Video Game Violence...What do you think about it? by: Daniel Punch

Ever since video game designers were able to put red pixels on their imaginary characters that had recently deceased, there have been people crusading against their subversive ways. The outrage at video games seems to be cyclic, fading very briefly before exploding into the public eye once more with renewed frenzy. The controversy seems to have sparked up again in recent times, with numerous crimes being blamed on the corruptive influence of video games. There have also been various "controversies" surrounding recent video games and their content in the areas of both violence and sexuality. The first game to receive widespread criticism and media attention was the martial art fighting game "Mortal Kombat". This game included large spurts of blood emitted from attacks and also "Fatalities" that could be performed on stunned opponents after their defeat. These Fatalities were gruesome animation sequences showing the victorious player killing their defeated opponent in a vast variety of ways. Gamers revelled in this new experience and the controversy surrounding the violence caused mass hype that informed the less informed gamers that the game was out there. Consequently gamers played the new game just to find out what all the talk was about, thereby greatly increasing revenue. One of the largest sparks of controversy has been the recent "Hot Coffee" modification for "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA)". This involved unlocking a sexually oriented mini-game that had been removed from the game before release, although evidently not from the source code. The creators of the game, Rockstar Entertainment, obviously realised that this particular part of the game was not appropriate for the video gaming public and removed access to it. An enterprising fan of the game found out and modified the original code to give access to the content once again. Lawsuits were brought against Rockstar for including such content in their game, although the validity of the lawsuit has to be questioned. If the game is simply purchased and played as intended by the developers, this admittedly tasteless and inappropriate mini game would never be encountered. It is not until the user-made modification is downloaded and installed that the player is able to access the content. Regardless of who's to blame, "GTA: SA" was re-rated in America and banned from sale in Australia. Oddly enough the gratuitous and encouraged violence in the game went largely unnoticed in the wake of the "scandalous" sex scenes involving clothed, cartoonesque people. When examined objectively almost all games contain a certain amount of violent content. The kid-friendly bright and colourful "Mario" games by Nintendo feature a character stomping on animated creature's heads. In fact the majority of games, even children's games, involve the protagonist crusading against an enemy horde of some sort and generally "disposing" of them in some manner, whether it be striking them with a weapon or body part (feet, hands, possibly a tail depending on the nature of the character). The only real stand out difference is that in a children's game the 'bad' characters will generally bounce backwards in a cute manner and explode with a humorous puff sound (or simply disappear) whereas in a game oriented towards older mature players, the characters are more likely to be (somewhat) realistic, spraying a gusher of red upon their demise. Whenever some young person somewhere commits a violent crime these days it seems to get blamed on a video game, from "Duke Nukem" and "Quake" being accused for the Columbine High massacre, to a more recent incident involving a group of minors attributing their violent actions to the "Mortal Kombat" video games. Without any solid evidence either way it's hard to say whether or not video game violence actually has much of an influence on players. To really be sure you'd probably have to have a control group of isolated children that have never seen a violent movie or played a bloodthirsty video game. History does however show that brutal crimes were committed long before video games or even movies came into existence. Children are quite easily influenced by something that they're excited about and I've seen this happen a lot. Playing a wrestling video game with a group of eight year olds often leads to the eight year olds screaming raucously and trying to pin each other down on the ground. Pre-teens will often punch and kick their way out of a cinema in terrible combat stances after having viewed a martial arts movie. The current content rating system in place is not geared towards consumer restriction; it is largely aimed at simply informing the public about what they are going to experience. Legal restrictions are not actually put in place until the higher, more severe ratings like in x-rated films. Parents, guardians, and society in general need to start taking an interest in who is viewing certain types of content. Instead of complaining about the entertainment a child is enjoying, the parent could be there at the beginning looking at the rating that is printed clearly on the packaging of all entertainment. A simple "I don't think that's suitable, how about this game? It has a lizard!" distracts the child a surprising number of times. In my experience, children genuinely just want people to take an interest in what they're interested in, not just murmuring indistinctly, "Yes dear, that's nice." as the child installs the newest violent game. What about the children that are playing the games in the restricted ratings categories? The only way that they can even get the game into their possession is if a parent (or someone of legal age) purchases the game for the child, or if the store disregards the rating guidelines in place and sells it to them regardless. Either way the fact that a game's content has fallen into a minor's hands is not the fault of the game developer. I'm not out to defend the integrity of artistic vision presented in video games as many other gamers are. Frankly there seems to me to be little artistic integrity in rendering blood that is ever more liquid in appearance. I do however enjoy playing some games that are quite violent in nature and in many cases the violent nature of the game increases my enjoyment. Video games are escapism, there's (arguably) no point in playing a video game that simulates something you can just walk outside and do (and yet sports games somehow consistently sell in large numbers... curious...). Interestingly I have never yet felt the overwhelming desire to break down into a kung fu stance and commit murder. Perhaps more important than simply banning questionable content in video games would be studying why this content is so appealing to today's society? About the author: Daniel Punch M6.Net Web Helpers http://www.m6.net

