We all have a need of a bug: Sometimes you may have the need to spy on someone with a wireless bug. I think I have the most practical solution for you. You do not have to buy an expensive spy device or anything complicated. You may already own what you need if you have an unused cell phone that has service.

Here is what you do: you need to have an extra cell phone that has service. You can use any of these throwaway phones you buy at Walmart for any other store they only cost $10. You will also need to get the headset that goes with the phone if it is not included. The most clever thing you’ll have to do is figure out a way to hide the bug.

Time to act: With just a little initiative and some planning you will only be limited by the battery life and airtime you have on the phone. This will be an on demand bug that you can turn off and on under your control. It is so obvious that I am surprised that most people do not do this when they need a bug.

Just like a “real” spy: The same trick was used in the series burn notice starring Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Weston. However you will not have to do all the stuff he did to make this work. If you want to be extra careful you can do what he did. The only difference between his bug and mine is that I do not have you unsolder speaker wires inside the phone. That way there is no electronics technical work in my process.

The preparation: Make sure your batteries charged. Make sure you have activated the phone if it is a new phone. Hook up the headset to the cell phone. Almost every cell phone has an auto answer option when the headset is attached. Choose the auto answer option on the phone. Make sure that the ring tone is silent and if there are options to turn off any lights turn them off and make sure vibration is off. Also, make sure that the messaging or SMS to set the silent and no vibration also. You do not want to be given away by a free message from the service provider.

Now comes your part: Before you do anything else, make sure to test your bug. Next, You will have to find the hiding place for this bug. You need to put it in a location to where I can pick up the conversation you are trying to bug. I cannot help you with this because I do not know if you want to put it in a car or in a room or in a house. You can hide it in something as simple as a Kleenex box under a layer of tissue.

Option b: You could just accidentally leave the phone behind. If it does not flash or vibrate or make noise no one will notice. That may be your choice as no one would suspect that you hit it anywhere. Instead it is out in the open where everyone can see and they all know you that you just left it there.

Timing is everything: Now what you need to do is know when your target is in the area of the phone. How you do this is up to you. Whether you have someone helping you or you are just watching or you are just guessing because of habits of when a person will be at the location. Then you just call the cell phone from your own phone. That phone will not ring because you have it set the silent. It should answer because is on auto answer. Just listen in that’s all you have to do now.

To record or not record: I will not discuss how to hook up recording device to the phone at this time, perhaps in another article. However, if you decide to record your eavesdropping, be sure to check the laws of your state before proceeding. Most likely you would not be a would use the recording of the conversation in any kind of legal situation. The recording of the conversation is likely to be illegal. However, it is a great intelligence source it by any means.

Be your own detective: any time the spy operation like this always be safe.

Source by Barry Dunn

What is a Strategic Window?

The term strategic window is the limited periods during which the “fit” between the key requirements of a market and the particular competencies of a firm competing in that market is at an optimum. In this paper we will use VXL Instrument’s case to elaborate the concept.

What is VXL’s Business?

VXL Instruments is enabling companies around the world build a flexible, secure, manageable and cost-efficient IT infrastructure. Its range of thin client devices helps enterprises beat the cycle of desktop obsolescence, free internal resources from non-productive functions, and save millions of dollars that is spent in securing systems. The thin client is a server-centric computing model in which the application software, data, and CPU power resides on a network server rather than on the client computer.VXL Instruments won “Highest IT-Hardware Exporter Award in Non-SSI category” for year 2006-2007.

VXL’s Dilemma

VXL Instruments is leading manufacturer of thin client devices and commands 11% share in global market. Its major chunk of sales comes from export to US and EU. The company is trying to explore new market in India for its thin client devices. Competitors like Wyse and HP offer diverse range of product not only in west but also in India. Therefore, it’s high time that company starts thinking about Indian market.

How to market TC in India?

Company’s products like TC23xx and TC73xx are reliable and cost-effective. The (thin client) TC can help in eradicating various pain in server based computing. It is very useful in case of SME’s (Small and medium scale enterprises) where computing requirements are pretty specific. In case of sectors like hospitality, we need to explore various value unlocking features so that they can charge a premium. The major challenges are following:

1. How to provide maximum utility without making product too much complex?

2. How to convince existing clients to change from fat clients to thin clients?

3. How to market TC in India?

Actually the answer of third question will give us a frame work for finding the answers for first two questions.

