15 Ago 07 Printer Utility: Save Precious Time
Computers have become an indispensable part of the lives of a majority of the people on this planet. There are very few tasks left in this world that a computer cannot perform, and looking at the rate at which technology is advancing, the feats performed by this technological wonder are only going to increase. The printer, though not an indispensable computer accessory like the mouse, keyboard and the CPU, is certainly not less important, and the printer utility software has only made the printer a more user-friendly computer accessory.
Printer utility is a kind of software that helps the user in managing various printers and different printing profiles much easily and faster. In the current corporate workplace, a printer has become indispensable. Despite using Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications for creating, saving and copying various documents, presentations and tables in the soft format, there often arises a need to obtain the hard copy of the documents. Though a computer is a very reliable modern day instrument, it too suffers from various maladies like a virus or a hard disk crash. In some cases, it becomes increasingly difficult to retrieve data. Keeping a hard copy becomes a life saver in such situations.
Apart from this, printers are used to take glossy printouts of photographs and glossy campaigns. A company may have more than one printer as well, and while taking a printout the user will have particular specifications and criteria for every print. The printer utility software saves the user the trouble of selecting printers and printing profiles manually every time he has to take a printout.
The printer utility software can be easily downloaded from the Internet and is extremely easy to manage and use. It appears on the Word application in the form of a toolbar, hence making it easier for the user to select printing specifications without having to go to the menu every time.
The printer utility software not only increases the efficiency of computers, but also saves tremendous amount of valuable time of the employees. And in the corporate world, ’time is money’.
The author is working in computer shareware sector and has been writing informative articles on computer softwares.For more information about printer utility or to download, please visit our site at http://www.trayselector.com
14 Ago 07 Choosing your Hosting Platform - Linux or Windows?
As more and more people fire up web pages for their businesses or their personal enjoyment, there are continuous questions about which hosting platform is the best choice. Most experts agree that when it comes to choosing between Linux and Windows for your web server software, the final decision really depends on the preferences of the individual. Here are some of the main differences between the two, and what that might mean for your web pages.
Windows
Familiarity. Windows is the product of Microsoft, and Microsoft has proven that it is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to common usage. This has come about largely due to ingenious marketing strategies, but the end result is that the Windows operating system is the most used in the world. It stands to reason, then, that the Windows server software would have a certain amount of appeal as the functions are familiar to any computer user. Usability. Aside from marketing, the straightforward approach of the Windows system has also contributed to its popularity. “Wizards” await to help at any turn, tool bars are click-accessible, and you can have several programs running at once and easy to recall. Because of the ease of use, Windows software is usually a better option for those new to programming. Built in software. Windows platforms come with everything you need to fire up a web site, including email applications. Again, this software platform is much easier for the newer programmer than setting up one’s own applications.
Linux
Price. The most commonly cited pro about Linux platforms is their price. Linux is open source software, meaning that it has no intellectual property restrictions and thus skips the expense of copyright. Many would say that the Linux platform is the perfect complement to the idea of the Internet. Reliability. Linux has proven to be reliable in almost all areas a web master might be concerned about, from security against hackers to guards against memory leaks over time. Support options. As Linux itself is essentially free as far as intellectual property, it should come as no surprise that the platform supports some of the most popular free systems out there, including PHP and MySQL.
Most of the weaker areas in either of the web hosting platforms can be mitigated according to the hosting company a web master chooses for a site. Price, your level of expertise in computer programming, and which features you want supported on your site will ultimately be the criteria upon which your choice is made.
Any colocation hosting Toronto service provider must be flexible, friendly, and approachable, yet large enough to offer staggering capacity, reliability, and technical knowledge.
