Finding a Direct-Mail House to Send Out Your Collateral Ads

A direct-mail house, which specializes in sending out collateral ads, can get your business's collateral ads to your customers. A direct-mail house's services usually include envelope stuffing, folding, sorting, postage, and so on.

The only difference from one mailing house to the next is the quality of their mailing lists. Ask the mailing house the following questions:

• When was the list last updated? Look for a house that updates its lists monthly; quarterly at the very outside.

  
  



• Is the data on the mailing list presorted by carrier routes or zip codes, and certified for accuracy of address information? You want your lists to be at least presorted by zip codes so that you receive postage discounts. And certification of accuracy lets you know that you’re getting what you paid for.

  
  



• Can you receive a summary report that breaks out the counts by zip code and other information? The summary report gives a snapshot of the list capabilities and detail (income level, gender, education, and so on) before you make a list purchase decision.

  
  



• Does the house have a minimum charge? List companies set a minimum charge on all lists. What you want to look for when buying a list are minimum charges buried in the small print.

  
  

  Postage is the one item for which the direct-mail house requires you to pay in advance before it will send your business's ads. The direct-mail house must pay for the postage when it delivers the material to the post office, or it will have had to pay upfront to load postage into its postage meter.

  
  



• Is the list charge for one-time or multiple usage? Typically, a multiple-use list costs you about three times as much as a one-time-only use.

  
  



• What's the charge for output? Your mailing house shows you a price list for the various forms of mailing labels.

  
  



• What are my label printing options (laser, inkjet, dot matrix, and so on)? You can use traditional sticky labels, or you may decide to have the addresses printed directly on the mail piece.

  
  



• Can I include a secondary message on my labels (for example, “preferred customer”)? These secondary messages, generally with a double- or triple-spaced separation, go above the recipient’s name and address.

  
  



• Will I receive a verification of mailing? This verification is either created by the United States Postal Service or the mailing house.

  
  

You can easily purchase mailing lists online through various Web sites such as InfoUSA.com or Salesgenie.com (both of which claim to own proprietary databases of 210 million U.S. consumers and 14 million U.S. businesses). These kinds of companies provide excellent, in-depth research capabilities — before you even purchase a list.

In addition to a traditional mailing house, Staples, Office Depot, FedEx Office, and most local copy shops now offer this service (onsite and online). They furnish you with a mailing list, print the labels, affix the labels to your mailing pieces, add the postage, sort the pieces by zip code, box them up, and deliver them to the post office.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/finding-a-directmail-house-to-send-out-your-collat.html

When to Use Subclassing in iPhone App Development

Subclassing is one of the mechanisms you use to customize behaviors while you're developing your iPhone application. Subclassing involves two stages: (1) creating a new class, called a subclass, that inherits properties from another (super) class and then (2) adding properties as needed for your iPhone application. In general, you’ll want to subclass

• UIView, to create your (more complex) content views, which you may fill with controls, graphics, or the like.

  
  



• UIViewController, to manage the content views and connect it to the model.

  
  



• NSObject, to create Model views and delegates.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/when-to-use-subclassing-in-iphone-app-development0.navId-407180.html

Capture the Beauty of Flowers with Macro Photography

It’s no secret that flowers make great close-up photographic subjects. The elements of design they contain are a gift to photographers, offering unique opportunities within each individual subject. No two flowers are exactly alike; therefore, no two flower images are the same.

Flowers tend to have beautiful colors, shapes, forms, lines, and textures. This variety of interesting elements provides you with choices in how you’ll compose your image in a particular situation. When photographing a flower, ask yourself what it is that drew you to this one. Was it larger than the others around it, more colorful, was its form more attractive, or did it look kind of sad for some reason?

After asking yourself why you chose a subject, then ask yourself whether the image in your frame represents what you see in the subject. The slightest movement in camera angle can change the way viewers see an image of a flower. Pay attention to how each petal appears in your frame. Ask yourself whether you should crop into the subject or show it in its entirety.

Another very important aspect of flower photography is light. Photographers often avoid photographing flowers in direct sunlight, because diffused light is softer and tends to produce a more beautiful look for flowers. You can find softer light in open shade areas, on cloudy days, or by blocking the direct sunlight with a scrim or a piece of cardboard.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/capture-the-beauty-of-flowers-with-macro-photograp.html

Cause Marketing Point of Sale Quantities and Fulfillment

If you print too few cause marketing point of sale pinups, you could stymy your program and hurt fundraising if stores run out. Conversely, print too many pinups, and you’ll waste money and resources and fill landfills with unnecessary paper. Determining just the right number of pinups to produce is part experience, part art. Here are her guidelines for quantities and fulfillment:

• If you’re working with an experienced retailer that’s done point-of-sale programs before: Total print quantity = 20 percent of the total transactions for the period in which you plan to execute the program.

  
  

  For example, if a retailer has 40,000 transactions over four weeks, the same length as your program, you’d print 8,000 pinups. Distribute 12 percent of the pinups to the stores and keep 8 percent for yourself so that you can replenish the pinups as needed.

  
  

  Have your printer shrink-wrap the pinups in packs of 100s or 200s. This will prevent waste so that you don’t have to send out too many to any one store while also helping you to keep track of supplies.

  
  



• If your retail partner is new to point-of-sale: Lower the amount in the preceding bullet to 16 percent of transactions and distribute 10 percent to stores.

  
  



• For very small, newbie point-of-sale retailers with fewer than ten locations: Lower the amount in the first bullet to 14 percent and distribute 10 percent to stores.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/cause-marketing-point-of-sale-quantities-and-fulfi.html

How to Make a South African Business Trip Successful

South Africa is the economic hub of Africa, so Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, or Bloemfontein might be one of your business travel destinations. Going on a South African business trip means you need to know some cultural norms:

• Language: South Africa has 11 official languages. However, most businesspeople speak English. English is the language of administration and is spoken throughout the country. South Africans often use metaphors and sports analogies to demonstrate a point.

  
  



• Appropriate dress: In many companies in major South African cities, business attire has become more informal. For first meetings, however, dress conservatively. Women should wear business suits, dresses, or skirts with blouses and jackets; men should wear dark-colored, conservative suits.

  
  



• Greeting rituals: You may encounter many greeting styles in South Africa, depending on the ethnic heritage of the people you meet. You can never go wrong by using last names and titles when you first meet someone.

  
  

  A white, and black person shake hands with a bit of a flourish. After shaking the full hand, they grasp thumbs and then return to a full handshake. Normally, women don’t shake hands; they merely nod.

  
  



• Handling meetings: Major differences exist in communication styles, depending on each individual’s cultural heritage. Most South Africans, regardless of ethnicity, prefer face-to-face meetings to more impersonal media such as e-mail messages, letters, and telephone calls.

  
  



• Dining and entertaining: A majority of business in South Africa is done while dining out, either at a restaurant or in someone’s home. Expect to discuss business before the meal starts or at the conclusion of a meeting. Always arrive on time if you’re invited out to eat, especially in someone’s home.

  
  



• Giving and receiving gifts: If you’re invited to a business associate's home, bring flowers, good-quality chocolates, or a bottle of good South African wine.

  
  



• Social taboos: Africans, as a rule, are religious, reserved people. Women should always dress conservatively, even if they’re attending an evening event. Wearing revealing clothing is disrespectful.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-make-a-south-african-business-trip-successf.html

Enterprise Management of Mobile Devices: Deployment

The lifecycle of an enterprise mobile device begins with device deployment. If on the other hand (as is becoming the norm), the devices in your enterprise are predominantly owned by the employees themselves, this activity can be easily skipped.