I will consider VXL a minimum risk taking company. It’s more product centric than customer centric. Therefore, its products are world class but market penetration is not that impressive. Presently, VXL markets its products through client interaction and third party distributors like Priya Limited. This approach reduces marketing expenses but the approach has its own limitations.

In 2005, Mumbai-based distributor Priya Ltd invested $2 million (around Rs 10 crore) in equity in VXL Instruments. The investment was part of the trade finance arrangement that gave VXL $9 million (around Rs 45 crore) aimed at funding its growth.

VXL chalked out expansion plans and a growth strategy with a view to increase its market share of thin client to 25 percent by 2007-2008. It has made inroad in different verticals like ERP, Health, Telecom, Education and Banking with client list including SAP Belgium, Birmingham City Hospital UK, DOT India, British Telecom, IIM Lucknow, IIT Roorkie, Haga Bank Jakarta and HDFC India etc. But presently its market share is much below its target.

Product Awareness & Customer Perception

We can roughly divide the customers into two categories:

* Techno Savvy Customers with financial Muscle: These type of customers, already know about the products (TC) and we need to convince them that thin client is a better option over Fat client. For example Velankani group’s upcoming 5-Star hotel in Electronic City, Bangalore. The Velankani’s are in IT and infrastructure and they are aware about technology and its implementation. According to Mr. R. Shiva Kumar (Manager Information System, Velankani), these types of customers should better be approached when the product is in its embryonic stage. Once they acquire fat clients (FC) for their project, they won’t be interested in TC due to switch over cost. Here we need to market TC as a device which will not only reduce the total cost of ownership but also provide simple solution for all comfort requirements.

* Less Techno Savvy with Medium Range Investment Capabilities: These types of customers don’t have their own IT department. They generally play safe and go for the fat client technology being used by other players in their segment. More over they consider their computing needs are minimal and don’t find IT investments much attractive. Here, we need to educate them about various advantage of server based computing and advantage of TC over FC. These types of firms should be approached for providing total solution.

Market Redefinition

Frequently, as markets evolve, the fundamental definition of the market changes in ways which increasingly disqualify some competitors while providing opportunity for the others. The trend towards marketing “system” of products as opposed to individual piece of equipments provides many examples of this phenomenon. We will discuss this point with the help of Docutel case.

Docutel: This manufacturer of automatic teller machine (ATM’s) supplied virtually all the ATM’s in US up to late 1974. In early 1975, Docutel found itself losing its market share to large computer companies such as Burroughs, Honeywell, and IBM as these manufacturers began to look at the banks’ total EFTS (Electronic Fund Transfer System) needs. They offered the bank a package of equipment representing a complete system of which the ATM was only a component. In essence their success can be attributed to the fact that they redefined the market in a way that increasingly appeared to disqualify Docutel as a potential supplier.

Conclusion

Market redefinition is not only limited to the banking industry; similar trends are underway in scientific instrumentation (Steel, Cement, and Aluminium Industries), process control equipments (Siemens, Vesuvius and SMS redefined the market); the machine tool industry, office & household equipment (VXL is already a player) and electronic control gear as some of the other examples. In each case, manufacturers basing their approach on the marketing of individual hardware items are seeing their “strategic window” closing as computer systems producers move in to take advantage of emerging opportunities. HP has capitalized sufficient TC market by virtue of some aggressive M&A. In India companies like HCL Technologies and Satyam are planning to enter in TC market as a total solution provider. Wipro is also exploring opportunities in SME. We can expect Wipro to venture in this segment, in near future.

As the competition grows SME’s are also becoming lean. Most of firms are following make-to-order philosophy of manufacturing. All these need free flow of materials, information and finances imperative. As the practices are changing, many new applications of networking technology have evolved. Here, we can see a scope for VXL being a consultancy provider and not a mere product manufacturer.

