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Cloud Computing Characteristics

Cloud computing requires searching for a cloud provider. Whether your cloud is public, private, or hybrid, look for elasticity, scalability, provisioning, standardization, and billed usage:

Elasticity and scalability. The cloud is elastic, meaning that resource allocation can get bigger or smaller depending on demand. Elasticity enables scalability, which means that the cloud can scale upward for peak demand and downward for lighter demand. Scalability also means that an application can scale when adding users and when application requirements change.

Self-service provisioning. Cloud customers can provision cloud services without going through a lengthy process. You request an amount of computing, storage, software, process, or more from the service provider. After you use these resources, they can be automatically deprovisioned.

Standardized interfaces. Cloud services should have standardized APIs, which provide instructions on how two application or data sources can communicate with each other. A standardized interface lets the customer more easily link cloud services together.

Billing and service usage metering. You can be billed for resources as you use them. This pay-as-you-go model means usage is metered and you pay only for what you consume.

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How to Use Your PC’s Setup Program

During the startup process, a message appears on the monitor, telling you a certain key combination to enter the Setup program. You don’t always need to run or access the Setup program, but it’s good to know how to get to the Setup program when you do need it — for example, when you’re adding more memory to the PC, updating some types of hardware, or disabling chipset features — technical stuff, and rare, but often necessary.

Write down the keys used to access the Setup program on something that you won’t lose.

The Setup program is part of your computer’s hardware; it’s not part of Windows. And it might also be known as the BIOS Setup utility.

With the Setup program, you can apply a system password for your computer. Although you should use passwords on the Internet and for your computer accounts, don’t set a system password in the Setup program. Unlike with those other passwords, if you forget the system password, there’s nothing you can do, and your computer is pretty much useless.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-use-your-pcs-setup-program.html

Exploring Mediation Fundamentals

To be a master mediator, you need to master certain fundamental skills, strategies, and techniques. The following are all traits of a well-trained mediator:

Anchoring: An anchor is any relevant number (or idea) that enters the negotiation environment. The party who puts the first number on the table, for example, anchors the negotiation in her favor throughout the course of the negotiation.

Appealing to higher values: Using shared beliefs or principles to reach agreement, such as both parents’ desire to do “what’s best for the children.”

Asking diagnostic questions: To get the whole story, probe each party with open-ended questions that call for narrative (as opposed to yes/no) answers. These questions always begin with Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? or Tell me more about that.

Bracketing: The use of hypothetical offers and demands to narrow the gap that separates parties without requiring either party to commit to a number. For example, “If Party A were to increase his offer to $75,000, would you be willing to lower your demand to $100,000?”

Distributive bargaining: A negotiation in which the parties bargain over who gets the biggest portion of a fixed pie of benefits. Even if you’re facilitating an interest-based negotiation, eventually the enlarged pie of benefits must be distributed among the parties.

Forming contingent agreements: Adding “If . . . then . . .” language to a contract to alleviate a party’s concern over a future event that may undermine the party’s interests.

Framing: Change the parties’ perspective to something more positive. Mediators often reframe the parties’ dispute from an adversarial contest to a problem-solving exercise and from the identification of who’s right to the search for solutions that make everyone happy.

Interest-based negotiation: A negotiation in which the parties identify each other’s interests (needs, desires, preferences, priorities, fears, and appetite for risk) and then seek to reach an agreement that serves as many of those interests as possible.

Logrolling: Giving something that’s low-cost for one party but high-value to the other party in exchange for something that’s high-value to the first party but low-cost for the second party.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/exploring-mediation-fundamentals.html

How to Paint Trim and Doors

Although it's important for the body of a house to look nice, pay special attention when painting the trim, windows, and doors. These elements attract the most attention and are the most vulnerable to paint failure because of all the joints where water can enter if the seal fails.

Roof and wall trim

After you prime bare wood, apply caulk along all open seams between trimboards. Allow the caulk to dry for the amount of time specified on the label before applying a topcoat.

Brushes are best for applying paint to most trim. A 2.5- to 3-inch angled sash brush is generally all you need, but if you have a lot of wide trim, you may want a 4-inch square brush, a pad, or even a mini-roller.

Entry doors

Choose a semigloss or high-gloss alkyd-based paint for doors, which get a lot of use and abuse. Latex enamel also holds up well. If the door was previously painted with a high-gloss paint, use a deglosser to dull the finish and clean the surface. If a wood or metal door has never been painted, or if you expose bare wood or metal by sanding, apply the appropriate primer.

To prevent drips and runs, remove the door and lay it flat on sawhorses.

Make sure that you paint the bottom and top of a wooden door. If you don't, moisture may enter the door and cause it to swell or warp. A convenient mini-pad paint applicator lets you paint the bottom edge without removing the door.

If the door has a flat surface, paint it with a 2- or 3-inch-wide brush, pad, roller, or sprayer. A roller typically leaves a stippled finish that may not be acceptable on surfaces when viewed up close. If you use a roller for speed, plan to backbrush.

If the door is paneled, use a brush and paint the panels first. Then paint the horizontal cross pieces (the rails), and finally paint the vertical pieces (the stiles). Paint with the grain as you do when sanding.

Garage doors

Paint failure is common on wooden garage doors, especially raised-panel ones, which have many joints where water can enter. Of course, run-ins with bicycles, basketballs, and Buicks don't help. After you remove all the loose paint and degloss the surface with deglosser or by scuff-sanding, prime any bare wood or hardboard panels. You must use an alkyd primer on hardboard panels, so plan to use it on the whole door.

After priming, carefully apply a thin bead of paintable caulk to the sides and bottom of each panel where it meets the door's stiles and rails (the vertical and horizontal members of the frame). For extra protection and better bonding, mix Emulsa-Bond into the first topcoat. If the existing finish is in good condition, you can apply one topcoat to the cleaned and caulked door. If the door needs scraping, repairs, and sanding, finish the primed door with two topcoats.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-paint-trim-and-doors.html

Keeping Up with Fishing World Records

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) keeps track of world record catches for almost every species of fish you can think of. Do you think you just hauled in the next record catch? It could happen! If your fish beats the current record, get it registered at the nearest tackle shop. Then wait for those endorsements to come piling in.

Fish	Weight	Where and When It Was Caught
Bluefish	31 lb 12 oz	Hatteras, North Carolina; January 30, 1972
Brown Trout	41 lb 8 oz	Lake Michigan, Racine, Wisconsin; July 16, 2010
Largemouth Bass	22 lb 4 oz	Montgomery Lake, Georgia; June 2, 1932
Blue Catfish	130 lb.	Missouri River, Florissant, Missouri; July 20, 2010
Northern Pike	55 lb 1 oz	Lake of Grefeern, Germany; October 16, 1986
Bluegill	4 lb 12 oz	Ketona Lake, Alabama; April 9, 1950
Tarpon	286 lb 9 oz	Rubane, Guinea-Bissau; March 20, 2003
Walleye	25 lb	Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee; April 1, 1960
Weakfish	19 lb 12 oz	Staten Island, New York; May 7, 2008

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/keeping-up-with-fishing-world-records.html

Diabetes For Dummies

Diabetes, which is excessive glucose in your blood, leads to serious health problems if left untreated. Follow the American Diabetes Association guidelines to get tested for diabetes at the earliest possible time. Adopt some basic rules for living with diabetes and continuing your diabetic care to better control the disease. If you're prescribed oral medications for diabetes, do your homework on dosage amounts and side effects.