Your Fingertips and a Phone-line, perhaps. by: Seamus Dolly

Never, before the Internet and its components, did a regular person have such cheap access to such a wide database. With it comes an opportunity. To download music or play games, if that is what you want, but never, could a person rapidly gain access to information! Never could a person disperse information to such a degree, either. With it comes a freedom to express ideas, creations, or business concepts, which held previous generations captive to their true abilities and potential. You can be certain that many had intelligence, imagination and foresight, but lacked the resources and framework to do what is now, commonplace. The thing is though, that while many ideas are indeed commonplace, simple variations can become some workable, feasible and rewarding. If you have a spark of imagination, you should be able to find an angle. Bizarre or conventional, outrageous or ordinary, something searchable should lend itself to inspiration. While some get comfortable with modern cultures, labour costs will increase and fewer things are cheaper. To download a webpage or send 500,000 e-mails, the value is exceptional and unlikely to spiral. In this alone, there has to be potential. General research, which took time and discipline, can be done in a short time. Search engines, which find search engines and almost anything else, will speedily return many results. Indeed, lots of specific information can be “mined” as well. It is a shame where some don’t realise its true power. Get what was once a stupid idea, manipulate it into a modern context, and see what can happen to it. For the market is global and interest in any concept, is no longer limited to a local audience. What that means is that your community figure-head, tribal leader (or whatever your hierarchial structure), neither have to approve, condemn or otherwise comment on your business if that is what you want. It is easier, much easier to find/target like-minded individuals, than it ever was. Though some social benefits are lost, it has become extremely simple to communicate with others on earthly opposites, and the time/speed difference is almost negligible. Indeed, remote tooling manipulation is common enough, whether medical or industrial. More opportunities! The software, hardware, and implied support mechanisms for this existing but growing market might titillate the imagination, and spawn many ventures. All growth will never only be in the technological market. With all its “finery”, people still need paper for hard copy solutions, and blank paper is not much of a record. Pigments and paper are complimentary. Roads will still have to be dug, and people still have to be fed. Service sectors are growing. So if you are an ambitious waiter/waitress or see the potential of excavation equipment, then the Internet can compliment it, as paper to pigment. “While an employer will leverage his employees, and the rich will leverage their money, the rest can leverage their access to information, to enhance or change their position”.

San Francisco Web Development - Tools

"Web development encompasses many stages i.e. Planning, Analysis, Web design, Implementation, Promotion and Innovation. Each of these stages requires use of different sets of tools and professionals with varied skill sets. Planning and Analysis don't require as many software tools as the experience of the web master or project director. They need working knowledge with all aspects of server and database. Familiarity with Operating Systems and the Internet server applications are required. Experience with IP networks, programming languages and database development are also essential. The two most common Operating Systems used are Windows NT/2000 and Unix, although many also use Linux. Most commonly used Internet programming languages include PERL, CGI, ActiveX, ASP, and Java among others. In the next stage of Web designing, tools such as HTML Meta tags, JavaScript, CGI, Macromedia Flash, Macromedia DreamWeaver and Adobe Photoshop are used. Web templates, graphic designs, photographs, texts, clippings, audio and video are also included, as per the requirements. Flash helps in animation that gives an identity to a website. Visual Basic is the most common language for scripting and SQL with other database engines are used for database management on the website. To create Search Engine Optimized content, tools such as Overture are used. Once the most popularly searched words in your industry are identified and short-listed, the content creators write content using these search words. This ensures that your website lists high in the search engines and directories. In the next stage of Web designing, tools such as HTML Meta tags, JavaScript, CGI, Macromedia Flash, Macromedia DreamWeaver and Adobe Photoshop are used. Web templates, graphic designs, photographs, texts, clippings, audio and video are also included, as per the requirements. Flash helps in animation that gives an identity to a website. Visual Basic is the most common language for scripting and SQL with other database engines are used for database management on the website. To create Search Engine Optimized content, tools such as Overture are used. Once the most popularly searched words in your industry are identified and short-listed, the content creators write content using these search words. This ensures that your website lists high in the search engines and directories. In the Implementation stage, the website is implemented and tested on various browsers. Any functional errors, if found, are corrected. The Promotion and Innovation stages, help in marketing a website. Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Promotion, Loyalty Programs, Email Campaigns and Online Games are some tools used for website promotion. Tools such as site statistics software and reporting from site searches let you know what exactly your visitors are looking for. The content and marketing strategies are then adjusted accordingly. A website also needs to be maintained and continuously evaluated and updated with respect to content, presentation, layout and technical aspects. Use of good web development tools ensures that your pages have good content, Meta tags, a high link popularity score, appropriate keywords and visual appeal. Although web development tools are essential, it also takes a seasoned team of programmers, graphic designers, content creators, consultants and marketing staff to work in tandem to create a technically sound, visually appealing and highly functional website. A well-planned site, apart from being high in functionality, is also easy to re-design or alter, at a later stage. " About the author: I write articles for www.web-design.nr10.com,a San Francisco Web Development and Web Design Services, ##10 (number 10) is a Marketing and Technology Agency focused on delivering design, web technology development and e-business strategy solutions.

