Gronox

How to retrieve interesting books on-line

Everybody knows Amazon, the world?s largest online bookstore, but there are a great deal of different on-line bookstores, especially if you are searching for books in other languages than English. Virago has moderate prices but so have other on-line book shops and if you include shipping tolls it can often be less expensive to order your volumes locally.

You can compare costs on volumes at many websites, personally I employ bogpriser to get the best prices for books and these costs includes shipping, so the results are comparable. The on-line bookstore sells all sorts of books, novels, fiction, nonfictional prose, and books on psychological science and how to build a web site.

One field which interests me is depression and anxiousness and how to deal with depressive disorder. I endure from depression and have to take pills every day to be fit to live a regular life. Antidepressants have changed my life and clinical depression research is something I relish studying about.

My experiences in coping with clinical depression have resulted in a site where I describe my experiences in meeting depression and the domain of antidepressant drugs. The site and my publishing is also a positive therapy and because I have a cheap webhost, there are really few disbursals in the project.

Volumes on depression and how to cope with depression, books on constructing web sites and good novels for the lasting gloomy wintertime evenings are seen on the net. In online bookstores it is smooth to equate prices, accessibility and different elements which can help in the buy.

Some subjects are so inflammatory and divisive people resort to personal attacks almost immediately when they hold the minority point of view. Here is an example: have you heard of Balrogs? Do Balrogs have wings? You may not care but don’t surprised to learn that many thousands of people have wasted hours, sometimes days or years of their lives arguing over the question. Most surveys reveal that at least 75% of all readers (of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books) conclude that the Balrog mentioned in The Lord of the Rings has some sort of wings.

In fact, in an essay that discloses the truth about Balrogs, noted Tolkien scholar Michael Martinez showed readers just exactly why the whole debate is pointless. Tolkien described his Balrog as being a creature of fire and darkness, and it is the darkness surrounding the Balrog that takes on the shape of two wings. Some people wrongly conclude that the wings are metaphors but the narrative structure of the story does not support the metaphorical argument.

Not long another pro-metaphor essayist decided to rehash old arguments that had already been rebutted in numerous discussions. Posting by the screen name of Elenhir, this wannabe Tolkien scholar took offense when Martinez refused to rebut the essay in detail. Elenhir (joined by Australian fan David Gransby, posting as halfir) launched a series of personal attacks on Martinez in order to discredit him. But can two mean-spirited people really discredit one of the Internet’s leading experts on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien? Michael Martinez’ more than 200 essays are referenced on thousands of Websites, and some of them have been quoted in newspapers and magazines around the world.

Although Elenhir and his friend felt it is justifiable to publish false allegations about the quality of Martinez’ work — that he does not provide citations to back up what he writes — they took an easily refuted lie. Martinez is considered to be the king of citations by many Tolkien fans and scholars. His reputation for thorough, contextually-appropriate citations from the Tolkien books is unmatched. So Gransby and his friend Elenhir made themselves into laughing stocks by trying to support bad scholarship with unbelievable personal attacks.

They would have accomplished more and earned more respect by attempting to explain their position, addressing each of the facts carefully, without relying on errors of omission, using inappropriate citations, and making personal attacks on someone who never attacked them. Martinez presents his own personal position on the matter without making personal attacks on anyone. Gransby and his friends would do well to emulate Martinez.

Looking for bandwidth? That can be a daunting and frustrating task even in the best of situations. There’s lots to consider in order to make the right decision for your needs. Below you’ll find some help when evaluating Fractional DS3 vs DS3. Factors covered include Technology, Speed, Description, Application, Pros, Cons, and Cost.

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Technology: Fractional DS3

Speed: 3 Mbps – 44.736 Mbps

Description: A fraction of a full DS-3, which is comprised of 28 T-1s or 672 channels.

Application: Provides access from a location into the Internet for a large business or ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Pros: Provides very high speed access directly into the carrier’s backbone. Bandwidth guaranteed by SLA (Service Level Agreement). Very reliable.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: A Fractional DS3 will likely start at around $2,000 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provider)….not including the local loop. A required router is additional unless provided as a “freebie” incentive by the vendor. Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However….the pricing for these connections can vary widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used. For example…Tier 1 providers will probably cost more than local/regional Tier 2 and Tier 3 providers but are much more stable and reliable. A Tier 1 provider should be the provider of choice for any business serious about the quality of their network. Also, expect to pay more if you are in a rural area or need integrated (voice and data combined) DS3 service.

