Recognizing Navigational Tools For the Future of Education

I have to laugh when I think of the times I watched the television program, "Flash Gordon," as he putted through outer space in his make-believe space ship, talking on his make-believe wireless radio, and dressed in his make-believe space suit. Well, I'm not laughing anymore. Today we have shuttled astronauts into outer space, have men living in a Space Station, have space suites that take your temperature and gauge your heart rate, and wireless communication devices that send pictures to Planet Earth. Far fetched from reality? Not anymore. As we speak, the future is starring us in the face, waiting to see how we will promote her in the next 5-10 years.

How did science-fiction become reality over the past 50 years? Let's consider one aspect of innovation: the learning environment - post secondary education. Why post secondary education, you may ask? As post secondary education population increases, programs to accommodate students will develop into curriculum that affords students the freedom to create and design systems they toy with on a daily basis. Are there risks involved in this adaptation process? There are risks involved when change occurs, and leadership should be aware of how to diplomatically confront the risk areas that could slow down progress. Some of the risks that could be encountered due to change are:

o Systems risks

o Subsystem risks

o People

o Financial/economic risks

o Societal/Cultural risks

If communication between systems, subsystems, people, and cultures within the organizational environment has established a strong communication system, risks factors will be at a minimum as long as the creative teams are honest and upfront about their reservations to change.

Let's look into the future through 'futureoculers' and see how the universe of learning can be brought into the present. I want to introduce to you five (5) key trends that I believe affect the current learning environment, can create change, and renovate the perspective of learners and educators for students of the future. These trends could be the key in creating a new perspective in post secondary education for an institution. The key trends are:

o Competitive classroom learning environments - campus on-site/online/distant

o Increase in technological tools

o Teaching/learning environments-more hands on

o Global expansion capability-internal and external

o Student input in the creative learning process

Navigational Systems

Before the five (5) key trends are defined, there needs to be an acknowledgement of how the trends will be supported and regulated through a changing environment. According to de Kluyver, and Pearce, II, having the right systems and processes/subsystems enhances organizational effectiveness and facilitates coping with change. Misaligned systems and processes can be a powerful drag on an organization's ability to adapt. Therefore, check what effect, if any, current systems and processes are likely to have on a company's ability to implement a particular strategy is well advised. Support systems such as a company's planning, budgeting, accounting, information and reward and incentive systems can be critical to successful strategy implementation. Although they do not by themselves define a sustainable competitive advantage, superior support systems help a company adapt more quickly and effectively to changing requirements. A well-designed planning system ensures that planning is an orderly process, gets the right amount of attention by the right executives, and has a balanced external and internal focus. Budgeting and accounting systems are valuable in providing accurate historical data, setting benchmarks and targets, and defining measures of performance. A state-of-the-art information system supports all other corporate systems, and it facilitates analysis as well as internal and external communications. Finally, a properly designed reward and incentive system is key to creating energy through motivation and commitment. A process (or subsystem) is a systematic way of doing things. Processes can be formal or informal; they define organization roles and relationships, and they can facilitate or obstruct change. Some processes or subsystems look beyond immediate issues of implementation to an explicit focus on developing a stronger capacity for adapting to change. Processes/subsystems aimed at creating a learning organization and at fostering continuous improvement are good examples. As an example, processes or subsystems are functional and maintain the operation of the system; the system may be Student Services and the subsystem may be the Financial Aid office or Admissions. Subsystems can be more in depth in relation to office operations, which involves employee positions and their culture; financial advisors, academic advisors, guidance counselors. These operations are functions performed on the human level and could have a positive or negative impact in the development of key trends. If employees are valued and rewarded for their dedication and service, the outcome will be responsible, committed employees for the success of their subsystem.

The Navigator

Every navigator needs a map, a plan, a driver to give direction to for a successful trip. In this case, the driver is several elements:

o Service integrity, reputation

o Affordability with an open door concept

Hughes and Beatty relate drivers as Strategic drivers; those relatively few determinants of sustainable competitive advantage for a particular organization in a particular industry or competitive environment (also called factors of competitive success, key success factors, key value propositions). The reason for identifying a relatively small number of strategic drivers for an organization is primarily to ensure that people become focused about what pattern of inherently limited investments will give the greatest strategic leverage and competitive advantage. Drivers can change over time, or the relative emphasis on those drivers can change, as an organization satisfies its key driver. In the case of post secondary education, drivers help measure success rates in the area of course completion ratio, student retention, and transfer acceptance into a university and/or the successful employment of students. Because change is so rampant in education, it is wise for leadership to anticipate change and develop a spirit of foresight to keep up with global trends.

Drivers can help identify the integrity of internal and external functions of systems and subsystems, as mentioned previously, by identifying entity types that feed the drivers' success. They are:

o Clientele Industry - external Market - feeder high schools, cultural and socio-economic demographic and geographic populations

- Competitors - local and online educational systems

- Nature of Industry - promote a learning community

- Governmental influences - licensed curriculum programs supported by local, state, and federal funds

- Economic and social influences - job market, employers, outreach programs

o College Planning and Environment - internal

- Capacity - Open door environment

- Products and services - high demand curriculum programs that meet, local, state, and federal high demand employment needs

- Market position - Promote on and off-campus activities that attract clientele

- Customers - traditional and non-traditional credit and non-credit students

- Systems, processes, and structures - trained staff and state-of-the art technical systems

- Leadership - integrity-driven, compassionate leadership teams

- Organizational culture - promote on-campus activities promoting a proactive environment for students

According to Hughes and Beatty, these functions can assimilate into the Vision, Mission, and Values statements to define the key strategic drivers for developing successful environments.

Navigating Towards a Destination

With the recognition of systems, subsystems, and drivers, we can see our destination in the distance and their value in building a foundation to support the five key trends. The five (5) key trends will help define strategic thinking in a global perspective; the understanding of futuristic thinking that encompasses: risk taking, imagination, creativity, communication among leadership, and a perspective of how the future can fit into today's agenda. The five (5) key trends are:

1. Competitive Classroom Learning Environments - campus on-site/online/distant

One of the major attractions in education today is to accommodate a student at every level: academically, financially, and socially. These three environments are the mainstream of why one school is selected over another school. Today there is a change in tide. Students who once competed for seats in post secondary schools are becoming a valued asset as post secondary schools compete between each other for students. High schools are no longer the only feeder into colleges. Today, students are coming from home schools, career schools, charter schools, high risk schools, private schools, religious schools, work environments, and ATB tested environments. So, how can the educational system attract students and keep them motivated in an interactive learning environment they can grow in? Wacker and Taylor writes that the story of every great enterprise begins with the delivery of a promise, and every product a great enterprise makes is nothing but an artifact of the truth of that promise. So what great enterprise can be created to attract new students? By creating learning/teaching environments, post secondary schools can prepare students to meet the demands of everyday life and their life in the community. Schools can consider incorporating a learning model to enable professors and/or community leaders/entrepreneurs to team teach in the classroom/online environment. Team Teaching will contribute valuable views into the learning environment, as well as, give students the working community's real-time perspective. In an excerpt from "The University at the Millennium: The Glion Declaration" (1998) quoted by Frank H.T. Rhodes, President Emeritus of Cornell University, for the Louisiana State Board of Regents report, Dr. Rhodes wrote that universities are learning communities, created and supported because of the need of students to learn, the benefit to scholars of intellectual community, and the importance to society of new knowledge, educated leaders, informed citizens, expert professional skills and training, and individual certification and accreditation. Those functions remain distinctive, essential contributions to society; they form the basis of an unwritten social compact, by which, in exchange for the effective and responsible provision of those services, the public supports the university, contributes to its finance, accepts its professional judgment and scholarly certification, and grants it a unique degree of institutional autonomy and scholarly freedom. To experience education is learning, to exercise knowledge is freedom, and to combine them is wisdom.

2. Teaching/learning environments-more hands on

As post secondary educators relinquish hands-on-chalk-board teaching styles and establish group teaching models, students will develop a greater understanding of the theme of the class environment as well as the professor in developing an understanding of the class cultures' stance in learning. Educators are discovering that inclusive learning styles are revamping the teaching model and becoming a positive influence in retention, better grades, camaraderie among students, and a greater respect for the professor. As professors learn to develop relationships with students, interaction will transpire, lecturing will be condensed into a time frame and interactive learning between students and professor will enhance the classroom environment.