Mobile phone accessories – both fancy and technical – enhance user experience of cellular devices by: Peter Lenkefi

Aside replacement and ornamental purposes, mobile phone accessories boost or enhance the use of our cellular devices. There are several types of accessories when it comes to mobile phones. We have operational accessories that helps users to safeguard their phones or enhance their operations. These include battery chargers, hands free kits antenna boosters and batteries. Some accessories come in the form of attachment which are devices that enable you extend your phone to some other object. An example is speaker phone kits that enable you to drive whilst receiving calls and car phone holders that serve as carrying cases for drivers. Cases form another category of accessories and are purchased to hold the phones. They come in various shapes and there are some that can be worn around the belt. Then come the technical accessories like games, radiation shields, antenna boosters and ringtone downloads which have more to do with the technical functionality of the device. Next comes the most common of all accessories – phone covers and face plates which can be found in various fancy designs. That said, do we really need phone accessories? Yes we do – whether for fun or for protection of our mobile phones. A Bluetooth device enables you to receive calls with just a small piece of cordless device in your ear. Will you risk driving by trying to reach your phone from the dashboard of you got a call? While traveling, a travel charger may be needed in addition to the regular one. If you are hard pressed for time to charge the phone but still need to keep it running, you can plug the phone to the car charger whilst on the road to save time and to get the capacity to make and receive calls. You need that case to protect your phone from scratches. Tech people are in constant interaction with hard objects like tools which can scratch their phones. So getting a case to protect the phone can save you the headache of buying a new phone too soon because of scratches. If you make or receive a lot of calls, you may wish to keep a spare battery in case you lose power from the current one and not in a position to immediately recharge. Lastly, if your mates have the same kind of phone as yours, you may want to get a customized ringtone to differentiate yourself. You can’t always be reaching for your phone when you hear that ringtone – it may be someone else’s ringing. Accessories can be fun or a necessity depending on who is buying. Nevertheless, we should be very careful to buy right. Before you make a purchase, you have to triple check to make sure that the product or service is compatible with your phone. It should fit the phone with ease and if the accessory is electronic in nature, refer to the owner’s manual to check if that’s the right thing you are putting inside the phone. About the author: For more more information about cell phone accessories please visit http://www.cell-phone-accessory-search.com

Internet Monitoring, Safety And Security by: Matthew Noel

Internet monitoring is a necessary part of having internet service. Whether you allow your children to surf the web or if you have the need to monitor employees, effective programs can be used to help you to do this simply. There are many aspects that can be monitored and the results can be delivered to you privately. No one needs to know that you are using internet monitoring technologies either. There are many options when it comes to internet monitoring. No matter what your need is in these products, you can expect to use high tech gadgets and software. But, they are simplistic to use. Many software programs that monitor internet usage will tell you such things as how long the individual was online as well as what websites they visited, who they chatted with in instant messages, as well as anything that they input into the web. Emails can be tracked as well as a number of other things. Why should you use internet monitoring? If you are not sure your employees are using their time on the job for job related tasks, this can help you know for sure. If you are unsure of who your spouse is chatting with at night, consider the use of these monitoring solutions. Do you know if someone is stalking your child as they play games on the web? If they use instant message software, find out who they are talking to and what they are saying. Internet monitoring is really a necessary part of keeping people safe and your business under control. Effective internet monitoring software products can be purchased and installed quickly and discreetly. Be in the know. There are also many information portals now devoted to the subject and we recommend reading about it at one of these. Try googling for “internet monitoring” and you will be surprised by the abundance of information on the subject. Alternatively you may try looking on Yahoo, MSN or even a decent directory site, all are good sources of this information. About the author: for more information please see http://www.internet-monitoring-help.co.uk

How Spyware Blaster Can Protect Your Computer From Harm by: Philippa Smith

By browsing a web page, you could infect your computer with spy ware, ad ware, dialers and hijackers. These, unwelcome guests, are some of the fastest growing threats on the Internet today. It is important to protect your computer and one of the most powerful software products, available for this, is Spy ware Blaster, a program created by Java cool. How are you affected? A spyware program will record every keystroke and e-mail as well as every web page you visit and every chat session. Some spyware programs will try to take control of your homepage, search page and other browser settings. Some may silently download themselves onto your computer. Others may pose as legitimate programs and persuade you to download them. Private and confidential information extracted from a user's computer may be put on the Internet before he can realize that he is a victim of these malicious programs. A Microsoft program called ActiveX is used to download software from websites for supporting legitimate services like file viewers or games. ActiveX can also be used to download spyware, hijackers, dialers and ad ware. Spyware Blaster can make it difficult for these ActiveX programs to run on your computer. It can also protect your computer from certain cookies while running Mozilla based browsers like Fire fox. The major anti-virus software product manufacturers have ignored the risks of spyware, hijackers, dialers and ad ware till now. Due to this, users have little knowledge of the software products that can be effective in detecting and eliminating them. One of the most powerful products available to provide security from spy ware is Spyware Blaster. Spyware Blaster Spyware Blaster is a freeware that offers effective protection from malicious Internet downloads. It disables malicious ActiveX controls that are already present and prevents downloads of malicious ActiveX controls from a web page. Its current database contains 822 items against which it provides protection. About 100 of these are tracking cookies, used by advertisers. Spy ware Blaster's Flash Killer capability enables it to block the installation of distracting macromedia flash content. It gives the user the option to block specific search engine toolbars and browser plug-ins. =========================================================== Click to find a daily updated blog of articles and news about spyware ! Get advice and information about how to protect your computer from attack, and disinfect it.. Click http://www.spyware-101.com/ About the author: Philippa Smith runs a home business in los angeles. The constant attacks on here computer caused her to learn all about spyware & viruses, and how to deal with them.