An effective device deployment strategy involves providing a limited selection of devices from which your users can choose from (providing a large selection would entail a broader support burden that in most cases is unnecessary). Additionally, the strategy entails negotiating with carriers about bulk pricing (including pooling data, text, and voice across your user base) and shorter contract length to allow you sufficient flexibility to evaluate effectiveness and pricing periodically.

If, however, you're tasked with deploying devices in the enterprise, you need to take the following factors into consideration:

• Device selection(s): Opt for a limited set of devices to cater to a basic voice user as well as to the more advanced mobile device user. Device characteristics should reflect the enterprise policies we discuss earlier (device encryption, remote wipe capabilities, and so on).

  
  



• Carrier selection(s): Depending on the size of your enterprise and whether or not roaming is needed, your carrier selection may vary. Typically going with a larger carrier provides better worldwide coverage, but if you require local roaming only, some of the tier 2 and tier 3 carriers have very good promotions and service.

  
  



• Pricing terms: You need to negotiate bulk pricing that allows you to aggregate data, text, and voice across your users to give you better pricing based on consolidated usage and your users better flexibility by not having to carefully monitor their individual usage.

  
  



• Contract lengths: You should negotiate contract lengths down to the smallest possible terms to allow you periodic evaluation of effectiveness and pricing from the carrier.

  
  



• Warranty terms: Negotiate extended warranty terms for mobile device replacement as well as periodic upgrade terms because your users will expect reasonable upgrade cycles as technology and offerings advance.

  
  

Because the criteria used by similar-sized enterprises is about the same, you would be well on your way with device deployment by going ahead and copying, so to speak, from others. Look at competitors from your industry and others as well with similar company sizes, to draw upon their device deployment choices.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/enterprise-management-of-mobile-devices-deployment.html

Ten Good Reasons to Practise Yoga

Discovering unlimited potential our journey of discovery in the world of Yoga is not only exciting but also immensely rewarding. Here are ten excellent reasons to begin that journey now and persist in it. The effects of regular Yoga practice are pervasive and astonishing. You can see good results very quickly. You have every reason to proceed with confidence! Yoga is a savings account that pays triple and quadruple interest.

• Yoga helps you maintain, recover or improve your health. Yoga is an amazing stress-buster. Through its relaxation, postural, breathing and meditation exercises, as well as dietary rules, Yoga can effectively lower your level of tension and anxiety. Thus, yogic practice boosts your immune system, which obviously keeps illness at bay and, if you’re sick, facilitates the physical healing process.

  
  

  You can practise Yoga as both remedial and preventive medicine. You can’t find a cheaper health and life insurance policy!

  
  



• Yoga makes you fit and energetic. Yoga relaxes your body and mind, thereby enabling you to mobilise all the energy you need in order to deal efficiently with the many challenges at home and at work. Yoga can greatly promote your body’s flexibility, fitness, strength and stamina. In addition, Yoga may even help you shed surplus kilograms.

  
  



• Yoga balances your mind. Yoga also has a profound influence on your mind via the hormonal system. Yoga is a powerful tool for clearing your mind and freeing you from mood swings, and supports greater results than any tranquilliser, and without the undesirable side effects of drugs. It balances you without dulling your mind. Through Yoga, you can stay alert but relaxed.

  
  



• Yoga is powerful. Yoga can help you discover the body’s hidden potential and can also guide you safely into the exploration of the hidden aspects of the mind, especially higher states of consciousness. It progressively peels away misconceptions about yourself and about life in general and reveals your true nature, which is uncomplicated and blissful.

  
  



• Yoga is truly comprehensive and integrative. Yoga offers you a sensible, growth-oriented lifestyle that covers all aspects of life. Yoga’s repertoire includes techniques for optimal physical and mental health, for dealing creatively with the challenges of modern life, for transforming your sexual life, and even for making creative use of your dream life through the art of lucid dreaming. Yoga makes you feel comfortable with your body, improves your self-image and self-esteem, and enhances your power of concentration and memory.

  
  



• Yoga helps you harmonise. By giving you a new outlook on life, Yoga gives you the means to develop patience, tolerance, compassion and forgiveness. Through the techniques of Yoga, you can gain control of your mind and liberate yourself from obsessions and undesirable habits, which stand in the way of satisfying relationships. Yoga also shows you how to live at peace with the world.

  
  



• Yoga enhances your awareness. Yoga enables you to greatly intensify your awareness; therefore, yogic practice empowers you to approach all life situations, even crises, with more clarity. Most significantly, Yoga puts you in touch with the spiritual reality that is the source of your everyday mind and awareness.

  
  



• Yoga can be combined with other disciplines. Although Yoga is complete in itself, you can easily combine it with any kind of sports or physical workout, including aerobics and weightlifting. You also can practise Yoga in conjunction with any existing mental discipline, including mnemonics (memorisation) and chess.

  
  



• Yoga is easy and convenient. Yoga doesn’t require you to work up a sweat (unless you’re practising some modern aerobic-type Yoga). And you can practise Yoga anywhere!

  
  



• Although you don’t need to spend time travelling from place to place, beginners in particular should consider joining a Yoga class — even your trip there and back offers opportunities for a Yoga experience. Yoga creates rather than consumes time — a major benefit in the busy and stressed lives of Westerners!

  
  



• Yoga is liberating. Yoga can put you more in touch with your true nature, giving you a sense of fulfilment, inner worth and confidence. By assisting you in reducing egotism and negative thoughts and emotions, Yoga has the power to bring you closer to lasting happiness. Yoga practice builds your willpower and puts you in charge of your own life.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/ten-good-reasons-to-practise-yoga.html

Digital Music Editing Overview

In the old days of analog tape, you needed to break out the razor blade and adhesive tape to do audio editing. Cutting out a performance was exactly that — physically cutting the performance from the tape that contained the audio. The problem was that after you finished the cut and taped the open ends back together, you couldn’t reassemble the original performance.

And it got even worse. If you wanted to edit a single track, you had to cut a little window in the tape where that part was, but only in the track you were working on. You were left with a hole in the tape.

And then consider this: While you were cutting and taping the tape, you were touching it with your fingers and getting oils all over your precious tracks. The result: sound degradation. In all, analog tape editing was messy work that introduced unneeded stress on the tape (and perhaps the recordist) and degraded the sound of the music.

Lucky for you, there’s a better way — digital editing. You can edit digitally by using your hard-drive recording system. Digital hard-drive recording allows you to do a staggering variety of things to your recorded tracks. You can cut, copy, delete, erase, insert, move, and paste your music, among other things. And the best part is that you can do any of these procedures and still change your mind when you’re done.

This aspect of digital editing is called nondestructive editing, which means that your original recording is kept intact (the recorder often makes a copy of the original data before it makes the edits or it simply points to the data to be played and ignores the data you chose not to have play). On the other hand, the no-returns policy of analog editing is referred to as destructive editing, and after it’s done, you’re committed to the results, regardless of whether you like them.

Editing can be done in a variety of ways, and almost every recording system does it a little differently.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/digital-music-editing-overview.html

How to Correct Problems with Gluten-Free Bread Baking

You may have to try several times to get your gluten-free baked loaves to come out right, so don’t get discouraged if your first attempt isn’t picture perfect.

Use these troubleshooting tips to solve potential problems:

• Underdone bread: If your baked loaf of bread isn’t fully cooked inside, the easiest remedy is to bake the dough in two smaller pans next time. If your bread is still mushy inside, often the cause may be due to the oven temperature.

  
  

  Gluten-free products frequently need to be baked at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. If you lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees, that may solve the problem. If the loaf starts to get too dark, cover it with foil halfway through baking. And don’t use dark or Teflon-coated baking pans. They may cause the bottom of the bread to burn before the inside is completely baked.