3. Global expansion capability-internal and external

Students are surrounded by virtual global environments or are impacted by global elements: the clothes they wear are made overseas, the games they play on their electronic toys are created overseas, the war games they play are created to identify with global war games, etc. The only draw back to this scenario is a truly global learning experience. What they are seeing is not what they are getting; a real time global experience. James Morrison writes that in order to meet unprecedented demand for access, colleges and universities need to expand their use of IT tools via online learning, which will enable them to teach more students without building more classrooms. Moreover, in order for professors to prepare their pupils for success in the global economy, they need to ensure that students can access, analyze, process, and communicate information; use information technology tools; work with people from different cultural backgrounds; and engage in continuous, self-directed learning. Christopher Hayter writes that post secondary schools need to be 'Globally Focused' for the 21st century that includes a global marketplace and be internationally focused. This means ensuring that skills needed to compete in a global marketplace are taught and that the mastery of such skills by students is internationally benchmarked. It may also mean a new emphasis on learning languages and understanding other cultures and the business practices of other countries.

More and more businesses are expanding into the global marketplace, opening corporate offices in foreign countries and hiring and training employees from those countries. Are our college graduates being trained to assimilate into cultures and work side-by-side with employees who may not be able to relate to them? Developing curriculums accommodating social and cultural entities will propel a student into higher realms of learning and create change in the individual student as well as support their career for their future.

4. Student input in the creative learning process

Professors are the gatekeepers in education. However, as Baby Boomer Professors begin to exit the educational workforce and head down the path of retirement, younger generation professors will take their place bringing with them innovative teaching methods that can expand the learning process. Are post secondary educators equipped to prepare for the onslaught of younger generation educators needed to be trained for this mega shift in the workforce? Most important, will those professors caught between Boomers and Xer's be willing to adapt to change in the education industry to accommodate incoming generations? I believe younger generations will impact even the technological industry and challenge change that will equip them for their future. Previous generation students slowly adapted to technological advances. The good news is change can occur, and educators can utilize life experiences from students familiar with technology tools and create fascinating learning environments.

5. Increase in Technological tools

In an Executive Summary written for the National Governors Association in a report called "Innovation America - A Compact for Post Secondary Education," the report reads that while post secondary education in the United States has already achieved key successes in the innovation economy, the public post secondary education system overall risks falling behind its counterparts in many other nations around the world-places where there have been massive efforts to link post secondary education to the specific innovation needs of industries and regions. According to this report, American post secondary education is losing ground in the race to produce innovative and imaginative realms in education. Can this trend be counteracted? With the cooperation of post secondary educational institutions within each community, leadership can create co-op learning environments that can be supported through e-learning and online teaching that can provide virtual reality technology to enhance real-time learning environments. Through Business Development operations currently established in post secondary institutions, a shared technology program can be created that will afford students access to ongoing virtual business environment settings and prepare students with knowledge and insight into a specific industry. As students prepare to transfer, graduate, or seek employment after completing a certification program, virtual experience in the job market can help a student assimilate education and work experience to their advantage. This concept could challenge Human Resource departments to create new mandates in accepting virtual-experienced college graduates as they enter the workforce.

Reaching the Destination

As Flash Gordan lands his Spacecraft on unclaimed territory, you imagine yourself slowly turning the handle to the spaceship with your spaceship gloves, opening the door with explosive anticipation. Your heart racing, sweat running down your brow, and your eyes at half mask waiting to see a new world; a world filled with beauty and potential when suddenly, the television shuts off and your Mom is standing in front of you telling you to get up and go clean your room and stop daydreaming! Ah, Mom, you say to yourself, you just destroyed my imaginary planet! Oh, by the way, did I mention that this was you as a child growing up and using your imagination?

Now that I've created a visual world of potential for you can you see the power within to see the future from the present and help others visualize the potential benefits of change in their lives and the lives of others in an organization? T. Irene Sanders states that thinking in pictures helps us link our intuitive sense of events in the world with our intellectual understanding. Now, more than ever, we need to integrate the techniques of imagination and the skill of intuition with our analytic competencies to help us see and understand the complexities that vex us daily. Visualization is the key to insight and foresight-and the next revolution in strategic thinking and planning.

Can you SEE the systems, subsystems, drivers, and the five (5) trends with a visual perspective in a post secondary educational environment? This is the nature of Strategic Thinking, which can or is taking place in your organization; a cognitive process required for the collection, interpretation, generation, and evaluation of information and ideas that shape an organization's sustainable competitive advantage. The need to stay abreast of progress, technology, and global opportunities will be the change in drivers that will validate the creative elements needed to stay attuned in a global perspective. The author's intention of introducing Flash Gordan into the paper was to create a visual image and demonstrate imagination fulfillment to a present day reality. Is there anything out there that cannot be done if it is fine tuned and prepared for a service of excellence? What are the risks involved by not exercising strategic thinking in the elements mentioned in this article?

Education is not about the present it's about the future. The five (5) trends are only a beginning adventure into an unknown space. Do you remember when you were in college and wished things were done differently, be more exciting, more adventurous? Consider the age groups becoming proficient in technology. Will post secondary educators be prepared to teach/instruct future students? Educators must invite strategic thinking into the system and take the risks needed to build post secondary education back into the global futuristic race of achievement. In an article written by Arthur Hauptman entitled "Strategies for Improving Student Success in Post secondary Education" (07), he concluded his report listing four elements:

1. While there is a growing rhetorical commitment to student success, the reality is that policies often do not mirror the rhetoric. Whether intentional or not, policies in many states are at best benign and often antithetical to improving student success.

2. Policy focus in most states has been to lower tuitions or the provision of student financial aid. This ignores the importance of ensuring adequate supply of seats to accommodate all students as well as providing a proper set of incentives that encourage institutions to recruit, enroll, and graduate the students who are most at-risk.

3. Some progress has been made in developing contemporary practices that have great potential for providing the right incentives in place of redress this traditional imbalance. But much more needs to be done in this regard.

4. Efforts to create incentives for students to be better prepared and for institutions to enroll and graduate more at-risk students have the potential for greatly improving rates of retention and degree completion.

Can the five trends be a stepping stone in rebuilding or strengthening the weakest link in the system? The evidence of deficiency is public, and that's a good start. Educators have the choice to rebuild and prepare for the advancement of our future; our students. I encourage you to take the five (5) trends and see how they can accommodate your institute of higher learning.

The New Way to Make Money Online

People today are scared, asking themselves am I really signing up for the next best thing or am I just falling into the same old TRAP. Well...people today should be. The online business world is changing out there and many newcomers are falling victim to this change.

In order to first know why this change is happening, we need to know the concept of money-making opportunities online. Many "Money Making Systems" start with the promise, and that's what everybody want to here, the promise of getting unlimited wealth. Now that's a BIG promise, and in the beginning of this revolution it worked. The initial starters of the business brought people together, just asking for a BIG down payment, get them into the system and have them recruit others to do the same. But what happens when the one on top start generating massive amounts of income and more and more people start joining and that new idea starts to become old; the people on top retire the people on the bottom give up and everybody caught in between...well they struggle to to keep up and either give up with what they have or scam people to join a dead idea.

Well, I'm here to tell you to not worry about it, as the old business system crumbles well the NEW business system emerges. Why should people still pay large amounts of their own money to go into something that...well won't provided them with any income. How about changing that old mind set to this; why don't money-making opportunities simply PAY people to join, giving them the opportunity to test their way out and once people start building a TEAM, then and only then can people start to invest in it. THAT'S the new way of making legit money out their and THAT'S the way that will save people their own time and effort of just paying for a system they don't really know about and FAILING.

Now this isn't the only change going on out there. Unlike the old systems that just recruit you and then leave you to do your own bidding with no training what so ever, there are systems that actually STAY WITH YOU throughout your road to financial success. Some systems instead of paying your way in actually BUILD A TEAM for you and help you in your promotions and advertisements and even in physically giving you referrals. Hard to believe huh...well it's true and instead of taking your money and not hearing from them again they always keep you updated and always are with you step by step.

As, you can probably tell my writing is not as good as it should, but even so I'm writing this so I can let everybody out there who is still struggling with there methods that there is hope and to no give up. The old systems that you may already be in well if you are a TRUE respectable person and not one of the scammers out there well yeah you can definitely build it back up through time and advertising and really truly build the system as it should, and maybe even turn that system to this new train of thought...Or you can jump off that crumbling system and join many of these great new money making systems and NEVER be left alone.

I hope these words of mine helped you in your quest to success...As for me I'm one of those people who were trapped in those old system just paying fee after fee, but now I changed my way of thinking to these new thoughts and ideas and well rebuilt myself with these new systems.

There Are So Many Ways to Make Money From Home - How Do I Find the Right One For Me?

You have found so many ways to make money from home. How do you find the right one for you? If you've been looking for a way to make money from home, you're probably inundated with tons of sales offers, e-mails, phone calls, etc. There are so many options! How do you know what will work and what will not? What is the right thing to do? You can quickly become overwhelmed and then you will not know which direction to turn or what to do. You can experience "information overload" The best way to get over this is to decide what you want from an online business. Look for something that will fit your lifestyle, your goals, and your schedule.