Source by Kiran Voleti

If a cellular phone isn’t a smartphone (i. E., a Blackberry, iPhone Android or other windows mobile device), the easiest solution is to acquire a microchip, covertly attaching it to the inside of the phone. This way, the phone can be tracked anywhere and anytime. However, these aforementioned microchips can be quite pricey, but are available online.

If a mobile device in question is a smartphone, it is a lot simpler to trace. Aside from tracking, other information from the phone can also be accessed – text or SMS messages, phone calls and browser settings. All this information and more is stored online where it can be viewed whenever via access of a remote server.

It will be completely and extremely easy to discover who’s been calling the mobile phone, and all outbound calls. It can note all messages: text or SMS. Some even have the option to record calls. The tracking software is also able to view all of the website history and e-mails that said smartphone encounters.

There are several types of mobile phone tracking software which is available to download online. Primary concern is to thoroughly read up on these, making a decision that most congeals with what one would like to happen. Be sure to note the type of smartphone that will be tracked, and its operating system, etc. There are some instances of tracking software that will be a lot better depending on the type of smartphone and also the operating system.

There are always some calculated risks that have been associated with downloading software, especially those methods used in phone tracking. Though the person who is being tracked will be more or less unaware of what is going on, software downloaded from the Internet may or may not install viruses on your computer, or download and install unwanted toolbars or other annoying software that is unwanted. Be sure to thoroughly read everything in the installation, making sure to uncheck boxes so it doesn’t happen.

Be prepared for consequences if the one being tracked by now about the tracking software or tracking device. Human beings do not generally favor being spied upon, and whatever is gathered using these covert means is probably not going to be legally admissible in any court proceedings, seeing as the trackee has been a victim of privacy rights violations. Make sure any and all tracks have been covered when using these or any type of surveillance.

Track cell phones more easily than ever before utilizing these methods. Having the correct hardware or software, others can now be tracked through their phones with no knowledge that their steps are being watched. Some software is more useful than other brands of software, so make sure to read reviews regarding the effectiveness of these covert operations.

Source by David Kurczak

Are wondering whether you can retrieve deleted SMS? Need to know is It possible to retrieve deleted text messages? If so then you’re in the right place as in this article I will show exactly how to go about retrieving deleted text messages. So keep reading to learn how to get your lost SMS’s and other Sim Card Data back.

Firstly let me explain how it is possible to retrieve deleted text messages. You see a Sim card doesn’t immediately erase a file once you delete it. Instead it just frees up the space that was occupied by that file (massage) and lists its space as available re-usable space. However until that space is overwritten by new data, in your case new messages, phone numbers etc., your old deleted file is still there and can be recovered.

Now in order to get the deleted messages back you are going to need two tools. One of them is a USB Sim card reader and the other is a decent Sim Card recovery program.

Sim card recovery programs are very similar to Data recovery software but they are designed specifically for recovering data from Sim Cards. They are able to recover deleted text messages, deleted phone numbers, call logs and plenty of other deleted data from your SIM, and they can do it all at the click of a few buttons.

The good news is that most of these programs offer a free trial version for download, so you can check to see what messages are retrievable right now.

Therefore if you were wondering is it possible to retrieve deleted text messages then wonder no more as it can easily be done with the right tools. If you have a USB SIM card reader and a good SIM Recovery Program then Retrieving Deleted Text Messages should be a walk I the park. Visit the link below to learn more about recovering deleted text messages and to download some Free Software…

Source by Vikram Singh

Collecting and preserving photographs has been a favourite pastime with most people, young and old. Sometimes they get stuck with so many photos from various occasions and varying times in the past, they wonder how to put them all together coherently.

The most common and popular photo book themes include-

Baby Album – You could start your album with photos from various trimesters in your pregnancy and record your emotions. You could include ultrasounds and photos of the nursery too.

Family Holiday– Holiday pictures are best arranged chronologically, i.e. day-by-day. You could also theme them place- by-place, or you could simply put up your favourite pictures from your holidays and record what you liked most about them.

Graduation Day– You could make portrait portfolios of your friends and ask them to write something for you to give it the feel of a personalised slam book.