  
  



• Crumbly bread: If your loaf looks pretty and smells divine, but falls apart when you cut it, it has a case of the crumbles. First, do not throw out the crumbs. Dry them out and add seasonings to make bread crumbs. Then try any or all of these remedies:

  
  
  
  

  • The cause of the crumbles may be that the dough was too dry. Next time, slightly reduce the amount of flour.

    
    
  
  

  • Add a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin to the dry ingredients to help bind the bread (in addition to the xanthan gum called for in a recipe).

    
    
  
  

  • Before even trying to cut the loaf, refrigerate it and then slice it with a serrated knife while it’s cold.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• Tasteless bread: Without some precautions, gluten-free bread can easily taste like cardboard. Fortunately, you can add all sorts of things to the dough to avoid this from happening:

  
  
  
  

  • Substitute some of the water with a liquid that has flavor, like cold brewed coffee, honey, maple syrup, molasses, or fruit juice (pineapple, lemon, orange, or apple).

    
    
  
  

  • Add extra flavoring (more vanilla or almond flavoring, cinnamon, Italian seasoning, Parmesan, or cheddar cheese). Toasted coconut or mini chocolate chips are also optional stir-ins, as are minced dried fruits.

    
    
  
  

  • Toast seeds or nuts and sprinkle them on top before baking. Sesame, poppy, caraway, and sunflower seeds are popular choices.

    
    
  
  

  • Try using dark brown sugar in place of granulated sugar.

    
    
  
  
  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-correct-problems-with-glutenfree-bread-baki.html

How to Create Your Online Community Comment Policy

Online community comment policies should be fair and balanced. If you have too many rules, participants may feel stifled and get a little turned off. If you don’t have enough rules, anarchy ensues. Create guidelines that everyone can follow so that you’re not asking too much from your community.

Most comment policies have similar elements:

• 
  

  Overview: Talk about your community goals and why you feel the guidelines are necessary. This section needs to be a paragraph, at most. If your guidelines are too long, no one will want to read them. They have to appeal to the short attention span of the people who read and surf on the web.

  
  


• 
  

  Rules or guidelines: Talk about acceptable behavior and what will and won’t be tolerated, such as spam, profanity, personal attacks, and respectful disagreement.

  
  


• 
  

  Consequences: Discuss what happens to members who don’t adhere to the guidelines. For example, they may receive a series of warnings before they’re banned outright.

  
  


• 
  

  Agreement: Many forums, e-mail groups, and other social networks require members to check a box stating that they agree to the terms of use. This way, they can’t be surprised if you have to call them out on an infraction.

  
  

Avoid lengthy diatribes and pontification about manners and proper behavior. No one wants a lecture, especially if they haven’t done anything wrong. A brief rundown of the types of comments and behaviors you will and won’t allow will suffice.

You may want to avoid confusion by posting examples of what is and what isn’t acceptable community behavior. This is an excellent idea, perhaps in the form of a list of do’s and don’ts or a series of screenshots.

When showing examples, the last thing you want to do is single someone out or choose a scapegoat. Be fair.

Keep these guidelines in mind when preparing your examples:

• 
  

  Don’t name names. Pointing fingers or making someone the poster child for bad behavior is mean-spirited. Use screen shots only if they don’t identify the offending party in any way. Try to use a made-up example when at all possible.

  
  


• 
  

  When listing examples, also list consequences. For example, say, “In this instance, we’ll issue a warning. . . .”

  
  


• 
  

  Avoid comments under your guidelines. Most comment policies and user guidelines are closed for comments so as to avoid trolls. Your community FAQs can list questions that arise with their respective answers.

  
  

By showing examples of unacceptable behaviors, you’re making sure that everyone understands what’s allowed. Like your comment policy, this section shouldn’t be long and detailed, but it should show enough examples that no one can tell you they didn’t know a certain behavior isn’t allowed.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-create-your-online-community-comment-policy.html

Gluten-Free Two-Potato Frittata

This gluten-free, two-potato frittata dish is perfect for a brunch or late breakfast. You can make this recipe ahead of time and then reheat it in a 375 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 75 minutes

Yield: 12–14 servings

8 eggs

2 teaspoons dried oregano or 6 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves removed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon (8 grams) tapioca flour

2 large Red Garnet yams

2 large russet or Yukon Gold potatoes

One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

12 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

   
   

   Grease a 13-x-9-inch pan with unsalted butter and set aside.

   
   



2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add the milk and tapioca flour and mix well; set aside.

   
   



3. Grate the yams and potatoes using the coarse side of the grater. Mix the potatoes together in a large bowl.

   
   



4. Press 1/3 of the potato mixture into the prepared pan. Top with 1/2 of the spinach and 1/2 of the feta cheese.

   
   



5. Add another 1/3 of the potato mixture, the remaining spinach and feta cheese, and the last 1/3 of the potato mixture.

   
   



6. Pour the egg mixture slowly over all.

   
   

   Make sure the oregano is evenly distributed.

   
   



7. Cover the pan with foil, bake for 1 hour, and then remove the foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the top is browned.

   
   

   Cut into squares to serve.

   
   

Per serving: Calories 236 (From Fat 98); Fat 11g (Saturated 6g); Cholesterol 172mg; Sodium 606mg; Carbohydrate 23g; Dietary Fiber 3g; Protein 12g.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/glutenfree-twopotato-frittata.html

Network Administration: Configuring Sendmail

Sendmail is probably one of the most difficult programs to configure that you’ll ever encounter. In fact, the basic configuration file, sendmail.cf, is well over a thousand lines long. You don’t want to mess with this file if you can possibly avoid it.

Fortunately, you don’t have to. The sendmail.cf configuration file is generated automatically from a much shorter file called sendmail.mc. This file contains special macros that are processed by a program called m4. The m4 program reads the macros in the sendmail.mc file and expands them to create the actual sendmail.cf file.

Even so, the sendmail.mc file is a few hundred lines long. Configuring Sendmail isn’t for the faint of heart.

You can find the sendmail.mc and sendmail.cf files in the /etc/mail directory. Before you edit these files, you should make backup copies of the current files. That way, if you mess up your mail configuration, you can quickly return to a working configuration by reinstating your backup copies.

After you’ve made backup copies, you can safely edit sendmail.mc. When you’re finished, you can regenerate the sendmail.cf file by entering these commands:

cd /etc/mail
m4 sendmail.mc > sendmail.cf
service sendmail restart

The first command changes the current working directory to /etc/mail. Then, the second command compiles the sendmail.mc command into the sendmail.cf command. Finally, the third command restarts the Sendmail service so that the changes will take effect.

You need to be aware of two strange conventions used in the sendmail.mc file:

• Unlike most configuration files, comments don’t begin with a hash mark (#). Instead, they begin with the letters dnl.

  
  



• Strings are quoted in an unusual way. Instead of regular quotation marks or apostrophes, strings must begin with a backquote (`), which is located to the left of the numeral 1 on the keyboard and ends with an apostrophe (‘), located to the right of the semicolon. So a properly quoted string looks like this:

  
  

MASQUERADE_AS(`mydomain.com’)

The following sections describe the common configuration changes that you may need to make to sendmail.mc.

Enabling connections

The default configuration allows connections only from localhost. If you want Sendmail to work as a server for other computers on your network, look for the following line in the sendmail.mc file:

DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port-smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA’)dnl

Add dnl # to the beginning of this line to make it a comment.