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Technology: DS3

Speed: 44.736 Mbps

Description: dedicated connection made up of the equivalent of 28 T-1s.

Application: Provides access from a location into the Internet for a large business or ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Pros: Circuit runs directly into the carrier’s backbone. Bandwidth guaranteed by SLA (Service Level Agreement). Very reliable.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: A full DS3 obviously will cost more than a Fractional DS3. Expect cost to start at around a $3-5,000 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provider)…..not including the local loop. A required router is additional unless provided as a “freebie” incentive by the vendor. Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However….the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used. For example…Tier 1 providers may cost more than local/regional Tier2 and Tier 3 providers but are much more stable and reliable. A Tier 1 provider should be the provider of choice for any business serious about the quality of their network. Also, expect to pay more if you are in a rural area or need integrated (voice and data combined) or bonded (multiple DS3s bound in 1 network….option vs full OC3) DS3 service.

~~~~~~~~~~

Technology: E3 (Europe)

Speed: 34.368 Mbps

Description: European equivalent of T-3. Made up of the equivalent of 28 T-1s.

Application: Provides access from a location into the Internet for a large business or ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Pros: Circuit runs directly into the carrier’s backbone. Bandwidth guaranteed by SLA (Service Level Agreement). Very reliable.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: A full E3 usually costs more than it’s North American counterpart. Expect cost to start at around a $6-8,000 for a stable, reliable 45 Mbps system (e.g. from an equivalent Tier 1 provider). A required router is additional unless provided as a “freebie” incentive by the vendor (not common in Europe). Local loops range from $1,000 – $3,000/month. Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However….just as with the North American version the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire
Communications….including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you’re always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

Small to medium size UK businesses are wasting money every day
and putting the future of their business in jeopardy through old
fashioned computing practices, which are costing them £18
billion annually. This is the conclusion of the Server Solutions
Study by Fasthosts, the
UK’s largest independent hosting company.

Fasthosts
conducted a study into server computing solutions in SME
businesses. It examined the basic solutions needed to set up a
server securely in-house in comparison to using hosted services.
The study revealed that many small businesses in the UK host
their server in-house because of the out-dated belief that this
allows maximum access and security. Following an examination of
the SME server computing environment, the opposite was found to
be the case, as hosting a server within the company premises
requires careful consideration and preparation.


Analysis revealed that the minimum requirements for SMEs running
a server in-house are a power failure system to ensure the
server can be shut down safely in case of an emergency; SDSL
internet connection for maximum upload speed; a remote control
card for access to the server from outside the office; a
firewall for security and additional considerations such as air
conditioning; physical security and remote back up. The study
found that the cost for these quickly add up and on an ongoing
basis impact the bottom line. (Source: National Statistics and
Fasthosts’ Server Solutions Study, 2005)
However, when
these systems are not in place the future of any small business
can be at risk. Especially small businesses in London have a
very low three-year survival rate at 62.8% in contrast to
Northern Ireland (72.4%), Wales (86%) and Scotland (65.3%)
(Source: Confederation of British Industry, 2005).


“In our experience many businesses are still stuck in 1980s
computing mentality,” comments Andrew Michael, CEO of Fasthosts.
“They need to move and embrace new computing practices. It is
impossible to put value on data so it needs to be kept under
maximum security – data is the lifeblood of any business. Only a
hosted environment offers the required security solutions in a
cost effective bundle, however the SME market remains largely
ignorant of this.”

Fasthosts carried out the Server
Solution Study to analyse its dedicated
server offering and ensure it matches the needs of the
marketplace. Fasthosts offers hosted services for servers in a
highly secure, air conditioned data centre in the UK. The hosted
servers can be set up instantly online and come with a private
LAN, easy to use control panel, full remote control and
firewall. An SDSL connection can be added as well as secure
database hosting.

The Server Solutions Study was
carried out in November 2005 and examined the costs of essential
solutions needed to host a server securely and safely in-house
versus hosting it at a remote data centre. The study examined
the UK SME server computing environment, including all factors
essential to secure maximum uptime and the security of business
critical data. Key solutions examined included air conditioning,
SDSL, UPS, firewall, remote control card which are provided by