Wedding Album– A wedding is the most special and important day in a person’s life. A picture tells a thousand words and your wedding album could tell your whole love story. You could start with the ‘Proposal’ and go on to add your engagement photos, bridal shower photos, wedding photos and honeymoon photos.

But here some not so common ideas that could also be fun and entertaining:

1. Pets and Animals– Pets are part of family too and deserve an album unto them. Your pet album could include the day you brought your pet home and how you decided on a name for him/her. You could also make a portfolio of your pet.

2. Sports and Hobbies– Sports never fails to thrill and exhilarate its fanatics. You could start with a ‘Training Journal’ and go on to add photos of your teams, your uniforms, your coaches and your favourite cheers.

3. Photo Cook Book– A way to a man’s heart is his stomach, or so they say. So why not make an album to record that special dish you made for your loved one for the first time! You could also make an album of the first time your child was in the kitchen helping you or making something for you.

4. Family History Book– What better way to preserve your family heritage than a collection of photos creating your own family tree! You could go back as far as you would like and sometimes be amazed at how many people love you and care about you.

5. Road Trips– While on bikes, cars or hitchhiking on a truck, you will see many billboards, signboards and signals. Click them to create your own ‘Highway’ album.

These are just a few examples. Think wild and you could come up with more of your own!

Source by Aaron Clark

“Do you have Facebook?”

“Yes, of course. But I don’t think you can find me, as there are too many people who have the same name as me. Try searching with my surname as well.”

“Hey, you celebrated your birthday in K-Box, right? I saw the photos in your Facebook.”

“Bro, I saw your comments about the YouTube video that I’ve posted in my blog. I’m happy that you are also deeply moved by the ‘Dancing Peacock Man’ as well.”

Social media or “social networking” has almost become part of our daily lives and being tossed around over the past few years. It is like any other media such as newspaper, radio and television but it is far more than just about sharing information and ideas. Social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Blogs have facilitated creation and exchange of ideas so quickly and widely than the conventional media. The power of define and control a brand is shifting from corporations and institutions to individuals and communities. It is no longer on the 5Cs (e.g. condominium, credit cards and car) that Singaporeans once talked about. Today, it is about the brand new Cs: creativity, communication, connection, creation (of new ideas and products), community (of shared interests), collaboration and (changing the game of) competition.

In January 2010, InSites Consulting has conducted an online survey with 2,884 consumers from over 14 countries between the ages of 18 to 55 years old on social networking. More than 90% of participants know at least 1 social networking site and 72% of participants are members of at least 1 social networking site. On the average, people have about 195 friends and they log in twice a day to social networking sites. However, 55% of the users cannot access their social network websites at work. In the past, not many adults were able to make more than 500 friends, but with social media, even a child or teenager can get to know more than 500 people in a few days by just clicking the mouse. Social media has devalued the traditional definition of “friend” where it means trust, support, compatible values, etc. Although we get to know more people, we are not able to build strong bond with all the people whom we met as our available time is limited. Hence, there is an upcoming social trend of people with wider social circles, but weaker ties (people we don’t know very well but who provide us with useful information and ideas).

Social media also influences people’s buying behaviours. Digital Influence Group reported that 91% of the people say consumer reviews are the #1 aid to buying decisions and 87% trust a friend’s recommendation over critic’s review. It is thrice more likely to trust peer opinions over advertising for purchasing decisions. 1 word-of-mouth conversation has an impact of 200 TV ads. With the prevalence use of social media, there is numerous news related to it from the most viewed YouTube video on “Armless pianist wins ‘China’s Got Talent'” to Web-assisted suicide cases (e.g. New Jersey college student who killed himself after video of him in a sexual encounter with another man was posted online). Thus, does social networking make us better or worse off as a society?

Positive Effects of Social Media

Besides having opportunity to know a lot of people in a fast and easy way, social media also helped teenagers who have social or physical mobility restrictions to build and maintain relationships with their friends and families. Children who go overseas to study can still stay in meaningful contact with their parents. To a greater extend, there is anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes from these technologies.