See if you can come up with a list of things that you want in an online business. Write it down. As you look at different offers, you can then evaluate them by the list you have made and you will be able to eliminate all the offers that do not fit your requirements. To help you get started, here are the things that I looked for when I went through this process.

1. I did not want a get rich quick scheme. I'd seen hundreds of them on the Internet. I wanted a good solid business that I could run from home and make a good living with. I did not expect to get a check in the mail next week for a million dollars after just putting my e-mail address on someone's list. I knew I had to put in some work and some effort. I wanted to earn the money. I was not looking for a lottery ticket. Get rich quick schemes never work.

2. I did not want Multi Level Marketing business. I hate having to sell to friends and family. I did not want to make sales because a friend was tying to help me out because of our relationship. This is no way to run a business. I wanted something I could market on the Internet to people who were looking for whatever I was selling. This is the way a real business works.

3. No personal selling. I'm not a great salesman. I did not want to have to continuously sell people on my product or spend a lot of time on the phone. I wanted people to already be sold. I wanted people to just come to me and say, yes, I want it.

4. I needed a great support system. I was a total newbie when it came to Internet marketing. I knew how to send and e-mail and surf the web, but that was it. I needed help getting an online business up and running and help with marketing online. I wanted to know that there was a real live person I could call for help and advice if I needed it.

5. Great business system. I knew a lot about business, because I've been running businesses for over 30 years, so I know what makes a viable business. I knew what components I was looking for, what would make it a complete system. I wanted a proven system that others had used and been successful with. I was looking for a system that I could just step into and follow and find a winning business plan. When you have a great business system to follow, your chances for success skyrocket. Look at franchises like Starbucks, McDonalds, Subway, they have the business plan all figured out. If you follow their lead, you have a money making machine.

6. Multiple streams of income and back end sales. Any business that has many ways to make money within the same system is going to be that much more profitable. Once you have a customer, if you can turn them into a repeat customer, your business is going to be that much more profitable. You will not have to constantly be looking for new customers. Your old customers will come back and pay you over and over. That is one of the secrets of a successful business.

7. I love helping people. It brings great satisfaction. I'd like to use the knowledge I've acquired over the years to help others. There have been people who have helped me along the way and I've like to pass that along by helping others.

8. I wanted a great product, one that was unique, that people could not buy at the corner store. I wanted a product that I felt would help other people. I did not want to feel like I was ripping anyone off. I wanted to know that people who purchased my product could be preferred by it. It could make their lives better. That was important to me.

9. My family. The most important thing I was looking for was something that would work for my family. I'm a mother of 6 children and I home school. I still have 3 children living at home and one left in home school. But even having one in home school takes a lot of time. I have a home and a husband and I wanted to have the time I needed to be a good wife and mother. This is my top priority. I needed a business I could run that would not take over my life. That would not require all my time and attention. I wanted something that I could work on for a few hours a day, at my convenience, then not worry about the rest of the time.

It took months of research looking at all the ways to make money from home to find the right one for me. I finally found the right one that fit all my requirements. It is the perfect business for me and for my family. I work a few hours every morning, and then I'm free to be a mom the rest of the day. I never have to worry about my business on weekends or holidays. I can go on vacation without a second thought about my business. It keeps on going when I'm away. It is amazing! And it works!

Money is just a tool. Money is not my end goal in life. Money is a means to an end. If you are sick of worrying about money, living paycheck to paycheck, wondering how you are going to pay the bills, then change things! Do it! If you are ready to have a better life for you and for your family, do something about it! I did it and so can you.

Cloud Telephony - How To Use Online Cloud For Communication Purposes

Most business owners must be familiar with the term cloud telephony. It's a fast growing sector under the cloud computing market. The term basically involves an individual or an organization which can access multiple computing resources and is connected to an online network. However, it's interesting to note that the online resources we're talking about here refer to computers that are beyond your office premises and are located somewhere in the online cloud or on internet.The main idea is to access software, facilitate data storage and resource sharing without investing in installing, configuring or managing undesired additional resources.

Thus, you do not have to deal with time-consuming, tedious and boring telephonic features. You've got quick access to advanced features. You can play audio and video files, transfer calls to multiple locations and call a quick conference! There are numerous advantages of cloud telephony over traditional voice call system. Earlier, technical knowledge of business people was restricted to IVR, PBX and use of MDF or main distribution frame. By making use of cloud telephone system, you can play a greeting message, dial an extension number or record your conversation! All these enhanced voice calling features are integrated with technically advanced computer applications to create a superior system!

Prominent Benefits Of Cloud Telephony

1) You can route inbound voice calls. It means your customers just have to dial a single phone number if they wish to make queries and a prerecorded message is displayed to them (or thanks to virtual call applications) or their call call is transferred to your agents sitting on remote locations, within a couple of seconds.

2) You've a customization option for calling your customers and routing their calls by analyzing call data.

3) You can interlink your telephone system with online customer database that is you simply have to maintain an online phone directory with numbers and customer names fed in them and your system will automatically call your customers. Moreover, you can reschedule the calls that have not been answered.

4) Advanced call software provide you the facility of running polls, contests or survey results for your customers. The database software will record telephonic conversation. The answers given by your customers will be matched against the results of stored in your database and a lucky winner will have to be selected by the software.With so many advanced features associated with cloud telephony no wonder why multiple people opt for it. An office phone service is an integral part of your company which plays an important role in determining the success of your business.

Booting Linux From a Flash Drive For File Recovery

After a long time we are back to talk about some more cool tech stuff you can do with a USB flash drive. Today's topic will focus on booting the Linux OS from a USB stick. The purpose for booting Linux from a USB drive, at least the purpose of this guide, is to recover files from a broken install of the windows OS or any other OS for that matter. We can also run virus scans from the Linux distro securely without infecting other PC's or having to boot the infected PC.

What you will need:

* A USB stick anywhere from 512mb to 2GB (depending on the distro)
* A main board capable of booting from a usb device.
* and about 15 minutes plus download time.

Software to be used:

* Latest stable version of UNetbootin

Step # 1: Prepare the USB Drive

Once you have all your materials together go ahead and plug the USB drive in and backup all files you may have on the disk.

Step # 2: Installing to The USB

Start up UNetbootin and select the following:

1. Use the first radio button "Distribution". This will download and install, automatically, the distro we want.
2. Pick SystemRescueCD. We are going with this because it is easy the ntfs file system driver comes prepackaged so no additional customization is required.
3. Next select your flash drive.
NOTE: Be sure to select your flash drive and not your windows partition or primary partition, 'cause if you do then you will destroy the currently installed OS.
4. Finally click "Ok".

UNetbootin options to select are shown in an image in the source article located at the link at the bottom of this article.

Step # 3: Configuring Bios

We will need to setup your computer to boot from the USB stick. To do so first you mother board will need to support this feature and second you will need to do some configuration.

1. Reboot your computer and hit "F2 or" del "depending on your mother board to enter BIOS config.
2. Search for the section labeled boot sequence, or named similarly. This will sometimes be filed under a separate section like advanced BIOS features, or similar.
3. Move removable or USB to the top of the list. If you do not see these options listed your mother board most likely does not support USB boot. Consult Google for more info on this.
4. Reboot the computer with the drive plugged in.

Step # 4: Booting Linux

We are going to boot into command line for this guide. There are options to load a GUI for those of you who tremble in the face of CLI. I must warm you though Command Line is by far easier and faster.

1. Once your computer passes post you will see the boot loader screen. Navigate to "VMLinuz64" and hit enter.

After a bunch of OK's on the screen and most likely 1 red FAIL you will be at the prompt "root @ sysresccd / root%". This would indicate a success.

Step # 5: Copying files from a windows partition onto an external hard disk.

For this you will need an external medium on which to move your files have this ready to receive your data. You can also use the usb stick which you booted from, if of course there is enough space on it.

1. First we will need to identify our drives. I will assume you have two storage devices plugged in one being the flash drive and the other your windows hard drive. Execute the command below:

fdisk -l | less This command will show you all the storage devices on your system. Use the down and up arrows to navigate the output as it may be larger than your screen. My output for this command is shown below:
Disk / dev / sda: 160.0 GB, 16000000000 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors / track, 19452 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0xd0f4738c Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System / dev / sda1 * 1 19451 156240126 7 HPFS / NTFS Disk / dev / sdb: 2085 MB, 2085617664 bytes 2 heads, 63 sectors / track, 32329 cylinders Units = cylinders of 126 * 512 = 64512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00502bcd Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System / dev / sdb1 * 1 32330 2036720 6 FAT16 My device is 160GB NTFS partition. Knowing those two bits of info we can take an educated guess and say / dev / sda is our windows device.

NOTE: To exit this output screen press "q".

2. Mount the windows drive so that we can access the files on it. Run the mount command below:

mount / dev / sda / mnt / windows NOTE: you will need to replace "/ dev / sda" with your device found from the output of fdisk -l. It is likely that they will be the same.