Enabling masquerading

Masquerading allows all the mail being sent from your domain to appear as if it came from the domain (for example, wally@cleaver.net) rather than from the individual hosts (like wally@wally.cleaver.net). To enable masquerading, add lines similar to these:

MASQUERADE_AS(`cleaver.net’)dnl
FEATURE(masquerade_envelope)dnl
FEATURE(masquerade_entire_domain)dnl
MASQUERADE_DOMAIN(`cleaver.net’)dnl

Setting up aliases

An alias — also known as a virtual user — is an incoming e-mail address that is automatically routed to local users. For example, you may want to create a generic account such as sales@mydomain.com and have all mail sent to that account delivered to a user named willie. To do that, you edit the file /etc/mail/virtusers. This file starts out empty. To create a virtual user, just list the incoming e-mail address followed by the actual recipient.

For example, here’s a virtusers file that defines several aliases:

sales@mydomain.com      willie
bob@mydomain.com        robert
marketing@mydomain.com  robert

After you make your changes, you should restart the Sendmail service.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/network-administration-configuring-sendmail.html

What You Need to Build a Basic PC

The basic, no-frills model PC will cost you the least to build. This type of computer is great for word processing, Internet e-mail, keeping track of finances, and simple applications that don’t need lots of memory or a fast computer. Here’s a list of equipment you need to build an entry level PC:

Computer Component	What to Look For
Case	Standard “pizza-box,” ATX minitower, or desk-top model; single fan
CPU/motherboard	Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron; PCI slots
System RAM	512MB
Hard drive	One EIDE drive, 120GB minimum
Optical drive	16x internal DVD drive
Video card	Standard 128MB PCI/AGP adapter
Sound card	PCI audio card
Monitor	17-inch LCD
Ports	At least four USB 2.0 ports
Input	Standard keyboard; mouse

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-you-need-to-build-a-basic-pc.html

Network Administration: Internet Basics

The Goliath of all computer networks, the Internet links hundreds of millions of computer users throughout the world. Strictly speaking, the Internet is a network of networks.

It consists of tens of thousands of separate computer networks, all interlinked, so that a user on any of those networks can reach out and potentially touch a user on any of the other networks. This network of networks connects more than half a billion computers to each other. (That’s right, billion with a b.)

One of the official documents (RFC 2026) of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) defines the Internet as “a loosely organized international collaboration of autonomous, interconnected networks.” Broken down piece by piece, this definition encompasses several key aspects of what the Internet is:

• Loosely organized: No single organization has authority over the Internet. As a result, the Internet is not highly organized. Online services, such as America Online or MSN, are owned and operated by individual companies that control exactly what content appears on the service and what software can be used with the service.

  
  

  No one exercises that kind of control over the Internet. As a result, you can find just about any kind of material imaginable on the Internet. No one guarantees the accuracy of information that you find on the Internet, so you have to be careful as you work your way through the labyrinth.

  
  



• International: Nearly 200 countries are represented on the Internet, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

  
  



• Collaboration: The Internet exists only because many different organizations cooperate to provide the services and support needed to sustain it. For example, much of the software that drives the Internet is open-source software that’s developed collaboratively by programmers throughout the world, who constantly work to improve the code.

  
  



• Autonomous: The Internet community respects that organizations that join the Internet are free to make their own decisions about how they configure and operate their networks. Although legal issues sometimes boil up, for the most part, each player on the Internet operates independently.

  
  



• Interconnected: The whole key to the Internet is the concept of interconnection, which uses standard protocols that enable networks to communicate with each other. Without the interconnection provided by the TCP/IP protocol, the Internet would not exist.

  
  



• Networks: The Internet would be completely unmanageable if it consisted of half a billion individual users, all interconnected. That’s why the Internet is often described as a network of networks.

  
  

  Most individual users on the Internet don’t access the Internet directly. Instead, they access the Internet indirectly through another network, which may be a LAN in a business or academic environment, or a dialup or broadband network provided by an Internet service provider (ISP). In each case, however, the users of the local network access the Internet via a gateway IP router.

  
  

  The Internet is composed of several distinct types of networks: Government agencies, such as the Library of Congress and the White House; military sites (did you ever see War Games or any of the Terminator movies?); educational institutions, such as universities and colleges (and their libraries); businesses, such as Microsoft and IBM; ISPs, which allow individuals to access the Internet; and commercial online services, such as America Online and MSN.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/network-administration-internet-basics.html

Foods to Avoid if You’re Hypoglycemic

Controlling low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, is easier if you just say no to foods that can throw your blood glucose levels out of whack. The following list of foods and food groups are those to avoid:

• Processed foods

  
  



• Fried foods

  
  



• MSG (monosodium glutamate)

  
  



• All soft drinks

  
  



• Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame (NutraSweet), sucralose (Splenda), and saccharine (Sweet’n Low)

  
  



• Hot dogs, sausages, and deli meats

  
  

Having arguments or debates or discussing unpleasant topics while you’re eating can affect your blood sugar as much as the foods you eat. So save the tough talks for a later (or earlier) time.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/foods-to-avoid-if-youre-hypoglycemic.html

Dreamweaver CS4 For Dummies

Dreamweaver CS4 is designed to help you create Web sites you can be proud of. From the panels that help you with writing, editing, and placement tasks to the Property inspector where you can edit with HTML or access CSS styles and options, Dreamweaver CS4 makes Web site creation a breeze.

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The Dreamweaver CS4 Property Inspector HTML Tab

The HTML mode of the Dreamweaver CS4 Property inspector offers tools to help you edit and format the text or object selected in the document window. The following figure shows the toolbar and how it can help you build exciting Web pages.

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The Dreamweaver CS4 Property Inspector CSS Tab

With the release of Dreamweaver CS4 came the ability to build and edit cascading style sheets (CSS) through the Property inspector as well as on the CSS Styles panel. The following figure shows the options available on the CSS tab of Dreamweaver's Property inspector that can help make your Web site designing quicker and easier:

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The Dreamweaver CS4 Panels

The panels of Dreamweaver CS4 contain the tools you need to design, edit, and load the wondrous Web sites you create. The following figures show the Insert, CSS, and Files panels:

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/dreamweaver-cs4-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

How to Format in Applications Other Than NaturallySpeaking

The Dragon NaturallySpeaking formatting commands work only with the NaturallySpeaking word processor and specific other applications: the Natural Language applications (for example, Word, WordPerfect, and OpenOffice.org) and the Full Text Control applications (for example, DragonPad, WordPad, and Microsoft Outlook).

In general, if you want to create or edit a formatted document in an application that is not compatible, you have two choices:

• Work in the NaturallySpeaking window, and then paste the result into the other application.

  
  



• Work in the application's own window and get all your formatting commands from the menus.

  
  

Choosing formatting commands from the menus means you can use voice control for anything the application can do, not just formatting. For example, if you want to make some selected text bold in an unsupported application, you couldn't use the NaturallySpeaking Bold That command, but you could access the Bold command on the application's own Style menu by saying, "Click Style, Bold."

Specially supported word processors such as Word and WordPerfect have more formatting features than NaturallySpeaking gives you direct commands for. In these cases, you can access the word processor's own menus by voice as well as by mouse or keyboard. For example, NaturallySpeaking provides no Footnote That command for inserting footnotes into Word documents, but you can use the Footnote command on Word's insert menu by saying, "Click Insert, Footnote."

How can you create bulleted and numbered lists with voice commands? In Natural Language and Full Text Control applications, dictate the text that you want a bullet next to and then say, “Format That Bullet Style.” To get a second bullet, say, “New Line.”

If your document is in an application that doesn’t support Full Text Control, make the bulleted list in the DragonPad and then copy and paste it into your document.