In 2008, President-elected Obama won the election through the effective use of social media to reach millions of audience or voters. The Obama campaign had generated and distributed huge amount of contents and messages across email, SMS, social media platforms and their websites. Obama and his campaign team fully understood the fundamental social need that everyone shares – the need of being “who we are”. Therefore, the campaign sent the message as “Because It’s about YOU” and chose the right form of media to connect with individuals, call for actions and create community for a social movement. They encouraged citizens to share their voices, hold discussion parties in houses and run their own campaign meetings. It truly changed the delivery of political message.

Obama campaign had made 5 million “friends” on more than 15 social networking sites (3 million friends on Facebook itself) and posted nearly 2,000 YouTube videos which were watched over 80 million times. At its peak, their website, MyBarackObama.com, had 8.5 million monthly visitors and produced 400,000 blog posts. In order to ensure that their contents were found by people, the Obama campaign spent $3.5 million on Google search in October alone, $600,000 on Advertising.com, $467,000 on Facebook in 2008, etc. Currently, Obama’s Twitter account has close to 6 million followers.

In 2010, after the earthquake happened in Haiti, many of the official communication lines were down. The rest of the world was not able to grasp the full picture of the situation there. To facilitate the sharing of information and make up for the lack of information, social media came in very handy to report the news about the affected area on what happened and what help was needed. Tweets from many people provided an impressive overview of the ongoing events from the earthquake. BBC covered the event by combining tweets from the work of its reporter Matthew Price in Port-au-Prince at the ground. Guardian’s live blog also used social media together with the information from other news organisations to report about the rescue mission.

It has been two years since CNN officially launched iReport as a section of its website where people can upload video material, with contact information. During the Haiti crisis, CNN had published a range of social media material but not all the materials were verified. The editorial staff would vet the reports from the citizen journalists and labeled them differently compared to unverified contents. On Facebook, a group, named “Earthquake Haiti”, was formed to show support and share updates and news. It had more than 14,000 members and some users even pleaded for assistance to the injured Haitians in the group. Using email, Twitter and social networking sites like Facebook, thousands of volunteers as part of Project Ushahidi were able to map reports sent by people from Haiti.

The most impressive part of the social media’s impact on Haiti is the charity text-message donations that soared to over $10 million for the victims in Haiti. People interested in helping the victims are encouraged to text, tweet and publicize their support using various social networking sites. The Global Philanthropy Group had also started a campaign to ask wealthy people and celebrities, like Ben Stiller and John Legend to use Twitter and Facebook to encourage others to give to UNICEF. An aid worker, Saundra Schimmelpfennig, allowed the advice from other aid workers and donors to post on her blog regarding to choosing which charitable organisations to support. In the meantime, donors were asking questions in Twitter, Facebook and blogs about their donations and endorsements of their favourite charities. After every crisis, the social media for social cause becomes a more effective medium to spread the word.

Negative Effects of Social Media

There are always two sides of every coin. Social media is just a tool or mean for people to use. It is still up to the users on how to use this tool (just like a knife, can help you to cut food or hurt others). Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center conducted a study on “The Future of Online Socializing” from the highly engaged, diverse set of respondents to an online, opt-in survey consisted of 895 technology stakeholders and critics. The negative effects presented by the respondents included time spent online robs time from important face-to-face relationships; the internet fosters mostly shallow relationships; the act of leveraging the internet to engage in social connection exposes private information; the internet allows people to silo themselves, limiting their exposure to new ideas; and the internet is being used to engender intolerance.

Some respondents also highlighted that there will be development of some new psychological and medical syndromes that will be “variations of depression caused by the lack of meaningful quality relationships”, and a “new world society”. The term, “Social Networking”, has begun to deceive the users to believe they are social creatures. For instance, spending a couple of hours using Farmville and chatting with friends concurrently does not convert into social skills. People become dependent on the technology and forget how to socialise in face-to-face context. The online personality of a person might be totally different from his/her offline character, causing chaos when the two personalities meet. It is apparent in online dating when the couple gets together in face-to-face for the first time. Their written profiles do not clearly represent their real-life characters. It is more enticing for people to type something that others want to hear than saying the truth.

