How To Evaluate A Business Idea For Developing An Enterprise

Why Do You Need A Business Plan?

Planning is a process that never ends for all businesses. It is extremely important in the early stages of any venture when the entrepreneur will need to prepare a preliminary business plan.

There are different types of plans that may be part of any business operation. These include but not limited to Financial plans, Marketing plan, Human Resource plan, Production plans, Sales plans etc. Plans may be short term or long term or may be strategic or operational. Whatever the type of plan or the function, plans have one important purpose; to provide guidance and structure to management in a rapidly changing market environment.

A business plan on the other hand is a written document prepared by the entrepreneur that describes all the relevant external and internal elements involved in starting a new venture. It is often an integration of functional plans such as marketing, finance, manufacturing and human resources. It also addresses both short term and long term decision making for the first three years of operation. So, the business plan, or road map, answers the strategic questions of where am I now? Where am I going? And how will I get there? Potential investors, suppliers and even customers will request or require a business plan.

How I Prepared My Preliminary Project Proposal

In my case, I followed the following break downs keeping each section as brief as possible.

1. Background : In this section, I established the context of the project by giving an account of the problem it is trying to address.

2. State of the art: I gave an overview of existing and emerging technology in the field, including an account of rival technologies and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the various options.

3. Proposal: I wrote an overview of the proposed project and the approach, ie the activities which I will be mandated to achieve the project objectives. Clearly establish the research element or novelty component in the proposal.

4. Consortium: an overview of the proposed manpower and establish the required ability to carry out the project successfully (eg skills, competencies, etc.)

5. Objectives and Deliverables: Identify (1) the objectives and (2) the deliverables of the proposed project.

6. Competitiveness: if applicable, establish the competitiveness or advantages of the proposed solution compared to other solutions, whether these already exist or are still being researched.

7. Cost: give an overview of the project cost (including start-up cost and working capital requirements).

8. Impact: this section should include:
i. Markets and Uses: identify possible uses and markets for the deliverables of the project.

ii. Benefits and Beneficiaries: identify the beneficies of the project's results (eg the project participants, the general public, third parties) and the manner in which they will benefit.

iii. Roadmap: give an indication regarding what further steps, effort, costs and timeframes are necessary before possible benefits can be realized from the deliverables or results of the project (unless these are realized within the lifetime of the project).

iv. Spillover Benefits: identify any secondary benefits of the project (eg facilitating participation in funding programs, improving Malta's ranking, strengthening Malta's reputation in a particular area, etc.)

Preparing a Detailed Business Plan
Stages of writing a business plan are: After deciding to go into business, before starting the business and when updating is required.

Business plans can be written for retail business, wholesale business, service business, manufacturing and any other type of business.

A business plan is written by doing the following:
Identifying all the questions that could have asked about the business.
Determining what additional information needs to be collected to answer all the questions.
Obtaining all the necessary information.
Comparison various alternatives
Making a decision on each question.

A business plan should:
Have a good appearance
Provide an index
Provide a summary
Number each copy
Be signed to show who is submitting it.
Depend on the nature of the business.

A business plan should be organized to carry a cover page, table of contents, executive summary, business description, marketing plan, organizational plan, operational plan, financial plan and appendices.

Outline of a typical business plan is as below;

1. Title: Feasibility study Report on______________________
Commissioned by_________________
2. Project consultants
3. Table of contents:

Executive Summary
The Report
Project Background
Objective of study
Project description and
Loan promotion
Promoter
Location

Market and marketing plan
Potential customers
Competition
Pricing
Sales Tactics
Advertising and Promotion
Distribution.

Technical Feasibility and management plan:
Factory
Machinery
Overhead charges
Packaging materials
Raw materials Manpower and Labor costs.

Financial Projection / Feasibility:
Overview on capital requirement
Financial plan
Projected cash flow
Projected profit and loss account
Expected balance sheet
Break-even analysis
Source and application of funds

Organization Plan:
Form of ownership
Identification of partners / Principal shareholders
Authority of Principals.
Management team background
Roles and responsibilities of members of organization

Assessment of Risk:
Evaluate weakness of business
New technologies
Contingency plans.

Schedules:
12 months projected sales
12 months proposed purchase
Fixed Assets and depreciation schedule
Profitability index.

Thanks for reading

Option Trading Basics

Options trading can increase the profits you make when trading Stocks if you understand how to use them and know what you are doing. Options can be a very useful tool that the average investor can use to enhance their returns.

This article - Options Trading Basics, looks at what options are and discusses some of the options trading strategies traders can use with these versatile instruments.

Options - An Overview

Options give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (a call option) or sell (a put option) the underlying Stock or futures contract at a specified price up until a specified date.

In other words, options are like tradable insurance contracts.

An investor can purchase a Put option as insurance against a decline in the Stock price or a Call option in case the Stock rises. Buying an option gives the purchaser time to decide whether they will buy or sell the underlying Stock. The price is locked in until the expiration date, which in the case of LEAPS can be years into the future.

Options trading has several advantages that every Stock Market investor should be aware of, such as high leverage, lower overall risk than owning the physical security, more versatility and the ability to generate extra income from a current Stock portfolio.

An option of value fluctuates in direct relationship to the underlying security. The price of the option is only a fraction of the price of the security and therefore provides higher leakage and lower risk - the most an option buyer can lose is the premium, or deposit, they paid on entering into the contract.

By purchasing the undering Stock of Futures contract itself, a much larger loss is possible if the price moves against the buyers position.

An option is described by its symbol, whether it's a put or a call, an expiration month and a strike price.

A Call option is a bullish contract, giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying security at a certain price on or before a certain date.

A Put option is a bearish contract, giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying security at a certain price on or before a certain date.

The expiration month is the month the option contract expires.

The strike price is the price that the buyer can either buy call) or sell (put) the underlying security by the expiration date.

The premium is the price that is paid for the option.

The intrinsic value is the difference between the current price of the underlying security and the strike price of the option.

The time value is the difference between current premium of the option and the intrinsic value. The time value is also influenced by the volatility of the underlying security.

Up to 90% of all out of the money options expire worthless and their time value primarily Declines until their expiration date.

This clue offers traders a very good hint as to which side of an options contract they should be on ... professional options traders who make consistent profits usually sell far more options than they buy.

The option contracts that they do buy are usually only to hedge their physical Stock Portfolios - that this is a powerful distinction between the punters and small traders who consistently buy low priced, out of the money and close to expire puts and calls, hoping for a big payoff (illegally) and the guys who really make the money out of the options market every month, by consistently selling these options to them - please read the rest of this article.

The seller of the option contract is obliged to satisfy the contract if the buyer decides to exercise the option.

Therefore, if he has sold Copped Call options over his Shares, and the Stock price is above the option strike price at expiration, the option is said to be in-the money, and the seller must sell his shares to the option buyer at the strike price if he is exercised.

Sometimes an in-the-money option will not be exercised, but it is very rare. The option seller (or writer) has to be prepared to sell the Stock at the strike price if exercised.

He can always buy back the option prior to expiration if he chooses to and write one at a higher strike price if the stock price has rallied, but this results in a capital loss as he will usually have to pay more to buy the option back than the premium he received when he originally sold it.