Like Bold That and Italicize That, the Format That Bullet Style command undoes itself. In other words, you can turn a bulleted paragraph back into regular text by moving the cursor to that paragraph and saying, “Format That Bullet Style.” You may not think this makes sense — but that’s the way it works.

Use this technique to end the bulleted list: After the last bulleted paragraph is done, say, “New Paragraph,” and then, “Format That Bullet Style.” The new paragraph is now in regular style.

The NaturallySpeaking Dictation Box doesn’t provide a means for generating numbered lists automatically. You have to construct them yourself. For example, say, “New Line. One period. Cap this is the first entry on my numbered list. Period. New Line. Two period. Cap this is the second entry. Period.” The result is

1. This is the first entry on my numbered list.

   
   



2. This is the second entry.

   
   

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-format-in-applications-other-than-naturally.html

Windows Server 2003 For Dummies

A few commands in Windows Server 2003 can monitor, configure, and troubleshoot your network. These functions can access programs through the administrative tools; use TCP/IP commands for internet-based issues; and apply net commands for NetBios networking functions.

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Windows Server 2003 Administrative Tools

In Windows Server 2003, the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) hosts tools called MMC snap-ins. You can access these Windows Server 2003 administrative tools by either

• Using the Start→Administrative Tools menu

  
  



• Typing the name of the launch file in the Run dialog box (Start→Run)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Name	Launch file	Function
  Active Directory Domains and Trusts	domain.msc	Manages trusts between domains
  Active Directory Sites and Services	dssite.msc	Manages sites involved in Active Directory replication
  Active Directory Users and Computers	dsa.msc	Manages users, groups, computers, and other objects
  Component Services	comexp.msc	Manages COM+ applications
  Computer Management	compmgmt.msc /s	Starts and stops services, manages disks, and provides access to other computer management tools for local and remote administration
  Data Sources (ODBC)	odbcad32.exe	Manages ODBC drivers and data sources
  DHCP	dhcpmgmt.msc /s	Manages DHCP, which assigns TCP/IP settings to clients
  Disk Defragmenter	dfrg.msc	Starts the Disk Defragmenter utility
  Distributed File System	dfscmd	Manages DFS, which creates a single shared hierarchy of resources from multiple hosts
  DNS	dnsmgmt.msc /s	Manages DNS, which resolves host names into IP addresses
  Event Viewer	eventvwr.msc /s	Accesses various log files under Windows Server
  Internet Services Manager	mmc.exe H:\W2KSVR\ System32\inetsrv\iis.msc	Manages Web and FTP Internet services
  Licensing	llsmgr.exe	Manages licenses and client use
  Performance	perfmon.msc /s	Monitors the performance of a system or network
  Routing and Remote Access	rrasmgmt.msc /s	Manages remote connections and routing activities
  Terminal Services Licensing	licmgr.exe	Manages client access to terminal services

  
  

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Important TCP/IP Command-Line Utilities in Windows Server 2003

When you attach to the Internet, building a TCP/IP toolkit will help you troubleshoot if you run into network problems. Windows Server 2003 includes a collection of utilities to help you perform some useful functions. The Help String column in the following table shows how to get online help for syntax details on each command.

Name	Help String	Function
ARP	arp /h	Displays and modifies the address translation table maintained by the TCP/IP Address Resolution Protocol
IPCONFIG	ipconfig /?	Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration data
NETSTART	netstart /?	Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP network connections
NSLOOKUP	Nslookup	Displays information about known DNS servers
PING	Ping	Verifies connections to local or remote computers (Ping stands for Packet InterNet Groper, an excellent IP troubleshooting tool)
ROUTE	Route	Displays and manipulates network routing tables
TRACERT	Tracert	Displays the route from your machine to a specified destination

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Important Windows Server 2003 Net Commands

In Windows Server 2003, each of the command-line utilities (shown in the table) performs a useful NetBIOS networking function. For help on a specific Net command, enter either Net Help or Net Help <command>.

Name	Function
Net accounts	Manage user accounts through a command-line tool
Net computer	Add or delete computers in a domain database
Net help	Access all Net command help files
Net helpmsg	Explain Windows Net error messages
Net print	View or control print jobs
Net send	Send messages to other computers or users on a network
Net share	Display, create, or delete network shares
Net use	Connect or disconnect a computer from a share by name

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/windows-server-2003-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Helpful Resources for Buying Green Home Computer Equipment

Want to purchase environmentally friendly home computing equipment but don't know where to turn? Use the following resources to green up your home computer and cut your energy costs:

• EPEAT

  
  



• Energy Star

  
  



• Climate Counts

  
  



• Look for the Good Housekeeping Green Seal of Approval

  
  



• Check out the manufacturer’s Web site (What is their green policy?)

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/helpful-resources-for-buying-green-home-computer-e.html

Locating Your Larynx for Improved Singing

Because the position of the larynx affects the tone of your singing, you want to know where your larynx is. The larynx can move up or down. A low larynx helps create a full, open sound. Raising the larynx too high creates a tighter and more strident sound.

Place your fingers on the middle of your throat underneath your chin. Now swallow. As you swallow, you can feel something move up and then down. That’s your larynx.

The bump in the middle of the larynx is called the Adam’s apple. Because men usually have a larger, more pointed larynx than women, guys can feel their Adam’s apple more easily.

Keep your fingers on your throat and yawn. Feel that? The larynx went way down. When you sing, you want the larynx to be in the middle of your neck, (a neutral position) or lower. A low larynx helps create a nice, full, open sound for classical music. The larynx in a neutral position is closer to what happens when you belt.

Raising the larynx too high creates a tight or squeezed sound. Some teachers talk about a raised larynx for belting. If you drop the larynx low for classical singing, the position of the larynx is higher for belting. Call it a neutral position because thinking of a raised larynx may encourage you to push up or press to raise your larynx.

You want to release the larynx on the inhalation so that it opens. Not releasing the larynx upon inhalation can cause fatigue, because the muscles in the larynx are always in action when you’re singing. Those muscles need a rest between phrases.

With your finger in the middle of your throat, hum a few bars of your favorite song. The buzzing sensation that you feel is your vocal cords vibrating and creating tone. Awesome! You may feel that buzzing sensation in your lips or around your nose.

You can even feel the vibrations on the crown of your head. Because you can’t see your voice, feeling the vibrations of sound is important. Your singing voice makes vibrations that you can feel in your body and hear resounding in the room.

Trusting the feeling of good technique is important, because each room that you sing in has different acoustics. To monitor your tone, learn to feel the vibrations instead of relying on reverb.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/locating-your-larynx-for-improved-singing.html

How to Differentiate a Common Name Online

People with unique names can much more easily rank in Google and build an online reputation, which helps in a job search. However, if you have a common name, like John Smith or Sarah Jones, don’t fret. You can still differentiate yourself online. Just do the following:

• Use your middle initial. Your middle initial may separate you from all the other Johns and Sarahs. But keep in mind that, after you begin using your middle initial, you must use it everywhere to make this tactic work, including in your LinkedIn profile, website address, account profiles, business cards, and so on. In essence, you’re rebranding yourself.

  
  



• *Use your degree or professional license or certificate. Sometimes your middle initial won’t work, so including your professional credentials, such as CPA, Leed Certificate, LPN, or NCC, is another way to differentiate yourself.

  
  

  For example, someone else with your exact name may use the same initial for her brand as well. Not to worry. You can always further narrow down the search by branding yourself with your degree or specialty. Those three-letter abbreviations after your name really do come in handy sometimes.

  
  



• *Create your own search button. Going forward, you may as well assume that prospective employers will Google you. So rather than wait for some random hiring manager to type your name into Google and struggle to find anything relevant about you, why not give him a search button you’ve designed to return the most accurate results?

