field and thus thinks he’s an expert in everything.

  
  

  The best way to counteract this type of person is by asking questions, reasoning, and getting him to explain his point of view. Avoid simply saying “no” if you don’t like his proposal. Challenge him. Your only hope of changing this person’s mind is getting him to change it himself.

  
  



• Mr. Irrational: Mr. Irrational is the insane twin of the know-it-all, except without the strong logic skills. As a result, employing logic and reason doesn’t work. An irrational person is difficult to work with, so your ability to get a deal done is limited.

  
  

  Give it your best shot and then walk away when the proceedings begin to get petty and frustrating. Interestingly enough, these irrational people often come to their senses after the heat of the battle fades. Don’t fuel their irrationality with endless negotiating and discussions.

  
  



• The earnest first-timer: The country cousin of the know-it-all and Mr. Irrational, this person is so intent on doing everything letter-perfectly that he misses the proverbial forest for the trees. Work to get this person to do as you want, or he’ll end up irritating you to no end.

  
  



• The professional: Typically, this type is the best person to work with. He’s a deal pro who’s been around the block many times, leaves emotion out of the negotiation, and works to close a deal on mutually beneficial terms.

  
  



• The chronic negotiator: This exhausting individual negotiates and fights for excruciatingly minor details over and over again. Although attention to detail is important and worth the hassle, endlessly negotiating those details eventually evokes the law of diminishing returns — you put in more time for smaller and smaller advancements. At some point the nit-picky details aren’t worth the hassle. This person blasts through that point.

  
  



• The renegotiator: Don’t confuse this person with the chronic negotiator (though the same person can be both). This guy’s MO is to wait until the deal is seemingly done before asking (or demanding) that you change the terms.

  
  

  Don’t give in; changing the deal at the last minute comes back to haunt you because you may be needlessly agreeing to concessions. Don’t let the rush of closing a deal cloud your decision-making.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understand-ma-personality-types-to-improve-your-ne.html

How to Set Up Your Mac OS X Snow Leopard Wired Network

After you collect the hardware components you need — the computers, cables, switch, and NIC card — to physically create a wired network with your Mac, you’re ready to connect computers and create a network. Here’s a quick list of things to do to get your Mac OS X Snow Leopard network fired up:

1. 
   

   Find the best location for placing your switch.

   
   

   To keep costs down, try to place the switch in a location close to a power outlet that’s centrally located so that you can use the least amount of cable. If cost isn’t an issue, hide the unit in a closet and just run all the cables along the walls to the hub or switch. And if cost really isn’t an issue, get your house fully wired with Cat5E cable.

   
   


2. 
   

   Plug the switch into the power socket.

   
   

   Some switches come on automatically when you plug them in and can never be turned off. Others have a power switch that you need to turn on the first time that you plug them in.

   
   


3. 
   

   Verify that the switch is working by looking at the lights on the front. Check the manual that came with the switch to see what light configuration is normal for that particular unit.

   
   

   Until you have computers or printers attached to it, you might just have a status light that shows the switch is powered on. But if the lights on your unit don’t match up with what the manual says, you could have a bum unit that you need to return.

   
   


4. 
   

   Verify that all your devices are near enough to the switch to be connected by your cables; then turn them all on.

   
   


5. 
   

   Get one of your Cat5E or Cat6 cables and connect one cable from the Ethernet jack on your computer, usually on the side or back, to an open port on the switch.

   
   

   You should see a link light or speed light come on that verifies that the two devices sense each other. (You might also have a link light on your NIC where you plug in the cable, but that depends on the Mac you’re using.)

   
   


6. 
   

   Repeat Step 5 until each device is attached to the switch.

   
   

Congratulations, you’re a network technician! (Don’t forget to call your friends and brag.) The first phase of the network, the physical connection, is complete; the next step is the configuration of Mac OS X.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-set-up-your-wired-network.html

The Dreamweaver CS5 Files Panel

The Files panel is a handy feature in Dreamweaver CS5. Use the Files panel to select the site you want to work on and to synchronize a sites files between your computer and your Web site hosting service. In the following figure, features on the Dreamweaver CS5 Files panel are labeled so you can find the one you need quickly and easily.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-dreamweaver-cs5-files-panel.html

Droid Bionic: Change Various Screen and Call Settings

Here are a smattering of settings you can adjust on the phone — all made from, logically, the Settings screen. To get there from the Home screen, press the Menu soft button and choose the Settings command.