Besides the “friendship”, creators of social networking sites and users redefine the term, “privacy” in the Internet as well. The challenge in data privacy is to share data while protecting personally identifiable information. Almost any information posted on social networking sites is permanent. Whenever someone posts pictures or videos on the web, it becomes viral. When the user deletes a video from his/her social network, someone might have kept it and then posted it onto other sites like YouTube already. People post photographs and video files on social networking sites without thinking and the files can reappear at the worst possible time. In 2008, a video of a group of ACJC students hazing a female student in school on her birthday was circulated and another video of a SCDF recruit being “welcomed” (was hosed with water and tarred with shoe polish) to a local fire station made its way online.

Much news has been reported about online privacy breach in Facebook and Facebook is constantly revising their privacy policy and changing their privacy controls for the users. Interestingly, even when users delete their personal information and deactivate their Facebook account, Facebook will still keep that information and will continue to use it for data mining. A reporter asked whether the data will at least be anonymized. The Facebook representative declined to comment.

In the corporate world, human resource managers can access Facebook or MySpace to get to know about a candidate’s true colours, especially when job seekers do not set their profiles to private. Research has found that almost half of employers have rejected a potential worker after finding incriminating material on their Facebook pages. Some employers have also checked the candidates’ online details in Facebook pages to see if they are lying about their qualifications. Nowadays, younger generations have a complete disregard for their own privacy, opening doors to unwelcome predators or stalkers.

Source by Raymond Tay

Taking Care of Your Cat

Being a cat owner is a big responsibility, which should be shared by the whole family. The most important things that young individuals should learn about cat care are as follows:

Regular Visits to the Vet

A cat should visit the vet at least once yearly to undergo a physical check-up, which includes eyes, ears and heart, as well as get deworming/deflea treatments and booster vaccinations. If your cat’s heath or behavior is a concern, it is crucial to see the vet immediately.

Vaccinations

Every cat should go through vaccinations for diseases such as feline leukemia virus or FeLV, cat flue and feline infectious enteritis or FIE. Such diseases can endanger a cat’s life when infected, so it is crucial to go for preventive measures.

Feeding

In order to stay healthy, your cat needs a good diet. Feed it with quality dried or tinned cat food, and make sure that fresh water is always ready. Since cats are carnivorous, they cannot live on a diet with vegetables.

Neutering

Neutering allows cats to be healthier and happier. When a male cat is neutered, he is less prone to wandering far from home and getting involved in fights. A neutered female will no longer have kittens, which is an advantage since there is enough space to accommodate lots of kittens in the UK. Kittens should be neutered from 4 to 6 months, upon the advice of your vet.

Playtime with your Cat

Cats, most especially kittens, should have playtime because this is where they learn the skills they need in life, and it teaches them more about their environment.

Also, play makes good use of a cat’s energy, letting it remain fit and healthy, as well as give an alert and active brain. The best games motivate them to chase, pounce, stalk and safely bat objects with their paw.

Best Tips for Playing

Toys

Even if cat toys are available from pet shops, you can save money and have more time making some by yourself.

Cats like interactive toys, so tie a string on a toy, then move it all around like it were alive.

Catnip

There are cats that go crazy over the herb catnip. Buy toys filled with dried catnip, then hand one over to your cat to see its reaction.

Climbing and Hiding

Cats are fond of climbing and hiding, so it is a great idea to get a cat activity center, or as a cheaper option, just give cardboard boxes for your cat to play with.

Indoor Cats

Cats that stay indoors need more entertainment than those outdoors. So, try to make feeding more challenging by giving cat biscuits via a puzzle feeder or plastic bottle, which is cut in biscuit-size holes with the help of an adult.

The cat will find out whenever he bats the bottle, it releases a biscuit. At the same time, he will eat his food gradually.

