Paraphrenitis Blog

Jargon – HTML

HTML is Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is used to develop web pages. HTML will determine how text and items are displayed
in a browser.

Should I develop my own site or hire someone to do it for me?

In most cases, the answer to this question hinges whether or not you can write HTML. If not, I would suggest hiring someone to
develop your web site for you. It is possible to use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editors to create web pages but in most cases, those pages will not display correctly in different browsers. Most of the WYSIWYG editors favor Internet Explorer.

If you are comfortable with HTML, you have probably already made your decision. Good Luck and be sure to test your site in many different browsers. You don’t want to lose a sale or business because your site looks terrible in Firefox or Opera! I am sure that most fall into the category of having to hire someone. Here are some recommendations:

• Hire someone don’t let a friend do it. It is nice if you have a friend that can do the development for you but be aware that it could take quite some time before it actually gets completed.
• Try Freelancers! - Freelance developers will develop your site for very little in order to stay competitive. There are several freelance sites available today. One of the best I have seen so far is Guru.com. You can also try Contractedwork.com. Both sites offer free subscriptions for people buying services. The services are a reverse auction style service where you submit your project and providers bid on completing it for you. One thing to keep in mind is that you need to stay away from anyone that requires a complete up-front payment. It is standard for the providers to require a percentage up front since they are also at risk. After the initial payment, be sure to pay only after you can see completed work.
• Go Local - Check with your local chamber of commerce to see if they can recommend a web design/development company for you. Local is always the best. It is nice to be able to meet face-to-face even if it costs you a little extra.
• Know your price range - By this time you should have a pretty good idea of what you want on your site so you should be able to come up with a ball park figure for cost of development. Below are some average prices:

  • Basic informational web site – 5 to 10 pages should be around $500.00
  • Basic database driven web site should fall within $800-$2000.00
  • Custom e-commerce web site will start around $2500

The most important thing is that you get several estimates and compare! Don’t forget to ask about services included like on-going maintenance, etc. Those can really increase the value of the development. Shopping for a web developer can sometimes feel like buying a car. Sales people will often tell you that you “need” certain things when in reality you don’t. If you are not sure, ask around.

Well, check back in a day or two for the part 4 of this series where we will discuss the pros and cons of Freelance designers and Web Design Companies.

Aaron Davis is the founder of PrayerChain Software, LLC. He has been a web/application developer for more than 12 years. His specialty is .NET development with C# and SQL Server. PrayerChain is about to launch their new site as well as Web Framework 2.0. PrayerChain Software develops custom application frameworks designed to aid in rapid web/application development. http://www.prayerchainsoftware.com

Zambia is a lovely experience, the marvellous open fields buzzing with big cats and one of the lowest population ratios in the world. Zambia has some of the most amazing natural scenery in Southern Africa, the pretty blend of beautiful fields, forests and marshlands makes the entire country come to life. Not only can you be delighted at the countryside, one will also be pleased at the lovely lakes and waterfalls. A real heaven on earth. Visit Kaingo to find out more about a south africa safari.

In South Africa you will be able to visit the best waterfall of all, the Victoria Falls. This pleasant waterfall has been a location for lots of big cats with loads of big cats & elephants coming to bathe in the wonderful waters that run here. Additionally make sure you yourself see the crocodiles and hippos around the Zambezi River, and do not forget to hire a safari guide as the river might well be a tiny bit rough. You may furthermore wish to hire a driving safari in South Luangwa National Park and be near with the different wildlife. On a photography tour you will see lions & very rare wild dogs. If you yourself are lucky enough one may view a heard of giraffes with their young. The opportunity to be so close with all of these excellent animals is amazing.

Accommodation in Southern Africa can range from five star hotels right through to huts without any radios. Whichever accommodation type you yourself select you can be sure of an incredible time.

How to have happy friends? This is a very important question. Who likes friends who don’t smile and laugh? Who enjoys meeting friends who look serious? Not any one of us.

What about ourselves? Do we make happy friendships? Do we make our friends happy? Before thinking about others, wouldn’t it be better if we first analyze our own selves? Do we smile more often when we are with our friends? Do we laugh at the smallest joke? Or do we have a serious expression on our face all the time with our friends? Let us first think about our own behavior and correct whatever we can.

