Option Trading Basics

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

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

Options - An Overview

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

In other words, options are like tradable insurance contracts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The expiration month is the month the option contract expires.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To Your Trading Success,

Three Things You Can Do With Gold Bullion Coins

Those who acquire gold bullion coins will be faced with a dilemma when they finally arrive at their house: what on earth are they to do with them? There is so much you can do with gold bullion coins that it can be difficult to know what use to put them to first.

If you are stuck for ideas on what to do with your gold bullion coins (GBC), then here are a few suggestions. The great thing about gold bullion coins is that they can be put to an infinite amount of uses. This list is by no means definitive!

1. Collect them

The number one use for these coins is for collection purposes. Some people collect stamps, some people collect football trading cards, some people collect gold bullion coins.

If you are a collector then the first thing you will want to do is view them in-line with the rest of your collection. Your collection may be stored in your safe, or at the local bank. A GBC collection is never really complete, but it sure does feel satisfying the more you add to it.

2. Use them as currency

Some gold bullion coins can actually be used as currency in their respective countries. The Gold Panda, for example, is legal tender in the People's Republic of China, which is why they are issued in the condemnation of Yuan.

There's no better feeling than taking your coins to your local store and using them to pay for everyday items, such as bread and milk. Be aware though, some stores will not accept them as currency, so if you are desperate to cash them, you'll have to take them to a bank or specialist trader.

3. A paper weight

One unconventional function for GBC is as a paper weight. Paper plays as bigger role in our lives now than ever before. Even with the growth of the internet, paper is still the cornerstone of any good office.

GBCs make a great paper weight. They are dense and heavy; which helps them make sure the paper they are weighing down stands no chance of going anywhere. They also look great on your desk and are sure to grab the attention of any visitors or passers-by.

These are the three main uses of this product. As we state though, this list is not Gospel! Try asking around your friends if you run out of ideas for uses for your GBCs.

Hire Web Developer - 10 Important Points to Ponder Upon

Nowadays it is almost an outdated thought to run a business without online presence! Besides that people know that online presence increases or just double the Return on Investment for all the businesses! Also institutions or organization do also keep their presence online to establish or spread themselves to the world. And to make the effort of building a website there are lots of web development companies who offer the customer or the clients to hire web developer. In this way the website building process has become easy and affordable too!

But there are some aspects in website development. One of those factors is to hire web developer who is or is really helpful or worthy to be hired. This is the reason I am trying to put down just 10 important points that always come in consideration at the time of hiring web developers. Let's have a look on the points:

1. Before you decide to hire web developer, just assess your requirements. It is very important to know what kind of development you are looking for. Do you need a simple static website or e-commerce site. Depending on these you have to search for the web developers.
2. Are you looking for open source development or the hard code? It may be the case that your projects can be best done in open source or vice-versa. So before you go to hire web developer make sure that you have determined the technologies / programming languages. It is essential because there are developers who are expert and specialist at open source or the hard code. You need to choose your ones.
3. You need to find out the expert and experienced people for your projects. You should never hire web developers who are having little experience in the kind of development you are looking for. Why not check out the portfolio of works? It will let you decide the quality of people you are choosing.
4. Try to assess the knowledge base and the professionalism of the developers you are considering to hire. You should clear the queries about the project you are thinking to offer to the developers. Again the work ethics or the process of work (stonestone deliverables, project documentation etc) will let you know the developers. So when you hire web developer never forget to take interview.
5. When you are thinking to build a website you should find the market trend to know if the project can be given to a local developer or it is best to think of outsourcing. These days it is best to hire web developer from offshore companies. Not only the cost but also the growing competition has facilitated the availability of best services from anywhere in the world.
6. You may hire web developer as dedicated to your projects or may go time-based hiring as you require. Both are good. But dedicated hiring is the best ploy as in this case your headache is less to complete the project. Even the flow of project is smooth and time of development becomes less.
7. You may hire web developer from a company or a freelancer. If you hire from a company you will get many types of developers or the specialist altogether and the development process becomes smooth. But in the matter of freelancers you have to be very much choosy and careful to know the professionalism or the quality of work of the particular developers. Sometimes multiple hiring of personnel becomes essential in the case of freelancers.
8. It is very much important to know that you hire web developer from somewhere that has proper infrastructure to complete your project. It is particularly essential as many a time it is found that you go for hiring a freelancer who does not have access to latest technologies and tools or the true setup to finish the projects. So proper search and confirmation of the infrastructure has become mandatory (also for companies).
9. Try to find out how is the reputation of the developer in providing support to the project both through the project completion and afterward maintenance. Never hire web developer with poor record in support or do not forget to judge the communication level of them. Otherwise total investment in the project may go in vain.
10. When you decide to hire web developer, do not go behind affordability always, care for the legal issues too. It is fact that affordable web development is now very possible. But it is not all the companies provide best service at affordable cost. Find out the reputed companies who do not only provide affordable service but also clears legal dealings, say money back guarantee issues, copyright, document & resource transfer and all.