Source by Karina Popa

If you’re considering a home based business opportunity, here are four companies that might appeal to you:

1. Motiply Partners – With people on the go and the mobile industry booming, businesses have to be mobile friendly with an app, as well as a mobile website. Up until now, Apps and mobile websites have been far too expensive for businesses. The Motiply App and Mobile Website Builder gives you the ability to make local businesses mobile friendly for almost nothing compared to the tens of thousands of dollars it has cost them up to this point. Motiply has a turn-key Mobile App business that makes it possible for anyone to work from home and market mobile websites and apps to businesses in their community. They provide you with everything you will need to be successful, and no experience is needed. With their training, mentoring program and tutorials, according to them, you will be selling Mobile Websites, Apps and Mobile Marketing Solutions to businesses in no time.

Cost to get involved: $199

2. Cruises, Inc.- Cruises Inc. has over 400 independent agents coast to coast. For over 25 years they have been providing attention to detail and professional advice to every customer. As a Cruises Inc. agent, you will be combining the latest in technology with superior customer service. Their computerized best fare search program enables each cruise specialist to identify outstanding values on all of the major cruise lines. Want to be a part of selling exciting cruise and destination vacation packages…and earn 100% commissions? How about making all that happen on your own schedule and from the comfort of your own home?

Cost to get involved: $249 which includes virtual training

3. Academic Associates Learning Centers – Did you realize know that 1 in 7 adults in USA cannot read this article. This company has 230 reading centers across the country. Their program provides you with the unique opportunity of having your own successful learning center. Their specialized training provides you with all the tools and the skills you’ll need to help anyone become a good reader. Now they are offering you a home based business opportunity to own your own effective reading center using the Academic Associates Reading Program™.

Cost to get involved: $6,000

4. Do Business Smarter – This “business coach” company recognizes that every business is unique. Their approach to business coaching has helped hundreds of business owners to become more successful by implementing proven strategies to grow their business. If you’re a retired businessman or woman, and have always wanted to be a coach, this might very well be a great opportunity for you. The cost to get involved seem a little extravagant to me, but there has never been a better time to become a business coach.

Cost to get involved: $25,000-$45,000, depending on level of participation.

Never rely solely on the recommendation of someone else when you’re looking at a prospective home based business opportunity – not even mine! Make sure you always do your due diligence, and ask yourself these four questions:

1. Is this really a legitimate business?

2. Is this an opportunity that would be “fun” for me?

3. Can I afford this opportunity?

4. Does this business afford me the opportunity to meet my long-term financial goals?

Source by Paul E Huff

Alexander Graham Bell most likely had no idea that he had discovered what would eventually change the world in more ways than can be imagined. The technology that started out for telephones has led to more discoveries in the telecommunication field that keep people in touch and connected around the world.

The Early Days

On March 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first speech using electricity. From that day forward, the telephone system changed every aspect of life. Although it did not immediately change the world, it set communication on a path that would alter the future of communication.

The initial lack of acceptance of Mr. Bell’s discovery was due the telegraph being the dominating form of communication and it had been around for over 50 years. This voice across electrical lines that Mr. Bell was proposing was a new and daunting discovery.

In the late 1870’s Bell took his public telephone demonstrations on the road in an attempt to raise awareness and public finance for the project. Mr. Bell presented the telephone as a broadcasting system.

Initially, phones connected only two lines. In June30, 188 there were 287 phones installed, by July there were 750. Ten years later there would be 167,000 phones and a maze of wires overhead. (Pool, Ithiel de Sola; _The Social Impact of the Telephone_; Cambridge, MIT Press, 1977.)

Technology

Mr. Bell wasn’t the only person working on ideas that would impact telephone technology. Thomas Edison invented the first transmitter and receiver that would be practical for commercial use. He had already invented a type of multiplexing that allowed messages to be sent in opposing directions simultaneously.

Many more changes came about in the ensuing years and AT&T incorporated in 1885 to lease phones to homes and offices but maintained ownership of the technology.

Then, in the 1880’s the switchboard came on board. During this time, there was no dialing, no signaling system, and no electronic switches. Callers would crank the handle; get an operator who then connects them to their party and then have their conversation. This type of system had no ringer to alert of incoming calls and no privacy due to the operator being the middle man holding the call together.

By 1946 the number of telephone callers made switchboard operators’ jobs too much for people alone to handle. Nearly a quarter of a million operators were working for AT&T in 1946 but that number would decrease significantly with the invention of automatic call switching.