3. Lets find out if we mounted the right device now. Run:

ls / mnt / windows This command will list the files and folders in a directory. If you see the tell program Program Files and WINDOWS directories it was successfully mounted.

4. Time to get our backup device out. Plug it in and wait a few seconds then run the fdisk command again:

fdisk -l Egypt
cat / proc / partitions You should see both devices you saw last time and now a new one should be there. Match the size of the device to yours and note the device location most likely / dev / sdc.

Mount this device to the pre-made backup folder using the mount command again:

mount / dev / sdc / mnt / backup 5. Now it is time to copy things from the old windows drive to the backup disk.

If you want to copy your entire windows drive to your back up drive run this command:

cp -R / mnt / windows / * / mnt / backup / YOUR_FOLDER_NAME If you plan on copy single files type the full file path and then the full destination path.

Additional Useful Commands:

* Sometimes a virus can infect the very first bit of code that is executed on your system the MBR (Master Boot Record). Luckily we can clean this up with relative ease in linux. Execute:

dd if = / dev / zero of = / dev / sdb bs = 512 count = 1 Remember to replace "/ dev / sdb" with your device cause if you miss and clean the wrong one you may have some issues.

* Maybe you do not have an external device to back stuff up but you have another computer with a network share. Well lets mount that network share so we can copy files to it. Create a mount point:

mkdir / mnt / network Mount the share:
mount -t smbfs // computername / folder / mnt / network -o username = user1, password = mypasshere Now you can copy and move files to the network share just like any other directory.

To mount a share without a password use:

mount -t smbfs // computername / folder / mnt / network Until Next Time.

How to Make a 6 Figure Income Online in 3 Easy Steps

Feeling overwhelmed by all of the different methods of making money online? Not sure who to trust? Believe me, I've been there! It's very frustrating when people tell you that they are making x amount of dollars online and yet you still can not make a dime. This one of the worst feelings I experienced when I first ventured into the world of making money online. But guess what? I've learned from my failures (yes, there were many of them) and am now making a comfortable living off of the internet. And I am willing to tell you exactly how you can do the same in just 3 simple steps!

1) Will You Allow Yourself Success?

One common mistake that people make when trying to make cash online is that they just jump right into it with little or no background knowledge. This is the thought process of many when they come across a potential method of earning money online. "Oh affiliate marketing, that sounds interesting! I think I'll try that out." But, hey! I was guilty of this too when I first started out. It's very easy to become attracted to something when it has already worked for others. So what is the correct way of starting your home based internet income?

A realistic mindset. Alright before you start regretting that you ever started reading this article let me further explain what I mean by this. Having a realistic mindset means that you have to realize that you will not get rich quick on the internet. As with any other business, the money will come after hard work. And that is another thing, just because you will be working on the internet does not make the work easy. If you want to be successful online you need to realize that you will actually have to put forth an effort. The, "I make $ 500 a day doing only 1 hour of work on the internet!" testimonials are complete crap. So if you are expecting the money to start rolling in with little effort, you mine as well give up now.

2) Consistent Work Will Equal A Consistent Cash Flow

In order to be successful at making money online you need to work hard. There is no way of getting around this. But while this may seem unappealing it can also be directly beneficial to you. One of the great things about making money online is that for the most part you get what you put into it. So if you are working hard every day then you will see equal results in terms of money. So how can you take advantage of this principle?

You need to be consistent. Yes, working hard a few days a week will provide a decent amount of cash to you, but if you are putting in work every single day or even every other day you will see amazing results. And the great thing about consistent work online is that it will ever create a snowball effect. At some point your efforts will begin to work for themselves. Once you get the snowball rolling, the possibilities are endless! This is how people are able to make 6 figure incoming online.

3) There Is Still Something Missing ...

You're probably still wondering what exact method you should be using to make money online. And you should be, because without a model my 2 previous methods for success are useless. But I did this for a reason. Covering the basics is actually more important than how you actually go about making money online. Do not worry though, I'm about to reveal a very reliable method of making a 6 figure income online. All you need to do is implement my previous steps and are guaranteed success.

All I did was use a proven method of making online. For a long time I had tried to research free methods of making a living online and soon realized that it was not likely. So what did I do? I searched different guides available that help kick start your success with a home based internet business. Granted, I did have to spend some money but it was well worth it. Why? Apart from the fact that I am now making a living off of the internet, the system that I used offered information and resources that I would have never been able to access otherwise.

Make Money Online - Starting Your Internet Business

Making money online by starting your own internet business is a big draw with economic conditions the way they are, many are trying to make extra or replace their income. Although the need and want are there, knowing where to start and what to market, gets many beginners very confused. Having a plan will help the confusion.

Time management is where many go wrong, they may have a regular job, or family to deal with and feel they just don't have time to start a business online. However having a plan with an effective system in place will allow even the beginner to run their business with less time.

Evaluate business opportunities When deciding what business you should set up, be sure they fit your needs and desires. Choose wisely, because by planning ahead you will be able to find many things that can be marketed by using the same type of system.

Choose one thing to market and learn the marketing techniques that it will take to make money online, by doing this before jumping to market a lot of different things at the same time, you will understand what it will take to make your business a success. Then you can take what techniques you know are successful and apply them to other markets.

By learning and improving your marketing skills, testing what works and fine tune it, you will be successful at starting your internet business. As an example: Many begin with affiliate marketing because it is easier to do, it can even be done without a web site or advertising budget.

However, as they learn an apply what the learn they soon realize that they can make more money online by having the proper tools in place, such as a domain name, web site and auto responder. These tools are used to build a list of potential buyers instead of sending them to someone else who will put them on their list and profit from you.

Another example is many start out writing articles to promote the products that they are selling because of budget restraints, but once they make enough they want to move on to pay per click or other ways to bring even more traffic, so take the time to learn and improve your skills and profit from them.

If you want to making money online by starting your own internet business, take action, make a plan so time can be managed, and you will have a system to follow. Evaluate business opportunities, and of course learn an improve as this needs to be done.

Cell Phone Cash Review - The Latest Online Money Mania Using Mobile Phones

o Turning in quick easy cash online

Do you think earning money online is everyone's cup of tea? Taking up affiliate marketing, blogs, AdSense and many other tools, does that sound quite difficult to you? The fact is that there are tons of people around the globe who have grabbed and are grabbing big amounts through online marketing and other techniques. There success is undeniable and definitely proven. These are a few techniques that have actually turned the wheel for some people. Most of them would want you to be online.

Now, think of it that you are promoting products, while at a coffee shop sipping through the hot cup of cappuccino. Surprised? Well, it is quite possible with the latest technique which has rocked the world of the affiliate marketers. Cell phone cash is the new system which has been put up by the marketing guru Mack Michael from the maverick coaching.

o Is the system genuine?

When I heard of it, I knew it was some new scam that has come to the market. But, then I also thought of trying it for I heard that it was idea that came out from Mack Michael's mastermind and my personal opinion is that as usual Mack has come up with an innovative and full proof plan of getting the riches through the medium of cell phones.

Now, the other reason why I thought of opting for it was that I am quite aware (and I'm sure most of us are) that the number of cell phone users is tremendously high than the number of people using the internet. So, if that is the case then cell phones would work amazing as a marketing tool. With this guide that Mack has come up you will be able to learn and earn easy money making in the most systematic manner.

Well, there has to be dedication from your side combined with the guidance that the system provides so you can actually turn the wheels like others. Needless to say that if you put in just little bit of that effort but with consistency then these tools can help you make money like never before. Of course, if affiliate marketing is what you are already in to then this will prove to be an additional tool for you.

Online Bitcoin Trading: Discover The Keys To Earning A Formidable Income Trading Bitcoin

Step 1 - Understanding Bitcoin And The Block-Chain

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system, otherwise known as electronic money or virtual currency. It offers a twenty-first century alternative to brick and mortar banking. Exchanges are made via "e wallet software". The bitcoin has actually subverted the traditional banking system, while operating outside of government regulations.

Bitcoin uses state-of-the-art cryptography, which can be issued in any fractional denomination, and has a decentralized distribution system, is in high demand globally and offers several distinct advantages over other treaties such as the US dollar. For one, it can never be garnished or frozen by the bank (s) or a government agency.

Back in 2009, when the bitcoin was worth just ten cents per coin, you would have turned a thousand dollars into millions, if you waited just eight years. The number of bitcoins available to be purchased is limited to 21,000,000. At the time that this article was written, the total bitcoins in circulation was 16,275,288, which means that the percentage of total bitcoins " mined " was 77.5%. at that time. The current value of one bitcoin, at the time that this article was written, was $ 1,214.70 USD.