Hope after going through the above points, you will understand how important it is to be careful in the process of hiring developers for getting the best development of the website you are thinking to build. Always remember the responsibility of best website development never only rest on the developers. It is also your discretion to hire single web developer from multiple companies or team of developer from one company. However, never feel helpless if you find the things little lengthy. You may take help of directories and tactfully choose the request a quote process for searching and getting best developers. Never hurry but be steady in the website building initiative - you will be successful.

Good Morning America Inbox Dollars - Scam?

Recently, Good Morning America featured an online company named "Inbox Dollars". It was not such a surprise that this company is completely internet based, but the surprising part of it, was that this company deals with online paid surveys. If you have ever looked into paid surveys, then you will know exactly why this is so surprising (so many of these companies scam people by making consumers pay to get access to their surveys).

Now, on Good Morning America, Inbox Dollars explained that people can earn money in several different ways through their website:

* Reading Email

* Shopping Online

* Trying Brand Name Products

* Taking Surveys Online

* Playing Games

So this is not just an online survey site at all. There is much more to it. Now the way Inbox Dollars works is complicated, yet very simple to the end user. People may wonder how Inbox Dollars can just pay people for reading emails, playing games, or trying products. Well, to put it simply, on the email part, you will get about 2-3 emails per day to read. These emails will be advertisements and you get paid just for viewing the advertisement. You will also get paid if you take advantage of the advertisement, some may be free trials and others may be reduced prices. Either way, you get paid for reading the email. The rest is optional. But Inbox Dollars can pay you just for reading the email because they get paid by the advertiser for showing you the ad. So for the games and brand name products, it is presented to you in a very similar fashion.

In regards to the online surveys, it works in the same way. If a company has a survey questionnaire that they need filled in, they look for survey companies, like inbox dollars to have these completed. The survey company pays inbox dollars and inbox dollars pays you a portion for you to complete the survey. The problem with other online survey companies is that they never pay you. But with Inbox Dollars, they have over 3.5 million members and have been in this business for years. They know the value of their members and in order to keep them, they must pay them.

Last but not least, Inbox Dollars is 100% free to join. No fee for membership, EVER. Some survey sites will actually charge you to get access to their surveys or survey sites. Most, if not all of those sites are scamming you in one way or another. In most cases, the surveys they give you access to are just surveys from some other free site you could have found on your own. They are basically just charging you a fee to take your money and feeding you surveys that they found for free on Google themselves. In addition, most of these sites are not the actual survey owners, so it is not their responsibility for paying people for the surveys, so you never know if you will actually get paid for the surveys they give you.

I hope you have found this information useful and helpful in your search for legitimate online companies for making money. If you would like to see our top 3 online paid survey companies, please visit the website below.

How to Choose the Best Wedding Catering Company

The ability of a wedding caterer to work with certain locations is an important thing to be aware of. Many caterers will work with areas in churches, major meeting halls and even some outdoor areas around the London or midlands areas. However some wedding catering companies will have limits with regards to how many people they can support for different catering needs. It will be best to see if a good amount of versatility is involved when it comes to getting a wedding caterer ready.

It helps to see how far a wedding caterer can be from the site of the wedding. There are a number of different caterers around the London and midlands areas along with other parts of the UK. There are also plenty of wedding facilities around the London and midlands areas too. Therefore it will help to see who is relatively close to a facility that a wedding will be taking place at.

This is an important consideration to be aware of in that many wedding caterers will charge extra for travel from one area to another. This is an important thing to see in that the costs that are involved for travel and gasoline can vary in accordance with each UK caterer. After all, traveling from London all the way to the midlands can be something expensive for a caterer to be able to handle.

Another thing to see is that in some areas a facility that can handle a wedding reception will work with its own catering company. It will help to take a look at what that facility has when it comes to getting foods prepared for a wedding. If the services that are being offered by that company are not good enough then it would be best to hold the wedding reception in some other area so that another caterer can be used.

All wedding catering companies can work with a variety of different types of foods. A good thing to do is to check out all of the options that can be made available with regards to foods that are available for serving to people at a wedding. Cuisine options can include tapas, salads and soups, main entrees, side dishes and desserts. Each caterer will work with all sorts of options for every palate so it helps to take these factors in mind.

The alcohol policies that different caterers can work with should also be considered. A caterer should be one that can offer a good drink list that includes not only non-alcoholic drinks but also plenty of alcoholic options. Some will offer wines that can come from large wine lists while others can offer different types of beer and even some specialty drinks.

Be sure to take a look at how the alcohol can be sold. Sometimes a company will offer a cash bar where people have to pay extra money for certain alcoholic drinks. In other cases a company will include the drinks with the rest of the catering materials.