Many option writers simply get exercised out of the Stock and then immediately re-buy more of the same or another stock and simply write more call options against them.

The buyer of an option has no obligations at all - either either sells his option later at a profit or a loss, or exercises it if the stock price is in-the-money at expiry and he can make a profit.

The vast majority of options are held until expiration and simply decay in price until there is no point in the hapless buyer selling them. Very few options are actually exercised by the buyer. The vast major expend worthless.

Having said all this, lets look at an example of how to use options to gain leverage to a Stock price movement when the trend does go in our favor ...

For this example we will use MSFT as the underlying security. Let's assum MSFT is trading for $ 24.50 a share and it is early January. We are bullish on this Stock and based on our technical analysis we think that it will go to $ 27.50 within two months.

In this example, we will ignore Brokerage costs, but they do have an effect on the percentage returns. The prices and price moves of the Stock and the options are hypothetical - they are intended as a guide only.

Buying 1000 physical shares will cost $ 24,500 and if we sell our position at $ 27.50 a share, we will make a profit of $ 3,000 or a 12% return on our capital. We will have $ 24,500 at risk if we take this position for a potential of 12% or $ 3,000 profit.

Instead of using cash to buy the physical Stock, we can buy 10 call options with an expiration that is at least three months into the future and a strike price that is close to current price of the underlying security.

10 contracts represent 1000 shares of the stock, a call option is bullish, three months until expire gives us some time for a quick move, and buying an option with a strike price that is close to the current price of MSFT allows us to get the full potential of the intrinsic value.

We buy 10 MSFT $ 22.50 April Call options. These options are currently selling for $ 2.80 and they are in the money.

$ 24.50 (the current price of the Stock) minus $ 22.50 (the strike price) is $ 2.00, which is our Intrinsic value. $ 2.80 (the option premium) minus $ 2.00 (the Intrinsic value) gives us $ 0.80, which is the Time value.

If the price rallies to $ 27.50, as we believe it will, the intrinsic value of these same options at that point will be $ 5.00 ($ 27.50 - $ 22.50). That means that if the Stock gets to $ 27.50 a share, our option premium would be at least $ 5.00 plus a small amount of time value, depending on the remaining time until expiration.

Ten option contracts will cost us $ 2,800 ($ 280 times 100) and if MSFT goes to $ 27,500, we could sell our option contracts for at least $ 5,000 ($ 500 by 10 contracts), maybe more.

We will have $ 2,800 at risk if we take this position, rather than the full price of the Stock ($ 24,500) for a potential of 80% or $ 2,200 profit, plus whatever time value is left in the option, probably another $ 100.

Our options buying strategy cave us a much larger percentage profit with a much smaller potential risk. Do not forget that, for us as the buyer, these options will expire worthless if not sold or exercised by the expiration date.

The option seller or writer simply has to sit back and wait until expiry to see if he is going to be exercised. If the Stock price is below the strike price at expiration, it keeps the premium and can write another option over the same Stock.

If the Stock price is above the strike price, he will most likely be exercised and will have to sell his shares if he does not exit the position by buying his options back on the open market (quite often at a higher price than he originally sold them for).

The downside of buying the option over the physical Stock is that if you bought the Stock itself, even if the price had not moved, you would still own it, but by buying the option, if the price does not move in the desired direction , you lose part of your trading capital.

To make options trading work, the undering security must move fairly quickly in the direction you expect, or you will lose money at an ever increasing rate as the expiration date draws nearer.

As you can see, options strategies can offer much higher percentage returns with less risk for the same trade. The majority of your cash is still safely in your trading account rather than being exposed to the market.

This is just one example of using options trading to increase your Stock Market returns. There are many more strategies and ways to use options and I encourage you to explore them further.

All options expire worthless if they are not in-the-money at expiration, so the buyer must close out or exercise his position on or before the expiration date or he will lose the entire premium.

The time value portion of the option premium decreases periodically until expiration date. The closer to expire, the faster the time value decreases, as there is less time for the option to move in the desired direction for the buyer.

For buyers, top traders advise never to hold an option with less than 30 days to expire due to the exponential rise in time decay during this period.

For sellers, it is usually most profitable to write options that have 30 days or less to expire, due to this same time dece effect ... the buyer of these options has the odds stacked against them and will require a large price movement in his desired direction to make a profit - remember, the vast majority of options expire worthless - so this is the side of these instruments the wealthually find themselves on - just a thought ...

There are many other intricacies of options trading that investors and traders should be aware of. This article is only an introduction to options trading and there is a lot more information for you to learn.

For a more in-depth look at the various Options strategies available, visit AcornTrader.com.

This page has a series of articles on options trading and outlines some of the strategies merchants can use to profit from these extremely flexible vehicles.

We encourage you to study these instruments carefully if you decide to trade them. Then use the trend trading strategies outlined in these stories and articles to position yourself on the right side of the market - whether as a buyer or a seller.

To Your Trading Success,

A Direct Path to Making Money Now!

Here's a direct path to making money:

Create and sell your own information products.

There are lots of people who do not realize that they have particular knowledge that other people would be willing to pay for, and if that's the case maybe you could write a book that could make you money. Here are some examples of what I am talking about:

* You've found a way to lose weight which suits you, and you want to teach others to do the same.

* You know how to make the family budget go further.

* You know how to do craft work that you can sell in the local flea markets.

* You know how to use software such as Photoshop or Dreamweaver, and you can show others the basics.

* You know how to train Labradors, or any other breed of dog.

Those are just a few ideas ... but the sky is the limit!

Take time out to look at your interests and talents, and you'll soon discover that you actually know a quite a bit about a particular topic.

So, happens next?

Below is an overview of the entire process, but remember that most of it can be outsourced:

1) Research the market to ensure your idea is profitable. Do not create a product and then try to find someone to buy it. Instead, find a hungry market and give them a product that they're ALREADY buying.

2) Research the competition so you can develop a better product.

Once you've found that market, have a look at the competition. You do not want to put out an identical product; you want to deliver something better. And do not worry if there is a lot of competition, that just means there is a demand for the product

3) Create the product.

Now you have to create the product. Start with an outline and set your goal to write X amount of words per day and just start typing.

Quick Tip: to get an outline, download some PLR ​​products on your topic - the outline is already done for you.

Then keep typing until you finish - do not worry about any spelling or grammar, because you can do that once you've finished.

Quick Tip: If you do not like to type, then try a voice-to-text product like Dragon Naturally Speaking. In fact, that's rather how I am writing this article!

4) Put up a website which includes an opt-in form.

Next, you need to write the sales letter that sells your eBook and upload it to a squeeze page with your autoresponder on it to get your visitors to join your list. This is important, because the money is in your list - if you can sell one you can sell them two, and so on.

5) Set up a system to sell more products on the back end. You will notice that most successful marketers will try to get you to buy an additional, more expensive product before you get to download the product you actually bought. This is typically in the form of a one time offer. So, even as you are creating your very first product, you should also be thinking about how to develop your backend sales system, ways to sell additional products to your existing customers, through email, forums, blogs or links in the products they've already purchased.

So there it is - believe me it is not too hard. It's all boils down to a simple phrase, known by successful sellers from time immemorial.