  
  

  You’ll save him the time and hassle of trying to find you. After you create a customized search button, you can include it with your job application and e-mail signature.

  
  

  You can use Vizibility to create a SearchMe button. This button helps you design your own Google search results page. You tell the tool what you want the search results to include, and then it creates a search query that produces those results.

  
  

  When someone clicks on the SearchMe link, it sends that custom search query to Google and delivers the results you designed. In other words, the SearchMe button is a specialized Google search query with predictable results that helps your searcher save time.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-differentiate-a-common-name-online.html

Deliver Value to Your Mom Blog Advertisers

Just putting an advertisement in front of your readers doesn’t mean that you’re offering your advertisers the best value for their dollars. You must have a good alignment between your advertisers and the interests of your readers.

If you have a blog about your adventures with newborn twins, it’s likely that most of your readers are in an age range and phase of life similar to yours. So ads targeted at moms who are empty-nesters won’t get the same sort of response as they would on a blog such as The Roaming Boomers, a travel blog by and for retired couples.

Here's one more big reason to focus your blog on a niche: doing so not only enables you to sell advertising more effectively to sponsors, but also makes it easy for you to deliver value to your advertisers. As you focus on your own specific niche, you become an increasingly valuable place for companies to advertise, even when you don’t think your blog is big enough yet.

Ultimately, you want your advertisers to be happy, so anything you can do to help their ads get better results will encourage them to stick with you. Here are some of the ways you can do that and increase the value of the advertising you sell:

• Mention your advertisers in a periodic Thank You to Our Sponsors post. Just be careful to follow the same NoFollow guidelines as you would when selling regular text links.

  
  



• Rotate ad placements. If you have several advertisers and the older ads are pushing the newer ads lower on the page, you can rotate the ads that appear at the top of your pages — and have a sequence of whose ads get to be there. This gives all your advertisers equal access to the prime real estate in your sidebar.

  
  



• Offer to let advertisers run different versions of their ads. This is a more sophisticated solution that you can offer if you are using an ad server. Ad servers allow your advertisers to display multiple versions of their ads, and they will even give automatic preference to the ads that get the most clicks.

  
  

You can do some handy things — for openers, you can include social media promotion, create custom content, or participate in other campaigns that the advertiser is working on.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/deliver-value-to-your-mom-blog-advertisers.html

How to Edit Facebook&#8217;s Spotify Privacy Settings

Facebook allows you to change your privacy settings for Spotify so that you can share as little or as much as you want about your listening habits. Follow these steps to access the Spotify Settings window:

1. In Facebook, click the down arrow that appears at the top-right.

   
   



2. In the menu that appears, click Privacy Settings.

   
   

   The Choose Your Privacy Settings page appears.

   
   



3. In the Apps and Websites section, click Edit Your Settings.

   
   

   You’re taken to your privacy settings for Apps, Games, and Websites.

   
   



4. In the Apps You Use section, click the Edit Settings button.

   
   

   You’re taken to the App Settings page.

   
   



5. Next to Spotify, click the Edit link.

   
   

   The window expands to display a range of information and activity that Spotify is allowed to access.

   
   

Limit App settings

You can still have Facebook keep a record of your listening data while hiding the information from certain friends. You can even limit an app so that only you can see its activity. Access the Spotify Settings window and then follow these steps:

1. Click the App Activity Privacy button and select Customize from the pop-up menu that appears.

   
   

   You can select who can see posts and activity from the Spotify app. From the menu, you have a choice between Public, Friends of Friends, Friends, or Customize.

   
   



2. In the Make This Visible to These People or Lists drop-down list, select who can see the app.

   
   

   You have a number of choices. Select Only Me if you don’t want anyone but yourself to see your activity, or either the Friends of Friends or the Friends option to give your Facebook circle access. Otherwise, select Specific People or Lists, and then begin typing the names of people with whom you don’t mind sharing your Spotify habits.

   
   



3. (Optional) In the Hide This from These People or Lists text box, enter who can’t see the app.

   
   

   If you want to hide the app from specific people (such as that ex-girlfriend you can’t shake off your Friends list), then type her name in this text box.

   
   



4. Click Save Setting.

   
   

Choosing to stop publicizing your activity doesn’t mean the end of sharing music from within Facebook. You can still manually post links to playlists and tracks within Facebook.

Limit access to Facebook information

When you first authorize Spotify to connect to Facebook, you have to give Spotify permission to access certain features of your Facebook setup, such as your Timeline and your personal information.

However, if you aren’t keen on Spotify accessing any but your most basic Facebook details (which are necessary to run the service), you can go into Facebook after you add the Spotify app and further edit Spotify’s access settings.

The curious among you, take note: You can even see what kind of personal information Spotify last accessed.

Say that you’re happy to let Spotify post to your Timeline but want to block it from accessing data at any time. To amend this unwanted access, open the Spotify Settings window and then follow these steps:

1. In the This App Can Also section, next to both the Access Posts in Your News Feed option and the Access Your Data Any Time option, click Remove App.

   
   

   The Remove App feature appears as an X next to the option.

   
   



2. (Optional) Next to Last Data Access, click See Details to launch a pop-up window, where you can see what data Spotify accessed on your behalf.

   
   



3. Click Close when you finish.

   
   

This technique can be applied to all apps that you have authorized and installed on Facebook; not just Spotify!

Although most people love the Facebook and Spotify integration, some people aren’t happy about having to use Facebook to log into Spotify. You can actually delete all the options in the This App Can Also section, so that all Spotify has on you is your name, e-mail address, and birthday — in other words, the bare minimum that it needs for you to log in.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-edit-facebooks-spotify-privacy-settings.html

Export from InDesign Creative Suite 5 to Dreamweaver

Exporting an InDesign CS5 document to Dreamweaver allows you to bring your pages into Dreamweaver so that they can be prepared for use on the web. Documents coming from InDesign typically require a fair amount of editing and styling before they can be put on the web and Dreamweaver is the perfect Creative Suite tool for that job.

To export an InDesign document for Dreamweaver, follow these steps:

1. With an InDesign document open, choose File→Export For→Dreamweaver.

   
   

   The Save As window appears.

   
   



2. Enter a name for the html file in the Save As text field.

   
   

   You may want to create a new path for the exported file.

   
   



3. Click the Save button.

   
   

   The XHTML Export Options dialog box appears. In this dialog box, you can determine whether you’re exporting only the selection (if you had something selected) or the entire document. You can also map how to handle bullets.

   
   



4. Select Images in the left column.

   
   

   You can see options for saving optimized images.

   
   



5. Leave the Image Conversion drop-down list set to Automatic.

   
   

   The Automatic setting lets InDesign decide whether an image is best saved as a GIF or JPEG file. Alternatively, you can specify in which format you prefer to save all images.

   
   



6. Click the Advanced option.

   
   

   The Advanced option lets you determine how Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are handled, whether you want to use them, or whether you want them to reference an external CSS style it will link to.

   
   



7. After you complete the options, click the Export button.

   
   

   You can now open and edit the XHTML file directly in Dreamweaver.

   
   

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/export-from-indesign-creative-suite-5-to-dreamweav.html

Wireless Network Administration: Effective Netbook Use

Netbooks are a widely used tool and have many advantages. However, there are some techniques and tips that will help make working with netbooks easier and more productive. Here they are, in no particular order:

• Carry a standard-sized keyboard and mouse in your car. The keyboard on a netbook computer is pretty small, and the touch-pad mouse is small. You may not want to lug the keyboard and mouse into a restaurant or coffee shop, but it’s handy to have when you take the netbook into your hotel room and want to do some real work.