An important thing to see deals with how well the caterer can adjust to the dietary needs guests can have. There are many cases where some people who are attending a wedding could have to avoid certain foods due to health reasons. In many cases people might avoid certain foods because of personal reasons. Whether a person is a vegetarian, is allergic to certain ingredients or is supposedly to avoid certain types of foods it will help to be sure that a wedding cater can be found that can adjust its cuisine and cooking habits in accordance with different people in mind.

The last thing to check out with regards to the foods at the wedding deals with, of course, the wedding cake. Many wedding catering companies can work with in-house bakeries that can help to get cakes prepared. A variety of cake designs can be made available by a catering company so it will help to take a look at what options are available. These include cakes that can come in multiple tiers. Do not forget to also watch to see that the cake that is being prepared is one that is large enough to where it can be enjoyed by everyone at the wedding.

Be sure to think about how early in advance a catering service should be planned. In order to get the most beautiful foods ready for any palate it will be important for a caterer to have plenty of time to prepare. In most cases a caterer will require a customer in the UK to book services in London or the midlands about a month or earlier in advance. Therefore it will help to take a look at how soon a client needs to get reservations ready.

Do not forget about the costs that are going to be involved. Some wedding catering companies will charge clients by the head or by the amount of food that is going to be handled. All companies offer different billing rates so it helps to take these options in mind when getting a catering company to work for one's needs.

It is great to take a look at all of these things when looking around for wedding catering companies around the UK. There are many London and midlands wedding catering companies to choose from and when looking around for different companies like these will help to take some things in mind to make sure that a caterer is one that can work with one's wedding event needs in mind. This is so a good wedding reception can be enjoyed by all and that there will be no problems involved with the entire event.

Are You Buying Sports Seats For Your Car?

Purchasing sports seats for your car is considered as one of the ways of sprucing up and upgrading your vehicle. In fact, it is one of the not so used ways to customize a vehicle. You see, for most people, the common ways of upgrading a vehicle would be to change wheels, wheel covers, car seat covers, carpets, bumpers, and grilles.

Changing your car's seats to sports seats may not be so popular, there are some matters to take into consideration when you have decided that sports seats may be the best thing that could happen to your vehicle. After all, overlooked as they may seem, sports seats actually do not just provide your car with a sporty and aesthetic appeal but they also give you and your passengers comfort through long or short drives.

Before doing anything else, you should ask yourself how much are you willing to spend and how much could you really afford. By answering this first question, you would be able to check and ask around as per any sports seats that would fall within your budget range. Remember that sports seats come in a variety of options - each more sophisticated than the next. In fact, there are even sports seats that come with electronic adjustments of the lumbar support.

If you have no idea whatever as per the kind of sports seats that you would like for your car, you can check out automotive magazines. Or you can also visit automated websites. If you choose to do so, you can also try contacting manufacturers to get the names of dealers of sports seats in your locality.

Upon visiting an auto parts store that offers sports seats, make sure that you ask the store's personnel to show you their collection of these. That way, you can personally inspect the seats so you could choose which ones to purchase. Consider the seats' safety features. Make sure that you choose those that has a high and close back rest which has the capacity to support and protect your back. Also make sure that it supports not only your back but your whole body as well.

How To Save Money With Office Accessories

An office needs to have all types of desk and cubicle accessories to make it complete and organized. However, buying these office accessories eat up an inordinate amount of money from your budget. Different accessories like copy paper, printer ink, copier cartridges, staplers, note pads, pen and pencils, etc. make a deep cut from your monthly budget. In order to control your budget, you can opt for companies which offers discount office supplies. Beside this, you can do certain other things as well.

There should be a central store for dispensing all office supplies:

If your office supplies and equipments are in accounted for, you can save some money. It will prevent your office employees to take the office items for their personal use. Moreover, an office manager can keep a track of inventory and place the order as and when required.

There should be one single person to order all office supplies:

If a single individual will control the office supply inventory, it will be easier to track the usage. There will be clear line of accountability. In addition to this, the company can have an ongoing relationship with the company providing discount office supplies.

Having an ongoing relationship with one supplier and customer service rep:

If it's your first time, you should shop around to find the best regular supplier. However, when once you have made your mind, you should try to establish an ongoing relationship with the supplier. This way, the supplier will be able to offer you loyalty discounts and will also offer many other benefits. For example, if there is a product which your company purchases regularly, a customer service rep may alert you for any special discounts available on the product. In this way, you will be saved from paying full price for supplies.

Verify with discount office supplier while making larger purchases:

Being a regular customer can pay off your large benefits. Sometimes, being an ongoing customer makes you eligible for discounts on different storage cabinets and furnitures. Some discount office supplies provider offers automatic ordering. You can very well take advantage of it. This way you can avoid any unexpected running out of any item at the office.

The huge collection of office accessories keeps on modifying with time. A large number of innovative and useful modern office accessories are added every day. When you have a regular supplier, he will always make you acquainted with any additions in the market. This way you can be aware of modern and advance product without actually doing any research.