Ten Rules for Diabetes Control

Diabetes doesn't have to rule your life. Be proactive! Follow these guidelines for controlling your diabetes, and your problems should be few and far between:

Major monitoring

Devout dieting

Tenacious testing

Enthusiastic exercising

Lifelong learning

Meticulous medicating

Appropriate attitude

Preventive planning

Fastidious foot care

Essential eye care

Standards for Continuing Your Diabetes Care

Managing diabetes requires regular doctor visits that include standard monitoring of various diabetic factors. Following are guidelines for your diabetes care — like when to see your doctor, what should happen at each visit, when to have lab tests done, and how often to self-monitor blood glucose.

Consistent diabetes management is key; if test results show any change from your history, then you and your doctor can address them before any problem worsens.

Frequency of visits:

Daily if starting insulin

Weekly for oral drugs

Monthly if not stable

Quarterly if stable

History at each visit:

Frequency of hypoglycemia

Results of blood glucose self-monitoring

Changes in treatment

Symptoms of complications

Psychosocial issues

New medications

Physical at each visit:

Blood pressure

Weight

Foot exam if neuropathy is present

Physical at least annually:

Dilated eye exam by eye doctor

Filament test for foot sensation

Lab tests:

Hemoglobin A1c every three months

Fasting lipid profile yearly

Microalbumin measurement yearly if urine protein negative

Frequency of blood glucose self-monitoring:

Before meals and bedtime for person with type 1 diabetes

Before breakfast and supper for person with type 2 diabetes

Once daily for person with stable diabetes

Before and one hour after meals for pregnant woman with type 1 diabetes or gestational diabetes

Oral Drugs for Diabetes

Insulin shots aren't the only drug treatment for diabetes. If your doctor prescribes oral drugs for your diabetes, use this chart to look up the medication names and dosage amounts. Then educate yourself on diabetes medications, their possible side effects, and drug interactions.

Class	Brand Name	Generic Name	Average Dose	Range
Sulfonylureas	Orinase	tolbutamide	1,500 mg	500-3,000 mg
	Tolinase	tolazamide	250 mg	100-1,000 mg
	Diabinase	chlorpropamide	250 mg	100-500 mg
	Dymelor	acetohexamide	500 mg	250-1,500 mg
	Glucotrol	glipazide	10 mg	2.5-40 mg
	DiaBeta, Glynase	glyburide	7.5 mg	1.25-20 mg
	Amaryl	glimepiride	4 mg	1-8 mg
Meglitinides	Prandin	repaglinide	1 mg	0.5-4 mg
	Starlix	nateglinide	180 mg	180-360 mg
Biguanides	Glucophage	metformin	1,000 mg	500-2,000 mg
Thiazolidinediones	Actos	pioglitazone	30 mg	15-45 mg
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors	Precose Glyset	Acarbose miglitol	100 mg 50 mg	50-250 mg 25-75 mg
DPP-4 Inhibitors	Januvia	sitagliptin	100 mg	25-100 mg

Screening Guidelines for Diabetes

The American Diabetes Association created guidelines to screen for diabetes at the earliest possible appropriate time. Take a look at these guidelines to find out when to get tested for diabetes:

People with symptoms of thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss are tested immediately.

People over age 45 should be tested every three years if normal.

People should be tested at a younger age and more often if:

They are obese.

Their parent or siblings have diabetes.

They are from a high-risk group, such as African American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American.

They have delivered a baby over nine pounds or had gestational diabetes.

They have high blood pressure.

They have low HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides.

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

How to Buy Digital Media from the Apple iTunes Store

The iTunes Store is the hottest spot on the Internet for buying music and video. You can reach it from the cozy confines of iTunes. (That is, as long as you have an Internet connection.) If you’re not in iTunes, go to the Apple store link.

Click the iTunes Store item in the Source list, and after a few moments you’re presented with the latest offerings. Click a link in the store list to browse according to media type, or click the Power Search link to search by song title, artist, album, or composer. The Back/Forward buttons at the top of the iTunes Store window operate much the same as those in Safari, moving you backward or forward in sequence through pages you’ve already seen. Clicking the Home button (which, through no great coincidence, looks like a miniature house) takes you back to the Store’s main page.

To display the details on a specific album, track, video, podcast, or audiobook, just click it. If you’re interested in buying just certain tracks (for that perfect road warrior mix), you get to listen to 30 seconds of any track — for free, no less, and at full sound quality. To add an item to your iTunes Store shopping cart, click the Add Song/Movie/Album/Video/Podcast/Audiobook button (sheesh!). When you’re ready to buy, click the Shopping Cart item in the Source list and then click the Buy Now button. At the time of this writing, tracks are usually 99 cents a pop, and an entire album is typically $9.99 . . . what a bargain!

The iTunes Store creates an account for you based on your e-mail address, and it keeps secure track of your credit card information for future purchases. After you use the iTunes Store once, you never have to log in or retype your credit card information again.

The tracks and files that you download are saved to a separate playlist called Purchased. After the download is finished, you can play them, move them to other playlists, burn them to CD or DVD, share them over your network, or ship them to your iPod, just as you can any other item in your iTunes Library.

You can also put the Genius button to work for you, in league with the iTunes store. Click the Show Genius Sidebar button at the lower-right corner of the iTunes window; it looks like an arrow inside a square. iTunes displays the Genius Sidebar, where iTunes recommends music that you can buy from the iTunes Store that’s similar to the albums in your Music Library. Click the button again to banish the sidebar.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-buy-digital-media-from-the-apple-itunes-sto.html

Reducing Separation Anxiety in Your Chihuahua

Most mature dogs catch a nap when their owners leave the house, but some pitch a fit when they're home alone. They may chew on the carpet, shred the toilet paper, urinate, bark nonstop, or any combination of other destructive behaviors. You're probably thinking, poor owners. But believe it or not, the destructive dogs are miserable, too. They have a problem called separation anxiety.

To understand separation anxiety in dogs, consider phobias people have. Some people are afraid of heights, others are afraid of tight places, and still others are afraid of the water, or snakes or spiders. Well, dogs are social creatures, and some of them are afraid of being alone. They panic, pure and simple, and then make noise or destroy stuff to release pent-up nervous energy.