According to Bill Gates, "Bit coin is exciting and better than currency". Bitcoin is a de-centralizedized form of currency. There is no longer any need to have a " trusted, third-party " involved with any transactions. By taking the banks out of the equation, you are also eliminating the lion's share of each transaction fee. In addition, the amount of time required to move money from point A to point B, is reduced formidably.

The largest transaction to ever take place using bitcoin is one hundred and fifty million dollars. This transaction took place in seconds with minimal fee's. In order to transfer large sums of money using a "trusted third-party", it would take days and cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. This explains why the banks are violently opposed to people buying, selling, trading, transferring and spending bitcoins.

Only.003% of the worlds (250,000) population is estimated to hold at least one bitcoin. And only 24% of the population know what it is. Bitcoin transactions are entered chronologically in a 'blockchain' just the way bank transactions are. Blocks, meanwhile, are like individual bank statements. In other words, blockchain is a public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions that have ever been executed. It is constantly growing as 'completed' blocks are added to it with a new set of records. To use conventional banking as an analogy, the blockchain is like a full history of banking transactions.

Step 2 - Setting Up Your E Wallet Software Account

As soon as you create your own unique e wallet software account, you will have the ability to transfer funds from your e wallet to a recipients e wallet, in the form of bitcoin. If you would like to use a bitcoin ATM to withdraw funds from your account, essentially you will link your e wallet 'address' to the chosen ATM machines e wallet 'address'. To facilitate the transfer of your funds in bitcoin to and from trading platform, you will simply link your e wallet 'address' to the e wallet 'address' of your chosen trading platform. In actuality, it is much easier than it sounds. The learning curve in relation to using your wallet is very short.

To set up an e wallet, there are a myriad of company's online that offer safe, secure, free and turn-key e-wallet solutions. A simple Google search will help you find the right e wallet software for you, depending upon what your needs are exactly. Many people get started using a "blockchain" account. This is free to set up and very secure. You have the option of setting up a two-tier login protocol, to further enhance the safety and security, in relation to your e wallet account, essentially protecting your account from being hacked into.

There are many options when it comes to setting up your e wallet. A good place to start is with a company called QuadrigaCX. You can find them by doing a Google search. Quadrigacx employs some of the most stringent security protocols that currently exist. Furthermore, Bitcoins that are funded in QuadrigaCX are stored in cold storage, using some of the most secure cryptographic procedures possible. In other words, it is a very safe place for your bitcoin and other digital circles.

In order to withdraw money in your local currency, from your e wallet, you are required to locate a bitcoin ATM, which can often be found in local businesses within most major cities. Bitcoin ATM's can be located by doing a simple Google search.

Step 3 - Purchase Any Fractional Denomination Of Bitcoin

To buy any amount of bitcoin, you are required to deal with a digital currency broker. As with any currency broker, you will have to pay the broker a fee, when you purchase your bitcoin. It is possible to buy.1 of bitcoin or less if that is all that you would like to purchase. The cost is simply based on the current market value of a full bitcoin at any given time.

There are a myriad of bitcoin brokers online. A simple Google search will allow you to easily source out the best one for you. It is always a good idea to compare their rates prior to proceeding with a purchase. You should also confirm the rate of a bitcoin online, prior to making a purchase through a broker, as the rate does tend to fluctuate frequently.

Step 4 - Stay Away From Any Trading Platfrom Promising Unrealistic Returns To Unsuspecting Investors

Finding a reputable bitcoin trading company that offers a high return is paramount to your online success. Earning 1% per day is considered a high return in this industry. Earning 10% per day is impossible. With online bitcoin trading, it is feasible to double your digital currency within ninety days. You must avoid being lured by any company that is offering returns such as 10% per day. This type of a return is not realistic with digital currency trading. There is a company called Coinexpro that was offering 10% per day to bitcoin traders. And it ended up being a ponzi scheme. If it's 10% per day, walk away. The aforementioned trading platform appeared to be very sophisticated and came across as being legitimate. My advice is to focus on trading your bitcoin with a company that offers reasonable returns such as 1% per day. There will be other companies that will attempt to separate you from your bitcoin using unscrupulous methods. Be very cautious when it comes to any company that is offering unrealistic returns. Once you transfer your bitcoin to a recipient, there is literally nothing your can do to get it back. You must ensure that your chosen trading company is fully automated & integrated with blockchain, from receipt to payment. More importantly, it is crucial that you learn to differentiate legitimate trading opportunities from unscrupulous "company's" that experts are when it comes to separating it's clients from their money. The bitcoin and other digital contexts are not the issue. It is the trading platforms that you must exercise caution with, prior to handing over your hard-earned money.

Your ROI should also be upwards of 1% + per day because the trading company that you are lending your bitcoin to, is most likely earning up to 5% + per day, on average. Your ROI must also be automatically transferred into your "e-wallet" at regular intervals, through your contract term. There is only one platform that I feel comfortable using. It pay each bitcoin investor / trader 1.1% per day in interest as well as 1.1% per day in capital. This type of a return is staggering compared to what you would earn with traditional financial markets, however, with crypto currency, it is common. Most banks will payout 2% per year!

If you are required to conduct tedious activities such as logging into your account, sending e mails, clicking on links etc, you definitely need to keep searching for a suitable trading company that offers a set-it-and-forget-it type of platform , as they absolutely exist.

How to Design and Layout a Coffee Shop Or Espresso Bar

If you are planning to open an espresso bar/coffee shop, then developing an efficient store design and layout will be one of the most important factors in positioning your business for success.

Speed of service is critical to the profitability of a coffee business. An efficient ergonomic store design will allow you to maximize your sales by serving as many customers as possible during peak business periods. Even though your business may be open 12 to 16 hours a day, in reality, 80% of your sales will probably occur during 20% of those hours. Coffee is primarily a morning beverage, so your busy times of day (those times when you are most likely to have a line of waiting customers), may be from 6:30AM to 8:30AM, and then again around lunchtime. If you have a poor store layout, that does not provide a logical and efficient flow for customers and employees, then the speed of customer service and product preparation will be impaired.

Think of it like this; if someone pulls open the front door of your store, and they see 5 people are waiting in line to order, there's a good chance they'll come in, wait in line, and make a purchase. But, if they see that 20 people are waiting in line, there is a high probability that they may determine that the wait will be too long, and they will simply get coffee somewhere else. This is money that just escaped your cash register! And, if they come to your store multiple times, and frequently find a long line of waiting customers, they may decide you are not a viable option for coffee, and will probably never return. Poor design slows down the entire service process, resulting in a longer line of waiting customers, and lost sales. So in reality, your daily business income will be dependent upon how many customers you can serve during peak business periods, and good store design will be essential to achieving that objective!

The financial impact of a poor store design can be significant. For the sake of this example, let's say the average customer transaction for your coffee business will be $3.75. If you have a line of waiting customers each morning between 7:00 AM and 8:30 AM, this means you have 90 minutes of crunch time, in which you must drive through as many customers as possible. If you can service a customer every 45 seconds, you will serve 120 customers during this 90 minutes. But, if it takes you 1 minute 15 seconds to service each customer, then you will only be able to serve 72 customers. 120 customers x $3.75 = $450.00 x 30 business days per month = $13,500. 72 customers x $3.75 = $270.00 x 30 business days per month = $8,100. This represents a difference of $5,400 in sales per month ($64,800 per year), coming from just 90-minutes of business activity each day!

So how should you go about designing your coffee bar? First, understand that putting together a good design is like assembling a puzzle. You have to fit all the pieces in the proper relationship to each other to end up with the desired picture. This may require some trial and error to get things right. I've designed hundreds of coffee bar over the past 15 years, and I can truthfully tell you from experience, it still usually takes me a couple of attempts to produce an optimal design.

The design process begins by determining your menu and other desired store features. If you plan to do in-store baking, then obviously you'll need to include in your plan an oven, exhaust hood, sheet pan rack, a large prep table, and perhaps a mixer. If you plan to have a private meeting room for large groups, then an extra 200 sq. ft. or more will need to be designed-in, in addition to the square footage you are already allocating for normal customer seating.

Your intended menu and other business features should also drive decisions about the size of location you select. How many square feet will be required to fit in all the necessary equipment, fixtures, and other features, along with your desired seating capacity?

Typically, just the space required for the front of the house service area, (cash register, brewing & espresso equipment, pastry case, blenders, etc.), back of the house (storage, prep, dishwashing and office areas), and 2-ADA restrooms, will consume about 800 sq. ft. If space for extensive food prep, baking, coffee roasting, or cooking will be required, this square footage may increase to 1,000 to 1,200, or more. What ever is left over within your space after that, will become your seating area.

So, a typical 1,000 sq. ft coffee bar, serving beverages and simple pastries only, will probably allow for the seating of 15 to 20 customers - max! Increase that square footage to 1,200 sq. ft., and seating should increase to 30, or 35. If you plan to prepare sandwiches, salads, and some other food items on site, 1,400 to 1,600 sq. ft. should provide enough space to seat 35 to 50, respectively.