You can also view the Settings screen by choosing the Settings app from the App menu.

• Screen brightness: Choose Display and then choose Brightness. The Automatic Brightness setting uses the phone’s magical light sensor to determine how bright it is where you are. If you disable this setting, you can move the slider on the screen to specify how bright the display appears.




• Screen timeout: Choose Display and then choose Screen Timeout. Select a time-out value from the list. This duration specifies when the phone goes into Snooze mode.




• Ringer volume: Choose Sound and then choose Volume. Use the sliders to specify how loud the phone rings for incoming calls (ringtones) and media and alarms. If you place a check mark by the Notifications item, the Ringtone setting also applies to notifications. Touch OK when you’re done.




• Call Connect: Choose Sound and place a check mark by the option Call Connect. Whenever a new call comes in, you hear a sound, alerting you to the new call. This option is especially helpful when you use the Droid Bionic to listen to music.




• Network Lost Tone: Choose Sound and then place a check mark by the option Network Lost Tone. The Droid Bionic plays a tone whenever a phone call is dropped because of a poor network connection.




• Keep the phone awake when plugged in: Choose Applications and then choose Development. Place a check mark by the option Stay Awake.




• Adjust the keyboards: Choose Language & Keyboard and then choose Multi-Touch Keyboard. A smattering of interesting options appears — options you can set when they please you or deactivate when they annoy you.




• Disable automatic word correction and suggestions: To halt the keyboard’s (often incorrect) spell checking and suggestions, choose Language & Keyboard and then Multi-Touch Keyboard. On the Multi-Touch Keyboard Settings screen, you find options for automatic word correction and suggestions: Remove the check marks by Show Suggestions and Auto-Correct Errors when either feature vexes you.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/droid-bionic-change-various-screen-and-call-settin.html

How to Childproof a Bathroom

Childproof the bathroom to prevent accidents and protect children. Bathrooms accidents can involve slippery surfaces, water, electricity, and chemicals. Knowing how to childproof a bathroom can make it a safe and sudsy place for kids.

• Use only the bathmats or rugs that have an anti-skid backing so it won’t slide across the floor.

  
  



• Choose a countertop with rounded edges and no sharp corners that can hurt little ones.

  
  



• Install anti-scalding devices on faucets and showerheads that have a maximum hot water setting (120 degrees is a safe setting) and are pressure balanced. That way, when it is turned on and adjusted, the ratio of hot and cold water remains the same (even if somewhere in the house someone flushes a toilet or starts the dishwasher at the same time).

  
  



• Avoid platform tubs with steps that can be slippery when wet.

  
  



• When bathing little ones, install faucets where you can comfortably reach and control the water level and temperature from outside the tub.

  
  



• Install grab bars at a lower level in tub and shower areas so that a child can safely reach them.

  
  



• Choose a shower or tub doors made of safety glass.

  
  



• Keep cleaning chemicals and medicines in a locked cabinet.

  
  



• Always lower the toilet seat cover.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-childproof-a-bathroom.html

Sewing Kit Essentials for Window Treatments and Slipcovers

Having a well-stocked sewing kit makes your slipcover or window treatment project go smoothly. Regardless of the degree of difficulty for your project, stock your sewing kit with the following tools so you're prepared:

• 
  

  Butcher paper or pattern paper

  
  


• 
  

  Cloth tape measure

  
  


• 
  

  Colored pencils

  
  


• 
  

  Dressmaker's shears (for cutting fabric only)

  
  


• 
  

  Extra long straight pins

  
  


• 
  

  Hand-sewing needles

  
  


• 
  

  Hot glue gun and glue sticks

  
  


• 
  

  Iron-on adhesive tape such as Stitch Witchery

  
  


• 
  

  Retractable metal tape measure

  
  


• 
  

  Regular scissors (for trimming threads and cutting paper)

  
  


• 
  

  Ruler or L-square

  
  


• 
  

  Seam ripper

  
  


• 
  

  Sewing machine needles

  
  


• 
  

  Tailor's chalk

  
  


• 
  

  2-inch safety pins

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/sewing-kit-essentials-for-window-treatments-and-sl.navId-403677.html

Viewing Single Smartport Macro Details

To see the details for only a single Smartport macro, like cisco-desktop, rather than displaying all the macros every time, use the name option. To display just the cisco-desktop macro:

Switch1> enable
Switch1#show parser macro name cisco-desktop
Macro name : cisco-desktop
Macro type : default interface
# macro keywords $access_vlan
# Basic interface - Enable data VLAN only
# Recommended value for access vlan should not be 1
switchport access vlan $access_vlan
switchport mode access
# Enable port security limiting port to a single
# MAC address -- that of desktop
switchport port-security
switchport port-security maximum 1
# Ensure port-security age is greater than one minute
# and use inactivity timer
switchport port-security violation restrict
switchport port-security aging time 2
switchport port-security aging type inactivity
# Configure port as an edge network port
spanning-tree portfast
spanning-tree bpduguard enable
# Remark all inbound data packets with COS=0 & DSCP =0
mls qos cos override

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/viewing-single-smartport-macro-details.html

Home Recording Essentials

Whether it’s a $100 porta-studio or a million-dollar commercial facility, all recording studios contain the same basic components.. To take the mystery out of recording gear, here are the essentials that you need to know:

• 
  

  Sound source: The sound source is your voice, your guitar, your ukulele, or any other of the many sound makers in existence. As a musician, you probably have at least one of these at your disposal right now.

  
  


• 
  

  Input device: Input devices are what you use to convert your sound into an electrical impulse that can then be recorded. Here are the three basic types of input devices:

  
  
  
  
  • 
    

    Instruments: Your electric guitar, bass, synthesizer, and drum machines are typical instruments that you plug into the mixer. These instruments constitute most of the input devices that you use in your studio.

    
    

    The synthesizer and drum machine can plug directly into your mixer or recorder, whereas your electric guitar and bass need a direct box (or its equivalent, such as a Hi-Z input in your mixer) to plug into first. A direct box is an intermediary device that allows you to plug your guitar directly into the mixer.

    
    
  
  
  • 
    

    Microphone: A microphone (mic) enables you to record the sound of a voice or an acoustic instrument that you can’t plug directly into the recorder. A microphone converts sound waves into electrical energy that can be understood by the recorder.

    
    
  
  
  • 
    

    Sound module: Sound modules are special kinds of synthesizers and/or drum machines. What makes a sound module different from a regular synthesizer or drum machine is that a sound module contains no triggers or keys that you can play. Instead, sound modules are controlled externally by another synthesizer’s keyboard or by a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) controller (a specialized box designed to control MIDI instruments)

    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  

  Mixer: You use a mixer to send the electrical signal of your input device into your recorder and to route signals in a variety of ways. Traditionally, a mixer serves the following two purposes:

  
  
  
  
  • 
    

    To route your signals into your recorder: This allows you to set the proper level for each input device so that it’s recorded with the best possible sound.

    
    
  
  
  • 
    

    To blend (mix) your individual tracks into a stereo pair (the left and right tracks of your stereo mix): This role of the mixer is where your vision as a music producer takes center stage and where you can turn raw tracks into a polished piece of music.

    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  

  Recorder: The recorder stores your audio data. For most home recordists, the recorder is digital.

  
  


• 
  

  Signal processors: Most of the time, you have to tweak your recorded tracks. Signal processors give you the power to do this. Signal processors can be divided into the following three basic categories:

  
  
  
  
  • 
    

    Equalizers: Equalizers let you adjust the frequency balance of your tracks. This is important for making your instruments sound as clear as possible and for getting all your tracks to blend well.

    
    
  
  
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    Dynamics processors: Dynamics processors are used to control the balance between the softest and loudest parts of your tracks. They have many uses in the studio to help you make your tracks sit well together and to keep from overloading your system.

    
    
  
  
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    Effects processors: Effects processors allow you to change your tracks in a variety of ways, to create either a more realistic sound or unusual effects. Typical effects processors include reverb, delay, chorus, and pitch shifting

    
    
  
  
  
  


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  Monitors: Monitors, such as quality headphones or speakers, enable you to hear the quality of your recording and mixing. Monitors come in two basic designs:

  
  
  
  
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    Passive: Passive monitors are like your stereo speakers in that you also need some sort of amplifier to run them. A ton of options are available with prices from around $100. Just remember that if you go this route, you need to budget money for an amp. This can run a few hundred or more dollars.