Exits and entrances

Some dogs seem to be born with tendencies toward separation anxiety. Others develop it after a major change . . . like their owner's divorce, or being given up for adoption. But a surprising number of dogs catch the problem from their owner. It sounds something like this:

"Oh, poor, poor Pepe. I'm leaving now. Are you gonna miss me? Are you? I'm gonna miss you. Poor sweetums. You'll be all alone. (kiss, kiss) Now you'll be a good boy won't you? Give mama a kiss. That's my boy. Poor baby. I'll be back soon. I promise (kiss, kiss)."

And then the owner leaves.

Now what does Pepe make out of all of this? He just got a lot of attention and sympathy, and then his human left. Maybe she's not coming back. Maybe he'll never see her again. Maybe he'll never see anyone ever again. No wonder he feels anxious.

The best way to prevent separation anxiety is to make comings and goings low key. Ignore Pepe for ten minutes before you leave, and take him for granted when you return. That's easy. But what can you do for a dog that already suffers from the problem?

Alleviating anxiety

Let's start with what you shouldn't do. If Pepe becomes a demolition demon when home alone, the worst — yes, the absolute worst — thing you can do is punish him when you get back. All that does is give him additional anxiety. Instead of being scared only when you leave, he also is terrified of your return. That means double trouble.

Okay. You know you have a problem, so don't set up your dog for another dreadful day of demolition. Instead, crate him comfortably when you leave the house. In addition to keeping him out of trouble, being in his own den may calm Pepe. Yes, that's a just a quick fix and doesn't actually cure the problem. But it's a start. We have to start somewhere, and keeping Pepe out of trouble so he doesn't sense your aggravation is the best possible place.

Don't make the mistake of thinking your dog has human emotions. He doesn't tear up the house out of spite because you left him alone. And he certainly doesn't have fun doing it. Instead, he's miserable. Separation anxiety can be compared to a person with claustrophobia getting stuck in an elevator. Pepe needs help, not punishment.

You must alleviate Pepe's anxiety problem when he has the run of the house (or even a whole room). To do this, leave the house frequently for short periods of time. Eventually that teaches Pepe that comings and goings are unimportant because you always return. Here's how to set up your scenarios:

1. Take Pepe outside to eliminate about 10 minutes before you leave.

2. Turn on the radio and make sure two of his favorite toys are available.

3. Leave Pepe's crate in its normal place with the door open, so he can go inside if he wants to.

4. Don't say good-bye or reassure Pepe in any way. In fact, don't give him any attention at all for several minutes before you leave.

5. Leave, close the door behind you, and count to ten. Open the door, go inside, and ignore Pepe for a minute or two. Then tell him to "Sit" and praise him for obeying.

6. Gradually increase the amount of time before you come home. Make progress slowly at first. Take two weeks to go from 10 seconds to 10 minutes.

7. If you find a puddle, or the beginning of any destruction, don't call it to Pepe's attention, but make a mental note of how long you were gone. Next time, decrease the amount of time you stay away. Then gradually work your way back up.

With a lot of practice (and patience, too) you may be able to work your way up to spending a few hours away from home without Pepe having an anxiety attack. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with every dog. If your dog doesn't learn to accept separations, he may need professional help. Ask your veterinarian for referral to a behaviorist (if you're lucky, there may even be a Board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area). The solution will include desensitization work, and may include a temporary prescription of a drug to help keep him calm as he completes his desensitization program.

If your dog has overcome separation anxiety, put him in a reputable boarding kennel when you go on vacation instead of hiring a dogwalker or housesitter. Otherwise, your leaving home and not returning for a week or more could make him regress.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/reducing-separation-anxiety-in-your-chihuahua.html

Organic Gardening For Dummies (UK Edition)

An Organic Gardening Calendar

Use this organic gardening calendar to keep track of what you need to do in each season, and remember to always work with nature, rather than against it.

Gardening in spring

Sow frost-tender vegetables and flowers under cover, on a sunny windowsill or in a heated greenhouse.

Start to sow hardy veg and flowers outdoors when weather and soil permit.

Use traps or barriers to protect seedlings and susceptible plants (such as lilies) from slugs and snails.

Finish cutting back herbaceous perennials.

Sow or turf new lawns.

Plant evergreens or slightly tender shrubs.

Prune roses and late-summer flowering shrubs.

Spread a mulch of garden compost or manure on bare soil between plants in borders.

Summer sowing and more

Make regular sowings of many vegetables, including salads, right through summer; plant tender veg outside when frosts are past.

Watch for signs of pests, especially under cover; control by hand, and introduce biological controls if necessary.

Trim hedges when fledglings have left their nests.

Mulch flowers and crops to reduce water loss and keep down weeds.

Pull weeds regularly: don’t let them seed!

Sow a cover crop (green manure) on any soil likely to be left bare over winter.

Autumn organic gardening

Gather as many leaves as you can to turn into leafmould, a wonderful soil conditioner.

Set up compost bins if you don’t already have them; shred woody prunings and compost, or stack for six months to use as a mulch.

Plant bulbs.

Put up nest boxes; birds inspect them over winter for next year’s nesting, and are likely to use them as winter roosts: clean existing nest boxes.

Wintertime and your garden

Cut back dead growth of perennials only if leaves are ‘mushy’; leaving growth until late winter/early spring gives hibernation sites for many useful insects.

Gather and dispose of diseased leaves and fruits from roses, other plants and fruit trees, to avoid spores overwintering.

Put out food and fresh water for birds; ensure a steady supply as they come to depend on it during freezing weather.

Keep a small area of water ice-free on any pond to let toxic gases out and oxygen in; use a pond heater, float a ball or pour on boiling water.

Spread manure on no-dig beds in later winter.

Set up water butts to save rainwater.

Order seed and plant catalogues to browse new pest and disease-resistant varieties.

Assessing Your Site for Organic Gardening

Before starting your organic garden, take an inventory of your garden’s conditions. Match plants to different sites and choose only those plants that can grow to their full potential where you plan to put them. Here’s what to assess:

Hardiness: Average winter low temperatures

Obstacles: Locations of buildings, overhead and buried cables, roads and property boundaries

Slope: Steep, flat, valley floors

Soil: Structure, texture, pH, drainage and moisture

Sun and shade: Duration and time of day and year that the sun shines directly on the site

Views: Unsightly views to screen; pleasant views to enhance or preserve

Wind: Speed and direction at different times of year

Reasons to Become an Organic Gardener

In case you’re wondering why it makes sense to garden organically, here are just a few of the many reasons why people do it (in order of many people’s priority):

Human health: Many pesticides harm people, causing illness when they’re consumed or when they make contact with exposed skin. Some pesticides accumulate in the environment and contribute to illness long after contact. Also, some studies show that organically grown fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients than their conventionally grown counterparts.

Water pollution: Excess fertiliser washes into groundwater, streams, lakes, rivers and coastal waters, where it contributes to the death and disruption of natural ecosystems.