most hosting providers as part of a standard hosting package.


About Fasthosts
Since 1999, Fasthosts has
delivered market leading online services to the home, home
office and SME markets. The business has a successful track
record and proven business model in providing high value, award
winning products.

Contact details:
Ed
Johnson
Ed.Johnson@fasthosts.co.uk
Fasthosts Internet
Ltd.
Discovery House
154 Southgate Street

Gloucester
GL1 2EX
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)870
888 3600
Fax +44 (0)870 888 3838

What is VoIP?

VoIP, or Voice-Over-Internet Protocol, is literally a phone call placed via an internet connection. VoIP has been a long time coming and early internet phone calls were not that reliable and a bit garbled. But they were free. Over the last decade, VoIP has increasingly made its way into business and is now making its way into more and more homes, as people find better, more affordable ways to communicate with convenience.

An internet protocol is a way in which data is handled over networks. It is typically a standard method for passing data from one point to another point via network cable. Voice-Over-Internet protocol is the method by which one’s voice is translated from an analog signal to digital 1s and 0s then transported over broadband network connections, often still for a fraction of the cost of long distance phone calls.

Advantages

According to many experts VoIP is expected to be the phone protocol of choice for the future, alongside the ubiquitous wireless calls. VoIP is flexible, and affordable. As long as one has an internet connection, some free or inexpensive VoIP software on their PC, and a microphone, VoIP is viable. It is a simple communication method to setup. The major phone companies already use the technology that makes VoIP possible. They must move large bundles of long distance digital data known as packet switching quickly and conveniently.

One of the most attractive advantages to VoIP is the ability to receive internet phone calls anywhere you are, as long as you are accessible to the internet. Like wireless technology, this frees you from the constraints posed by a phone line connected to a wall jack.

What You Need

There are a number of ways to currently use VoIP. The easiest and least expensive by far is the PC-to-PC connection. Requirements are a PC that is connected to the internet, preferably with a cable or DSL connection; a microphone, speakers, and VoIP software that can still be had inexpensively, even free in many cases.

An increasingly popular method for VoIP is the use of the proprietary VoIP phones that are becoming a standard for many businesses. Companies such as IBM and Cisco Systems are well known for their VoIP phone systems that are designed to become a seamless addition to any large or small business network. Many bundle video along with them making long-distance conferencing effective and affordable for business.

Disadvantages

Currently, the disadvantages to VoIP are the reliability of packet switching technology to seamlessly transport important voice data streaming, real time conversations over the long haul of network cable. Businesses that rely on such technology must be willing to accept the risks involved with poor internet connections, lost signals, and dropped data packets. The internet as a real time communication tool is still in relative infancy in comparison to the technology behind the analog telephone system that has been in existence for well over a century.

The Internet is like New York, a city that never sleeps, except for the fact that it is not actually a city. The Web’s ‘anytime’ nature is a boon for people who want to talk to someone at 4 am such as anyone who is doing shift work. Before the Internet, if you finished work at 4 am, the only people awake were other shift workers such as your co-workers. The only people you could unwind with after work were the co-workers you probably wanted to get away from. Your only company were the people you were most likely to want to complain about to some understanding third party.

Thanks to the Internet shift workers can go into a chat room at any time and talk to people about their day. Some of these people will be in other time zones where everyone has just finished work and won’t think twice about anyone who has just gotten home. The rest of the chat room will at least be used to people in other time zones on different schedules. This creates the interesting possibility of a shift worker establishing a friendship with someone a few streets away, who assumes their new friend who works from 10 pm until 4 am must be in another country.

This ‘anytime’ aspect also helps insomniacs. When you can’t sleep you can jump on the Internet and talk to people to get your mind off whatever it is that’s keeping you awake. If you are lucky you can talk out your problem online with a bunch of anonymous strangers. Then you can go back to bed and straight to sleep. My advice for when you can’t sleep is to avoid lying in bed and dwelling on the time slowly passing, worried that you will never sleep again. Better to get up and do something, to make yourself even more tired so you can get to sleep.