Keeping your office well equipped with all types of useful and advance accessories will motivate your team to work in a better way. You can also put various things for comfort like bean bags to take a rest, decorative items to make the cubicle attractive and colorful trash bins to avoid any kind of dirtiness.

So, be innovative and make your dull office a lively place to work in.

Run Your Car on Hydrogen Gas With an HHO Conversion Kit

As gas prices continue to rise, people will continue to look for alternate sources of fuel to run their cars. Do not let fuel costs continue to burn a hole in your wallet. Run your car on hydrogen with the help of an HHO Conversion Kit. Soon, we will all be driving some kind of Hydrogen Fuel Cars. Why not be the first one on your street to reap the benefits?

But what is a HHO Conversion Kit? Is it Safe? Where Can you buy them? These are all important questions. The answers are actually quite simple.

What is an HHO Conversion Kit:
Hydrogen gas, or HHO, is a flammable gas and can be used for fuel. When properly utilized, HHO can be used in your car to improve your gas mileage. HHO Conversion Kits are devices that when assembled and installed in your car, create a hydrogen generator that can be used to supplement typical gasoline fuel in your car. Hydrogen generators are an effective means to run your car on hydrogen. You'll still need to get typical unleaded fuel from your neighborhood gas station, but you'll cut the consumption of this fuel in half, if not more. HHO Conversion Kits are inexpensive to build and install. Even a novice handyman can do it. Hydrogen Conversion Kit manuals and / or ebooks tell you how to create a hydrogen generator from basic materials available at any hardware store.

How can you generate hydrogen gas from materials at a hardware store? Is not it more complicated? Not really. Hydrogen can be created by a chemical process called electrolysis. Basically, you only need electricity and water. Your car battery can supply plenty of electricity, and water is just about free from the tap inside your home. You will not need to create anything that sparks to burn the hydrogen gas. As hydrogen gas is created, it gets routed into the air intake of your car. From then on, your car's engine does the rest with no additional changes to the parts of your car. That's all you'll need to run your car on hydrogen fuel. The unit is compact and it takes very little room under the hood of your car.

When you run your car on Hydrogen you'll see many benefits:
- Improve your gas mileage up to 67%
- Reduce harmful CO2 emissions from your exhaust
- Smoother running engine
- Faster acceleration
- IRS tax benefits!

Is it safe?
When you run your car on hydrogen from a HHO generator, you face very little additional risk. Yes, you are creating a flammable gas, but this gas is sent directly into the engine. You car carries around a tank full of flammable gas all the time! The HHO generator creates the fuel on-demand, so there is no excess fuel to act as a hazard.

Where can you buy them?
Costs of the HHO Generator vary. Some ebooks say it can be built for $ 60, others for $ 150. At $ 60, to build an generator to run your car on hydrogen is equal to the cost of one tank of gas! That is an immediate return on your investment and time. If you are afraid of the manual labor to build the HHO generator, you can buy them for upwards of $ 5,000.

HHO Generators are an immediate solution to high gas prices. One can be built in just a few hours, and the savings begin immediately.

Online Backup Services 101

In today's highly interconnected world which revolves around our interactions, communications and transactions over the Internet, safety and security of data has become an imperative and hence the need and demand for online file backup services. With online data backup services offering remote backups and ease of access to the data stored, this is a perfect solution to the problems like physical and online data security, which are faced by both home and business users alike.With various service providers in the market offering exciting deals and innovative features, the time is ripe to make a move and secure your data before it's too late.

Need for Backup

The need for online data backup arises from the fact that the traditional methods of data storage are not the most reliable. There are a lot of external factors to be taken into account. Home users mostly store their photos, tax and financial information and collection of their movies and songs on their storage devices like hard disks, CD's or other external storage devices. Their need for data is personal, emotional and financial.

While for business users, need for data backup is purely financial and involves high amount of sensitive information which leads to a high degree of risks. Business users mostly store their financial and tax information, client information etc. on their onsite storage devices.

Factors which can lead both home and business users explore safer options are the possibility of theft, accidents like fire, flood, power surge, corruption of files and other similar hazards.

Key features

There are a lot of different features that makes these services extremely attractive. All the major online file backup services are extremely secure and offer features like SSL / TSL encryption, password protection, folder permissions and 24/7 file encryption at the server end.

Other features like sharing of files and folders and custom links, gives an added advantage to the consumer. Restoring deleted files and storing multiple file versions are some of the handy features which are offered by the best online file backup services. The drag and drop feature of data backup is very handy and makes it very easy for the user to share files

The most important aspect of the online data back services is the backup itself. The beauty of this feature lies in the fact that the backup is done automatically as per scheduled beforehand and is incremental in nature ie whenever there are changes made to the files in the backed up folders, an automatic backing up is initiated.

Advantages of backup services

The benefits derived from the advantages offered by various secure online file backup services far exceeded the value of money spent on them. In this information age, protection of data has become a priority for everyone.