Find a hungry market and give them what they want

Quality Student Resume Examples For College Graduates

There is no better time to start accumulating work experience than the high school years. Working part-time is very popular among them, and they usually choose to work in retail or hospitality. However the first thing they need to apply for a job is a resume. Below you can read a few resume examples and writing tips, so you can begin work immediately.

At beginner level, a resume has the role of citing an applicant's education background, experience and expertise. There are various resume examples that can be downloaded from the internet. Basically it has to have four parts: an objective, summary, work history and education. This structure can be changed if you wish, so if you do not have any work experience at all, you can leave that out and focus on your objective or educational background.

Think about your resume as an advertisement: you are selling yourself. If you observe closely the great number of resume examples, you will see that most of those do not give only an overview of the candidate's background, but also add valuable information. For example you can write that you studied at a certain school, but this might not be enough.

So if you have any extracurricular activity, or you did anything outstanding, you should also include that. This information shows that you have a wide range of interests and skills, and that you are an interesting individual.

Resume examples also show you how to write about previous work experiences. Simply writing a list of the companies and groups you have worked for might not be enough: again, you should focus on the outstanding things you did. For example do not forget to mention in your resume if you managed to figure out a method that speeds up order taking or to cook faster. If you talk about the advantages you've brought to an organization you can give a proof that you have initiative.

No matter how efficient and convincing resume examples may seem, you should try to tailor them to your individual needs. This way you can make sure that it is really relevant for the type of job you are applying for, and that your skills and experience will be put in the best light possible. If you manage to write a cover letter, you resume will be even better.

Electric Bike Overview

Electric Bikes represent an alternative mode of transport that is both eco friendly, convenient and cost a fraction of the price a fully motorized motorcycle would in this day and age. For those that want all the benefits of a bicycle but would also appreciate the help that a fully rechargeable motor provides such modes of transport, the electric bike is the perfect solution.

What Is An Electric Bike

An electric bike is for all intents and purposes, a regular bicycle with a major difference. All electric bikes have on board a small electric motor that can power the wheels completely on its own. Today, they are popular known as the E-bike. The motor is powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts for a variable amount of time depending on the type of battery, quality of the battery as well as how the E-bike is used.

Sigs of up to fifteen miles per hour are possible but the drain on the battery can be immune. They are very popular in a few specific regions and countries across the globe. The one country that probably has the most electric bikes in use today is China. There are more than a hundred million examples on the roads of China today and its popularity seems to be growing. The other region where its popularity is booming is in Europe. Because of its ever growing popularity, many manufacturers have come into the arena looking to grab a piece of the pie. As such, there are over thirty different E-bike manufacturers around the world today.

There are also a number of benefits that come with using such a bike. In many places, they are not considered automobiles. As such, they are not too many stringed regulations placed on such items. Additionally, you may also be able to avoid paying taxes on what would otherwise be classified as an automobile like in the case of a motorcycle or a car. Costs are largely linked to the quality of components used as well as the brand in question. Those with cutting edge technology are likely to cost the most. The cheapest are usually mass market electric bikes that are very common in China in particular. However, cheaper variants are known to be a bit bulky and are made purely for function.

Expensive examples that have cutting edge ion batteries and features like regenerative braking systems are sure to cost a whole lot more compared to entry level bikes. Rarely, there are examples that even come with different gears for convenience.

Getting the Most Out Of An Electric Bike

The lifespan of the battery is directly linked to the length activated for as well as the terrain / slope of the terrain it is used in. This is something you will quickly learn within the first week of owning an electric bike. In the end, battery usage is directly linked to the motors work cycle. The more you use it, the faster the battery loses its charge. Additionally, these motors work the most when you're going uphill so keep that in mind. To get the most out of your battery, it helps if you know the route you travel through intimately. You can then decide how you want to spend your battery power. Its usually best to mix and match between pure cycling and periods when the bike is motorized.

How To Write A Great Product Review Every Time

Use relevant keywords

When someone is looking for a product online and really does not know where to start their search, they'll usually start out with a search term that's wide-ranging and then get more focused search terms when they gain more product knowledge.

Let's say that they're looking for a "water purifier" (or refrigerator, etc.) but are undecided on the make or model of a particular purifier to select. Most likely the first term entered into the search bar will be something a bit vague or broad, example: water purifiers. After gathering information and ever narrowing down the search to something much more specific, example: The Big Berkey or Brita water purifier.

Of course, there will be many for sale with everyone recommending their own products or water purifiers in this example. As they continue the search for the right choice for themselves, they could question the credibility of a source and, I would recommend, research the product in more detail and look for some recent product reviews.

Create a default template

It's best to create a default, review style, template that will work with the pattern or flow of your website. It needs to be consistent, informative and genuinely helpful to the readers. It should make the reader feel comfortable enough to make a wise and educated choice and take the next step (or make a purchase).

Create a template that you can use, one that simplifies the whole process of producing all of your related reviews. It's also important to note that it's fine to vary a little from the review template that you create for yourself.

What's best for your readers

It's really much more of a what's best for my viewers kind of thing instead of always focusing on a rigid review process. Keep in mind that the more helpful your review is, the more likely it is that the reader will take the next step recommended by you. The main point with all of your reviews is to give your readers accurate and updated information and a positive experience.

There's no problem with sharing your own personal opinions however, it's best to make them a few and never falsify any statements or appear to mislead as this will hurt the credibility of the author and site owner.

Affiliate links

Be sure to leave your affiliate links in each article and review. It's even a nice idea to become an affiliate for the products being reviewed so that if the reader makes that choice, you can still get a commission. It's very easy to become an affiliate for thousands of products and services. By leaving your affiliate links to the reviewed product as well as your links for the "recommended" product, you win either way the reader decides to go.

Here's a review style template example:

The Title - Product Review - Create your title and be sure to let the reader know that this is a product review.

Product name

Website URL

Owner name (s)

Rank or Score

Product Overview - Give a general overview of what the product is using approximately 2-6 sentences.

Pro's - Try to list a few of the benefits of the product or program. Three or four sentences should be fine, or 1-2 paragraphs.

Con's - The Bad: This can be difficult without inside info like employee or customer comments and reviews. These can usually be found at the end of a Google search entry, an example: Product review, reviews or Product / employee complaints. It's best to follow a competitors weak point with how your product is strong in that area, if possible.

Remember that the purpose of the review is not to over critique the competition but to inform the viewer and then lead them to the recommended product with the last block of your review.

Who can benefit from the product - Write a few sentences to a couple of paragraphs, information about just who the product is targeted to. If you have an affiliate link for the product being reviewed insert it somewhere within the review, this being a fine spot.

Tools and Training - If applicable write about the product tools and training.

Support - Is there good product support? Is there an active community or forum where questions can be asked and quickly answered? Is the owner (s) active within the community?

Price of Product - Describe the pricing levels, structure, additional must have items to purchase, and any other relevant information.

Final Opinion - Your concluding comments on the product reviewed, 2-5 sentences will be fine.

Your Verdict - Score or Rank, 1-5 Star Rating or 0 - 100.

My # 1 Recommendation - Your turn to promote your product as superior in a few sentences to a couple of paragraphs. Include your recommended product affiliate link (s) here.