Soil erosion and depletion: The urgent need to protect the world’s remaining agricultural land from erosion, development, pollution and diminishing water resources has reached the state of a global crisis. The collective efforts of many organic gardeners have a postive, allievating effect.

Ecological balance and biodiversity: Insect predators and prey keep one another in check, and plants grow best in a balanced environment. Organic gardeners respect all parts of the interconnected web of life and use practices that support it.

Future generations: Sustainable gardening, agriculture and landscaping mean thinking about the future, using renewable resources wisely and efficiently, and taking only as much as nature can replace.

Cost savings: Prevention costs less than cure. Provide habitat for beneficial insects and they reduce the populations of bad bugs. Feed the soil organisms that make nutrients available, and your plants flourish.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/organic-gardening-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-uk-editi.html

Toolbox Keyboard Shortcuts for Photoshop Elements 5

The Photoshop Elements 5 toolbox offers keyboard shortcuts galore. Get to know Photoshop Elements 5 shortcuts by the visual icons that clue you into their function. For example, if you want to zoom in, look for the magnifying glass and the Z key; to grab something, the H and hand icon are what you need.

The table shows you what key(s) to press for which function:

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/toolbox-keyboard-shortcuts-for-photoshop-elements-.html

How to Import Pictures from a Digital Camera into Windows 7

Want to download your digital camera's photos into your Windows 7 computer? The good news is that Windows 7's built-in software can grab photos from almost every make and model of digital camera. This video shows you how to get your digital images from your camera into Windows 7 and then find the ones you want to use.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-import-pictures-from-a-digital-camera-into-windows-7.html

Creating Event-Handling Procedures with Visual Basic .NET

Whenever the user takes any action, such as clicking the mouse, pressing a key, passing out on the keyboard, or putting a bullet through the monitor, the action is called an event. The moment an event occurs, Visual Basic .NET looks for BASIC code to tell the program what to do. The BASIC code that responds to a specific event is called an event-handling procedure or just as event handler.

A single Visual Basic .NET program can consist of several thousand event-handling procedures. If you have that many, however, you have a tremendously complicated program or you're an incredibly incompetent programmer.

With so many possible events and so many possible event-handling procedures in a single program, how does Visual Basic .NET know which event-handling procedure to use?

The answer is easy. When an event occurs, this event is usually directed at some part of your program's user interface. For example, most users click the mouse button only when the mouse is pointing at an object, such as a button, check box, or menu command on the screen.

Every object can have one or more event-handling procedures, and each event-handling procedure responds to one specific event, such as clicking the mouse or pressing a key.

Naming the types of events

Events can be classified into three categories:

Keyboard events: Occur when the user presses a certain key, such as Tab, or a certain keystroke combination, such as Ctrl+P.

Mouse events: Occur when the user moves the mouse, clicks or double-clicks on the mouse button, or drags the mouse across the screen.

Program events: Occur when a Visual Basic .NET program does something on its own, such as loading a form or changing the contents of a text box. Whereas keyboard and mouse events occur when the user does something, program events occur when BASIC code does something.

Although Visual Basic .NET can respond to a multitude of events, you generally want your user interface to respond only to a few events, such as the clicking of the mouse or the pressing of a certain key. As soon as Visual Basic .NET detects an event, your program immediately looks to see what part of the user interface needs to respond.

When the user clicks the mouse, for example, Visual Basic .NET first identifies the event. ("Okay, that was a mouse click.") Next, it looks to see where the user clicked the mouse. ("The user clicked the mouse on the OK button.")

Visual Basic .NET then finds that particular button's event-handling procedure, which contains BASIC code that tells your program what to do when the user clicks that particular button.

Creating event-handling procedures

One object can respond to one or more events. For example, a button can respond to the user clicking on the mouse button or pressing the Enter key.

Two or more objects can respond to the same event. For example, both a button and a check box can respond to a mouse click, but they (usually) have completely different instructions that tell Visual Basic .NET what to do next.

To write an event procedure, you have to perform the following tasks:

1. Identify the part of your user interface that is going to respond.

2. Open the code editor.

3. Identify the event to which Visual Basic .NET is to respond.

4. Write BASIC code to process the event.

Make sure that all the objects of your user interface have names before creating any event procedures. If you create an event-handling procedure for an object and later change that object's name, you will have to rewrite your event-handling procedures.

The following three parts of a user interface can have events associated with them:

Forms

Objects (buttons, check boxes, list boxes, and so on)

Pull-down menus

To create an event-handling procedure for an object such as a form, button, pull-down menu, check box, and so on, follow these steps:

1. Open the form that contains the object that you want to create an event-handling procedure for, such as a button or a check box.

If you double-click on an object (such as a button or even the form itself), Visual Basic .NET displays the code editor right away and creates the most common event-handling procedure for your chosen object.

2. Open the code editor by pressing F7 or choosing View --> Code.

Visual Basic .NET displays the code editor on the screen.

3. Click in the Class Name list box.

A list of different objects appears, such as Label1 or Button2.

You should change the Name property of an object before creating an event-handling procedure for it. That way, the name can be descriptive of the object's purpose in your program rather than a generic name.

4. Click in the Method Name list box.

A list of different events for your chosen object appears, such as Click or MouseHover.

5. Click on the event you want your object to respond to (such as Click).

Visual Basic .NET creates an empty event-handling procedure. At this point, you can start writing BASIC code to make your event-handling procedure actually do something, such as change the properties of another object on your form.

To create an event-handling procedure for a pull-down menu command, follow these steps:

1. Click on the pull-down menu title containing the menu command you want.

2. Double-click on the menu command for which you want to create an event-handling procedure.

Visual Basic .NET creates an empty event-handling procedure.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/creating-eventhandling-procedures-with-visual-basi.html

Frequently Used Toolbar Buttons in Peachtree

Toolbar buttons complete the tasks in selected Peachtree windows. These toolbar buttons are used over and over in Peachtree, so get to know their names and functions:

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Online Communities Share Hobbies and Interests

In the early days, online communities had very little to do with brands or profiting. They were places to share online. Before brands jumped onto the community bandwagon, it was more about gathering to discuss favorite hobbies, interests, and even career choices.

Though online community management is now more about brands and selling, plenty of communities aren’t interested in either. They just want to talk about their favorite things, their jobs, or ways to do certain things better. In fact, one of the more popular online communities is the FlyLady Yahoo!, which offers household productivity tips to over 500,000 members.

The hobbyist or special-interest communities are a good lesson in why people really join online communities. When it’s about the brand, folks want their discounts. When it’s about a pastime, people want to talk as much as they can about the things they enjoy.

The benefits of these types of special-interest communities abound. They offer a place to

Share tips and advice.

Discover where to find rare or difficult to locate products.

Find jobs.

Discuss issues.

Share news articles, videos, and more.

Read or watch tutorials.

Share a passion.