Gaming Laptops - The Five Essential Features To Consider When Buying A Gaming Laptop by: Laura Alter

Gone are the days when you would have been laughed at if you walked into an all-night LAN party carrying your trusty laptop and expecting to hang with the giant computer towers standing at everyone’s feet. The gaming laptop computers of today sport huge, crisp LCD screens, cutting-edge video cards and full-size keyboards. Not only can these gaming laptop computers hang with the standard clunky computer tower, but they can also be ordered fully custom to meet the exact specifications of any gamer. Since there are so many customizable components in these laptops, a standard practice has been to create what some call a “system builder.” This is the page where you get to add and subtract components through drop-down menus in order to create the best gaming laptop computer for your needs and your budget. This type of page can be overwhelming to someone just starting the gaming laptop shopping process, but it is very manageable if you take it just one component at a time. The Gaming Laptop GPU This is the heart of a gaming laptop computer. The GPU – graphics processing unit – is a component that will make or break your gaming experience. If your GPU isn’t up to snuff, your games won’t play. Without getting into specific models since they change all the time, the key is that the graphics card not share resources with the computer. A gaming laptop video card must have its own memory on board. Generally speaking, standard off-the-shelf laptops will not have this feature. The two current makers of laptop video cards are nVIDIA and ATI. Without the Screen, You Don’t Have Much What good is a gaming laptop without a screen that can actually render your games? Now certainly, you can connect an external monitor, but if you can’t actually play on your gaming laptop without that external monitor, then your laptop isn’t all that mobile. While the technology and terminology for LCDs (liquid crystal displays) could take up an entire article in itself, there are a few key points to keep in mind when choosing from available LCD options for your new gaming laptop computer: native resolution, aspect ratio, rise and fall time, contrast, viewing angle, and size. Native Resolution. The native resolution is simply the setting at which your screen will render the clearest images. Since games are constantly in motion, slightly soft edges may not bother most gamers, but keep in mind that while this is your gaming laptop, you will likely also use it for other things like surfing the Internet. If the resolution isn’t comfortable, you aren’t going to enjoy using it. Aspect Ratio. As you probably know, a movie theater screen and a TV screen have different proportions. Likewise, there are widescreen format gaming laptops and there are laptops that have a standard aspect ratio – like that of a TV. A widescreen format gaming laptop has advantages and disadvantages. Many games today do not have a widescreen mode. This means that the game may stretch across the screen and become distorted or you may run it with black bars that fill in the sides. There are ways to get around this, but if you want an out of the box perfect experience, the widescreen format may not be for you. That said, a widescreen LCD does offer plenty of screen real estate for web surfing and other type of computer activities, and a game played in a wide format setting offers an expansive field of view. For this reason, there are some very loyal widescreen-loving gamers out there. Do your best to find a balance between current and future technology and what your computer habits are beyond gaming. Even with its limitations, the widescreen format is found on most of the best gaming laptop computers. Rise and Fall. The phrase ‘rise and fall time’ is used to describe how fast the LCD can respond to changes. In the past, LCDs have been plagued with the inability to render images as fast as computer games can spit them out. This presents a major problem for laptop gamers because if they can’t see the images properly, they can’t play the game properly. This lag can mean the difference between playing to win and barely playing. Fortunately, gaming laptop LCDs have come a long way and they are only getting better. While once it was impossible to game on a laptop screen, the gaming laptop LCDs of today offer 25 milliseconds or less rise and fall time while generally off-the-shelf laptops have 40 milliseconds or less rise and fall time. Contrast. If a gaming laptop LCD has poor contrast, that means that the black areas aren’t quite as black as they should be and the white areas aren’t quite as white. This is important to a laptop gamer because you have to see the game properly – as it was intended to be seen – in order to compete effectively. Look for a contrast ratio of 400:1 or higher in a custom gaming laptop computer. Viewing Angle. This is an often-overlooked LCD feature, but it must be considered if you are building a gaming laptop computer. Many high quality LCDs on the market are difficult to see clearly at any angle other than straight on and at the right height. This can be a big drawback to gaming on a LCD screen because a screen with poor viewing angles won’t allow others to watch the screen as you play and also hurts your view when doing something as simple as adjusting your seating, which can require you to then adjust to position of your laptop screen to see it properly again. But gaming on a laptop does not mean that you are doomed to have poor viewing angles. There are LCDs on the market that have amazing viewing angles – up to 120 degrees. These screens not only allow gaming onlookers, but they also allow you to use that giant, crisp screen to do things like play movies and even make presentations. Size. In a gaming laptop computer, size is everything. Most gaming laptops are large, robust pieces of electronics. Having a machine of this stature means you also get to have a large screen. The best gaming laptop computer LCD screens out there are at least 15 inches. A crowd favorite is a 17 inch widescreen (even with the challenges that widescreens present). Largr 19 inch laptop screens are just starting to be talked about with consumers expecting to see 19 inch or even large models on the market in the near future. The best way to really get a feel for what laptop LCDs are all about is to take a trip to a local box store and play with the LCDs on the display laptops while keeping in mind what you have read here. While these laptops are not custom gaming laptops, you can see what the sizes really look like, what different resolutions look like, and what the viewing angles truly are so you can start to develop your own preferences. The RAM – What Type and How Much? The RAM (random access memory) found in laptops is called SODIMM (small outline dual inline memory module). The RAM is responsible for your processing power. If you are shopping for a custom gaming laptop, you will generally be offered DDR2 RAM with the choice of how much you want in your computer. Most high-end games being released today need 1GB of RAM for optimum, lag-free game play. Some people are going with 2GB to ensure that they can run multiple applications along with the game and not experience any slow down in response time. This is a large investment and you want to be able to use this gaming laptop for some time in the future. Most custom laptops are user upgradeable, but this should be left up to professionals. The CPU – Not Just Mobile Technology The CPUs (central processing units) found in many custom gaming laptops are identical to those found in desktops. These chips require a great deal of cooling power, which in turn can make your laptop louder than light weight, lower power ultra portables when the fans kick on and it can become somewhat warm to the touch. Don’t be alarmed by this – it is normal. And with these desktop processors comes screaming power! Don’t waste your money on the latest CPU release that likely has an inflated price tag (and that price will likely come down before long). Stick with a current CPU speed that is offered by a reputable custom gaming laptop reseller, and you really can’t go wrong. The Gaming Laptop Hard Drive This is the final component to consider when building a gaming laptop. Laptop hard drives come in a variety of speeds and capacities ranging from 4200 to 7200 RPMs and 40 to over 100 GBs. For the most part, this is user preference. Whenever possible, go for a 7200 RPM hard drive, but if you need a capacity not offered in this speed, it’s okay to go for the 5400 RPM drive. Take a look at your current computer, and buy your capacity based on this. Also keep in mind that with many custom gaming laptop manufacturers, you have the ability to upgrade or add another hard drive at a later date. At the end of the day, gaming laptop computers are all about power. Don’t expect a twelve-pound notebook with a desktop processor, numerous fans, a giant heatsink, and independent video card to last on battery power all that long. But do make sure to enjoy the jawdrops that you’ll get as you walk into your regular LAN party location with your new, screaming-fast gaming laptop computer. Crack that puppy open, fire it up, and stand clear of the drool as you take on your favorite game with fellow gamers gathered around to take in the action. Gaming is not just for desktops anymore! About the author: PC Torque Ltd is a leading authority on laptop gaming news and technology. For more information on how to to build the best gaming laptop, or to check out the latest offerings in the custom gaming laptop industry, visit http://www.pctorque.com