New Electric Car Technology Status Report

There's little doubt that electric powered cars are the next big thing. But where are we regarding new electric car technology? Are there any affordable electric cars available today? Here's a quick overview of what's out there right now.

If you want proof that electric cars can be fast and fun check out the Tesla Roadster. This exciting sports car can go 0-60 mph in 4 seconds flat and hit speeds of well over 100 mph. The Roadster sells for over $ 100,000.

Another option is to purchase a Scion xB and have the people over at AC Propulsion convert it into an electric vehicle. The result is called an Ebox. It drives well and can fit five passengers. The conversion cost is about $ 55,000. Oh, and the Scion will set you back another $ 15,000.

BMW sells a popular car called the Mini. Now they've produced an electric version named the Mini E. This car is not for sale though. The good news is you can lease it for $ 850 a month. The bad news is you need to live in LA or New York to do so. And there are only 500 of them available.

Believe it or not, but Chrysler has been working on new electric car technology. They plan to release a Dodge Electric Vehicle in two or three years - if the company's still around. Like the Tesla, this one is also a flashy sports car.

Notice a trend here? There's nary an affordable electric vehicle in sight. What's happening today is that people are not waiting for mainstream electric cars to be made for them. Instead, they're making their own electric vehicles.

That's right, there's a growing army of people who are tossing out their gas-powered engines and replacing them with electric ones. It's not that hard and not that expensive. But how do you go about learning how to do this?

First you need to buy an electric car conversion kit. There are many of them available on the internet. These kits are actually sets of instructions. They cost anywhere from $ 30 - $ 50 and are immediately downloadable, so you can literally get started as soon as today.

New electric car technology has made electric car conversion much cheaper and easier than it used to be. Simply follow the instructions, which also tell you where to find the cheapest parts, and you'll soon be driving your very own electric car!

Make Money in WoW Fast - Solutions For Casual Players

Many players without too much time to play are obviously wondering what are the simplest methods to make money in WoW fast. As one of the casual players, I was wondering that too because I never seem to have enough time to go raiding or PvP and the solutions for me was always the crafted gear at the Auction House. My guild mates told me to search for easy and fast ways to make gold within some WoW Gold Guides.

After a quick search through the Internet, I got a few guides and found a few easy methods to which helped me a lot. Here is an overview for a few of them.

1. Playing the Auction House
This method suits best the majority of the casual players in World of Warcraft. It basically consist in buying low and selling high. It only consumes a few minutes per day to settle your auctions, then the time will do the hard work for you. It is a fun to use method, you actually feel like a stock broker. The one and only downside of this technique is that you can lose money, but if you master the fundamentals of the in-game economy, especially for your server, it certainly pays off.

2. Combined gathering with crafting
This takes more than a few minutes a day, but one hour should be more than enough to get some decent profits. You need though, to associate the right tradeskills, which work together. For example mining goes with engineering and jewelcrafting, or tailoring goes with enchanting. Also here, an epic flying mount is a good thing to have. For gathering, you need travel fast to be always ahead your competition. All you need to do is fly around a zone for about an hour, gather minerals or flowers then craft the right items and sell them to the Auction House. All in all if you know exactly where to go and what to do, it is a way to make money in WoW Fast.

3. Doing daily quests
This method is being considered a way to make money in WoW fast only since The Burning Crusade. In order to make real money from daily quests, you need to follow the best daily quest paths. Of course, first time when you take a quest path it will take a long time to complete all the quests, but after perfecting it, you will finish in no time and have a raw cash in your pockets without needing to sell anything to the Auction House .

These are only three ways to make money in WoW fast that any casual player can apply and perfect in their own perspective. However, all the WoW gold guides out there reveal a multitude of techniques that will certainly fill up your vaults.

Why Hosted Exchange?

Hosted Exchange gives you all of the benefits of an Enterprise level messaging solution for your small or large business with lower costs and complexity.

Exchange Hosting Features: Hosted Exchange, Managed Exchange-Hosted Exchange Overview; Exchange 2007 Features and Benefits; Outlook Web Access; Mobile Messaging.

Hosted Exchange gives you the freedom to work. Location, time zone are no longer barriers. An increase in productivity follows.

Key Features:

o Your data is available online and is secure. This removes the risk of losing important e-mail stored on your local drives.
o Create mailboxes just by few clicks: The administrator can create an e-mail box just by few clicks. Assigning distribution groups is very simple.
o Unified messaging.
o Follow tasks and manage team projects.
o Collaboration tools.
o Manage tasks on the go from anywhere.
o Access your private and shared calendars.
o Access e-mails / tasks / calendar anytime: Since you e-mails / tasks / calendar is stored at a centralized location, you can access them from anywhere.
o Wireless Synchronization: You can read and reply to an e-mail schedule appointments and meeting from your wireless device and the changes gets synchronized with the central server. This way you can make changes from your wireless device and continue to track it from your desktop when you are back in the office.
o You can track availability of meeting rooms and participants schedule with Smart Scheduling.
o Backups ensure that you do not loose your e-mails. We have a 14 day back policy. This will ensure that you never loose any of your important e-mails.
o 24/7 support by Experienced Microsoft Certified Professionals: We have experience certified Microsoft Certified Professionals who are on standby to assist you, should you need any assistance.
o Outlook Web Access: This is a web based version of Outlook 2007 that is coupled with Exchange; gets you the best of both the worlds - easy navigation and enterprise level communication engine.

How to Test Electrical Ring Main Circuits

The UK was the first and is now is probably the only country in the world which still uses the 30 amp ring system for wiring socket outlets in electrical installations. The ring main circuit has long been the subject of many a heated discussion between electrical experts, but as an electrician you'll no doubt need to test them in the course of your duties. Here is an overview of Ring Main inspection and testing procedures.

Warning- Please note that this is a 'dead' test so the distribution board, consumer unit or circuit must be isolated from the electrical supply. To begin with you'll need to carry out a Safe Isolation Procedure and get permission to turn off the supply.

Here's the testing procedure:

Insulation Resistance

Disconnect all appliances and accessories from the ring circuit and carry out insulation tests between the Line, Neutral and Earth CPC.

End to End Ring Continuity Test

Set your test meter to low resistance range and 'zero' the test leads. Measure the resistance of ring continuity of each of the live, neutral and earth conductor ring loops. Record these end to end readings for future reference and entering onto a test sheet. Note that where the earth conductors are smaller, the resistance will obviously be higher. For example for twin and earth cables 1.5mm will be 1.66 times higher than 2.5mm.

Super Loop Test L&N

Cross connect the live and neutral conductors from opposite ends of the ring and to form a super loop. If at first this sounds confusing, try drawing the live and neutral loops of a ring circuit on a piece of paper with the opposite ends connected. You'll see that it forms one big super loop.

Test resistance between the ends you have just connected together. The reading taken between the super loop ends should be about half that of your previous continuity reading. You can then verify the ring main wiring and connections by going to each socket outlet and testing between live and neutral. Where the socket is on the ring and the connections are 'good', your readings should be within 0.05 of your original super loop reading at the distribution board.

These readings are not normally recorded but will form the basis for your assessment of the ring main circuit connections.