Through these types of communities, friendships and collaborations emerge. These groups are more like a family or group of old friends than a forum of people who don’t even know each other. Members get to know each other individually and share and interact on an individual basis. These relationships flourish and expand throughout the various social networks and even offline. Almost every member will tell you these communities are a valuable experience.

Online communities go way beyond a conversation on a Facebook page. Harness the power of your own community, and you’ll come up with some brilliant ideas.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/online-communities-share-hobbies-and-interests.html

How to Motivate Your Basketball Players with Coaching

To motivate your basketball players to give their best efforts, not get discouraged, and strive to become the best they can be on the court, use these coaching tips:

Continually encourage players to do their best on both ends of the floor — regardless of the score.

Stay in control of your emotions, and refrain from yelling instructions all the time.

Allow kids the freedom to make mistakes, and coach effort over skills.

Always exude confidence in your players’ abilities.

When correcting errors, use words that inspire confidence and reinforce positive thoughts. For example, instead of saying, “Don’t turn the ball over,” say, “Control the ball just like you did so well in practice this week.”

Use timeouts to relay positive information to your players.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-motivate-your-basketball-players-with-coach.html

Stocking Your Cupboard for Healthy, Tasty Cooking When Dieting

To cook low-calorie nutritious food, you don’t need to keep bottled salad dressings, canned cream soups, and oils in your kitchen. Instead, the diet-conscious cook stocks a pantry with canned tomatoes, a flavorful olive oil, vinegars, and herbs and spices.

You may have to dig a bit deeper into your pockets for these basics, but after you taste them, you’ll agree that paying more is worth the extra flavor they deliver.

A good stock: Use stock (or broth) in salad dressings in place of some of the oil, to cook vegetables for more flavor, to start a homemade soup, or in place of butter or oil when a recipe says to sauté in oil.

Store extra stocks (or broths) frozen in an ice cube tray to punch out 2 tablespoons whenever needed. You also can buy canned broth. For beef or fish, try stock base. They’re superconcentrated, and you must add water to them before use. Look for them in gourmet shops.

A selection of vinegars: Sherry, rice, raspberry, wine, and balsamic vinegar are all milder than acidic white or cider vinegar. To make a lowfat vinaigrette, cut back on oil as you do when you cook low-cal. But oil helps tame the punch of vinegar’s acid, making the dressing taste mellower. Therefore, you need a milder vinegar. Also consider using vinegar to sauté chicken breasts, or add a splash instead of fattening butter or cream sauces.

Hills of beans: You can keep beans dry and cook them or stock many different kinds in cans. Either way, beans can be pureed into sandwich spreads and dips, added to soups, and sprinkled on salads as a nearly fat-free yet protein-packed alternative to meats and cheeses.

Tomatoes galore: Take advantage of the variety of canned tomato products sprouting in the supermarket. Many of them are already seasoned, which is a time-cutting, but not calorie-building, bonus for you. Thicken them with a little cornstarch (about 1 teaspoon to an 8-ounce can) or reduce them simply by boiling, and you have the start of a sauce for pasta, vegetables, grilled fish, or chicken.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/stocking-your-cupboard-for-healthy-tasty-cooking-w.html

Online Community Manager: The Community Advocate Hat

Online community managers look out for their people. Acting in their best interests ensures trust in the brand. It means having their backs even though it might lead to an uncomfortable situation in the workplace. It shouldn’t come to that, however. You’ll find that for the most part, the brand is interested in learning the needs of the community and establishing trust by providing a positive user experience.

They hired you to create trust in the brand and to keep the channels of communication open, and here’s how you can do just that:

Handle complaints. As community manager, you’ll sometimes feel as if you’re a dumping ground for customer nitpicks and complaints. Most of the time, these are things you can handle on your own. Perhaps someone didn’t receive a refund or a product didn’t show up in the mailbox on time. These are easy fixes either by you or another person in your company.

Other times, complaints aren’t so cut-and-dried but are still deserving of a solution. Community managers not only find help, but also follow up to ensure that the matter has been resolved.

Pass on concerns. Community members who care about a brand also become concerned when reading negative press or having a negative experience. Not only does a community manager help to rectify these issues, but she also makes sure that those beyond the customer service department know about them.

The community manager passes on concerns before they reach the breaking point so that they can be handled effectively and positively by the company executives.

Monitor the channels. It’s up to the community manager to learn what’s being said online about the brand. You can monitor the channel in several ways. By using keywords and setting up Google Alerts, you’ll receive notices in your mailbox every time someone mentions your company on a blog, website, or social network.

It’s incredibly important to not only know what’s being said, but to reach out to the people who are saying it.When your community knows you’re watching, listening and reacting in kind, they feel confident in the brand.

Have good communication. As community manager, you’re going to receive plenty of e-mails, and with the exception of spam or abusive messages, you’ll have to respond to each and every one. This may mean you’ll have to suck up to a customer who had a bad experience or simply drop a line to say that a matter is being looked into. It is important never to leave anyone hanging.

The last thing you want is to have a reputation for not responding to customer queries or complaints. So it’s good practice to answer every e-mail, even if only to say, “I forwarded your complaint to John in Customer Service, and he’ll take it from here.”

Also, don’t write off angry complaints as being trollish or abusive. There’s validity in anger. Don’t brush off the issue or the anger and respond in a kind manner.

When good communication occurs between the company and the brand, customers believe in the brand and remain loyal.

Fight for the needs of the community. Because the community manager has her finger on the pulse of the community, she’s also the one who knows what’s best for them. At times when she has to be vocal about some things she might think are a bad fit or unfair.

Sometimes these things are a hard sell, which means she’ll have to present her team with well-thought-out arguments as to why something won’t work. Presenting ideas in a respectful manner goes a long way in getting your point across.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/online-community-manager-the-community-advocate-ha.html

Macroeconomics and Government Policy

Economists use gross domestic product (GDP) to keep track of how an economy is doing. GDP measures the value of all final goods and services produced in an economy in a given period of time, usually a quarter or a year.

A recession occurs when GDP is decreasing. An expansion occurs when GDP is increasing.

The unemployment rate measures what fraction of the labour force cannot find jobs. The unemployment rate rises during recessions and falls during expansions.

Anti-recessionary economic policies come in two flavours:

Monetary policy uses an increase in the money supply to lower interest rates. Lower interest rates make loans for cars, homes, and investment goods cheaper, which means consumption spending by households and investment spending by businesses increase.

Fiscal policy refers to using either an increase in government purchases of goods and services or a decrease in taxes to stimulate the economy. The government purchases increase economic activity directly, while the tax reductions are designed to increase household spending by leaving households more after-tax monies to spend.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/macroeconomics-and-government-policy.html

HDR Photography: Get Ready to Tone Map

After you've taken your photographs, it’s time to get down to the practical matter of tone mapping an HDR image in Photomatix Pro. This list helps you make sure you are ready for the process of tone mapping with a leading HDR application, Photomatix Pro, using Details Enhancer and the HDR Conversion routines.