Making happy friendships

Make yourself look happy with your friends and your friends will reflect. That is the secret of happy friendship. Our emotions are reflected in our body language. The reverse is equally true. Does this help us? It does. It can change our state of mind by changing our physical state. For example, if you are feeling bored, try to look cheerful and you will start becoming cheerful. It is strange, but it works. If you are feeling sad, try to look happy. You will find the sadness going away. Isn’t it great?

How do we talk with friends?

Happiness also depends on what do we talk with our friends. Are we always talking of our own life or do we also listen to them. Listening is the best way to make friends happy. Listen and do it carefully. No pretensions. Your friends will be happy that someone heard them out without interruption. You will also be making your friendship stronger. Listening is very good.
By listening, we make the other person feel important. we also make him/her feel happy and relieved. By talking things out, one feels relieved. Isn’t it?

Give and you shall receive- the third law of Newton. Apply this law in your life and make happy friends. You can make them happy right now by telling them about how much you appreciate their friendship. Listening to your friends, keeping a happy state of mind in their company and appreciating the friendship will make happy friends. Make your life happier and your
relationships stronger with happy friends.

Related links: Send your friends, free greetings from http://www.ecarduniverse.com

CD Mohatta is currently a dedicated content writer for screensavers, wallpapers and ecards in all the websites of ScreeneNetwork.com. Some of them are EcardUniverse.com and ValentinesDay-Cards.com

Every 3 years,technology vendors cook up a new marketing hype to sell their products to gullible clients.In this context,server virtualization is the latest buzzword to hit the data storage industry.

Today, every data storage product in the market, such as network routers,storage area networks and network attached storage are sold by IT vendors under the guise of ’server virtualization’. Indeed,server virtualization seems to be the cure all to all data storage problems, global war, terrorism and probably even AIDS.

In a recent interview, Gary, editor of the data storage portal,data-recovery-reviews .com rubbished the whole concept of data storage server virtualization

To the layman, server virtualization is simply a set of tools to serve as layer between logical and physical storage. Server virtualization promises a great deal – data storage vendor neutral products in data centers and easy server consolidation.This means that CIOs no longer need to worry about buying all their data storage products from a single vendor.

Gary mentioned that server virtualization in the form of vendor neutral data storage is definitely what every IT data center needs,but no data storage company is bound to offer server virtualization since it would mean that their proprietory products could then be replaced at any time with a competitor’s data storage product.

The CIO of a mid size pharmaceutical company, Mike Fisher, recently remarked that it is amazing how each and every data storage product claims to support server virtualization but does not offer product compatibility with products from other vendors.

Gary’s survey of data storage products suggests that data storage vendors are least interested in saving client costs by providing server virtualization data storage products in data centers.

Gary accepts that Vm ware’s server virtualization products come closest to the real promise of server virtualization in terms of data center data storage technology,but there is still a long way to go to achieve true server consolidation and server virtualization.

Ref: 1) Server virtualization reviews 2) Vmware Reviews

A powerful way to convey your communication messages to your audience is to be able to have your promotional video available on your website.

Yet, we have probably all experienced visiting a website and clicking on a video only to have to been irritated that the content is not viewable or that the sound is inaudible. The result is we leave the website in frustration.

So how do you make sure the video content on your website can be watched by your audience? It all boils down to how you want your viewers to access your video file and the level of video quality you want your movie to be played at.

There are two different ways of sharing your video file on the web:

1. Streamable Video

This is where the viewer is able to download sections of your video (otherwise known as “streaming”), while the video is playing. The main benefit of this method is that the user does not have to spend time downloading the complete video before viewing.

There are three major streaming video formats – RealVideo (RM), QuickTime (MOV) and Windows Media (WMV). These are playable on Real Player, QuickTime Player and Windows Media Player respectively. Windows Media Player is widely available on most PC’s, as it is part of Windows Operating System. The other players need to be installed.

The only negative with streamable video is that the quality of the video is dependent upon Internet connection. In addition, it has the annoying habit of dropping video frames because the streaming software has to adjust the data rate based on the speed of your Internet connection, in order to keep playing the video.

2. Download and Play

This is where the viewer needs to download the entire video first, then play it on their video player application. The main advantage is that the video quality is not affected by Internet connection speed.

However, it can take some time for the video to download if the file is large.

So which format do you choose?

In a world where first impressions always count, it is extremely important for companies to appear professional and trustworthy at all times. Marketing videos with poor picture quality are likely to reflect a poor quality company in the mind of the viewer. Consequently, we always recommend the download and play option. This is because it allows for high quality video content to be viewed.