13 Ago 07 Protect Your Work – Lock Your Computer
Anyone who has put in many hours, or at times even weeks of effort into work, may know what its like to lose a part of that work, but the worst thing you can do is to be the cause of your own loss. When you leave your computer, lets say for a bathroom break, an emergency meeting, or even to discuss something away from your machine, it may be natural to just walk away and do what you have to do, but I know from experience that this is a habit you should engrave into your computer work ethic just the same as being polite to the CEO of your organization. Allow me to go deeper, it will make more sense by example:
A while back, I took a basic CAD (Computer-Aided-Design) class where we learned how to use the software and along the way, the concepts of good CAD-work, understanding of views, and being able to draw anything we saw in any variation. One of the first things my instructor told the class was to lock our computers.
"Hold down the ’windows’ button, and push ’L’. This will lock your computer and protect your work."
Now why would you want protection? Look at condoms and you’ll see why…Okay, so you won’t get AID’s if you don’t lock your computer, but those of us who didn’t heed the advice of my instructor learned the hard way to lock it up. By good nature, lots of us used to love to walk over to each other’s workstations and talk, hang out, and mess around. By the time we came back, one of several things generally happened to our computers:
1. Our directories were cleared out of any and all work we had in them (hours, or rather weeks of hours, of racking your head over something has just gone down the drain), or
2. Our current drawing file was modified (i.e. a few lines being offset, stretched and skewed) thereby throwing off all dimensions, which is especially bad when being graded on dimensions. Even worse is when somebody scales your entire project, so when you actually build a model, instead of a 1/8 scale between the model and full-size, you have a 19/128ths scale. Firsthand experience sucks.
3. All of our file names were mixed and mismatched, so when we sat down to work, we faced the unique issue of figuring out each time which of the twenty files is which. Lots of fun when you have an upcoming deadline.
4. Any other creative mischief (i.e. turning the screen by 90 degrees, making windows look retro, or even hiding parts of our drawings so they appear deleted and we appear to be redoing it when we come back)
Besides an annoyance ranging from mild all the way up to a promise of an a$s-kicking after class, locking your computer is important for security. From my experience with multiple private networks, leaving your console unattended while in full access can cause many problems for you and the network. One of your peers with lesser access rights may decide to play a joke on another and it doesn’t turn out funny to the one it was being played on. He reports it to his boss. If the ’joke’ was in any way decided as unacceptable by the boss, guess which two guys lose their jobs? Or even better if there is a visitor from somewhere and suddenly he has access to all of the top-secret files which are sworn by all employees to only stay on facility? Let me express it in one word: espionage. A car just doesn’t sell as well when every other major car-maker sells exact knock-offs of it because someone from your company left the assembly plans in easy access. Windows Button + L
OR
Alt+Ctrl+Delete , then ’k’
For this to work, you must have a password set on your account. If your account doesn’t have a password setup, here’s how to set one up:
(Instructions assume that the user has full admin. access rights)
For Windows XP: 1) Click on the ’Start’ menu 2) Click on ’Control Panel’ 3) Double-Click on ’User Accounts’ 4) Click on your user account name 5) Click on ’Create a Password’ 6) Follow the on-screen instructions
Duke Xenner is the author of "Explode Your Memory - A Total Manual to Memory Mastery", and founder of www.RarelyPublished.com - a quality website with useful information for your personal development & life improvement. If you are interested in improving your memory, visit www.ExplodeYourMemory.com
13 Ago 07 Top Six Printer Jokes
Just when you thought computer literate people could not be more condescending about those less fortunate computer illiterates, and I do mean that with a certain amount of sarcasm, they come out with even more printer, ink and cartridge jokes than one could possibly read in several micro-nano seconds of a life time. Well that took a long time did it not? What you say? You did not read all the jokes about printer, cartridges, ink and cartridge in several micro-nano seconds? Good, because I couldn’t find any. I did, however run across the top five internet jokes about printers. Well, they are sort of funny anyway.
You have just received your new printer and the box looks damaged with a nice expensive printer inside. All looks hopeless throw out the box it will likely not work.
What will my printer warranty cover? Your mouse pad
When the office printer color started to look a little off the manager called the local repair shop. To the manager’s surprise the clerk said that it would cost $50 but that he might try reading the manual and doing it himself. The manager replied in astonishment “does your boss know that you discourage business that way? Yes, replied the clerk. It was his idea. We make more on repairs than cleanings if the owner tries to do it himself first.