You don’t have to perfect an image in tone mapping. You can continue to edit in your graphics application.

Getting ready to tone map

Before you can tone map your HDR images, you must complete the photography and have your bracketed (or single Raw) images ready. Here’s a checklist to make sure everything is in order:

Photos taken: Check. Have two or more bracketed photos ready. Alternatively, you can use a single Raw photo for single-exposure HDR.

Raw images converted to TIFF, if desired: Check. You might wish to convert Raw photos to TIFFs to get the best quality. Single Raw exposures can either be used directly for HDR (pseudo-HDR) or converted to brackets in a Raw editor.

HDR image generated: Check. The low dynamic range source images must be combined to create a single high dynamic range (HDR) image.

Now you’re ready to get started tone mapping!

Using presets every time you tone map

No matter what HDR application you use, presets are worth your time and trouble to use. In general, presets allow you to manage your tone mapping process by making it possible for you to create and use your own tone mapping styles, baselines, or starting points in the form of self-created presets. Load one or more presets that may apply to the image at hand and use the best one as a starting point to start tweaking.

Save a settings file or preset every time you tone map an image and file them so that you can find them if needed. You can keep them with the unedited tone mapped file in a folder with the pre- and post-HDR working files for that bracketed set.

Saving a preset for each tone mapped image that you have finished allows you to duplicate your work if you need to. Without a preset, should you want to go back and start over, you’re left guessing what settings you used to create an image. That is most definitely infuriating, especially if you want to tweak around the edges instead of starting from scratch.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/hdr-photography-get-ready-to-tone-map.html

Calorie-counting Tips for Dining Out

Dining out can be an enjoyable experience, but it can also be a high-calorie one. Even if you’re counting calories, though, you can enjoy your dining experience without the worry of eating too many calories or sacrificing health with a bit of planning ahead.

Use the tips in the following list to save calories the next time you dine out:

Ask for dressings or sauces on the side, or skip the mayo.	Include as many vegetable toppings as possible on your sandwich, in your omelet, or on your pizza.
Consider an appetizer or side dish as an entrée, or choose the regular, small, or kid-sized portion. (Skip anything that’s extra-large or supersized.)	Skip the butter on breakfast items such as waffles or pancakes and use smaller amounts of syrup.
Choose nonfat or lowfat milk and coffee drinks (pick the small or “tall” size for the latter).	Enjoy your eggs with toast, but skip the extra meat item.
Select grilled or oven-roasted items and skip the deep-fried foods.	Skip the extra cheese on anything whatsoever.
Drink more water with your meals.	Choose pastas with marinara or olive oil–based sauces rather than cream or Alfredo-type ones.
Review beverage sizes and calories. You can rack up several hundred calories a day in liquid if you don’t monitor your intake.	Consider splitting an item with a friend and ordering a side salad to round out your meal (unless of course you’re splitting dessert).
Watch out for salads; they aren’t always the low-calorie choice.

If you currently eat out daily, consider cutting back to eating no more than three meals per week away from home (not counting packed lunches). Ideally, you should limit dining out to two or fewer times a week.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/caloriecounting-tips-for-dining-out.html

Dairy-Free Zucchini Parmesan Dish

This wholesome nondairy dish is rich, gooey and bursting with flavor, especially when you prepare it in the summertime when gardens are full of zucchini squash and tomatoes.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

4 large zucchini squash (about 2-1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 or 4 large tomatoes (about 3/4 pound), cored and seeded

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 large egg (or equivalent amount of cholesterol-free egg replacer)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces nondairy mozzarella-style cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 cup grated nondairy Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup steamed, chopped carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cut the zucchini into julienne strips, about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. Pat dry and set aside.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until the oil is hot but not smoking, about 4 minutes.

Transfer the zucchini strips to the skillet and pan-fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the zucchini and set the strips on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Combine the tomatoes, tomato paste, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender and process until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Coat an 8-x-8-inch glass baking dish or a quiche dish with vegetable spray. Pour about one-quarter of the tomato mixture into the pan and spread it evenly across the bottom. Arrange a quarter of the zucchini on top and then add a quarter of the nondairy mozzarella-style cheese and nondairy Parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with nondairy Parmesan cheese on top.

Add additional steamed vegetables when layering the zucchini, if desired.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until brown and bubbly.

Per serving: Calories 338 (174 From Fat); Fat 19g (Saturated 2g); Cholesterol 53mg; Sodium 199mg; Carbohydrate 25g (Dietary Fiber 10g); Protein 23g.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/dairyfree-zucchini-parmesan-dish.html

Open a Google Account for Your Droid Bionic

You absolutely must have a Google account to use with your Droid Bionic phone. Perhaps it’s the big with Google™ hint on the phone’s back cover. Or, it might be that the phone initially begs you to set things up with a Google account. So, if you don’t already have a Google account, set one up right now by following the advice in this section.

Run — don’t walk — to a computer and follow these steps to create your own Google account:

Open the computer’s web browser program.

Visit the main Google page.

Type www.google.com into the web browser’s Address box.

Click the Sign In link.

Another page opens where you can log in to your Google account, but you don’t have a Google account, so:

Click the link to create a new account.

The link is typically found beneath the text boxes where you would log in to your Google account.

Continue heeding the directions until you’ve created your own Google account.

Eventually, your account is set up and configured. Log off and then log back on to Google, just to ensure that you did everything properly. Also create a bookmark for your account’s Google page: Pressing Ctrl+D or Command+D does that job in just about any web browser.

A Google account is free. Google makes zillions of dollars by selling Internet advertising, so it doesn’t charge you for your Google account or any of the fine services it offers.

The Google account gives you access to a wide array of free services and online programs. They include Gmail for electronic messaging, Calendar for scheduling and appointments, and an account on YouTube, along with Google Finance, blogs, Google Buzz, and other features that are also instantly shared with your phone.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/open-a-google-account-for-your-droid-bionic.html

The Different Types of PC Monitors

PC monitors come in two different flavors, each of which is known by a popular TLA (three-letter acronym): LCD and CRT.

LCD: Stands for liquid crystal display. The newer, flatter type of computer screen.

CRT: Stands for cathode ray tube. The traditional, glass-screen, television-set-like monitor.

Between the two, the LCD monitor is more popular. The prices on LCD monitors have dropped dramatically in recent years, not to mention that the monitors are easy on the eyes and use less electricity than their glass-based counterparts.

In two instances, however, a CRT monitor is better than an LCD monitor:

Computer graphics: A CRT monitor is better able to emulate true colors than is an LCD.

Computer games: CRT monitors update faster than LCDs.

Some CRT monitors are advertised as “flat screen.” This term isn’t misleading: The glass on the front of the monitor is indeed flat, and it provides a better viewing surface than the traditional convex glass. But it’s not an LCD monitor (all LCD monitors are flat).