Get Started In Creating Computer Games by: Daniel Punch

Acest rezumat nu este disponibil. Dați clic aici pentru a vedea postarea.

Copy any DVD movie with EZ DVD Copy™ by: Johnathan Crews

Have you ever wanted to copy a DVD movie that you own? Now you can with EZ DVD Copy™. Our powerful, easy-to-use software will allow you to copy virtually any DVD, using a CD-R or DVD-R! EZ DVD Copy allows you to extract all of the features that are available on the original disc. Or you may leave off extras so you can fit your entire DVD movie on to just one blank disc. You don't have to split your DVD movie across two separate discs. Finish copying in less than an hour! All you will be using is either your CD-R or DVD-R burners and blank media to record! For less than the cost of few DVDs, you will have everything you need to copy your favorite collection in one easy to use software program! EZ DVD Copy is the fastest and easiest way to copy DVDs! Our updated software includes the following features: Built-In CSS Decryption Ripper Watch copies on your DVD player or computer Fit your entire movie to a single disc Copy a movie in less than an hour! FREE ONE YEAR software updates. FREE Helpdesk Support. Available for instant download. Supports both NTSC and PAL DVDs. 30 Day Money Back Guarantee! Don't wait for theaters... Download all the movies you want on the Internet today! With our EZ Download Club, you could search and watch unlimited movies (even titles that are still in theaters). We even show you how to find video games. Want to download ANONYMOUSLY and have access to UNMONITORED archives of files? Our EZ Download Club is the answer. Below is a small list of the DVDs that are now available for download. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Matchstick Men House Of The Dead Secondhand Lions The Italian Job Pirates of the Carribean Thirteen American Splendor Uptown Girls Out of Time S.W.A.T. The Order The Medallion Freaky Friday Assassination Tango Bad Boys II Gigli How to Deal Seabiscuit Rugrats Go Wild The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Anything Else Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of Black Pearl X2: X-Men United Bruce Almighty Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas The Santa Clause 2 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines American Wedding The Matrix Reloaded Discover how to backup any Xbox, PlayStation 2, PSX, Dreamcast and PC video games with our EZ Video Game Copy. No more scratches, cracks or buying games you used to own. Protect your gaming investment with our step-by-step guide to copying your games. Want to record your favorite TV programs and movies on to CDs that you can watch on your PC or DVD Player? With our comprehensive instructions, step by step guidance and screen shots - you can kiss your outdated analogue video good bye! With EZ VHS Copy, you will be able to convert all your old VHS movies to CD or DVD. Our software will help you to transfer your VHS tapes to digital format! No more clutter of tapes lying around. Never worry about your precious home movies becoming corrupt. Transfer your old vinyl records or cassettes to CD. You can turn that old musical format into digital and copy your LPs to CD-R or even DVD-R media. We’ll show you how to do it with our detailed instruction guide. All you need is your stereo equipment, PC and RCA cables. Start enjoying again the music you love, in your car or home with great sound quality. Preserve your collection of LPs and cassette tapes now, before they become too deteriorated. Tired of paying high prices for your favorite DVDS and video games? Now you can buy popular titles and new releases from our wholesale sources for as low as $3.00. All DVDs and video games are brand new and are made by the actual manufacturers. Our DVD Wholesalers List comes with e-mail contacts, websites, phone numbers and physical mailing addresses in the USA and the UK. This is not some useless and outdated directory you have seen on the Internet. This list has current sources and has been compiled in June of 2003. About the author: Jonathan Crews is a successful affiliate marketer. Download