A woman called tech support and said her computer couldn’t find the printer. The tech asked, “are you working under windows?” The woman replied “no I’m near the door but the guy in the next cubical is working under a window and his printer works fine.”
The printer is comprised of three main parts; the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light.
When the printer still will not work after 20 tries; try sending the print job to all 100 printers in the office. One of them is bound to work.
The fact that these five jokes are about all I found in the reference of printer jokes it is a sad state of affairs. How are cartridge sales people supposed to open a conversation with the local ink sales guy. Generally, there are only so many ways to say; have you heard the one about the cartridge, printer and ink sales guys that walked into a bar? And then come up with a punch line. I know that I sure as heck do not have one. But I’ll tell you that if ink, cartridge and printer sales guys do walk into a bar I would want that punch line.
So, all you tech people with all those tech support questions and jokes, and all you managers that appear to be busy but are only using your drama degree get on the stick. My ink, cartridge and printer guys need a punch line and fast.
That’s right and fast they can see the light coming and it is blue. Some of the tech guys say it fades to black but we all know about the dreaded blue screen don’t we.
This Article is written by James Kara Murat from PrintCountry.com, the contributor of PrintCountry Printer Ink Cartridge Blog. A longer version of this article is located at Top Six Printer Jokes, and some related articles can be found at Get Creative with Old Printer Cartridges
12 Ago 07 PDF Security: What is Digital Rights Management?
Adobe are often keen to suggest that they have been the primary innovator in developing the digital rights management space. Although there is speculation as to extent of which they have contributed, there can be little doubt as to whether or not their file format - PDF - is considered to be the logical common output for documents across many platforms where copy protection is needed.
While many companies have claimed to have had an input into the file security solutions that we find ourselves using today, such as XrML for example, only Adobe have managed to lead with the sheer scale and reach to make their solution resonate and be considered the global standard. With the evolution of on-line retailing environments, the lack of barriers to entry, and other digital communication advancements; it is now more necessary than ever to ensure that digital rights management tackles copyright theft through adding complications and difficulties to the processes used to steal content. Indeed, it is widely acknowledged that DRM software can only stop copyright theft at some levels - for example, DRM cannot stop manual replication (writing your own copy) in the case of ebook copy prevention.
It is said that the primary functions of DRM security software are controlling copying/extraction, printing functionality management and changing after a subsequent save. Such functions are always going to needed where copyright is not surrendered upon receipt of the document. Watermarking - as a copy control and digital rights management solution - is often considered to be surrounded with some uncertainty. In the case of ebook copy prevention, for example, publishers are faced with making a decision where the implementation of watermarking can leave their customers having to sacrifice appearance and usability in return for prevention of black-market distribution. Although the value of this is disputed, we can at least agree that while advancements are under way, such as identifying the purchaser, the video, music and broadcast business do not appear to be moving away from watermarking in a hurry!
As electronic learning methods advance, Adobe have been careful to facilitate comment authoring in tandem with document security, to allow both collaboration and copyright implementation. This is something which is unlikely to have much value in commercial publishing, however Adobe would not want to allow any competitors to eat away at a sub-niche and innovate across the board at the same time.
The middle ground between practicality, reasonableness, and implementation of the rights that come along with copyright assets, can be best depicted by the situation where the 2000 publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, which did not allow the book to be read aloud - a feature which is widely considered to be an advantage of PDF documents, and an assumed feature when purchasing a digital document. Some claim that such behaviour goes against accessibility initiatives, while others suggest that the necessity for document security, coupled with the associated disadvantages of market forces, mean that the decision is one which should be made at the free will of the copyright holder. Some find that the controls made available by innovators such as LockLizard - www.locklizard.com - suit them better.
Alice Pierce is a president of lock lizard. He writes about copy protection and digital rights management.