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-different-types-of-pc-monitors.html

How to Recognize a Bad Dog Breeder

A very few breeders are downright evil and fail to provide for even the basics of their animals’ needs. A few more are mentally ill, living in filthy homes packed to the rafters with freely mating dogs. These people are fairly easy to spot and avoid — unless their pups are cleaned up and sold elsewhere.

Some backyard breeders are not uncaring, they’re just uninformed. They don’t know that many of the dogs they produce can end up in shelters or spend their lives in pain from a congenital illness. They want a litter “so the kids can see,” or because “puppies are fun,” or because they heard breeding dogs is an easy way to make a little money. They aren’t bad people, but they’re still not good breeders.

A few things that should give you pause when dealing with a breeder:

Lack of knowledge about the breed. Someone who doesn’t know about the history of the breed or how suitable it is for different homes probably isn’t someone who’s too concerned about producing puppies that are fine examples of the breed.

Ignorance or denial of genetic defects. Every breed has some problems, and some of the most common ones — such as hip dysplasia — can cause great pain and cost big bucks. A person who isn’t aware of congenital defects almost certainly isn’t screening breeding stock to avoid the defects.

No involvement in dog sports. Every dog doesn’t have to be a champion before he’s bred, but you improve the odds of getting a high-quality purebred if you buy from someone involved in showing or otherwise competing with their dog. The point of a dog show, in fact, is to evaluate breeding stock.

Not letting you observe the litter, meet the mother or other dogs, or see where the puppies were raised. Healthy, well-mannered adult dogs and a clean, well-run set-up are a breeder’s best testimonial. If a person doesn’t want you to see anything except the puppy he’s trying to sell, you ought to be wondering why.

No documentation. If the purebred puppy’s represented as “AKC-registered” then registration papers should be available. (This goes for other registries, too.) So, too, should papers backing up health claims. A sales contract spelling out the rights and responsibilities of both parties is highly desirable. Such a document provides you with recourse should the puppy not turn out as promised — if he has congenital health problems or isn’t suitable for showing, if that was part of your intent in buying him.

Doesn’t seem to understand the importance of socialization. Puppies need to be nurtured, loved, and handled to make good pets. Someone who can’t explain what they’ve done in this area, or who tries to sell a puppy less than seven weeks old, probably doesn’t understand enough about puppy-raising to be breeding dogs.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-recognize-a-bad-dog-breeder.html

Dairy-Free Blueberry Pecan Pancakes

These dairy-free pancakes are amazingly light and fluffy because of the beaten egg whites. Keep your leftover pancakes in the refrigerator or freezer and pop them into the microwave oven to reheat.

Make the pancakes as soon as possible after mixing the batter, because the leavening action of the baking powder begins as soon as it mixes with the liquid ingredients. Batter left too long begins to lose its leavening power and can result in flat, dense pancakes.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Yield: 8 pancakes, or 4 servings

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1/3 cup wheat germ or corn meal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-3/4 cups soymilk (or your choice of nondairy milk, plain or vanilla)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 whole egg (or equivalent amount of cholesterol-free egg replacer)

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2 egg whites (or equivalent amount of cholesterol-free egg replacer), beaten stiff

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Measure the dry ingredients into a medium-sized bowl.

Add the soymilk, oil, and whole egg, and stir well using a whisk. Break up any remaining chunks of flour by using the back of a spoon.

Fold in the blueberries and pecans with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Fold in the beaten egg whites. The batter will be thick but light and somewhat foamy.

Egg whites are beaten stiff when they have thickened enough to form a peak when you pull the beaters out of the bowl. If you keep beating egg whites past this point, they can collapse and become thin again.

Coat a griddle or 12-inch skillet with nonstick vegetable oil spray and preheat.

Pour the batter by 1/3-cup measures onto the hot, oiled griddle. When the pancakes are bubbly all over and the edges are browned, turn them over and cook on the remaining sides for about 30 seconds, or until the undersides are browned. Serve immediately.

Per serving: Calories 444 (219 from Fat); Fat 24g (Saturated 2g); Cholesterol 53mg; Sodium 950mg; Carbohydrate 46g (Dietary Fiber 8g); Protein 16g.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/dairyfree-blueberry-pecan-pancakes.html

Starting an iPhone Application Business For Dummies

Make developing iPhone applications easier, more fun, and more rewarding with some simple guidelines for planning, creating, and distributing your work. These checklists will keep you on the path to a successful iPhone application business.

iPhone Application Design Checklist

iPhone applications are complex, and it’s important to keep your eye on both the style and the function of your product. When you inspect your application, check these aspects:

No broken links in application, internal or external

Removed the word "beta" from anywhere in application or documentation

Any accessories to be used with the application are authorized by Apple

Application interface follows Apple Human Interface Guidelines

No long load times

Loads are covered by a graphical loading image or animation

Resource utilization is well within bounds and doesn’t make platform laggy

Application is sufficiently different from pre-existing applications

Application doesn’t duplicate functionality of Apple applications

Application doesn’t use trademarks of other companies (or similar names)

Application doesn’t interfere with iPhone function (such as draining battery life)

Metadata Checklist for Creating iPhone Applications

For an iPhone application to function, it needs to check all the boxes for metadata. Follow these rules to make your metadata functional and helpful:

Primary language chosen

Company name defined

SKU number is defined; use UPC if available

Application name and description are set

Application description is concise but full and views well on the iPhone

Primary app category and subcategories chosen

Secondary app category and subcategories chosen

Application URL is defined, valid, and stable

Support URL is defined, valid, and stable

Support email address is defined, valid, and receives e-mails

EULA written and defined (if needed)

EULA (if defined) is consistent with iTunes minimum terms and conditions

If user must accept EULA, the app asks user within app itself

Supported devices selected

Game advisories defined

Distribution regions chosen

Payment information defined on iTunes Connect (Paid Applications contract)

Price tier chosen

Encryption: US Department of Commerce approval obtained if encryption is used for anything other than authentication

iPhone Application Name Checklist

Even if you have a great iPhone application idea, you need a great name that sells it. Follow a few simple rules to make your name memorable and successful:

Can be found easily with appropriate search terms

Is no longer than 20 characters

No version number appears in app name

No other brands (for example, "iPhone") in app name

Is simple, concise, and relevant

Is not too similar to the name of another product

Checklist for Making Screen Shots of Your iPhone Applications

In the Apple store, you need to communicate the function and elegance of your application with smartly selected graphics. You can submit up to five screen shots for your listing. Follow these steps to make your graphics count:

Created Primary screen shot

Primary screen shot shows what app is and main functions

(Optional) Created up to four additional screen shots

Additional screen shots support primary screen shot

All screen shots are high-quality and easily legible

All screen shots are appropriate, both culturally and in terms of maturity

Status bar removed from all screen shots (if present)