Computer Monitor Buying Guide by: Peter Stewart

Although a monitor makes some of the least difference in terms of your computer's speed, it can make some of the biggest differences in terms of comfort and productivity. This guide aims to give you the details you need to know to choose the best monitor for what you need it for. LCD flap panel monitors have become all the rage, in a matter of just a few years, the old CRT monitors have nearly become obsolete, expecially on new computers. The old monitors are not bad. There is much to be liked, especially in terms of value for money, and in terms of performance. But you can't fight the change. We will focus on the LCD flat panel monitors as there is often more to be considered. Firstly there is the connection to the computer. Older monitors utilised a VGA cable that carried the signal from the computer to the monitor. The signal that goes along there is an analogue signal and it can become slightly degraded, and is just an old technology. Many flat panel monitors support this old style, but that is usually just for backwards compatibility. The newer cable type is a digital kind which is designed to be used for LCD monitors. The performance from this newer kind is better, but if you are upgrading an old computer, make sure your computer can run that monitor. Secondly is the screen resolution. This is how many pixels can be displayed on the monitor. The higher the resolution, the more can be fit on the screen. This means clearer images with much smoother textures, but it also means that things appear smaller as an increase in resolution does not increase the physical dimensions of the monitor. Usual nowadays is 1024 x 768 or even 1280 x 960. Computers used to have 800 x 600, but that has all but disappeared, except on very old computers or those that are not maintained properly. I run 1280 x 960 as it gives room for a lot of working space on the monitor, but with less than a 19 inch monitor, 1024 x 768 would be more suitable. Screen refresh rate is another factor that comes into play. CRT monitors used a process of changing the pixels on the screen to show the new images, updating from top to bottom in lines, at a certain rate per second. With that old style 60MHz (60 refreshes per second) would be the minimum before the screen started to flicker. LCD monitors do not have this problem and will look fine at 60MHz.When running games a refresh rate higher than that is required, often up to 85MHz or more. Make sure the monitor you plan to use supports at least 60MHz at your desired resolution for normal use and 85MHz if you want to play games. A specification that is new for flat panel monitors that didn't effect CRT monitors is latency. Although the refresh rate may be high, the table of little dots that make up the LCD panel take a small time to change, that change is the latency. Obviously if this latency is too high it is possible that you get shot in games before you even know it, which is no good. Latencies have improved, but only monitors claimed with 8ms latency have been really good for games. Latencies tend to be exagerated and a latency of 8ms actually averages out to 12ms. With most ratings multiply by 1.5 to get an average rating. The actual brightness of the screen can vary from spot to spot on the screen. Certain monitors have obvious bright parts and dull parts while others are more consistent. Most have some variation, but the less, the better. Name branded monitors tend to give better results than cheaper no name brand versions. Extras like little speakers are not worth talking about much. They have limited use and I would rather have seperate speakers and keep the monitor simple. After considering these, you should have enough to make a good purchase decision. Remember that a little extra money spent on a monitor is a good investment, and unlike many other computer parts, upgrades are not needed that often. About the author: Peter Stewart is a computer enthusiast, his interest in computers and focus on practical down to earth advice inspired his two websites. http://computer-buying-guide.com - Practical buying tips http://computer-reviews.net - Fair and honest reviews and opinions

Build websites easier with premade templates by: Alexandru Marias

To most people the process of building a web site remains somewhat of a mystery. This confusion probably stems from the fact that there is a cornucopia of web sites on the Internet. Even with wide variety of sites, every single one can be divided into two sections: front-end and back-end. The front-end is the first thing that it is designed. It encompasses the look and feel of a web site. This is probably the most established part of the web site production process. Design has been around since Guttenberg printed his first bible. Much of what has been used in print media (especially art magazines) has transferred to the web. Most well thought out web sites start off with sketches on paper. We like using the big huge box of crayons, the one with the crayon sharpener built in. Most of the colors in the "big box" are pleasing to the eye and are web friendly. If you use begin paying attention to sites you'll notice that only a few colors are actually used, 256 to be exact. Only about 100 of those won't give you a headache when you look at them. On request we will give these early designs to a client that wants to control the look and feel of their site. The site, of course, never ends up looking like the early designs. The same idea and concept is there but because of restrictions colors and whole images are lost. This brings us to the next part of the front-end, the actual site creation. This is what many people view as the most important, which is what separates a professional looking site from an amateur one. The images are created using products from across the board. Mainly, designers stick to industry standards like Photoshop and Illustrator. After getting the basic image in terms of proportions and size the designer should create the static HTML page. This is the basic page you would see if you viewed the page source. This is one of the most rewarding, most hated and most tedious part of the web design process. Each browser displays a page differently. Since most users either use Internet Explorer 4+ or Netscape 4.5 we cater to those two. Sometimes we build a different site for each, trying to maintain the same layout. That concludes the front-end section. Personal sites and some small business sites stop here. While this maybe acceptable today, tomorrow any web site hoping to attract and keep visitors is going to have a strong back-end. There are many sites and website designers that offer premade templates, these have the entire graphical layout that a page needs. For those with little or no experience with website design software, templates have quickly become a practical solution to professional website design. Most of the top end sites offer a huge selection of very impressive, easy-to-edit website templates. All you have to do is check your email containing the link to download the .zip file. The html in these templates is compatible with Adobe GoLive, Macromedia Dreamweaver and Microsoft Frontpage. The major advantage is the price, they run anywhere from $20 to $70. Another great advantage is you don't have to hire a web designer, who usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to produce a page of such high quality. Webmasters, either novice or expert, can easily save thousands of dollars on design fees by using website templates. There are also some exception sites, such as http://www.web-site-templates.org that provide packages of templates at one price, instead of providing a different price for each template. About the author: Alexandru Marias is an IT student mentaining software sites like:www.amicutilities.com,www.downloadsplaza.com, www.fungamesplaza.com,www.bluedownloads.com