Automatic backup provided by various providers may be ubiquitous but is a highly essential function when it comes to backing up the data. Prescheduled backups give an option to the users wherein data backup is done without any supervision and takes out the mechanical element involved. Moreover these backups are incremental and consequential revision to data is done automatically.

Accidentally deleted files could also be restored when using online backup services and gives a cushion to the user and thus ensuring an error free environment. Online storage also reduces or eliminates the physical aspect of data storing by storing all the data of the client at off-site locations which are more secure.

Mobility and security

We can not be near our computer all the time and hence there is the need for mobile access to your online data. Most of the online file backup services provide various features to accommodate the users while away from the main computer. By using mobile apps one can access the saved files from any place as long as internet connection is available. Mobile syncing of files is also allowed where you can sync, update or change a file. The desktop apps allow users to access files from any computer and it support multiple computers and various file types.

The security aspect of storing files online is extremely important and to aid that, the providers use various security features while storing or transferring files. SSL / TSL encryption prevents other people to access your account or files. Even when the files are not transferred, they remain encrypted and it is called at-rest encryption and uses an encryption method called advanced encryption standard, which encrypts data arriving in and decrypts data going out.

Analyzing your needs

Before you opt for an online data storage option you have to make sure that you analyze all your needs. It is an important part of the process as it gives you an option to review your requirements. These requirements vary for both home and business users.

Most of the providers have different plans for home and business users. But depending on the following, a particular company or plan can be short listed

· Cost : While some might not consider spending a lot on data storage a big deal, but most people are cost conscious and look for a good deal. Among the best and most reliable data storage companies, the lowest plan starts from $ 5 per month to an upward of $ 100 per year. Some providers also provide 15 day free trials to try their product.

· Storage space : While free storage of 1-2 GB's come with a few plans or providers, it's always a better option to buy a plan because it promises more storage space and better customer support. Some also offer free cloud storage like Dropbox etc.

· Reliability : The quality of service is paramount to selecting a provider. No disruption in service and 24/7 support should be guaranteed.

· Value for money : This is again an important factor when deciding upon a provider. Your money should provide the best possible value for it when considerations are given to factors like pricing, overall features, storage space and reputation of the provider.

Data backup never comes at a high price because when you will realize this only then you can begin to understand the true importance backing up your data.If you want your data to remain secure for a longer periods of time and want an added advantage of better security while storing and transferring the data you must opt ​​for online file backup services.

Benefits Of A Tree Removal Service

Having some trees around the house may make people's house look more appealing. They may place more than just a single kind of trees to add even more aesthetic to the visual of their house. However, unfortunately, there will usually be times when these people have no other choice but to completely remove the trees they have been taking care of for quite a long period of time. This may take place due to quite a few factors. There are times when trees may get rotten. There are also times when trees are going to die. Thus, when all these things take place, it is not quite likely for people to let the trees remain where they are which is around their house. This is when tree removal service comes in very handy.

Yet, some people may assume that it is fine for them to remove their trees by themselves. Those are their trees after all. Unfortunately, this is not a correct assumption at all. Attempting to remove trees may prove to be extremely dangerous, especially for those who do not have adequate experiences in doing so. The risks get even bigger if the trees are the big trees.

Fortunately, with the help of a tree removal service, people will not have to worry anymore about all those issues. This tree removal service is usually able to carry out tree pruning, tree trimming, partial tree cutting, removal of parts cut off tree and also tree felling.

This tree removal service is also beneficial in that it usually offers cleaning up as well. This is very handy taking into consideration what kind of messes that can show up after a tree has been cut off. And if people need some firewood to prepare, they can make use of the service offered by this particular kind of services as well.

However, it is necessary for people to make sure in advance that they are asking for services from those who are indeed trained professionals in the field. In order to put their mind in peace in this case, it is recommended that these people request to see the license that is possessed by each of the tree service members. Also, they need to carry out a background check with regards to which tree removal company this service may have come from, whether or not they are really the company's staffs and if their licenses are actually valid.

If everything goes fine, the next thing that those people may need to worry about is how much money they have in their budget. This plays a very important role in obtaining the best tree removal service professionals. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, people can now try making a comparison first regarding the tree companies in existence and the rates they offer.

Then, once they have found the one they consider to be the best deal, they can start calling the service and rest assured, all they have to do is to enjoy the benefits this service can offer.

Getting Your Interior Design and Decorating Started Right

Principles Are Principles Forever

Interior design and decorating is one of the oldest of all the arts . Properly understood, it can be very exciting and rewarding to engage in. All you have to do is apply the correct and appropriate formulas, then adapt them to your budget.

It is very important and necessary to find out what you really need and want. Follow a few age-old foundational principles in order to acquire the success that you're driving for. A few easily understood principles will enable you to work out combinations and arrangements that will be appropriate and therefore satisfying to you, no matter what type of room you are planning.