Not only does the Internet let you talk to people twenty four hours a day, but you can find people with similar interests anytime. My brother-in-law Brad is currently obsessed with a board game called Stratego. It is my brother’s fault for showing him this dice-less board game. My brother has since lost interest in the game and Brad was having trouble finding some to play against him. Brad doesn’t seem interested in any of the games the rest of us want to play, especially not if they involve dice. Luckily, Brad discovered he could play Stratego online and play against real people all day and all night, which according to his wife is exactly what he has been doing since discovering the online version of the game. So from her perspective, maybe there is a downside to him being able to play his favourite game with someone, somewhere, anytime.

By Allan T. Price

http://www.m6.net
Allan T Price is a creative writer, with different tastes to his brother-in-law, Brad.

Allan T. Price is a creative writer working at M6.Net: ‘The web-hosting company for humans.’ M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

With the ever-growing popularity of cell phones, PDAs and smart phones, mobile application development has entered its golden age. With this boom in technology, a new outreach of Java emerged – Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition, or J2ME. J2ME provides a full-bodied, elastic environment for applications running on consumer devices, such as internet-ready smart phones and PDAs. J2ME delivers the power and benefits of Java technology to consumer and embedded devices. J2ME includes great networked support, an ever-growing follower of programmers, and integrated applications that are as user-friendly as many desktop applications.

J2ME-based applications are able to take into account the specific characteristics of the devices they inhabit, making them capable of utilizing each device to its full potential. In summation, J2ME is the standard for mobile application development today – with a following of software vendors, consumers, programmers, and marketers. Although programmers aren’t as common as they are for desktop applications, many firms offer great J2ME application development packages. Full-service companies like Red Fly Studios, of Ireland, offer J2ME services at competitive rates.

When coupled with a powerful operating system, J2ME can really begin to reach its full potential. Symbian has been a power-player in the mobile operating system game for some time. Symbian is a software licensing company. Established as a private company in June 1998, Symbian has been around the mobile application development game for some time. Symbian is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but employs over 1000 people in its worldwide offices. During early 2005, 14.5 million phones were manufactured with Symbian operating systems, bringing the worldwide tally to 39 million Symbian-based phones. Symbian refers to itself as “THE Mobile Operating System,” and it’s difficult to argue with numbers like those.

To conclude, mobile application development focuses on two things – a programming language, and an environment for it to manifest itself in. Sun’s Java outreach, J2ME, is a front-runner in the mobile application game. Symbian is the definitive operating system (environment) for mobile applications. When you’re looking for mobile application development, it’s important to consider these two factors and then find the development firm that suits your needs.

For full-service web and mobile development, Red Fly Studios is always a smart choice.
Web Development Ireland

Due to the large number of people offering website design services in Birmingham, there is always a bargain to be found.

Web design companies in Birmingham are in a very competitive market and some offer some great deals at various times of the year.

People who are just starting out in a career building custom design websites will often offer their services at a very reasonable rate, basically to build up a portfolio. Once they have established themselves they then tend to increase the amount they charge.

I have even heard about one person who for a very short period of time was building websites for free! This is an extreme case though.

A friend of mine called Dave was looking to have an internet prescence for his small business a number of years ago. He did not have a huge budget, however was looking for a person or company to create him a professional looking website which would be search engine friendly.

He tried looking in many areas including yellow pages, ebay, bargain pages and also by asking his friends, to see if they knew of anybody.

He also searched in Google for the search term, very cheap website design in Birmingham. There were many different websites listed, after a few phone calls, he managed to find a very good deal.

There are plenty of people offering quality website design services, who do not charge huge fees, just keep looking and you are sure to find them.

Ever heard the saying “Penny-wise and Dollar-foolish”?

Well bargain priced website hosting may just represent the
perfect example of watching a jar full of pennies while
bucket loads of dollars fly out the window!

When I launched my first website way back in the “dark ages”
of 1997 I paid almost $150 a month in hosting and data
transfer charges.

My web host watched how many files I uploaded like a hawk
and always seemed to send their hefty invoices earlier with
each passing month.

I’m obviously not the only one who felt that way, because
suddenly a whole industry of “bargain” web hosts sprang up
all over the web.

On the surface they all sound great, especially when you
think you can go from $150 a month down to $4.95 a month!

Five bucks a month sounds great, until you realize the
amount of data transfer (number of page views) and bandwidth