Broadband Review by: Robert Michael

The Uses Of Broadband Broadband is a high-speed Internet connection that provides a large bandwidth. It is considered a very quick connection. It is an "always-on" type of connection and can transmit data at a much faster rate than your usual dialup connection. Broadband also has the added advantage of not tying up your phone line, which means you can use the both the Internet and telephone at the same time. Broadband can be provided from a variety of sources, including over the top of your phone line as in ADSL or on dedicated line such as Cable or ISDN. Typically, low-band Internet access is running up to 56kbps using a dial-up modem. Mid-band Internet is described as dialup access that operates at 64kbps or 128kbps. Standard broadband starts at 512kbps, which is about five times faster than dial-up service. Broadband is also available at 1mbps, 1.5mbps and 2.2mbps. There are companies that offer broadband at 4mbps and 8mbps. The maximum possible for cable is around 26mbps and 24mbps for ADSL. These speeds are not sold commercially because the cost to upgrade the telephone lines to be able to transmit data at these speeds is very high. Downloading and streaming music and video is very quick with broadband. There are a lot of websites now that are designed especially for broadband users. They have intense integrated graphics, flash and video. Broadband is also popular for online gaming. Game consoles like Xbox and PS2 have broadband support included. You can then subscribe to different types of gaming packages from your current ISP, which makes it possible to play Xbox and PS2 games live with other gamers over the Internet. Actually, online PC gaming has been going on since the Internet came into use, but in the past it was difficult to do. Slow and jerky response from your computer made it hard to play, and you always had to keep an eye on the time. Now, with the faster speeds of broadband, it has become much easier and is quickly gaining in popularity. Some games are now being released that require an Internet connection to play. The growing popularity of broadband has made it necessary for most providers to put a maximum limit on the amount of music, video and other data you can download. This limit can vary greatly, from as low as 1 GB up to 30 GB. Extreme users can get unlimited downloads if they wish. However, exceeding your ISP's download limit usually results in having a limited connection or no connection at all. One of the possible futures of broadband is Internet Television. The current bandwidth, which is the amount of data you can send and receive, is not wide enough to provide an image that is of comparable quality to that of your standard television. The ever- increasing broadband speeds will make Internet Television a reality. Since you can currently download clips from the shows, music videos and other content you like, it will soon be possible to do it legally in real time. Another use of broadband is online telephony. This is software that allows you to use your computer as a telephone and talk to people from anywhere without any extra cost. It is becoming commonplace, and has a higher quality or recording than a traditional telephone line. With the increase in the speeds of broadband, it may soon replace your television and telephone, and will find its way into every home. The success of broadband is making the Internet a great resource that's easy to use and fun to access for a variety of needs. About the author: Robert Michael is the owner of Best Broadband Review which is a great place to find Broadband Links, Resources and Articles. For more information go to:http://www.bestbroadbandreview.co.uk http://www.bestbroadbandreview.co.ukŠ Copyright 2005

Advancement in Computer Technology by: Saad Shamim

5 years ago we gathered around and marveled at the little specs moving at our commands, doing not much – except moving off course, we called these things games. Today the hardware in computers and other devices has changed significantly; we went from having a “spacious” 1mb hard drive to 250 GB of space. The graphics have also taken a giant leap for our computers, no longer are we confined to little dots but our 256mb graphic cards allow us to explore a virtual world in 3d. The sound has also changed from 4bit to 32 and pretty soon 64bit; we went from beeps to actually words. Finally the speed of our beloved computers has also increased from mere kilobytes to gigabytes of rams. In such a short period of time we went from what we used to call “advanced” technology to today’s much superior devices. So if you guys are like I am, there is one question that strikes our mind, what’s next? Well I would love to say that we will be able to put on our virtual glasses that will allow us to explore the virtual world as if we were in it, but this is not likely, sorry guys; however, these sorts of glasses are being constructed but its unlikely they will come out any time soon. What we can expect to see is an improvement in our Text-to-speech and vise versa programs after the 64bit sound card is released allowing the computer to understand our voices much clearly, also we should soon be seeing more “dept” in our computer as you may know that the most our computers can run on 32bit resolution, it is expected that Microsoft is like to bring out a 64bit resolution with there next version of windows. Also the speed and graphics are to increase a lot more, already some games look as they are almost real, and soon they will look real. I am not certain exactly what marvel the computer hardware’s will hold in the future, but one thing is certain it will be something to forward too, and once again the next generation will be mocking the so called advanced technology we have today. About the author: For more buying guide’s visit buying guides  To Learn more about computers and tips on buying a computer please visit buying a computer