High readings could indicate that the socket is on a spur from the ring, that connections need tightening or that the socket is faulty giving a poor connection to the plug and needs replacing. Where the readings are not consistent this could indicate that there are cross connections and the ring circuit has been bridged.

Super Loop Test L&E

Cross connect the line and earth conductors from opposite ends of the ring and to form a super loop. Test between the two sets of ends you have just connected together. The resistance reading should be about half that of your previous continuity reading. You can then verify the ring main wiring and connections by measuring the resistance at each socket outlet as for Live and Neutral described previously. Testing between live and earth at the sockets also checks for correct polarity.

Evaluating Stocks: Fundamentals and Technical Analysis

Certainly, a "complete" course on security analysis is well beyond the scope of this text. There are many excellent books devoted to the subject of how to analyze the value of securities - both from a fundamental as well as a technical standpoint. The goal here is simply to provide a basic understanding of the methods and theories behind each type of stock analysis.

It should be pointed out early on that Fundamental Analysis and Technical Analysis of securities are two fairly radically different approaches to determining the correct [or fair] value of a company's stock. Let's start with a general overview of each method and then look into the specifics of each area. Again, for a more detailed examination of each type of analysis, we suggest you refer to our book list and / or the books specifically mentioned throughout this document.

The definitive work on Fundamental Analysis is broadly considered to be the classic book "Security Analysis" by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. This book, which was first published in 1934, is considered by most on Wall Street to be the 'Bible' of security analysis.
In fact, it was Benjamin Graham that Warren Buffett studied under when he first started in the stock market. Much of Berkshire Hathaway's success can likely be traced back to the information and ideas provided in the book Security Analysis and by the teachings of Benjamin Graham (although, it's widely acknowledged that Warren Buffett put his own spin on things over the years as well).

Fundamental Analysis is just as it sounds. It is based on examining the fundamental pieces of a business and its operation. There are no exotic formulas used. You do not need to be a mathematician. Anyone with a simple calculator and some basic information about a business should be able to employ Fundamental Analysis quite effectively.
The basic idea is if you put a dollar into the business (in the form of buying the stock) how much of a return can you expect. How much yield will you likely see and / or how much growth will you experience based on the operation, markets, competitors and costs of the business. Obviously, not all aspects of these fundamentals can be quantified. Such such as "good will" or changes in the economy or the consumer can be difficult to nearly impossible to calculate. However, to a large degree Fundamental Analysis throws these items out as concerns and simply looks at the cold hard facts which you do have available to you. Things such as costs of goods sold, margins, tangible assets, expenses, etc.

Armed with these basic and tangible numbers, one should rather easily be able to calculate the value and profitability of any business (given the numbers available and / or provided are accurate of course). Once a valuation is arrived at, the person performing the valuation can decide whether or not the market place (in this case the stock market) is applying what could be considered a fair market value to the stock. Certainly, when trying to make a profit on Wall Street, it is advisable to search out stocks which are (or at least appear are) being improperly or undervalued by the market. For the Fundamental Analyst, once an undervalued security is found, it's simply a matter of buying the stock and waiting for the market to realize the "more accurate" value of the security (assuming of course he / she is correct in their assumptions).
Find a cheap security, buy it and become rich. If only it was that simple. Or maybe it is? Just ask Mr. Buffett.

If the definitive work on Fundamental Analysis is provided by Graham and Dodd, then perhaps the definitive work on Technical Analysis is provided by Martin J. Pring in his book "Technical Analysis Explained". To quote this well regarded book on the definition of Technical Analysis:
"The technical approach to investing is essentially a reflection of the idea that prices move in trends which are determined by the changing attitudes of investors towards a variety of economic, monetary, political, and psychological forces. is an art - is to identify trend changes at an early stage and to maintain an investment post until the weight of the evidence indicates that the trend has reversed. "

Technical Analysis is nothing new. It has been used in one form or another for as long as stocks have been traded. In fact, the star character in one of my all favorite favorite books ("How I made $ 2,000,000 dollars in the stock market" by Nicholas Darvas) used mainly Technical Analysis principles in his investing - whether he knew it or not. However, "Charting" also commonly called "Chart Reading", which Technical Analysis is also referred to as, has become much more popular and broadly used inhaps only the last 20 to 30 years on Wall Street. This may be a large due in part to its more wide spread teaching and acceptance in colleges in more recent years.
If, based on my own experience and knowledge of this method of analyzing securities, I had to summarize all of the technical analysis down into one central idea, I would put it like this:

The corner stone of Technical Analysis is the concept that no single individual can ever hope to know as much about a security as the whole of Wall Street does at any given time. Because "Wall Street" is made up of everyone who is invested in - or may invest in - the stock market, their collective knowledge about any specific stock and / or the market is such that this mass of people and combined knowledge (ie Wall Street ) can valuate securities nearly instantaneously and far more accurately than any single individual.

As such, in the mind of the Technician, it follows that there must be no need to use something as "archaic" as Fundamental Analysis to value a stock, when everything known about the stock (and this includes the business fundamentals) is almost instantly reflected in the stock's price. In this situation, it would make much more sense to use the recent and historical trends and movements of the stock price to deduce not only the current fair market value of the stock, but where the price "may move" in the future. This future price movement is large extrapolated based on historical chart patterns and how the stock has recently expired in relation to support and resistance levels. Any Technical Analysis book worth its salt will quickly introduce you to chart patterns such as "double tops", "trend lines", etc. It is these patterns which are the core of Technical Analysis.

However, the question of whether or not these patterns on charts can always accurately predict future price movements of a stock is (and probably always will be) up for debate between Fundamental and Technical Analysts. If there is one fundamental (again no pun intended) flaw to Technical Analysis, it is that over the years Technical Analysis has been [incorrectly] extrapolated to mean that the market will "always perfectly" evaluate a security based on all information known by the markets. Unfortunately, that is not "always" the case.
This leads to mind a funny joke I once ran across in a book (I believe the book was by or about Warren Buffett) regarding how technical Analysis has been elevated to levels beyond its true capabilities:

A Technical Analyst and his friend were walking across the street. His friend noticed a $ 10 bill laying in the middle of the road and exclaimed, "Look, there is a $ 10 bill in the road". At which point the Technical Analyst said "If it were really a $ 10 bill, it would not be laying in the road".
This joke underscores the idea that Technical Analysis may not always evaluate the market without error. However, as long as you keep this point in mind, then Technical Analysis and chart reading can be a helpful tool in both investing and trading.

Finally, we should point out that the term "Quantitative Analysis" on Wall Street simply refers to someone (also sometimes referred to as a "Quant") who employs a mixture of both Fundamental and Technical Analysis in trying to properly evaluate stocks.

Good luck in the markets!

No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About Author tag is left in tact and hot links included. Questions and comments can be sent to Ray at articles@daytraders.com .

Commodities Research Reports - An Opportunity to Enhance Your Financial Front

The economy of a country depends on the strength of the market that it has within it. India is steadily and rising to become one of the leading economies of the world with a number of different markets which have exponential growth such as the agricultural, industrial, stock exchange real estate and commodity market. These different markets contribute to the significant progress of the economy of the nation.