    
    
  
  
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    Active: Active monitors have an integrated amplifier in each speaker cabinet. Having a built-in amp has its advantages, including just the right amount of power for the speakers and short runs of wire from the amp itself to the speakers (this is kind of a tweaky area that some people claim produces a better sound). You can find quite a few active monitors on the market starting at just a couple hundred dollars.

    
    
  
  
  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/home-recording-essentials.html

BlackBerry Curve: Browser Shortcuts

Make Web browsing on your BlackBerry Curve faster and easier with the following keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts are available whenever you use the BlackBerry Browser application on your BlackBerry Curve. To get to the Browser application, simply select the Browser icon from Home screen.

Action	Shortcut
Open Go To field	G
Open bookmark list	K
Hide or unhide banner	U
Refresh current page	R
Insert period in Go To field	Space
Insert slash in Go To field	Shift + Space
Stop loading Web page	Escape (arrow key to the right of the trackball or trackpad)
Close browser	Press and hold Escape (arrow key to the right of the trackball or trackpad)

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/blackberry-curve-browser-shortcuts.html

How to Open Flash on the iPad

The iPad’s lack of support for Adobe Flash video for web pages is a void that everyone hopes will be addressed in the near future because Flash is the backbone for video and animations across cyberspace. (Don't hold your breath.) But all is not lost, even with the absence of Flash. Apple does support an emerging standard for audio and video using Safari — HTML5, among others.

In the meantime, you may be able to open Flash videos on the web on the iPad, using Safari, through a couple of workarounds. Skyfire Labs sells an iPad app that can support Flash on many sites. But Skyfire’s alternative browser is limited to videos; it does not support Flash games or animations.

Meanwhile, the free-to-try iSwifter app from YouWeb promises to address this shortcoming. So along with video, iSwifter’s browser can deliver Flash games. You’ll be encouraged to pay for the iSwifter browser.

Finally, Adobe has announced technology called Adobe Flash Media Server and Adobe Flash Access, which will apparently allow the serving of Flash video content to iPads and iPhones. It sounds like a win-win proposition.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-open-flash-on-the-ipad.html

Microbrewing Gains Attention — and a Following

When craft brewers (also known as microbrewers) first came on the scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, just about everyone ignored them. Consumers didn’t take them very seriously, and as far as the big brewers were concerned, well, they weren’t concerned. Early craft brewers were like a gnat on an elephant’s backside; when the elephant swishes his tail, though, the gnat knows it has the elephant’s attention.

Exactly when big brewers started taking microbrewers seriously is open to debate, but the contract brewing companies likely had something to do with it. A contract brewer is a company that doesn’t own any brewing equipment of its own; it hires a real brewery to brew its beer for it on contract.

A few contract brewers succeeded and eventually opened their own brewing facilities, but most of them failed and faded into oblivion. The one thing that contract brewers succeeded in doing was rapidly expanding the craft beer market, getting the attention of both the consumers and the big corporate brewers, like Miller, Coors, and Anheuser-Busch.

When microbrewing became a hot concept, just about everyone and his grandmother started a craft-brewing operation. Scores of new brands hit the market with regularity. That’s about the time the elephant started noticing the gnat.

The Anheuser-Busch, Coors, and Miller Brewing companies sent a message industry-wide when they began introducing their own new specialty brands to the market (from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s). The message was twofold:

• They weren’t giving up shelf space to a bunch of snot-nosed upstarts.

  
  



• They could produce craft beers quicker and better than any small brewery. (At least they were right about the quicker part.)

  
  

Several national and regional breweries tried to get in on the craft beer movement by attempting to produce craft beers of their own. Some brewers genuinely understood the notion of artisanal beer and did their best to emulate it, while others missed the concept by a country mile. These guys did little more than put a mediocre-tasting beer in a brown bottle and dress it up with a cool label and a funky name. They thought it’d pass for a microbrew. It didn’t.

When enough of these pretenders failed, the big boys decided to take a different tack. They set their sights on buying their way into the craft beer movement by purchasing smaller breweries — either whole or in part. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Some of the big brewers’ more notable forays into craft beer ownership include the following:

• Anheuser-Busch got involved with Seattle’s Redhook Ale Brewery, Portland’s Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, Honolulu’s Kona Brewing Company, and Chicago’s Goose Island Beer Company (known collectively as the Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc.). Anheuser-Busch opened a brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in order to brew the Redhook, Widmer, Kona, and, more recently, Goose Island Beers there to more easily distribute those brands on the East Coast.