Each screen shot has correct size:
- 320x460 for Portrait, status bar removed
- 320x480 for Portrait, full screen
- 480x300 for Landscape, status bar removed
- 480x320 for Landscape, full screen

Localization Checklist for Creating iPhone Applications

An iPhone application may be designed in one country and distributed in many. For maximum sales, you need to consider the language and cultural preferences of every country where you hope to make sales. Check these design and language aspects of your application:

Languages chosen for localization

The following elements are localized in all languages:
- Application name
- Application description
- Application URL
- Support URL
- Support email
- Screen shot(s)
- App binary

All localizations are professional (they aren’t just word-for-word translations)

All elements in a given language are appropriate to all cultures that use that language

All localized elements are also tailored to target culture

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/starting-an-iphone-application-business-for-dummie.navId-323004.html

Pros and Cons of the Microsoft Office 365 Cloud

As with any decision in life, there are generally pros and cons; moving to the Microsoft Office 365 cloud is no exception. Depending on whom you are talking with, the cloud is either the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel or a devilish ploy by big companies to wrestle away control of your data.

The truth is, many people find that the benefits of the cloud greatly outweigh the detriments.

Some of the benefits of moving to the Microsoft cloud include the following:

Outsourcing the hassle of installing, managing, patching, and upgrading extremely complex software systems.

Having predictable and known costs associated with adoption.

Keeping the lights blinking green and the software up-to-date and secure falls on Microsoft and is backed by service guarantee.

Reducing cost in not only immediate monetary value but also in efficiency and resource reallocation benefits.

Backing up and securing your data. After all, Microsoft may not be perfect, but its teams of engineers are extremely specialized and are experts at hosting the software that their colleagues have developed.

Using the software over the Internet — simply sign up and you’re ready to go. Without the cloud, a SharePoint deployment could take months.

Some of the cons that come along with adopting a cloud solution in general include the following:

Relying on network and bandwidth. If your Internet provider goes down, then you haven’t any access to your enterprise software and data. Microsoft does not control how you access the Internet and, therefore, cannot account for any failures.

Having data controlled by someone other than your employees. Your data is hosted in Microsoft’s data center. That can be both a benefit and a detriment. If you feel uncomfortable with your data out there somewhere, then you can either research the Microsoft data centers further or keep your data and applications locally in your own controlled data center.

In addition, when you sign up for enterprise licensing of Office 365, you also gain licensing rights to On Premise deployments. This capability makes it possible to store extremely sensitive data or user portals on site.

For example, you may want your executive, accounting, and human resources portals on site but the rest of your SharePoint implementation in the cloud. Microsoft lets you mix and match this way to fit your comfort level.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/pros-and-cons-of-the-microsoft-office-365-cloud.html

Commodities For Dummies

The major commodities exchanges trade specific commodities worldwide, and the main regulatory organizations provide information and enforce codes to protect commodities investors. When investing in commodities, use guidelines and advice from the experts to lower your risks.

Matching Commodities with Commodity Exchanges

The 20th century saw a proliferation of commodity exchanges around the world, with many based in the money centers of New York and Chicago. In the first decade of the 21st century, the industry experienced a major consolidation period — partly driven by electronic-based trading platforms — that dramatically reduced the number of players in the space and increased the product offerings of the remaining exchanges. Here are some of the important exchanges in today's new environment.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME): Crude oil, natural gas, ethanol; gold, silver, copper, platinum, palladium; corn, wheat, soybeans, live cattle, lean hogs

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): Crude oil, gas oil, natural gas; cocoa, coffee, cotton, sugar

Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE): Fuel oil; gold, copper, aluminum, zinc; rubber

Commodities and Emerging Markets

One of the driving forces behind the dynamic commodities markets are emerging markets, both from the demand side and also in terms of supply. Keep an eye on Brazil and China, two countries that tend to move markets.

Brazil: A powerhouse in the commodities markets, Brazil has been blessed with an abundance of natural resources. It's one of the top agricultural countries in the world, with leading positions in coffee, cocoa, corn, wheat, eucalyptus, and sugar cane production. In energy, it has large reserves of crude oil in the offshore basins off the Atlantic Ocean. It also has sizable mining reserves with abundant iron ore resources. Since Brazil holds such a dominant position in the supply and production of key commodities, it's important to monitor this country very closely.

China: China has been the miracle story of the beginning of the 21st century. Many analysts compare its rise to the emergence of the United States as an economic powerhouse in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Home to more than 1.3 billion citizens, China is a truly gigantic market. In many instances, it has been the main driving force behind demand increases for important commodities, including steel, copper, wheat, and crude oil. As the Chinese economy continues to expand at eye-popping rates (averaging 9 percent annually during the first decade of the 21st century), expect it to push demand for commodities at even more important levels.

Consulting Investment Regulatory Organizations

In the era after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the importance and responsibilities of market regulators have grown exponentially. The GFC exposed many deficiencies in the way markets and market participants operate, so frequently consulting with regulators has become a necessity for any risk-averse market participant. These organizations are some of the key regulatory bodies for commodities and other investments:

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

National Futures Association (NFA)

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)

Growing Interest in Agricultural Commodities

Agricultural commodities are usually overshadowed by energy and metal commodities. Recently, however, investors have been eyeing agricultural commodities as traders become aware of the enormous importance of these commodities from both a market and investment perspective. Wheat shortages in 2009–2010 and the subsequent food riots they caused globally shone a spotlight on this segment of the market. The following are some important agricultural commodities, along with their corresponding exchanges:

Grains/cereals: Corn, oats, soybeans, wheat (Chicago Mercantile Exchange)

Meat products: Feeder cattle, lean hogs, live cattle, frozen pork bellies (Chicago Mercantile Exchange)

Tropical products: Coffee, cocoa, orange juice, sugar (Intercontinental Exchange)

Generating Risk-Adjusted Returns

Investing is all about managing risk, and here are two ways to approach risk management: (1) According to uber-investor Warren Buffet, Rule #1 of investing: Never lose money. Rule #2 of investing: Never forget rule #1; (2) If you focus on protecting your downside, the upside will take care of itself. Here are a few key risk variables you should be monitoring constantly:

Volatility: Volatility is the way that investors measure price variation and fluctuation of a given security over time. The higher the variation, the more volatility. For example, if a security trades at $5 on Monday, $15 on Tuesday, and $7 on Wednesday, it's exhibiting extreme volatility. If you're a novice investor, you should trade these types of securities with extreme care.

Standard deviation: Standard deviation is a statistical measure of the amount of volatility inherent in a security. The standard deviation formula is a complex one, but it's extremely powerful and practical. With one number, you can determine just how volatile a security or asset is. The higher the standard deviation, the riskier the asset; conversely a low standard deviation number means the security is more stable from a pricing perspective. A stable Fortune 500 company tends to have a lower standard deviation than a startup tech company. Use this powerful metric to help make better trading decisions.

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