(the amount of data transfer your host allows in a 24 hour
period) you get for that low price severely limits your
ability to do business.

This realization – along with a panic attack and a quick
lesson in how data transfer and bandwidth get calculated -
usually comes at the least convenient time.

When you exceed your limits, a bargain host usually just
shuts you down with no warning.

Most webmasters realize they’ve made a mistake by choosing a
bargain host when their site suddenly gets shut down in the
middle of a big promotion because of a traffic spike.
Believe me, everything just stops!

Here are a few bargain hosts that provide good service, but
you really need to really check the fine print for how much
bandwidth they allow.

www.FeaturePrice.com

For $24.95 a month you get to host up to six independent
websites with a single account. You get unlimited data
storage, unlimited email and a variety of other higher end
services, but their bandwidth policy seems hard to
understand.

www.HostSave.com

Host Save is another low price hosting company that delivers
a wide range of services for only $6.95 per month. They
recently raised their allowable data transfer, but their
policy on how much bandwidth you can use at a given time
seems non-existent.

www.DotEasy.com

For $25 DotEasy offers a domain name purchase along with one
year’s hosting. Sounds incredible until you read the fine
print to discover they limit you to 1 Gigabyte of data
transfer a month. Not much data once you start getting
reasonable site traffic.

The moral here? Either be prepared to have your business
shut down mid-stream if you get successful, or pay a few
extra bucks each month to ensure you have enough bandwidth
and data transfer.

At a minimum, specifically ask and read the fine print about
the host’s bandwidth and data transfer policies before it’s
too late!

© Jim Edwards – All Rights reserved – http://www.thenetreporter.com

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to
use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website or affiliate links…

Simple “Traffic Machine” brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
your website for weeks, even months… without spending a
dime on advertising! ==> “Turn Words Into
Traffic”

Web Site Design

These days if you are in business and don’t have a website you are missing out on an abundance of customers. Everyone that has a computer in their house will be using one of the search engines ( google, Yahoo, Msn etc ) to look for your business. There are over 20 million searches done every hour on the internet in the UK alone. If your business is not appearing on these search engines then you are losing out to your competitors that are looking for what you do.

You will be asking yourself I have done without a website till now so why would I need one? It is a good question If you are currently doing well with your business then that is great but can anyone turn round and say that they don’t want anymore business? If you do say that then what happens if your business starts to lose some customers then you will start to try and get new business elsewhere. A website is THE way to generate extra enquiries and more business than any other means of advertising.

More and more people these days are turning to local searches and with broadband the internet is connected in their house 24 hours a day 7 days a week. In all honesty do you even know where you keep your yellow pages anymore? There is really no need as with the internet if you need a plumber in your area goto yahoo and type in plumber ( your area ) and a list of sites will come up with plumbers in your area. If you are a plumber how much would you pay to have your site appearing on those searches above your competitors? How much would that be worth to you in business terms?

The answer is easy….. A lot. 5 or 10 years ago that listing in the yellow pages would mean as much to you as the listings you get on the search engines today.

A website for your business could be for several different reasons. You could use your website as a brochure to advertise the products you offer how much more could you show on your website compared to an advert in the paper? Instead of having a few lines in the paper explaining your business you could have 10 or 20 pages outlining what you do and the products you offer and give a more in depth description of all your products. For an ad in your local paper for say 3 lines of text would cost you say £50 for 1 week if you had your own website it would cost say £250 per year and the website would be online and available to view 24/7 365 days a year.

You could also use your website to keep your existing customers in the know on exactly what you are offering. If your existing customers go onto your website and sign up for your newsletter everymonth you could email them any product updates you have. If you don’t have the time to email you could also have a news section on your website that can be updated on a monthly basis and that would allow your customers to log into your website and view any updates since their last visit. New business is good to develop but your existing customers are already doing business with you so why not use your website to maximise the sales you get from your existing customers.

All in all a website for your business is an essential to to maximise profits for your business. To generate new business and also to keep your existing customers up-to-date with any changes or product ranges that they could be interested in. More business or not the choice is yours.