  
  



• Consider disabling the tap feature of the netbook’s touch pad. Because of the netbook’s small size, the touch pad is usually located uncomfortably close to the keyboard. It is easy to end up tapping it with the base of your thumbs as you type, which causes the mouse pointer to jump all over the place almost at random. You can solve this problem by disabling the tap feature of the touch pad.

  
  



• Create a desktop icon that will take your users directly to your Office Web Access (OWA) site. That way, your users can easily access their e-mail whenever they have an Internet connection.

  
  



• Install VPN client software to allow your users to tunnel in to your network.

  
  



• Because netbook computers usually run one of the Home editions of Windows 7, netbooks can’t join your domain. That’s probably for the best, though, because most users will use the netbook mostly for web browsing and e-mail, which, as mentioned earlier, can be easily accomplished with OWA.

  
  



• Keep in mind that although the netbook computer can’t join the domain, it can still access network shares. The user has to provide a valid username and password each time he or she tries to open a network share.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/wireless-network-administration-effective-netbook-.html

Cutting Tracks with GarageBand

Figure 1: GarageBand's Save As dialog box offers adjustable settings.

You can also set some basic settings for the song. The settings that are shown in Figure 1 are the default and the most common settings for a song. Of course, you can change these settings for any song using the menus and slider, as follows:

• Tempo: Use this slider to adjust the tempo.

• Time: The pop-up menu lets you adjust the time signature. The adjacent bpm box indicates the beats per minute as selected with the Tempo slider. (If you type a new number in the box, the Tempo slider will move by the appropriate amount.)

• Key: Use this pop-up menu to adjust the key.

It's probably a good idea to leave the Tempo, Time, and Key settings alone if you don't know what they mean, at least for now. You can always change them later if you like.

After you save the file, you see the timeline, where your new song is just waiting for you to put something on its tracks.

3. Create a track by choosing Track --> New Track, by pressing Command-W, or by clicking the New Track button on-screen.

Whichever you choose, the New Track dialog box appears.

4. Click the name of the type of track that you want to create (at the top of the window): Real Instrument or Software Instrument.

GarageBand offers three different kinds of tracks: Real instrument tracks, software instrument tracks, and one master track per song. You can have as many real and software instrument tracks as your hardware can handle, but each song has but a single master track.

When you're laying down tracks, real and software instrument tracks are the ones that you need to focus on. The master track comes into play in the mastering stage.

Here's how to choose the right type of track for the instrument that you want to record:

• Real instrument tracks: If you connect an instrument — an electric guitar, electronic piano, synthesizer, or any other electronic instrument or a microphone — directly to your Mac when you record, this device requires a real instrument track in GarageBand. Vocals are also considered real instruments in GarageBand, so you record them on real instrument tracks. There is one exception — a MIDI keyboard.

• Software instrument tracks: If you connect a MIDI keyboard to your Mac, you use a software instrument track. This is also the type of track to use if you want to record a track using GarageBand's built-in software instruments.

After you select the type of track that you want to record, a set of related options appears in the left. At this point, recording a real instrument track becomes a little different from recording a software instrument track.

After you record a track, the "region" you just recorded appears on that track in the timeline in its proper color — real instruments are blue, and software instruments are green. The tracks even glow their proper color when you select them. Loops and real audio regions in the timeline are also colored this way. You'll have it memorized in no time; blue tracks are real instrument tracks, while green tracks are software instrument tracks.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/cutting-tracks-with-garageband.html

How to Perform Common QuickBooks Tasks

To perform a common accounting or bookkeeping task in QuickBooks, use these commands. When QuickBooks displays the commands window, you just fill in the boxes and press Enter.

To Do This	Choose This QuickBooks Command
Dealing with Customers
Invoice a customer	Customers→Create Invoices
Provide customer estimate	Customers→Create Estimates
Records sales order	Customers→Create Sales Order
Record a cash sale	Customers→Enter Sales Receipts
Issue a credit memo	Customers→Create Credit Memo/Refunds
Record a customer payment	Customers→Receive Payments
Banking Activities
Pay a bill with a check	Banking→Write Checks
Buy inventory with a check	Banking→Write Checks
Move money between bank accounts	Banking→Transfer Funds
Deposit money in a bank account	Banking→Make Deposits
See a bank account’s transactions	Banking→Use Register
Reconcile a bank account	Banking→Reconcile
Working with Vendors
Prepare a purchase order	Vendors→Create Purchase Orders
Record when items are received	Vendors→Receive Items or Vendors→Receive Items and Enter Bill
Record an accounts payable amount	Vendors→Enter Bills or Vendors→Enter Bill for Received Items
Managing Employees
Preparing employee payroll	Employees→Pay Employees→Scheduled Payroll (or Unscheduled Payroll)
Paying tax deposits	Employees→Payroll Taxes and Liabilities→Pay Scheduled Liabilities
Getting Financial Information
Accounts	Lists→Chart of Accounts
Customers	Customers→Customer Center
Inventory	Lists→Item List
Vendors	Vendors→Vendor Center
Employees	Employees→Employee Center
Profit and loss	Reports→Company & Financial→Profit & Loss Standard or one of the other profit & loss reports on Company & Financial submenu
Net worth	Reports→Company & Financial→Balance Sheet Standard or one of the other balance sheet reports on the Company & Financial submenu
Managing the QuickBooks System
Setting up a new company	File→New Company
Resetting company information	Company→Company Information
Backing up data file	File→Create Backup or Create Copy
Restoring a data file	File→Open or Restore Company
Customizing QuickBooks	Edit→Preferences
Adjusting accounting data	Company→Make General Journal Entries

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-perform-common-quickbooks-tasks.html

Filter Out Whipsaws from Your Trading Decisions

False signals on a trading chart usually reverse fairly quickly, putting you back in the trade in the right direction, but in the meanwhile, you take a small loss, called a whipsaw loss. Whipsaw refers to the whipping action of the price quickly moving through the moving average in both directions, resulting in a series of back-and-forth trades. Whipsaws occur in even the best-behaved trend and are common in a sideways market where traders are indecisive about trend direction.

Whipsaws have a pernicious effect on your profit and loss statement in two ways:

• When trading a trend-following technique like the moving average crossover, you make most of your gains by riding big trends, and you accept that gains are going to be reduced by the occasional whipsaw at reversal points, sideways periods, and any spiky outlier. But if your big trends also contain whipsaws, you end up overtrading, which is to make a lot of trades for only a small net gain or loss.

  
  



• Overtrading almost always results in net losses because on every trade you have to pay brokerage commissions and fees, which reduce profits and raise losses.

  
  

Instead of using the raw crossover of price and moving average to generate a buy/sell signal, you can set up additional tests, called filters. If the crossover passes the filter tests, chances are it’s a valid buy/sell signal and not a flash in the pan. Filters come in several varieties, and you can apply any or all of them to reduce the number of trades. Note that filters may delay entry and exit, and therefore may reduce total gains while reducing whipsaw losses.

Consider the following filters:

• Time: The close has to remain above (or below) the moving average for an additional x number of periods after the crossover date.

  
  



• Extent: The price has to surpass the moving average numerical value by x percent of the price or x percent of some other measure, such as the trading range of the past y days.

  
  



• Volume: The crossover has to be accompanied by a significant rise in volume.

  
  



• Extreme sentiment: In an uptrend crossover, the low has to surpass the moving average and not just the close; in a downtrend, the high has to be under the moving average, and not just the close.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-filter-out-whipsaws-from-your-trading-decis.html

How to Get Your Kids Out and Exercising

Sure, getting your child physical helps balance calories. But it also helps develop coordination and self-confidence. Diet and exercise habits that start now are more likely to follow your child into adulthood. Get the whole family involved in physical activity.