However, as you don’t want viewers to give up on downloading your video, we only recommend that short video clips are inserted onto your website.

This means your website users will be able to download a short video at a high quality picture resolution that will portray your company in the best possible way.

(c) Marie-Claire Ross 2004. All rights reserved.

Marie-Claire Ross is one of the partners of Digicast. Digicast works with organisations who are not satisfied that their marketing and training materials are helping their business grow. She can be contacted on 0500 800 234 (Australia wide) or at mc@digicast.com.au. The website is at http://www.digicast.com.au.

Going paperless in professional offices, such as those of CPAs, sometimes could become inconvenient for the professional to work. When a CPA is working on a client’s tax return and needs to refer to prior year return, it is easy for her to look at the paper printout while working on this year return on the computer. However, if her filing system is paperless it would be very inconvenient for her, sometimes, to switch between screens to take a look at the prior year return and come back to this year return – back and forth. This could even result in use of more paper than before if the CPA ends up printing a copy of the prior year return to refer during the return preparation and then destroying it. That would result in her printing almost all her clients’ prior year returns and then destroying them because she has an electronic copy of the return.

The technology available at this time makes it easy to avoid this problem. Over time it has become more and more easier for CPAs to go paperless as some of these inconveniences have been addressed by the available technology.

A small investment can help CPAs resolve this problem forever and would save them all the inconveniences related to it. Windows XP allows the use of multiple monitors with one computer. This feature is already there in the Windows XP. However, the user would need to buy a special video adapter to attach to the computer to connect multiple monitors. Multiple means up to 10 monitors can be attached to one computer. There are numerous benefits of this convenience in Windows XP.

If all your prior client documents are already in electronic format on your server and you need to refer to several of them at once to work on a particular project, you could open each of those on separate monitors connected to the same computer. This would eliminate the need to switch between different screens each time you need to look at another document.

The set up for connecting additional monitors to your Windows XP computer is not very complicated. If you use a notebook computer you can use the feature of Dualview which is also available in XP. You can just connect an external monitor to your notebook and set up your XP, from Control Panel, for Dualview. The limitation with Dualview is that your notebook or laptop monitor would always be the primary monitor. The other feature, that of multiple monitors, allows you to set any of the monitors as the primary monitor.

Once you set up your computer with multiple monitors, you can eliminate one of the major inconveniences that staff faces in a CPA offices, that of referring to multiple documents from the file and having to switch between screens while working. Even if you have already become comfortable switching between screens on one computer, you may still want to test out this feature of multiple monitors and you may be pleasantly surprised by the ease it brings to your life. The details on setting up multiple monitors are explained on the Microsoft website.

Amir Morani CPA CMA CFM MBA is the author of 10 Steps to A Paperless CPA Office – The Simplest Guide to Make Your Practice Paperless. Visit the blog at http://paperlessofficeforcpa.blogspot.com.

Bunk beds provide a great way to maximize the space in a room, and are particularly for children’s bedrooms or large dormitories. Today, there are many different designs of bunk beds, meaning that it is easy to find a model to suit your own needs, and it is relatively simple to make your own too.

If you are looking to buy a bunk bed, the chances are that it is not for you to sleep on unless you are a college student, for instance. It will probably be for your child. It is therefore important to weigh up the cost against the safety issue.

Bunk beds are frequently used as a child’s first regular bed after he/she outgrows a crib, either at about age 2 or 35 inches in height. Some bunk beds also are used separately as twin beds for older children and even adults. It is unlikely that you will be able to find a strong bunk bed for less than $150, and it can often be worth spending another $200.

Top bunks must have at least two guardrails, one for each side. Lower bunks need no guardrails if the mattress foundation is less the 30 inches from the floor. On the wall side, or the side without the ladder must be one continuous piece.

Each year, thousands of children under age 15 receive hospital emergency room treatment for injuries associated with bunk beds. Most of these injuries are fairly minor and occur when children fall from the beds. Horseplay frequently contributes to these accidents.

Perhaps one good tip would be to buy a good quality bunk bed, which can be separated into two twin beds. This means that if you have two children who are sharing a room, they can easily move into their own rooms when the time comes.

About The Author:

Roger King is a successful author and publisher of www.1st-home-decor.com Bunk beds and ideas to showcase your homes.

Why is planning home decorating projects important? Let’s start by asking the following question.