Commodity trading , in particular is very prominent in the country; where two-thirds of the country depend on agricultural products. An important component of the financial market, the commodity market comprises of a number of products such as precious metals, base metals, energy, crude oil, soft commodities.

Besides the national commodity exchanges in India - similar to the NSE and the BSE there are a number of commodity exchanges such as the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) at Mumbai, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd. (NCDEX) at Mumbai, the National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) at Ahmedabad and the National Board of Trade (NBOT) at Indore. This commodity market functions through two different forms; Over the Counter (OTC) market and the Exchange based market.

In order to make a trading decision in this market it is important to research commodities and require a deep knowledge so as to find out and understand the latest news.

Research is one of the main and essential activities of trading commodities. Usually the main techniques used are fundamental analysis and technical analysis to research commodities or futures market.

There are many commodity research firms which publish commodity research reports either daily or weekly. By going through such reports you can gain a deeper understanding and a clear vision as to know which commodities to trade in. They may also give you market opinions from a commodity analyst / trader who writes such reports. They provide information regarding the constant fluctuations of the prices; which is very often guided by demand and supply issues.

The Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) publishes MCX commodity reports (Commodity Specific Reports) which are specifically prepared by the research team to create market awareness and facilitate any further business development. It provides a broad overview of the status of the commodities which are traded at the MCX; what is affecting their supply and demand dynamics or any other market moving factor.

These research reports for the different commodities can be downloaded online.

Commodity reports can be used by traders to maximize their profits and to gain an edge. They however do not insure you of profits but they provide important data to improve risk-adjusted returns.

Bitdefender Total Security Guide - A Look at New Tools, Improved Features, and Many of Your Options

How much security does your PC need? What about your other devices? Bitdefender Total Security offers all of the security and protection you need from all types of cyber threats. The newest edition also offers protection for iOS devices.

As far as comprehensive security solutions go, this is one of the best. With a subscription, you can install the suite on five different devices. It is compatible with Windows, Android, and macOS. Any of the iOS installations do not count against the total. You can also get an unlimited number of license with the family pack.

The iOS installation includes the following:

• Protection

• Account privacy

• Parental advisor feature

For Windows and other OS systems, you get tons of other great features for not only enhancing privacy and protection, but performance.

The performance features for Windows with Bitdefender Total Security include:

• Battery Mode

• Bitdefender AutopilotTM

• PhotonTM

• Global Protective Network

• Game, Work, and Movie Modes

The Game/Work/Movie Modes is very useful for those who enjoy entertainment and work on the same devices. Total Security 2018 detects whenever you are watching a movie, playing a game, or busy with work and will not bother you with unnecessary requests. Things like pop-ups and unimportant background activities are temporarily halted when you are in one of the Modes.

Other Benefits of Bitdefender Total Security

On your laptops, MacBooks, and Android devices, this suite offers everything from anti-theft protection to VPN and safe online banking.

Some of the new features, like Advanced Threat Defense, are new. This includes "app monitoring", which uses "behavioral detection" to monitor all of your active apps very closely. If anything suspicious is detected, instant action is taken to protect the device from infections. The new Safe Files feature prevents unauthorized changes to crucial files. All you have to do is add the folders to the "watch list" and their contents will be guarded against malware and ransom-ware.

Many of the features and tools from previous Bitdefender products have been improved. The Privacy Firewall provides powerful network protection and Password Manager keeps your passwords, sensitive data, credit card details, etc... in a secure vault for easy access for whenever YOU need them. There is also an option to auto-fill online forms.

For Android devices, the Anti-Theft feature can be used to remotely locate, lock, or even wipe data in the event that your tablet or smartphone is stolen or found. If anyone tries to tamper with it when you are not around, the camera phone takes a "mugshot" of the person and emails it to you.

This is just a small overview of all of the great things Bitdefender Total Security is capable of. There are various purchase / subscription solutions to choose from, all of which are affordable.

This Romania-based anti-virus software company really offers great products at an affordable price. Before you place your order online, be sure to look over Bitdefender Total Security coupons and other promotional offers to help you save on whichever subscription you choose.

An Overview of Auto Shipping Services

Getting a car from one state to another while relocating has never been easier as it is now. In the past, people used to sell their vehicles while moving to another location because there was no such thing like auto transportation. The advent of technology in transportation and logistics industry has made it easier to transport cars to any part of the world. Now people prefer to get their cars shipped while relocating because it is cost effective.

Vehicle shipping companies ship cars from one place to another with use of different auto carriers. Beside, auto movers offer various car delivery options that enable customers to ship car according to their preferences. Let us have a look at different aspects of car shipping:

Car shipping Options

Auto transportation companies offer both door-to-door and terminal-to-terminal car delivery options. Depending upon your availability, you can choose the one, which would best fit your requirements. For example, if you are not sure about your availability, you can opt for terminal-to-terminal shipping. In terminal-to-terminal car delivery, the car is kept in storage until you are available to receive it. However, you need to specify about approximate date or time of receiving it. if it lasts longer than the calculated time and date, the car shipper may charge you extra for taking extra care of car.

Car Shipping Carriers

Auto shipping modes are another great aspect of auto transportation. Some people chose open auto carriers while others avail enclosed auto carriers. It actually depends on type of car need to ship. People who need to transport classy or luxury cars consider enclosed auto transportation because such vehicles need extra protection during transportation. However, for normal ordinary vehicles, open transport carriers are best and cost effective.

Car Shipping Insurance

There is a group of people, which believes car transportation can be costly. To less the safety concerns of such people, auto transporters offer car shipping insurance. That means, if a vehicle is damaged during transportation, then auto shipping company will pay for the damages according to the terms and policies of policy.

GPS Tracking

Customers, who need to know how their car will be transported during vehicle shipping process, can chose vehicle tracking services. it will enable them to monitor their transportation process.

Beside, auto movers offer a number of other services such as minute-to-minute text updates, discounts on transporting car, etc. to ensure customers get most benefit of these services.

RSpec Tutorial - How To Set Up Tests For Ruby / Rails Applications

Like many Ruby developers, the thought of having to test my code sent shivers down my spell. Not only did I have no idea about software testing (IE the regulations etc), but I've never used RSpec before.

Fortunately, when I did start using the system, things became much simpler.

RSpec is a testing framework for Ruby, and Rails. The system is extremely versatile, and meant to provide a simple framework for testing various features within applications or plugins.

The system works as intuitively as possible - meaning that each "test" is meant to deliver an expected result - allowing the developer to create an effective overview of the various pieces of functionality of a system, as well as giving the ability to extend the scope as required.

I will explain how it works in this post ...

What Is RSpec?

RSpec is a freely open source "gem" for Ruby, maintained by the core Ruby group.

The gem is available on Github, along with a number of others - most notably the "rspec-rails" gem (which was specifically designed for Rails).

The gem basically provides developers with a "framework" which can be called via the "rspec" command. This allows for integration with CI suites such as TravisCI and CoverAlls.

The point of having the likes of RSpec is to facilitate the creation of "unit tests" and "integration tests" - both of which are being a staple of the traditional software development pipeline.

Having the ability to thoroughly, and extensively, test a Ruby application - with a framework which is ubiquitous and extensible as the language itself - is one of the reasons why the Ruby ecosystem is held in such high regard.