Although this switching system was invented in 1889, it was not until 1914 that it was installed on a large scale basis in New Jersey. Then, it wasn’t until 1976 that the first computerized switch was put into action and by 1982 almost half of all telephone calls were switched electronically.

Turning the Century

Bell’s patent ran out at the turn of the century and approximately 6000 independent phone companies opened up shop. These independent companies could only connect locally, AT&T refused to allow them to link to the national system. Instead, they waited for the little guy to go bankrupt and then bought them out.

In 1984, AT&T got out of the local telephone service at the end of a ten-year lawsuit pushing to break up the telecommunication giant. This resulted in the forming of the so called ‘baby Bells’.  This breakup also allowed users to own their phones and hook up their own devices to them.

Prior to the 20th century phone systems used twisted copper wires which were expensive to install and absorbed a great deal of electrical energy. The coming years would see copper wire give way to coaxial cables, then microwave stations and then telecommunication satellites.

Digital transmission, though not new, did not come into telephone play in a large way until the 1980’s. Using fiber optic cables, digital transmission was up to 125,000 times faster than that of copper cable. Copper wire is still in use in many areas due to the high cost involved with running fiber optic cable to every home, though many areas have replaced the lines with fiber optic cable.

Beyond the Telephone

Having mastered the basic telephone and communication across great distances, there were still technological advances waiting to be discovered. The fax machine uses telephone lines to transmit digital signals to a modem on the receiving in which decodes the signals into messages. Then along came the mobile or cell phone.

Cell phones appeared in the early 1980’s and today there are millions in use. Cell phone networks use the regular phone system connected to a computer controlled center and transmission towers to transmit messages. Originally, there were few transmission towers and the mobile phones were bulky and had to be used near towers in order to have clear transmission.

Within a few years, the phones became small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and towers were located nearly everywhere. While there are zones with poor reception, most cell phones are always in a usable zone.

Today, cell phones do much more than just allow for voice conversation, cell phones allow access to the Internet, email, business applications, pictures and much more.

Source by Sam D Goddard

Whether one is in his or her home or outside, home security is amongst the top priorities of most people. Home Security does not only imply safety and protection from burglaries or thefts, it also includes protection from prospective damage from fire, flooding, power failure and gas leakage. While one would essentially be taking all the routine precautionary measures against any of these damages, professional home security and various home security gadgets are at the center stage due to their wide spread popularity and success.

A wide range of gadgets like sensor doorbells, CCTV cameras, Wireless Wi-Fi cameras, burglar alarms and other anti-theft security systems are readily available today. Comprehensive Security systems are also available in a wide price range for installation in your home by professionals.

At the basic level, any home security company will offer you a package which includes entry and motion sensors to protect (and warn you) against someone opening a door or a window or breaking a glass to enter your home.

Latest and most likeable features which most security companies offer you include:

1. Super-fast cellular connection – A connection without a phone line and one which cannot be cut by intruders.

2. Round the clock monitoring – For instance response and police dispatch.

3. Mobile Control – From your laptop or smartphone.

4. Secret Alerts – Optional for your gun safes, closets and file drawers etc.

5. SMS and E-mail Alerts – So that you know what’s happening when it’s actually happening.

6. Protection that’s smash-proof – Alerts the police if a burglar breaks the keypad.

7. Protection from power outages – Systems which operate on lithium batteries that last up to 5 years and work in case of power failures also.

8. Advanced Fire and Smoke Detectors – For protection in case of fire or gas leaks.

9. Sensitive long range wireless sensors – To fit your needs even in large homes.

10. Portability – Just in case you are moving home.

11. Pet friendly – The equipment fits well with your pets at home.

The latest state-of-the-art home security systems available today give you the various features mentioned above and allow you to keep an eye on your home from wherever you are by simply pressing a few buttons on your smartphone, tablet or laptop. You can use these friendly cameras to keep an eye on intruders or on your children or pets at home.

Luckily for you, there are organizations experts who offer free reports to those who want to learn how to protect their homes.

Source by Marc-Eddy Drouinaud Jr