  
  



• Miller invested heavily in the former family-owned Wisconsin regional Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company and built that brand nationally.

  
  



• Coors was a little stealthier when it formed the surreptitious Blue Moon Brewing Company — a little-known Coors subsidiary that has fared quite well. (In 2010, Coors also announced the creation of Tenth and Blake Beer Company, a new company focused on craft and import beers.)

  
  

Even today, as production and sales numbers for the largest brewers in North America are either flat or declining, overall barrelage is still on the rise. Credit the craft brewers.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/microbrewing-gains-attention-and-a-following.html

Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies

When you're working in Crystal Reports 2008, be sure to recognize the Standard, Formatting, Insert Tools, Expert Tools, and Navigation Tools toolbars and their functions to produce accurate, eye-catching reports.

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Crystal Reports 2008 Standard Toolbar

This figure shows the Standard Toolbar when you're working in Crystal Reports 2008. It gives you quick access to the main features of Crystal Reports and is very similar to the equivalent toolbars in any Windows application.

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Crystal Reports 2008 Formatting Toolbar

The Crystal Reports 2008 Formatting toolbar lets you select an object and format it appropriately for your report. Just hover your computer cursor over a symbol and a tooltip appears telling you what it is. This figure shows all the tools available on Crystal Reports 2008's Formatting toolbar:

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Crystal Reports 2008 Insert Tools Toolbar

You can improve reports in Crystal Reports 2008 by adding all kinds of fun stuff like charts, lines, maps, and pictures. The following figure shows the Crystal Reports 2008 Insert Tools toolbar and its features:

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Crystal Reports 2008 Expert Tools Toolbar

You can use the Crystal Reports 2008 Expert Tools toolbar for access to things like database, template, and group expert. The toolbar buttons open dialog boxes that give you options for completing a task. This figure shows the Crystal Reports 2008 Expert Tools toolbar, its buttons, and their functions:

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Crystal Reports 2008 Navigation Tools Toolbar

The Navigation Tools toolbar in Crystal Reports 2008 gives you the ability to work your way quickly around a report and refresh the data. This figure shows you the Navigation Tools toolbar in Crystal Reports 2008 and what its tools can do:

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/crystal-reports-2008-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Things to Look for in Actively Managed ETFs

A good number of ETFs in registration with the SEC are going to be hitting the market shortly (presuming they get the approval they seek). Of these, some will likely be issued by long-standing and respected companies, such as PIMCO (which has already entered the fray with a handful of both passive and actively managed bond ETFs) and T. Rowe Price.

You may be inclined to choose one of these actively managed funds. After all, if you’re going to go active, there’s no reason not to do it with an ETF. The active ETFs will probably wind up being less expensive and more tax efficient than their corresponding mutual funds.

But keep in mind that historically, actively managed funds as a group have not done nearly as well as index funds. That being said, active management may sometimes have an edge, especially in some areas of the investment world (such as commodities and non-Treasury bonds). And much of the advantage of index investing has been in its ultra-low costs — something that actively managed ETFs could possibly emulate.

If you want to go with an actively managed fund, at least to keep in mind the lessons learned from indexing and what has made indexing so effective over time. Basically, you want certain index-like qualities in any actively managed fund you pick:

• Choose a fund with low costs. With so many ETFs allowing you to tap into stocks or bonds for less than one-quarter of a percentage point a year, you do not need or want any fund that charges much more.

  
  

  Any U.S. stock or bond fund that charges more than a percentage point, or any foreign fund or commodity fund that charges more than 1.5 percent, is asking too much, and the odds that such a fund will outperform are very, very slim. Go elsewhere.

  
  



• Watch your style. Make sure that any fund you choose fits into your overall portfolio. Studies show that index funds tend to do better than active funds in both large caps and small caps, but you have a better chance in small caps that your active fund will beat the indexes.

  
  



• Check the manager’s track record — carefully. Make sure that the track record you’re buying is long-term. (Any fool can beat the S&P 500 in a year. Doing so for ten years is immensely more difficult.) Look at performance in both bull and bear markets, but your emphasis should be on average annual returns over time compared with the performance of the fund’s most representative market index over the same period.

  
  



• Don’t go overboard with active management. Studies show so conclusively that index investing kicks butt that you should be very hesitant to build anything but a largely indexed portfolio, using the low-cost indexed ETFs.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/things-to-look-for-in-actively-managed-etfs.html