For the first time, without the need of expensive software or large IDE integration - teams of developers can create software that works across platforms and technology-sets.

Thus, when considering developing in Ruby, the undering value of RSpec can not be overstated.

How It Works

RSpec has to be initialized within a plugin / application.

It typically lives in the "spec" directory - but this can also be "test".

To initialize RSpec - like most things in Ruby, it's best to follow the guidelines of what's already been developed - by using the "rspec --init" CLI command.

Initializing the framework populates the / spec folder with a "spec_helper.rb" file and populates it with a base amount of configuration options.

The "spec_helper.rb" file sits at the core of all RSpec functionality, and is thus extremely important.

Within the file, all of the configuration settings for an application are stored. This is where you are meant to include the various files required to get the test suite integrated into your script / application.

If you're able to run the "rspec --init" command (after adding "rspec" to your script's Gemfile), you'll be set to start the next step.

Setting It Up

After getting the "spec helper" set up, the next step is to get the various elements of the integration suite called.

This is a certain manual process, and - particularly if using Rails - can involve some steps outside the "traditional" rulebook.

The most important step in this case is to get a "dummy" Rails app set up.

I will not go into too much detail, but it's required if you're creating a rails gem (for example), and not something that can be done directly through rspec itself.

To do this, you need to basically create a fake "engine" from which you're able to extract the dummy Rails app:

  cd some_path_where_your_engine_IS_NOT 

rails plugin new YOUR_ENGINE_NAME --mountable --dummy-path = spec / dummy --skip-test-unit

  mv YOUR_ENGINE_NAME / spec / dummy / real / path / to / YOUR_ENGINE_NAME / spec 

rm -rf YOUR_ENGINE_NAME

This creates a / spec folder with a dummy Rails app, spec_helper.rb and another file which is not important.

Doing the above ensures that RSpec is set up correctly for Rails.

Again, without having the details on your specific application - if you need further information, you're welcome to email me (email in profile).

Performing Tests

Once you've got rspec set up, you need to sort out the tests.

This is a reliably simple process - it just takes some time to figure out the various methods through which you're able to ascertain particular results.

The most important thing to state is that there are a number of different types of test:

• Routing tests
• Controller tests
• Model tests
• Feature tests
• View tests
• Mailer tests

There are two ways to make sure these work - either by creating folders within your main / spec folder (/ spec / models or / spec / features etc) OR to simply use the "type :: feature" option when declaring tests.

The way this works becomes clearer when you consider how tests actually work.

Every "test" in RSpec needs to be wrapped in a "describe" block. Each file needs to pull from the RSpec class proper (RSpec.describe ___), but all the others can just be "describe":

# spec / models / model_spec.rb

RSpec.describe Model do

describe "has email method" do

it {___}

end

end

The way you create your tests is with the "it" method - used to describe (as verbosely as possible) what each feature is meant to do.

Within the "it" block, you're able to use a number of different methods, ranging from "expect" to "should" - to provide the system with the ability to determine the particular results required from the script / application.

From here, you're able to then create in-context placeholders, using such methods as "let" to provide context for each test.

Whilst I could write more tests, the bottom line is that this should give you a strong overview as to what's required to get it all working. After this, you just need to be able to write as many tests as required.

How Businesses Can Save Costs With a Vehicle Tracking System

Saving Money with a GPS Vehicle Tracking System

With businesses such as taxi firms or with companies that conduct many door-to-door deliveries, a vehicle tracking system is essential for keeping track of all outgoing business. These systems allow employers to see their fleet of business vehicles, giving them a detailed overview of the day's business operations from a geographical perspective. This allows employers to see when employees are taking unscheduled breaks or stops, to know quickly if there is a problem such as a break down or traffic jam and to ensure that employees are driving safely and legally. It is proven that if an employee knows he / she is being watched, even by something as simple as a vehicle tracking system, he / she is less likely to break company rules or the rules of the road, lessening the likelihood of a crash that could seriously damage the vehicle and severely impact the business of the day.

But a modern vehicle tracking system is not just about keeping tabs on employees driving company vehicles. Many modern GPS systems are built with fuel economy in mind and calculate the most economic route based on all of the business operations that need to be carried out that day. Likewise, the system can also detect reported traffic gridlock or roadworks that may slow down a vehicle's progress and, if necessary, calculate a quick route around the obstacle. Another aspect of the modern vehicle tracker is its ability to deal with the fleet of vehicles as whole, as well as individuals. Should one vehicle break down, the system can easily work out which vehicle is best placed to take on that particular vehicle's daily tasks.

A vehicle tracking system can also help a company save on its long-term costs. By monitoring the habits of the drivers in company vehicles, the system is able to detect any habits (such as breaking too hard, for example) that may be detrimental to the health of the vehicle and can notify the employer. This means that an employer can actively inform the driver of these bad habits and ask them to stop early on. While this may not seem like much, over a long period of time these bad habits can seriously affect the overall health of the vehicle, resulting in extra vehicle repair costs. Tracker systems can help employers foresee these future problems and help to actively combat them.

Increasing the Efficiency of Your Air Conditioner

Any air conditioner, whether it's a single room unit or central AC, made after 1990, will typically have what is called a SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) or an EER (Energy Efficiency Rating). These ratings are going to be printed on the unit's ID tag. Any units that have the SEER of 12 or more, or for units that have an EER of 10 or more, are considered to be Energy Star ranked. If you are looking to improve the efficiency of your air conditioner there are a few. Here is a brief overview of a few steps and tips to try.

Things You Will Have to Have:

• Hose

• Metal duct tape

• Air filter

• Programmable thermostat

• Vacuum

To begin with, ensure the system's air filter gets changed out with a new one. This should be done each month. For AC units that are single room, you should wash the filters under hot water or in the bath tub. After it's rinsed, shake any extra water out and ensure it's completely discharged out before you place it back into the unit. When you are doing this or dealing with the filter area, ensure the unit is turned off.

If you see any dust or other dirt built up, vacuum it. Look by the coils and inside the coils as well as areas when changing the filters. Dirt, dust, and other debris tend to build up over time, and can affect the efficiency of your air conditioner. It blocks coils and restricts them from working efficiently.

Use the duct tape and seal all areas that are exposed in the open near the ductwork. This tape is designed to stick well to metal housing, including it seals effectively.

With a hose, clean outside coils as dirt and other debris accumulate and can get on the units fins of the coils. By always ensuring the coils of the air conditioner unit you can ensure that it will not have to work so hard to cool your home. You are also going to help increase air flow through the unit and reduce how hard the actual unit has to work.

Consider installing a thermostat that is programmable, as this helps to reduce how often the AC kicks on during the day. This is true when everyone in the home is gone for vacation or when you are at work. You might want to have a professional help install it as it's often going to be tricky to do on your own. This can also depend on what type of central AC unit you want and currently have. When you are not in a room, turn off your window units or other AC devices.

Make sure that you have the proper size of AC unit for your needs and based on the amount of space you want to cool. You need to have a unit that is going o cool your desired sq. footage, and in some cases, especially when using a portable air conditioner, you may need to have a few units. Having a nair conditioner that is smaller or even too large is going to reduce its efficiency.