Make It Easy On Yourself

When designing or decorating a room or a whole house, you can help yourself a great deal if you make a careful analysis of yourself and your family before you begin. Take time to consider, reflect, and examine specifics of what you like, what you want, what you do, what you hope to do someday, etc.

Write everything down on paper. Be guided by this analysis in your choice of furniture, arrangements, color schemes, and accessories. Describe in words not only what you want it to look like, but what you want it to feel like as well. For me, a "look" without the appropriate feeling and ambiance is nothing.

Make The Right Decisions The First Time

The best way to do it right, once, the first time, is to have a plan. We begin our plan by making a diagram or sketch of the space, including the windows, doors, and archways, paying careful attention that it's all drawn to scale. It is critical that your room has a floor plan drawn to scale. Usually this means that 1/4 inch will equal 1 foot. If you want it larger, then draw it so 1/2 inch equals 1 foot. This means that 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch will represent an actual 12 inches or 1 foot of real space. You must do the same thing with your furniture, plants, and sculptures - anything that takes up square space space on your floor. If you choose to skip past this initial step, you'll definitely have a wrong perception of reality! Once all of your pieces are sketched to scale, carefully cut each one out, making sure each one is clearly labeled.

You must do everything to scale with your sketches. These paper depictions enable you to move representations of your furniture and other items around effortlessly within your environment on top of the floor plan. As you do so, keep in mind where and how the traffic will flow through the space, accommodating for this functional necessity. With patience and some time, you'll reveal various solutions that will come to your mind that you would never have thought of otherwise. Pre-planning allows you to have much more fun and freedom of expression.

Doing floor plans is the professional way to start. Amateurs skip this. Even if they call themselves decorators or designers, this is one of many fundamental reasons that they are amateurs. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail ... whether you know it or not.

Eliminating "Paralysis of Analysis"

The preliminary analysis of your home interior design and decorating problems should include answers to several definite questions. Think of this as the Sherlock Holmes phase. You want to ask yourself the right questions, to get the right answers. That way, you can get the right results. Your answers to the right questions will have a determination impact on the various phases of your plan. Thinking things through will save you time, money, and energy, as well as preventing possible and probable disappointments with your results.

Some Words of Caution

Do not decorate or design in haste, and then later repent at leisure! Even if you have the money to carry out your whole design and decorating program, do not be rushed into buying anything which will compromise the effect you want.

Do not be discouraged if you have to operate on a budget. Decide what you can comfortably spend in the beginning, and put most of it into basic pieces that will be a permanent investment in your satisfaction and comfort. Then, spread the rest of it out over "pickshifts" which will do until they can be replaced. These pieces will be temporary until you can afford something better. Sometimes they turn out to be so charming and so useful that you will not want to give them up. You can allocate them to other areas of your environment.

As you work your plan, you may find that parts of it need altering as you go because you've found that they can be improved. However, make sure the contemplated improvements fit into the original plan or concept. Remember, it's not only about the look. It's the look and the feel, or ambiance, that you are after.

Do not be tempted for the sake of a bargain, or any other reason, to spend time or money on a single piece or article which will not add to the effectiveness of your preconceived design or decorative scheme, as you have outlined it from the beginning. Also, remember: Proper, prior planning prevents poor performance!

It's vital that you realize that you can spend a great deal of money or a comparatively smaller, realistic sum, and get very pleased results if you have a plan and knowledge.

An Important Closing Comment

Once you work things out on paper, be sure that you have included your floor plans and the written documentation of both your questions and your answers. The rest of the steps must continue to translate that information into action. Always look at the colors and designs in the environment where they are going to be used, and under the lighting conditions there, both natural and artificial. Color is how you light it! Therefore, never guess how textures, colors, designs, or fabrics, etc., will go with each other. Always make your final decisions within the final environment they will be staying in.

Summary Of Mine Boy Chapters 1-6

OVERVIEW OF THE STORY
The story sets in South Africa. In this story, Peter Abraham portraits apartheid through following the life of Xuma, a villager in search of a better life. Xuma first lived in Malay camp where he was offered accommodation by Leah on his first night in the city. After getting a job, he moves to his own house in Vrededorp.

Leah earned her living through selling illicit brew. There was also Dladla who was bitter about Leah controlling him and betrays her to the police. Leah found out about it but before she could deal with Dladla, he was found dead in the bush stabbed in the back. Johannes, a strong well built miner, was a timid person who became bold and loud only when drunk.

Daddy was never sober and died after being hit by a car. Xuma falls in love with Eliza. He constantly rejects Maisy who loves him.

However, in the end he accepts her and promises to marry her as soon as he gets out of jail as Eliza left him.

Leah gets sent to jail after being caught red handed with the illicit brew by the crafty policeman nicknamed the Fox who had been trying to catch her for a long time. She had managed to escape the police dragnet by bribing some policemen who kept her informed.