Next, you will have to determine the tasks that will be performed by each employee position, so that the equipment and fixtures necessary to accomplish those tasks can be located in the appropriate places.

Normally, your cashier will operate the cash register, brew and serve drip coffee, and serve pastries and desserts. Your barista will make all your espresso-based beverages, tea, chai, hot chocolate, Italian sodas, as well as all the blender beverages. If you'll be preparing sandwiches, panini, wraps, salads, snacks and appetizers, or will be baking on-site, then a person dedicated to food prep will be necessary. And, if you anticipate high volume, and will be serving in or on ceramics, a bus-person/dishwasher may be a necessity.

After you have determined what you will be serving, the space you will be leasing, and what each employee will be responsible for, you will then be ready to begin your design process. I usually start my design work from the back door of the space and work my way forward. You'll need to design in all of the features that will be necessary to satisfy your bureaucracies and facilitate your menu, before you make plans for the customer seating area.

Your back door will most likely have to serve as an emergency fire exit, so you'll need a hallway connecting it with your dining room. Locating your 2-ADA restrooms off of this hallway would make good sense. And, because delivery of products will also probably occur through your back door, having access to your back of the house storage area would also be convenient.

In the back of the house, at minimum, you will need to include a water heater, water purification system, dry storage area, back-up refrigerator and freezer storage, ice maker, an office, 3-compartment ware washing sink, rack for washed wares, mop bucket sink, and a hand washing sink. Do any food prep, and the addition of a food prep sink and prep table will be necessary. If doing baking, gelato making, full cooking, or coffee roasting, all the equipment necessary for those functions will also need to be added.

After all the features have been designed into the back of the house, you will then be ready to start your design work on the front of the house service and beverage preparation area. This area will probably include a pastry case, cash register(s), drip coffee brewer and grinder(s), espresso machine and grinders, a dipper well, possibly a granita machine, blenders, ice holding bin, blender rinse sink, hand washing sink, under counter refrigeration (under espresso machine and blenders), and a microwave oven.

If serving food beyond simple pastries and desserts, you may need to add a panini toaster grill, a refrigerated sandwich/salad preparation table, soup cooker/warmer, a bread toaster, etc. If you plan to serve pre made, ready to serve sandwiches, wraps, and salads, along with a selection of bottled beverages, an open-front, reach-in merchandising refrigerator should be considered. Serving ice cream or gelato? If the answer is yes, then an ice cream or gelato dipping cabinet will be necessary along with an additional dipper well.

Finally, when all the working areas of the bar have been designed, the customer seating area can be laid out. This will, of course, include your cafe tables and chairs, couches and comfortable upholstered chairs, coffee tables, and perhaps a window or stand-up bar with bar stools. Impulse-buy and retail merchandise shelves should be established, and a condiment bar should be located close to where customers will pick-up their beverages.

A quick word about couches, large upholstered chairs, and coffee tables. Living room type furniture takes up a lot of space. If you plan to be opening evenings, and will perhaps serve beer and wine, and having comfortable seating will be important for creating a relaxing ambiance, then by all means do it. But if you have limited seating space, and are not trying to encourage people to relax and stay for long periods of time, then stick with cafe tables and chairs. The more people you can seat, the greater your income potential!

Features from the front door to the condiment bar should be arranged in a logical, sequential order. As your customers enter the front door, their travel path should take them past your impulse-buy merchandise display, and the pastry case, before they arrive at the point of order (where your cashier, cash register, and menu-board will be located). Exposing customers to your impulse items and pastries, before they order, will greatly increase their sales. Then, after the order and payment has been taken, they should proceed down-line away from the cash register to pick-up their beverage, and finally, the condiment bar should be located beyond that point. Be sure to separate your point of order from the point of product pick-up by at least six feet, otherwise customers waiting for their beverage may begin to intrude into the space of those ordering.

Don't make the mistakes that many inexperienced designers commonly make. They arrange these features in a haphazard way, so that customers have to change direction, and cut back through the line of awaiting customers to proceed to their next destination in the service sequence. Or, wanting to make their espresso machine a focal point to those entering the store, they place it before the cashier along the customer's path of travel. Customers inevitably end up trying to order from the barista before they are informed that they need to proceed to the cashier first. If this happens dozens of times each day, confusion and slowed beverage production will be the result.

On the employee's side of the counter, work and product flow are even more important. Any unnecessary steps or wasted movements that result from a less than optimal design will slow down employee production. All products should flow seamlesly in one direction towards the ultimate point of pick-up. For example, if preparing a particular item is a 3-step process, then placement of equipment should allow for the 3 steps to occur in order, in one linear direction, with the final step occurring closest to the point where customers will be served.

Equipment should be grouped together so that it is in the immediate proximity of the employee(s) who will be using it. Beyond the actual equipment, empty spaces must be left on the counter top to store ingredients and small wares (tools) used in product preparation. Counter top space will also be needed where menu items will actually be assembled. Think of the grouping of equipment for different job functions as stations. Try to keep different stations compact and in close working proximity to each other, but make sure that there is enough space between each so that employee working-paths don't cross, which could contribute to employee collisions.

Creating defined work stations will allow you to put multiple employees behind the counter when needed. When it is busy, you may need to have 2 cashiers, another person just bagging pastries and brewing coffee, 2 baristas behind the espresso machine, a maybe even a dedicated person working the blenders. If you're preparing sandwiches and salads to order, then another person may need to be added to handle that task. Keeping your stations in close proximity to each other will allow one employee to easily access all equipment during very slow periods of business, thus saving you valuable labor dollars.

When you arrange equipment in relationship to each other, keep in mind that most people are right handed. Stepping to the right of the espresso machine to access the espresso grinder will feel more comfortable than having to move to the left. Likewise, place your ice storage bin to the right of your blenders, so when you scoop ice, you can hold the cup or blender pitcher in your left hand, and scoop with your right.

As you create your store layout, the equipment you select should fit your space and the needs of your anticipated business volume. A busy location will most likely require a dual or twin, air pot, drip coffee brewer (one that can brew 2 pots at the same time), as opposed to a single brewer. If you anticipate selling a lot of blended and ice drinks, then an under counter ice maker, one that can only produce 100 pounds of ice or less per day, will not be sufficient. You should instead locate a high-capacity ice maker (one that can make 400 or 500 lbs. per day) in the back of the house, and transport ice to an ice holding bin up front. Plan to bring in frozen desserts and ice cream? Then a 1 door reach-in freezer in the back of he house will probably be inadequate for you storage needs, so you'll need to consider a 2 or 3 door. I always recommend a 3-group espresso machine for any location that may generate 150 drinks per day or more. And, I can tell you from experience, you can never have too much dry or refrigerated storage space!

Make sure that any equipment you select will be acceptable with your local bureaucracy before your purchase and take delivery of it. All equipment will typically need to be NSF & UL approved, or have a similar, acceptable, foreign certification equivalent. Your bureaucracy will most likely want to see manufacturer specification sheets on all equipment to verify this fact, before they'll approve your plans.

ADA (American's with Disabilities Act) compliance will also come into play when you are designing your coffee bar. In some areas of the country, this will only apply to those areas of your store that will be used by customers. However, other bureaucracies may require your entire store to be ADA compliant. Following are some of the basic requirements of compliance with the code:

• All hallways and isle ways must be 5 feet wide (minimum).

• All countertop working heights must be 34 inches high (instead of normal 36 inch height).

• 18 inches of free wall space must be provided on the strike-side of all doors (the side with the door knob).

• All hand-washing sinks must be ADA friendly.

• All bathrooms must be ADA compliant (5 foot space for wheelchair turnaround, handrails at toilet, acceptable clearance around toilet and hand washing sink, etc.).

• No steps allowed, ramps are OK with the proper slope.

• If your space has multiple levels, then no feature may exist on a level where handicapped access has not been provided, if that same feature does not exist on a level where it will be accessible.

You can find the complete regulations for ADA compliance at the following website:

http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm

Beyond the basic Equipment Floor Plan, showing new partitions, cabinets, equipment, fixtures, and furnishings, you'll need to produce some additional drawings to guide your contractors and satisfy the bureaucracies.

Electrical Plan

An electrical plan will be necessary to show the location of all outlets needed to operate equipment. Information such as voltage, amperage, phase, hertz, special instructions (like, "requires a dedicated circuit"), and the horizontal and vertical location of each outlet, should all be specified.

A small, basic coffee shop might get away with a 200 amp service, but typically 400 amps will be required if your equipment package will include items like an electric water heater, high-temperature dishwasher, or cooking equipment (ovens, panini grill, etc.).