What do the following have in common?

1) Boxes of odds & ends collecting dust in the basement

2) Bags of discarded curtains, bedspreads and pillows in the attic

3) Half empty paint cans stacked against a wall in the garage

It could mean you have a hard time parting with anything, however, in this case all these point to decorating attempts gone astray.

Let me continue with a short story:

“The Discovery” Once upon a time there was a very cluttered basement. Over the years the occupants of the home had done nothing but toss things down there. When it finally became obvious that the only way to get from one side to the other was with the use of a road map, Mom decided it was time to clean house.

As she began going through the numerous boxes and after opening an infinite number of storage bags, she began to realize that one particular phrase was continually being repeated, “Why did I buy this”. After what seemed like an eternity in the basement, she moved on to check other parts of the house.

What she discovered probably could have been used in a Steven King novel, the abandoned items in the basement has multiplied and had taken up residence in every out of the way space they could find. There were signs of them in all the closets, cupboards, under the beds even in the garage.

After giving it some thought, it became apparent that this was a case of Impulse Buying. Now don’t worry there is a cure, it’s called Planning, and it’s really easy to learn.

Mom has since recovered from the dreaded impulse buying bug, has had a large tag sale and now before she goes out the door on any new decorating adventures, she arms herself with a Written Plan.

This family and their home now live happily ever after. “The End”…

Ok, this may have sounded silly, but I think you’ve gotten the idea. At one time or another we’ve all done this. Been out shopping, spot something and say “Oh, this is really cute” then without fail it come home with us.

But, nine times out of ten it ends up put away because it’s either the wrong color, turns out there is no where to put it or it just doesn’t go with anything.

This is why by taking the time to make a Written Plan, you’ll save yourself time and money by not falling prey to the dreaded impulse buying bug.

Then, the happy ending at the conclusion of the story will be yours.

p.s. the facts in the story above are true and the Mom, well, that was me.

This article is shareware. Give this article away for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire article is left intact including this notice. Copyright © 2005 Bonnie Carrier

Bonnie P. Carrier is the creator of Savvy Home Decorating & Savvy Outdoor Decorating. She is the mother to two grown daughters and a very spoiled 4yr old Blue Merle Sheltie named Toby. Stop by both site for indoor and outdoor decorating ideas.

http://www.savvy-home-decorating.com

http://www.savvyhomedecorating.com

Every organization, whether it has one employee or 500 employees, should have an annual Human Resources Audit. An HR audit is similar to an annual health check. It is a means by which an organization can measure where it currently stands and determine what it has to accomplish to improve its HR functions. An audit involves systematically reviewing all aspects of the human resources functions. It also ensures that government regulations and company policies are being adhered to and your organization is not at risk for fines and penalties. An audit is not only a “check up” – you should be prepared to make the necessary changes identified by the audit. A Human Resource audit can help prevent costly lawsuits and fines by identifying weaknesses and correcting them.

Who Should Conduct the Audit?

An HR audit can be conducted by your HR staff, an outside consultant or an employment law attorney. This individual must have significant HR experience and should use a checklist or structured method to assess a company’s risks and needs. In addition to bringing key advice and knowledge of all pertinent laws to the table, an audit conducted by an outside consultant can add an extra layer of credibility to the findings of the audit. Records from a self-audit do not have the same credibility as audits done by independent sources; however it is better to do a self-audit than not audit at all.

What is reviewed during an audit?

Most audits are comprised of a series of questions separated by topic or functional area. A compliance audit is not a one-day project. It will touch all areas of HR, and may require looking at documents and policies and interviewing HR staff as well as selected employees and managers in other areas of the company. The amount of effort required depends on the size and type of company.

Most audits start with a review of existing employee handbooks and policy and procedures. This provides a starting point to assess needs and risks, identify conflicts or outdated policies and procedures and delete them, and fill gaps where policies are missing. Some of the other areas to target in an HR audit include:

Staffing: An audit of recruiting and hiring practices can quantify turnover trends, reveal gaps in meeting needs and help the organization predict future openings. It can also identify potential issues with discrimination or diversity.

Compensation/Employee Classification: An audit of these areas includes reviewing compensation, overtime, employee classifications (exempt/non-exempt), and time records.

Federal, State and Local Regulations: An effective audit examines compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws — and can prevent lawsuits and fines. Incomplete or missing I-9 forms can result in an employer being fined between $100 and $1000 for each failure to accurately complete an I-9 form.