Johannes and his white boss Chris died under the mine as they tried to prevent it from collapsing. Paddy, Xuma's boss sides with the blacks and is arrested when a riot breaks out in the mine. Xuma flees but later surrenders himself at the police station.

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER SUMMARY OF THE BOOK

CHAPTER ONE

It was three o'clock in the morning when a man arrives in a town on a narrow street. The whole town was in darkness. He surprised where he was. Suddenly, he saw a woman at a door standing in the darkness.

He moved closer and asked her if he could get a place to rest and have a drink.

The woman asked him if he had but the man said he had none. She further enquired to know his name. The man identified himself as Xuma, form the north. After speaking for once the woman left to bring light. She returned without him noticing.

From the door, a beam of powerful torch stuck on Xuma with a voice calling him to come. He followed the beam of light and the woman into a room where he met three men and an old woman. The woman introduced Xuma to the people and asked Ma Plank to give him food. Xuma got to know Dladla, a man fond of playing with knife. Xuma saw a knife in Dladla's hand. Xuma however carefully placed his bundle on the table and went round a long bench.

Dladla raised his knife and showed his teeth. Leah commanded Dladla to give her the knife but he refused with a plea in his voice. He later lowered his eyes andave her the knife.

Daddy showed displeasure towards Leah. Xuma's food was brought to him by Ma Plank.

Whilst Dladla and Ma Plank went out, the man who had remained silent expressed his suspicion and asked "How do we know if he's not from the police?" Leah was always optimistic about Xuma's identity.

She identified the man as her man's brother. Leah's man was in jail for killing a man who tried to kiss her.

There was no work at the north. This was what brought Xuma into the town, to work. He however expressed interest in working in the mines.

Leah took her time to tell him about the dangers involved in working in the mines and tried to convince him to work with her but Xuma refused.
Xuma was finally given a place to sleep but he found it hard to sleep because he was tired.

CHAPTER 2
When Xuma woke up the next day, he met the house empty. However he found himself among a crowd forming a ring outside, and Daddy hopping and shouting at the top of his voice. Two women, Lena and Drunk Liz, were also on the ground engaged in a fight.

Xuma pushed his way through the roaring crowd wanting to get away. But he heard a voice shout "stop it". He turned and it was Leah. When she arrived at the scene, Lena (the thin dark woman) was on top of

Drunk Liz who was fat and pale. Leah walked through the crowd and picked up the thin woman and flung her away from the fat one. The crowd grumbled yet no one was able to speak to her hearing. Leah challenged the crowd to fight but they broke up in silence and walked away.

Leah picked up the thin woman, who was woefully injured, into the yard. She was followed by Xuma and Daddy. Upon entering the house, Daddy bought a sack and spread it in the shade for Leah to place the woman on.

Leah prepared food and they ate. She saw Daddy in the yard and called him to come and tell Xuma about the custom the city. Daddy spoke drunkenly about the custom and the city. After he had finished, he picked a sack and spread it a little distance away, stretched himself and slept. Soon it began to rain. Xuma went into the yard and watched the three sleeping people.

In the house, Leah sang a guy song full of happiness and laughter. Xuma went back into the house and saw Joseph, the brother of Leah's man. Leah asked Joseph to take Xuma to see the market. At the market, Joseph and Xuma saw many people on the street. One street was crowded as another. The people were in their colorful clothes with a lot of money to spend. The big men among them wear singlet and sometimes cooked among them to determine who is the strongest.

Joseph and Xuma stopped on a corner and watched the crowd across. A little further up the road, they saw two colored men fighting. Still further, there were two "swankies" on their way down the road. A crowd of cheering and laughing people followed them.

Suddenly, a pick-up van swerved round a corner. Policemen jumped out and run down the street. The crowd scattered except the colored people who claimed they have done nothing. However, Joseph warned them that the police would not ask them.

A policeman who was ten yards away came straight ahead to Xuma. But Xuma waited because he had done nothing. The policeman came nearer, raised his stick but it missed Xuma's head and stuck his left shoulder. Xuma whispered and stuck the policeman in the face repeatedly till the policeman collapsed.

Xuma looked around and saw the police van still a distance away but two policemen were closing in on him so he decided to ran.

The two colored men stepped into the road. Xuma felt afraid, to run and knock two men at the same time was impossible. But an unbelievable thing happened, the second colored man knocked the first one down and ran down the street traveling to Xuma to follow him. Xuma followed him into a house. The colored man locked the door and flopped down into a chair breathing heavily.

The man's woman came into the room and Xuma noted with surprise that she was black. She expressed her disappointment at Xuma for striking the policeman.

Finally, when Xuma asked to leave, the man's woman cautioned that it was not safe he left.

CHAPTER 3
Xuma came out and found the street free of trouble but it was difficult for him to find his house. He saw the fat Drunk Liz and touched her shoulder to ask her for direction to Leah's house. The woman looked at him with bleary eyes and looked her head barely refusing to help him.