In addition to the electrical work required for your coffee business-specific equipment, you may need to adjust existing electrical for additional or reconfigured lighting, HVAC, general-purpose convenience outlets, and exterior signs. Also, have your electrician run any needed speaker wires, TV/internet cables, and cash register remote receipt printer cables at the same time they are installing electrical wires. Finally, make sure your electrician makes provisions for lighted exit signs, and a battery-powered emergency evacuation lighting system, if needed.

Plumbing Plan

A plan showing all plumbing features will be necessary. At minimum, this should show stub-in locations for all needed water sources (hot & cold), drains, your water heater, water purifications system, grease interceptor (if required), bathroom fixtures, etc.

While a typical P-trap drain should be acceptable for most fixtures and equipment, some will require an air-gap drain. An air gap drain does not go through the "S"-shaped twists of the P-trap. Instead, the drain line comes straight down from the piece of equipment or fixture, and terminates 2 inches above the rim of a porcelain floor sink drain. This porcelain drain basin is usually installed directly into the floor. The air gap between the drain line from your equipment or fixture, and the bottom of the basin, prevents any bacteria in the sewer pipe from migrating into the equipment or fixture. I drain the following pieces of equipment to a floor sink drain when creating a plumbing plan:

• espresso machine

• dipper wells

• ice maker

• ice holding bin

• food prep sink

• soft drink dispensing equipment

To save on the life of your water filtration system, only your espresso machine and coffee brewer should be supplied by with treated water. Coffee is 98% to 99% water, so good water quality is essential. Your ice maker should only require a simple particle filter on the incoming line (unless your water quality is terrible). There is no need to filter water that will be used for hand and dish washing, cleaning mops, flushing toilets, and washing floors!

Be aware that many bureaucracies are now requiring a grease interceptor on the drain line from your 3-compartment ware washing sinks and automatic dishwasher. A grease interceptor is basically a box containing baffles that traps the grease before it can enter the public sewer system.

Also understand that a typical retail space will not come equipped with a water heater with enough capacity to handle your needs. Unless your space was previously some type of a food service operation, you will probably need to replace it with a larger one.

If cutting trenches in the floor will be necessary to install porcelain floor sinks, a grease interceptor, and run drain lines, then establishing a few general purpose floor drains at this same time behind the counter, and in the back of the house, will prove useful. Floor drains will allow you to squeegee liquids away when spills occur, and when washing floors.

Finally, if you added some new walls during your remodel, you may need to have the fire sprinkler system for your space adjusted or reconfigured.

Cabinet Elevations

Drawing cabinet elevations, (the view you would have if you were standing in front of your cabinets), will be necessary for your cabinet maker to understand all the features they will need to incorporate into your cabinet designs.

These elevations are not meant to be shop fabrication drawings for your cabinetmaker, but merely serve a reference, showing needed features and desired configuration. Where do you want drawers, and under counter storage space; and, where do you want cabinet doors on that under counter storage? Where should open space be left for the placement of under counter refrigeration and trashcans? Will cup dispensers be installed in the cabinet face under the counter top? These elevations will provide your cabinetmaker with a clear understanding of all these features.

While your kitchen base cabinets at home are typically 24 inches deep, for commercial applications they should be 30 inches deep, and 33 inches if an under counter refrigerator is to be inserted. Also, when specifying the size of an open bay to accommodate under counter refrigeration, be sure to allow a couple of inches more than the physical dimensions of the equipment, so that it can be easily inserted and removed for daily cleaning.

Dimensions Plan

You will need to create a floor plan showing all the critical dimensions for new partitions, doors, cabinets, and fixtures. This will, of course, help make sure that everything ends up where it is suppose to be, and will be the right size.

A final thought about design; unless the space you will be designing is a clean vanilla shell (meaning, nothing currently exists in the space, except perhaps one ADA restroom), you will have to make sure that all the features that you are considering keeping, will be acceptable with your local bureaucracy. Many older buildings were not designed to present codes. If the business type remains the same (your space was occupied by a food service establishment before you), then some times any non compliant features will be grandfathered-in, meaning you don't have to bring them up to current requirements. But don't count on this! You need to check with your bureaucracies to make sure. More and more I see bureaucracies requiring new business owners to remodel, so that all features are compliant with codes. This means you may have to rip-out bathrooms and hallways, add fire sprinkler systems, and provide ramps where there are steps. Better you know all these things before you begin your store design!

I always tell my consulting clients, that if I produce a perfect design and layout for them, they will never notice... because everything will be exactly where you would expect it to be. Unfortunately, if you create a less than optimal design for your coffee bar, you probably won't realize it until you start working in it. Changing design mistakes or inadequacies after the fact, can be extremely expensive. Not correcting those mistakes may even cost you more in lost potential sales. For this reason, I strongly suggest using an experienced coffee business space designer to create your layout for you, or at very least, to review the design you have created. Doing so will payoff with dividends.

Making Money Online With a Forex Trading System

In this article I will discuss making money online, Forex trading, and software related to Forex trading. Both good and bad. As well as cover some other things. Although there are a lot of systems out there, more importantly scams, there's not quite as many as there are online get rich quick schemes and ponzi schemes in general. There are still hundreds if not thousands of scams that directly refer to Forex Currency Trading. These scams come in various formats but often get the record set straight on them quickly, however a few others somehow escape the negative publicity and go for years and hit unsuspecting profit seekers where it hurts the most daily. The problem with Forex is that so much seems too good to be true, and a lot of stuff is, but it's also true that many people have made millions and some are not really all that smart at it. You can profit from the right robot.

The first thing I would like to discuss is the topic of sales pages, that common pitch page that a lot of products use and you often think it's gone too far or it must be a scam just by looking at it. But when you think real hard about it, over half the time this is not actually the case ... These sales pages are so long and packed with information since they are commonly advertised on the web and it is more or less business strategy, as opposed to anything reflecting the product. Certain sellers force you to use pitch pages, they need a specific landing page and it makes things much easier for sales transactions.

So rather than guide you through a structured web site with more details through various sections; they often use this pitch page and they generally pack it with information and a ton of hard selling. This has proven to be the trend and it's gotten harder and harder for some EAs to market their software without these types of pitch pages. It is often the case with digital products and or / stuff you can order online. When it comes to these make-money-online and Forex sites they often have a lot of flash to them and obviously many things to draw customers in. In reality it's not much different from any other form of advertising, most certainly not the likes of gambling, and so forth. They need to have some sort of appeal and be competitive. My conclusion is that even if it looks like it could be a scam, do your homework anyway and it may not be. It just depends. Some things are signs, but in my opinion web design and hard selling are not direct signs of a scam. Although in the Forex Market something to hope for would be charts and proof.

With regards to the surveys and other things, it amounts to filling out spam for pennies pretty much, data entry is the same and much more annoying than even the most desperate realize. It also makes you look bad if you tell your friends. You still have to spend time to make any real money, not prizes, and some also require a credit card number on file, and they text you and stuff too. Let's be honest, it sucks. It's bottom of the barrel work that just is not worth it. It's for the ultra-lazy. The kind of human being who for example might get scammed by a Forex system. Not a serious adult who is looking to profit from investment and extend their savings, along with make more money in general.

I once tried a clicking service just to see if I actually could make money, on the popular moneytec forum it was this highly recommended thing by a bunch of lazy work at home users, but I bought into it at the time, and, no joke I signed up and they told me it would be easy and they would make it easy to visit 1000 sites or whatever they have you visit for 15 cents. So I clicked a link and it just starting loading every 2 seconds, it was awfully slow, I waited 15 minutes and that was only like 25 sites, i got a virus after, and i closed it fast. I abandoned the 15 cents for it and thought instantly that these poor souls who do this are a whole helluva lot more desperate than I am. I do not belong in these sort of slums of the internet. This is the first time I have ever written about it. During that several years ago before I started trading Forex I also wrote a few surveys and never got paid once. I have marketed online to some success but mainly my success has been through Forex Trading. That's why I do not need to work a real job and can sit around doing stuff like this all day. Publishing is very important to me. Once something you write online get indexed by a major search engine like Google, chances are that it will be there for a very long time. I find that important anyway ...

There are other ways you can make money online without Forex Trading, though sadly it is often below the barrel work; boring data entry, filling out surveys for pennies, to name a couple of the more common ones. If you're into making web sites you may also advertise on one of your sites or a network of sites, and for that you need fresh content and you need to get traffic, which is way harder than one might think. You can sell products as an affiliate, although you need to find your niche and work very hard at it, it becomes a time consuming job for some people and no matter what you're likely to going to need to invest in something no matter what you do. Whether it's Forex, Web Design, Advertising or whatever it is or a combination of things, most importantly it takes time and ability to adapt your passion. Although you still have much more freedom, affiliate marketing online is very crowded and has been for years. You can also use a revenue-share article and / or video submission service in hopes of being one of the few who can actually earn a living at it. Though that is not for everyone. If you've got four young children and only have an extra hour or two a day to pull in some extra income you most likely do not have time to play a Martha Stewart like figure. Most people do not.