Administration: An audit of this area examines regular HR duties, such as benefits administration and attendance tracking, and checks the handling of personnel records and confidential files.

Employee relations: An audit of employee relations issues includes review of communication processes, discipline procedures, and performance measurements.

By regularly auditing your Human Resource functions you will mitigate your risk. If you have significant compliance concerns for your company, you may want to consider an audit structured as an attorney-client privileged investigation. By having an attorney conduct the audit, you can identify and correct problems and protect certain information that may otherwise be accessible to government investigators.

The information provided in this article is based on general human resource management fundamentals, practices and principles and is not intended to be considered legal advice. Consult your employment law attorney for legal advice or legal opinions.

M.B. Catalfamo is a small business consultant who provides practical, comprehensive advice and support in the areas of Human Resources, Business Start-Up, and Strategic Planning. For a self audit questionnaire visit her website: http://www.ResourceAlternativesConsulting.com or contact her at Resource_Alternatives@comcast.net

What will visitors find when they click on a link that
takes them to your site?
1. Will the visitor arrive at a sort of brochure that
gives some information and has a products link somewhere on
home page?

2. Will they come to an online catalogue for a variety of
products and services?
3. Or will they land at a focused, straightforward sales
page promoting one specific product or service?

Your answer to these questions strongly affects the
profitability of your web site. Once you’ve got traffic
coming to your site, here are some useful principles that
will help make that traffic more valuable to you.

Market research is clear: confused site visitors with too
many choices don’t buy. They leave, most of the time never
to return. Your first goal, then, is to make it very easy
for the visitor to stick around long enough to become your
customer or client.

You can accomplish this in one of two basic ways.

One possibility: start with a brochure-type page where the
visitor signs up to be on your email list to receive
something of value for free. For example, offer a special
report or newsletter or digital download, etc. This is a
type of site often called a “capture page.” Then, follow up
with the visitor later via email to make offers of products
for sale. Note: in your email follow-up, always include
instructions on how to unsubscribe from your list, as well
as overall compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act.

Possibility two: start with a single-item sales page
promoting a low price-point item, the opening of your
“marketing funnel.” Your low price-point item will
demonstrate the quality of your product or service, and you
will get repeat business because you offer good value. At
that point, you can introduce your new clients to a wider
range of products and prices. They know you deliver, they
know they can trust you, and so they’ll wade through a bit
of information about products that don’t interest them to
get to those you have that do interest them. Besides, now
they are in your data-base, and you can market to them
again later when you have a special promotion or a new
product.

One thing that is usually not a good idea is to present a
first-time visitor with a big catalogue site. Lots of
products and prices and other distractions might look
impressive, but you’ve got less than 3 seconds to capture
the attention of a first-time visitor following a link as
they search on-line. A focused, compelling headline is the
best way to keep their interest and encourage them to stay
at your site.

If you’ve paid for the link the visitor clicked on to
arrive at your site, you naturally want to make the most of
the opportunity. You want to get your return on investment
(ROI). Many online business owners believe that means
making a sale immediately. However, the savvy online
business-person understands that making the most of the
opportunity really means beginning a relationship with a
new prospect, usually via email follow-up contacts.

That’s why you save the big beautiful catalogue site for
later, after they’ve become your client, and they know you
provide good service and a high quality product. Then,
after you’ve established a relationship, use a catalogue
site for back-end sales galore.

All right. That’s the story of why to use certain kinds of
sites. Now, when you’re ready to create your ‘capture page’
or your one-item sales page, you can find copy writing
resources on-line. The resources could involve hiring a
copy writer, using a copy writing product, or writing your
own page from scratch, depending on your budget and skills.
The following list contains nine essential elements of a
good page.

1. Headline

2. The Story

3. Credibility
4. Benefits
5. Features
6. Bonuses
7. Value build-up

8. Ordering information

9. Post Script

Use this as a checklist and look around for good models of
any of these elements. Use the examples you find as
inspiration, but you or your copy writer will use your own
way of saying it and applying it to your offer. You’ll
notice that copy writing is largely formulaic. If you find
and follow a good formula, you’ll profit from your efforts.

Loren Beckart, business consultant and internet publisher,
is a contributing writer for ClickTracs, offering
valuable marketing resources to help increase traffic to
your business web site. Articles by Loren can also
be found at Yes Education and
Fab-U-Jobs.