Reasons Which Make Video Games the Most Addictive Interface

Talk about video games and all heads start turning. In the present scenario where the technology is advancing rapidly, the games are gaining huge momentum. Whether kids, youngsters or even older people, all seem to have traveled with its addiction. These have been in existence for quite a while now and is also one of the largest source of entertainment around us. To understand it better, let us have a close overview of the types of games and the negative and positive effects it has.

Types of Video interface games- These are different kinds and have different skill sets, with time limits as well, some are quite basic while others are too advanced. A few of them are-

• Casual Play Games- These games are generally of small duration and are easy to play. They do not need any specific software or system.

• Online gaming - These types of games can be played on any sort of browser and thus attracts a larger audience, objectives strategy and role plays. These games need no specific operating system and are more often played by dedicated gamers.

• Social Network games- These are very common games which are played with the help of social networking forums in order to access its users.

Effects of Video Console Games- Playing such games comes very naturally to kids, something which needs not to be taught to them and they get well conversant with it as they keep playing and has its own effects, some of which are quite positive, while others which are detrimental to the health and the overall well-being. Let us take a look at its positive and negative sides.

Positive Effects

• It is said that playing video console games makes the brain very sharp and improves hand eye synchronization.

• They become more adept in facing situations later in life as the skill sets of each level are different and they have to keep the pace going in order to play the game.
Negative Effects

• It is more of an addiction and kids give it the earlier importance.

• The attention diverts from studies due to playing games

• Few games involve getting violent in order to kill the opponent and win it so the player starts practicing the same in the real life as well.

• Physical exercise gets reduced as kids want to play video games and not outdoor games.

Even though video games are the most comfortable and user friendly gadgets for people of all ages, especially kids, yet if proper care is not taken it can prove hazardous for the health. So it is of utmost importance that these are given for a stipulated time and are played under proper guidance.

Overview of Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing , a computing paradigm is one of the easiest means of accessing and storing data over the Internet, instead of storing data in the computer hard drive. It is also recognized as a large pool of systems that helps us to remain connected with private or public networks and to provide dynamically scalable infrastructure for data, file storage and application.

With the launch of this technology, it clearly identified the storage of content, delivery, cost of computing, and application hosting. It has a potential of transforming a data center from a capital-intensive set up to a variable priced milieu.

According to one of the research industries - Forrester, defines Cloud Computing as a pool of abstracted, highly scalable, and managed compute infrastructure capable of hosting end customer applications and billed by consumption. Whereas, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed the definition of Cloud Computing as a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (eg, networks, servers, storage, applications , and services) that can be quickly provided and released with a minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

The characteristic of Cloud Computing consists of self-service, where a customer can request and manage their own computing resources. An access to the broad network permits service to be available for the private networks or the Internet. This technology provides a pool of shared resources, where the customer draws from a pool of computing resources, usually in a remote data center.

Cloud Computing service models

The services of Cloud Computing are clustered in three categories - Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

In this service model, the cloud based applications are offered to the customer, as a service on demand. It is a single instance of the service that runs on distant computers "in the cloud" which are owned and operated by others and gets connected to users' computers via the Internet and, typically, a web browser. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Google are all examples of SaaS, although users able to access the services via any Internet enabled device.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

The platform-as-a-service (PaaS) model is a level above the Software-as-a-Service setup and provides hardware, network and operating system, so that a customer can design its own application and software. In order to meet the requirements of the applications such as scalability and manageability, a predefined combination of Operating System OS and application servers is offered by PaaS providers such as restricted J2EE, LAMP platform (Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP), etc., for example, at every stage of the process to develop, test and ultimately host their websites, web developers can use individual PaaS environments.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is a basic computing and storage capability, which is provided by a standardized service over the network. This model has made the work easier by pooling data center space, storage systems, networking equipment, servers, etc. together and making them available. In addition to it, the customer can develop and install its own operating systems, software and applications.

Cloud Computing deployment models

To make available and to deploy applications, enterprises can choose Cloud Computing on Public, Private or Hybrid clouds. In order to determine the right cloud path for each organization, Cloud Integrators play a vital role.

Public Cloud

By and large, services provided by a public cloud are offered over the Internet and are operated and owned by companies, which use it to offer swift access to reasonable computing resources to other organizations or individuals. Through this deployment model, consumers do not need to purchase supporting infrastructure, hardware or software, which is owned and managed by providers.

Private Cloud

In this deployment model, the infrastructure of the cloud is solely operated for a specific organization and is managed by the organization or a third party. While providing more control of resources and steering clear of multi-tenancy, private clouds exist to take advantage of the various cloud's efficiencies.

Hybrid Clouds

This deployment model of Cloud Computing coalesces both public and private cloud models. A service provider can utilize third party Cloud Providers in a full or partial manner amid hybrid clouds, and thus escalating the flexibility of computing.

Here, for the everyday computer user, this technology provides numerous options as well as to large and small businesses. And for organizations and individuals, Cloud Computing offers benefits, and the action moves to the interface flanked by multiple groups of service consumers and suppliers.

Finding Finance and Insurance Careers in the Automotive Industry

Interested in finance and insurance (F & I)? Love cars? Looking for a way to merge the two into a long-repeating and fulfilling career in the automotive industry? It's time to consider a career in auto sales and F & I management. Now is a great time to invest in F & I training, which can provide everything you need to succeed in this career. That means you will acquire excellent leadership and communication skills and have the expertise required to handle the financial and legal aspects of a sales transaction.

Automotive Business Manager programs are designed to teach the skills required to oversee the financial and legal aspects of the automotive industry. Students in these automated training programs are trained in finance and lease options, sale of after-market products and the use of specialized software.

Becoming an F & I manager means you will be in the center of the action. It also means you will have a direct impact on profitability and be rewarded accordingly. Need another reason to invest in F & I manager? Job Futures 2000 precedents that more than one-third of all jobs created in Canada will require a skilled trade design or a college diploma.

What about the extensive restructuring of the automotive industry? There has been a lot of change, but the automotive industry remains one of the world's largest and most important business sectors. Moreover, a surge in demand is expected as consumers make purchases that would normally have been made in the last two years and additional demand is created by increases in population, new consumer offerings and improved manufacturing technology. Employment prospects for automotive sales and F & I management are good for the following reasons:

• A growing shortage of well trained individuals to fill sales occupations
• Service Canada predicts there will be strong demand for qualified candidates in Sales and Service, Business, Finance and Administration "because this sector will account for more than 45% of all retirements over the next five years."
• Significant worldwide growth within the automotive industry

You know what happens when demand for a specific job goes up. Salaries also go up. That's exactly what is happening for F & I Professionals. Key elements of F & I training programs can include the following areas of study:

• Business Manager's Role in the Dealership
• Financial Institutions and Their Requirements
• Getting the Contracts Purchased
• Credit Reporting Overview
• Understanding Credit Scores and Risks
• Reading Credit Reports
• Prequalification Using Credit Reports
• Cash Conversions
• Bank Conversions
• Use a Customer-Friendly, Aggressive F & I Process
• Qualify Your Customer, Use The Right Words
• Product Knowledge
• Effective Selling Techniques
• Menu Selling Leasing Skills and Techniques