3 Simple Ways To Save A Bunch Of Money When Buying A New Computer!

Looking to buy a new computer? Overwhelmed by all of the options available to you? Stressed by the high cost of computers today? For most people, buying a new computer does not have to be as stressful as buying a new car. Nor does it have to be as expensive. If you’re like most people, and you have a limited budget for buying a computer, then you need to try to get as much computer for your money as possible. Here are 3 simple ways anyone can save money when buying a new computer: 1) Shop around for best deal. Sounds pretty obvious. But many people don’t realize they don’t need the fastest, most expensive computer with the most “extras”. In fact, if you are already using an older computer, even the least expensive new computer will be a big upgrade. If you don’t know a lot about computers, you can learn a lot by shopping around. Ask lots of questions, compare prices, compare features, then find the best price. Shop at your local electronics store, and look for the best deals online. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by shopping around! 2) Install your own “extras” Many computers you will find in a store have a lot of extra software already installed. While this is convenient, it is not always the best way for you to save money. Also, while many of these extras sound good, you don’t always need them. You can often find better deals by shopping around separately for your own software extras (such as a word processor, anti-virus, popup blocker, spyware removal, games, etc). And some of these you can get for free. So before you buy the “fully loaded” computer, ask yourself if you really need all the extras, then shop around to see if you can buy a scaled down computer - and get the extras yourself for much less! 3) Don’t buy extended warranty If you are not a computer “techie”, the extended warranties offered by the computer retailers often sound like a good idea. After all, who wants to be bothered paying for service on a computer after you buy it. But keep in mind that most computers come with a warranty, and most computer problems will either happen at the beginning (when you still have the warranty in effect) or much later (when it might be cheaper to buy a new computer). Technology changes very quickly these days. So consider whether or not it’s worth the inflated price of the extended warranty. And, if you really feel you need the extended warranty, then ask to purchase it at a lower price. Not all retailers will negotiate on the warranty, but some will. And whether you buy the extended warranty or not, make sure you back up all your files periodically, just in case! If you have an unlimited budget, consider yourself lucky. And if you do business on the computer, make sure you get what you need, while trying to keep the price down. At any price, buying something that does not fit your needs is not a good deal. Hope you find these tips helpful, and happy computer shopping! About the author: Kris Bickell is the owner of Hi-Speed-Internet.com, a helpful site for consumers comparing high speed internet services. For information on high speed DSL, Cable, and Wireless Internet, visit: http://www.Hi-Speed-Internet.com,and sign up for the free email course “5 Simple Ways To Increase Your Computer Speed”. Š 2005 Hi-Speed-Internet.com

3 Secrets to "Striking it Rich" in Cyberspace by: Jim Edwards

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved http://www.thenetreporter.com ===================================== In the few seconds it takes you to read this another domain name gets registered at www.NetworkSolutions.com, the Internet's oldest and largest domain name registrar. Everyone from industrial giants to corner flower shops currently wants to stake a profitable claim in cyberspace. The lure of low startup costs compared to brick-and-mortar operations and the promise of high rewards draws an ever- swelling crowd of merchants to the online marketplace. Yet despite the optimism statistics tell us that 80% of these "e" businesses will fail within their first 12 months of operation. People from all over the country ask me what it takes to succeed in the e-commerce world once they've completed the basic steps for getting online. The following three keys virtually *guarantee success* for any online enterprise. The First Key: A Quality product or service with highly evident and readily understood benefits for consumers. If your product or service does not represent the highest quality and value possible, and if consumers don't understand exactly why they should buy from you, the speed of the Internet will just expose your shortcomings to the marketplace that much quicker. In the offline world a product's benefits, not the features, cause consumers to make buying decisions. A man doesn't buy a car with a 5 liter engine because of the horsepower, he buys it for the feeling of supremacy and control he thinks it will give him. Kids don't want a 1000mHz computer for computing power in doing homework, they want to play the latest games. The Internet magnifies this "what's in it for me" benefits- driven evaluation by consumers. Products or services presented with readily understood, self-serving benefits for consumers sell best online (and off). The Second Key: An excellent website that loads fast, provides pertinent information to targeted consumers, and allows them to make online purchases quickly and securely. Your website should: ˇ Load fast by making conservative use of graphics. (Go to yahoo.com for an excellent example.) ˇ Provide exactly the information your potential customers want and need. ˇ Make it extremely easy for surfers to navigate your site and find exactly what they want. ˇ Look good on both the Netscape and Internet Explorer web browsers at various screen resolutions (640x480, 800x600, etc.). The Third Key: Consistent, targeted website traffic by consumers capable of buying your product or service. Imagine buying a 50 foot billboard and, instead of putting it out by the highway, you hid it in your basement. Nobody would see it! The same thing happens if you don't actively and continuously promote your website to attract visitors. With its incredible speed and communications power, the Internet acts as a magnifying glass for any organization's strengths and weaknesses. E-commerce, e-mail, and a website won't do the job of marketing, selling, and customer service for any company. They will, however, help every organization perform all of those business functions better, faster, and less expensively with the real and tangible result of "striking it rich" in cyberspace! About the author: Jim Edwards, a.k.a. TheNetReporter.com, is a syndicated newspaper columnist, nationally recognized speaker, author, and web developer. Owner of nine (9) successful e-businesses as well as a professional consulting firm, Jim's writing comes straight off the front lines of the Internet and e-commerce. Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links? "Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website. Click Here>http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com