Forex Trading on the other hand is more convenient in the sense that it is an extremely profitable investment opportunity given the right expert adviser, to advise your trade and supply signals, generally to guide you. That is option one. You need a broker. It's way easier than you think and in the Forex industry not as big of a word as you might think, easy to get and you do not gotta meet them in person or anything. It's an online thing.

There are many options to trade Forex, one of the most common would be the use of automated Forex platforms and Forex robots, all automated Forex trading in general. There is nothing wrong with it. This is where expert advisers come in, EAs for short. These are the Forex experts as I mentioned above who supply your trades and information to you. They pretty much tell you what to do. Some are much better than others. Some are not out to supply signals at all and simply selling their software to make profit from that end. Proper automated Forex software oftens runs on the metatrader 4 Forex trading platform, or at least the more popular ones do. Your EA software is like plug-in software for it. I'd actually be wrong to say all EAs use it, but many of the ones I have experience with use the Metatrader 4 Platform and I prefer it.

The other way to trade Forex is to study the market, find all the relevant information you need, take a very long time of a few months to several years to learn something, only to have it blow up as you were still too inexperienced to do something with your strategy when the market changed. Strategy is a very important element of online Forex trading but not just having a strategy, it's about having enough strategies and being able to adapt properly with the market. This is why a lot of people fail without popular EAs, because the EA is usually a well-trained trader and your common trader can not provide himself with signals even half as good and a lot less consistently. The well known EAs are usually like 15 year traders and so forth who studied the market like a school subject and make extra money on the side by selling there signals too you, or software which grants them.

A lot of Forex EAs today simply do not have that sort strategy or ability to adapt with the market ... So not making them scams, but just not prepared for the long haul in general. I have a lot of experience with failed systems and systems that worked for just a little while. I have others that work to this day but I am always seeking new ones. I can review several including one I use now however that has already been done a few times over.

If you're looking for the cross between really learning Forex and just really having to learn complicated signals and software I'd suggest Forex Fap Turbo. The downside of this is you often need to buy extra stuff to learn it and some of it is useless. All of this for pretty decent software but it takes way more time and skill and not something I was happy with. I requested and received my refund for the software and some other software related to it, as it was just not for me and the only people i heard reviewing and bragging about it were a lot more educated before they tried it than I was. I was not ready then, am not ready now. Although it's a well reviewed Forex system and not a scam, I've provided a lot of help, but there are too many of the same, some are forex advertisements so that's not a lot of help. It also brings up a lot of the Fap Turbo related software that is not even the direct software and you gotta buy it separately. So it's a lot of hassle even more than some typical investments that are not related to Forex.

I have also tried automoney and several other Forex robots and automated Forex platforms. I have found that many of these automated Forex systems are a dime a dozen and send you through far too many loops to get the desired results. If they do not eat your entire investment ... Some systems do not have stops and you have to do too much often, others are slow, and sometimes the EA is simply just not your sort of teacher and you get lost sometimes. ..Some EAs will simply sniff you out and then screw you over in the end. This is why it's important to watch for signs of proof either by service trial or physical proof before making your purchase of expensive Forex software.

I have also used Forex Assassin, the eToro Forex trading platform and Forex Harvester but nothing really significant has come up from any of those systems for me.

Some Forex marketers, EAs and employees in general and so forth are so wicked that they monitor new "Forex" related domain registration and somehow get your email address and solicit you ... So you have to be aware that in the Forex market as far as Forex expert advisers go, there is a lot of them competing to get your money. You are sincerely seeking the ones who are also looking to have a solid reputation and actually provide you with profitable trades, your EAs # 1 objective should be successfully trading Forex and not selling their software. This is another thing that makes the simple "pitch page" easy for EAs with very little maintenance, on that end of things. The software should be and often is a side venture for Forex experts who can actually profit from their knowledge of the market and have the means to market themselves ... Can anyone create automated software and sell it? Probably not, I think it's a bit of a stretch but then again it depends if you even get software, or whatever, most systems that are fully developed and have good features but do not work - were more than likely meant to work at some point.

I have read up on quite a few of the most popular Forex review sites like Forex Peace Army and many other well known ones, and to me they all pretty much point towards the same complicated software and their voters are already experts investing 10s of thousands already and they barely feel some of their losses. They switch around a lot; nothing turns out to be solid in the end. The reviews on sites like that most likely got started through advertising. Too many people get to review their own systems on Forex sites like that, etc. You never know who the reviewer is. Searching for automated Forex software reviews is almost impossible nowdays since they all say pretty much the same thing and are mostly positive ...

I have read up on many "free Forex signal" reports on the web and I also participate actively on various Forex forums and other Forex related sites. I often find with these particular Forex signals at least my impression is that you get someone looking to be a mentor of some sort for you, they are usually shady and turn out to be lacking when you need them the most. These guys are usually empty handed. They are trying to freelance or whatever so that they can supply systems and build a name for themselves, but the problem is that these are the guys who after so many followers do create a commercial system and then extremely end up failing, their the failed EA newbies to some extent and you want an EA who is an accomplished Forex expert.

One should consider it much better and safer to use an established system that is known to work, and not the work of an aspiring EA, or even worse, somebody who does not have those credentials at all and are just trying to stuff their ego . I have not enjoyed the free Forex signals and find it more like looting through them then finding anything that productive, not much is there or else all the Forex signals would have to be free and would be for everyone, all the best Forex signals would be free. At least that is my concept. I do not want a rookie EA telling me what to do, since the trend in the Forex market nowdays is most definitely for more popular and well established EAs to sell systems, mostly automated software. That is one thing I do not understand, who these people are that clog up the forums with nonsense and think they can compete in the market with actual successful Forex EAs who really know how to trade.

How much you want to trade really depends on you. If you're a Forex starter you need to have a good EA for starters, and while I can not hand pick one for you, I can provide at least one review since I have spent time on the subject, in this article off- site to an excellent EA which i have tried and complies with several of my standards. I feel it is an excellent resource for people like me at least who gets lost on the big stuff. There are many fish in the sea.

12 Ways to Keep Your Data & Identity Safe Online

How to Boost Your Digital Security for Peace of Mind

From the recent Facebook data break to compromised customer data at huge companies like FedEx and Delta, personal security is more relevant than ever.

In fact, it might even seem that our data is under attack!

While you can not always prevent data security issues, here are 12 ways to help you protect yourself in this fast-moving digital age:

1. Stop sending sensitive information digitally.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but many people email tax documents to their accountant, or text a password to a family member in a pinch.

2. Beware of public Wi-Fi.

Anything you send in a coffee shop or airport can be intercepted by someone on the same network. Consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when you're out and about.

3. Secure your texts.

Whether you use a free app like WhatsApp or a paid Android or iOS solution, there are lots of end-to-end encryption options, ensuring only you and the recipient see messages.

4. Stay up to date.

If you do not, you could be at risk for malware, viruses and cybercrime attacks. Make sure your operating system and software are updated - many devices do this automatically.

5. Worry less about wireless.

Secure your wireless network with a password so nobody can jump onto your Wi-Fi network and steal info.

6. Be cautious of clever email scammers.

Today's phishing emails can have links that lead to realistic-looking websites. Never give out passwords or other sensitive info by email, text or phone unless you're sure that you're talking to the actual organization.

7. Lock down your laptop.

Make sure your laptop requires a password when it boots up. That way, if it gets stolen or prying eyes try to access your device, they'll be stopped before they start.

8. Wipe out data .

If it's time for a new laptop or smartphone, make sure your data is not hanging around. Once you've backed up any data you need, use a software program to permanently erase your hard drive.

9. Choose security questions wisely.

Avoid using common words in your passwords. Period. Google estimated someone would have a 19.7% success rate answering "pizza" to "What's your favorite food? Customize questions or pick harder ones to guess.

10. Avoid sites that are not https.

Https stands for "hypertext transfer protocol with secure socket layer" (other known as having a SSL certificate.) Sites without an "s" on the end are not secure if you are being asked to make a purchase or submit private / sensitive data that could get intercepted.

11. Pay attention to privacy settings.

Choose who can see the content you post on sites like Facebook and Instagram, and who can view your profile.

Opt for the highest level of privacy possible but be aware that some settings will prevent potential clients from seeing your posts, so find a happy balance that will not sacrifice your social media marketing efforts!

12. Back up your data.

If your device gets stolen or compromised, what happens to that work report or your niece's baby photos? Schedule automatic backups through your operating system or a cloud service.

While even the largest and brightest companies can be hacked or otherwise attacked, these online security tips can help you reduce some of the risks.

Also, if you're hiring a web professional developer to help with your business, make sure they're well-aware of current security issues. We build websites with our clients' safety in mind and perform regular security updates for ongoing peace of mind.