Some activities will be difficult if your child is overweight. Her size may make movement difficult, uncoordinated, and embarrassing. One of the reasons many adults don’t like to exercise is because as children they were made to work out as a form of discipline. You can keep exercise fun. Studies show that the exercise habits made in youth are the habits you’re most likely to keep as you become adults.

• Take walks together after dinner.

  
  



• Plan nature walks, hikes, and canoe trips for the whole family.

  
  



• Encourage your child to join school or community athletic programs — but only if she enjoys the activity. If it’s not fun, the child won’t do it, and it won’t engender lifelong habits. Volunteer to coach or, at the very least, go to games and practice sessions.

  
  



• Take up sports that the whole family can do, such as inline skating, cross-country or downhill skiing, and backpacking

  
  



• Get a pedometer for each family member. It’s a tangible way to promote and encourage physical activity.

  
  



• Get a rope and start jumping. Stage a family tournament.

  
  



• Encourage children to ride bikes and swim at an early age, and show them how. Dust off your bike, too; put on your suit and get into the pool with your kids.

  
  



• Turn off the TV. Better yet, unplug it. And limit computer and video game time.

  
  



• Ask your child what he liked best about doing a favorite activity. You may be surprised to find out that you’re the draw. Exercise can provide a focused opportunity for conversation between the two of you.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-get-your-kids-out-and-exercising.html

Major Mobile-Device Operating Systems

To protect data on mobile devices, you need to know a quintet of mobile-device operating systems that powers most of today's smartphone and tablet devices. Be ready for employee requests for access from all of these operating systems:

• Apple's iOS: Incredibly popular operating system from Apple, running devices such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.

  
  



• Google's Android: Google's mobile device operating system, powering devices from several device manufacturers.

  
  



• Microsoft's Windows Phone: A newer operating system from Microsoft that ships on devices from a variety of vendors. Windows Phone 7 represents a complete redesign of Microsoft's previous operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5.

  
  



• Research In Motion's Blackberry: A long-standing favorite in the enterprise due to security and manageability features. The iOS and Android platforms have increased in popularity in recent years and have become alternatives to Blackberry in many enterprises.

  
  



• Nokia's Symbian: Open-source operating system managed by Nokia. In 2011, Nokia announced that it would begin building devices based on the Microsoft Windows Phone operating system, rendering the future of Symbian questionable.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/major-mobiledevice-operating-systems.navId-323198.html

Basketball For Dummies

Basketball is the most popular participatory sport in the United States — even more popular than Angry Birds. So whether you're a basketball player or a basketball fan, you're in with the popular crowd. The sport combines physical prowess, intelligence, grace, and coordination. Although more than 46 million Americans play basketball, the game is flexible enough to enable each player to develop individual style. It all comes down to one basic idea: Throw the ball through the hoop!

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Basketball Terms and Phrases to Know

As with any sport, basketball has its own terms and phrases to describe game moves, plays, positions, and more. Knowing some basketball lingo will help you to enjoy the game more while you play or watch from courtside seats — or your sofa.

alley-oop: A designed play in which a player lobs the ball toward the basket and a teammate jumps up, catches the ball in midair, and usually dunks it.

block out (or box out): Using the body to block or shield an opponent in order to gain better position to grab a rebound.

boards: Rebounds.

brick or clank: An especially ugly, misfired shot that clanks hard off the rim.

bucket: A good multipurpose word that can mean the basket itself or a made basket; also can be used as an adjective for an especially good shooter, as in "That guy is bucket."

bury a jumper: To make an especially pretty jump shot.

cager: A basketball player.

charity stripe: The free throw line.

deuce: A made field goal, worth two points.

downtown: A long way from the basket, as in, "He just hit that shot from downtown!"

hack: A foul.

hole: a basket, as in "take it to the hole."

hoop: a basket.

hops: Jumping ability.

H-O-R-S-E: A popular game in which one player makes a shot and his opponent must make the identical shot. Failure to do so results in gaining a letter (starting with "h").

in the paint: In the free throw lane.

nothin' but net: A shot that goes through the rim without touching the rim or any other part of the basket.

rock: Slang for ball, as in "shoot the rock" or "pass the rock."

T: technical foul.

take it to the hole: To drive toward the basket in an attempt to score.

trey: A made field goal from behind the three-point arc, worth three points.

21: A game in which any number of players can play. The player who has the ball attempts to score while all other players defend. A made shot results in two points, plus you are given up to three consecutive free throws, each worth one point.

walk: To travel.

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Understanding Player Positions in Basketball

In basketball, a five-player team scores points by getting the ball through the hoop. Each basketball player has a specific position and responsibilities. The positions — which consist of two guards, two forwards, and one center — call for different physical requirements and skills:

• Point Guard: Usually the shortest player on the team. Should be the team's best passer and ball handler; not primarily a shooter. Traditional role is to push the ball upcourt and start the offensive wheels turning. Should either take the ball to the basket or remain near the top of the key, ready to retreat on defense. Best and brightest: Derek Rose.

  
  



• Shooting Guard: Generally taller than a point guard but shorter than a small forward. Not necessarily a great ball handler, but normally the team's best perimeter shooter. A good shooting guard (or two guard) comes off screens set by taller teammates prepared to shoot, pass, or drive to the basket. Also tries to grab rebounds on offense. Best and brightest: Dwyane Wade.

  
  



• Small Forward: The all-purpose player on offense: aggressive and strong; tall enough to mix it up inside but agile enough to handle the ball and shoot well. Must be able to score both from the perimeter and from inside. Best and brightest: Carmelo Anthony.

  
  



• Power Forward: Has muscles or at least a little bulk. Must be able to catch passes and hit shots near the basket. A good, rugged rebounder, but athletic enough to move with some quickness around the lane on offense and defense. Expected to score when given the opportunity on the baseline, much like a center, but usually has a range of up to 15 feet all around the basket. Best and brightest: Pau Gasol.

  
  



• Center: Usually the tallest player on the team. Should be able to post up offensively — that is, receive the ball with his back to the basket and use pivot moves to hit a variety of short jumpers, hook shots, and dunks. Also must know how to find the open player in the paint and grab offensive rebounds. Best and brightest: Dwight Howard.

  
  

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Visit a Basketball Hall of Fame

When people talk about the basketball hall of fame, they're likely referring to the granddaddy of 'em all, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. But other halls of fame dedicated to this sport are no less enjoyable to visit. First, take a virtual pilgrimage to Springfield:

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Where can a basketball fan find nearly 300 hall-of-fame inductees and more than 40,000 square feet of basketball history? Look no further than the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Located on the picturesque banks of the Connecticut River, the museum is a fitting shrine to the game Dr. James Naismith invented more than a century ago. The landmark structure is one of the world's most distinctive monuments punctuating the Springfield skyline and stirring the spirits of basketball fans everywhere. Hundreds of interactive exhibits share the spotlight with skills challenges, live clinics, and shooting contests. And of course there is enough basketball history to impress the world's most avid sports fans. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2009.

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), located at the Sprint Center. The hall is meant as a complement to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, with a focus strictly on those who have contributed greatly to college basketball.

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame opened in June 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's basketball. The Hall is filled with multimedia presentations and numerous basketball artifacts, photographs, scrapbooks, medals, trophies, and old uniforms that bring the history of women's basketball to life. In the State Farm Tip-Off theater, you will see Hoopful of Hope, a 17-minute video production covering the history of our game. The production shows some of the all-time greats from the sport including players, coaches, and teams from AAU, collegiate, and professional organizations.

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