Xuma met Daddy who thought he was in jail. Daddy was drunk but he agreed to take Xuma to the Leah's house if only he (Xuma) would buy him a drink again. At the house, old Ma Plank sat over a huge vat in the yard and in the kitchen was Joseph who was busy. Joseph was happy to see Xuma. Leah entered the house; she grabbed Xuma and hugged him.

They stand on the corner and waited. Leah kept looking up the street that cut across the one where they stand. After ten minutes a black policeman on a cycle came down and stopped. Leah smiled and counted five pound notes from her leather bag andave them to the policeman.

Leah led the way through the yard to the door at the far end of the yard. She introduced Xuma to a girl they met in the house. Xuma asked the girl's name, who said she was called Eliza.

Eliza asked Xuma to help her lift a machine. Xuma jumped up and grabbed the sewing machine but he felt a sharp pain stab in his shoulder. Eliza found a bottle of ointment and rubbed it on where Xuma's pain was.

She saved him a cigarette and looked at his face and laughed. Xuma turned and saw huge towering shapes almost in the sky. He pointed and asked what they were. Eliza replied and said "those are the mine-dumps". Xuma shifted his eyes from the mine-dump to Eliza and longed for her.

All that night people drank at Leah's place. Xuma and Eliza returned and saw more people crowed at Leah's place.

Dladla attacked Xuma with a knife accusing him of stealing his woman and brave him a cut on his face. Eliza took Xuma into a room and washed his bloody face. They returned and found a doctor who fixed Xuma's face.

CHAPTER 4

The streets were empty after being crowded on Saturday. Xuma and Johannes walked up and down the empty street. They left Johannesburg behind them and in front of them were the towering peaks of the min-damp. They ever found themselves at the mines.

For Xuma, the day was strange. Stranger than any day he had ever known. There was the rumbling noise and the shouting and explosions and the trembling of the earth. Xuma was scaredened.

When the whistle blew for the workers to stop work for food, one of the men called Nana asked Xuma to eat with him. He divined his food and wave Xuma half. When they had finished Nana stretched himself full-length on the ground and slept.

The men who had gone underground that morning came up. Xuma watched them coming and shading their eyes against the light. Xuma asked Nana if it is dark underground. But Nana laughed at Xuma.
Xuma looked up quickly when he hear Johannes voice. Johannes had a confrontation with one of the white men. He called Xuma who flung his spade and followed him. Johannes took Xuma to the shed of the mine doctor.

Xuma stripped and lay on the long table. The doctor examined him while Chris and Paddy watched. Johannes led the way to the washing place for the mine boys. He pushed a few men out of the way and the men made place for them.

They went in and washed and set off for Malay Camp.

CHAPTER 5
When they got to Leah's place, a group of women were just leaving and Leah was at the gate watching them go. Leah welcomed them. Johannes went inside the house leaving Xuma and Leah outside to talk.
Leah told Xuma about life in the city. She said "to live in the city you must be hard. And money must be your friend.

There was a long silence between them. Rosita who lived across the way had turned on her gramophone and came on her veranda. She called Leah from across.

Leah and Xuma got startled. They got up and went inside the house.

Xuma was offered food, finished eating and left the room. He felt dissatisfied and unhappy. He went on the veranda and watched the street. Maisy came out and joined him. On the corner of the street, under the light of the lamp, a group of men and women formed a ring. And in the center of the ring a couple danced and made signs to each other as they mimed.

Xuma and Maisy joined the ring. When they got home, Xuma sat on his bed and held his hands. He thought about Eliza for a while. He blew out the candle and sat in the dark. As soon as he lit his cigarette, there was a knock at the door. He responded and it was Eliza's voice.

CHAPTER 6

Xuma had left Leah's place and lived in a room in Malay Camp for three months now. Eliza is now like a devil in Xuma's blood and he did not want to go to Leah's place again to see Leah for the fear that he should meet Eliza. As he sat alone he longed to see all the people he left at Leah's place but for the fear of Eliza he would not go.

It was Saturday night and in spite of the cold the streets were crowded. But it was not as it had been that first Saturday when he had gone walking with Joseph. He went up the street and walked in the direction of the heart of Johannesburg. He near the heart of Johannesburg and the people grew fewer. There were more white people now and they were different. They were not his people so he did not give attention to what they did or said.

Xuma saw some cakes in a window and stopped to look at them. He felt a tap on his shoulder and when he turned it was a policeman. Without a word Xuma gave his pass to the policeman for inspection. As the policeman goes, Xuma traveled on up the street. The crowd on the street was thick that it was difficult for Xuma to move among them. The only place that Xuma could be free was underground in the mines. There he was a master and knew the way.

Xuma met his white man, Paddy, who was with a woman. Paddy led Xuma a little way down the street and showed him where he lived. Xuma looked around Paddy's house. He had never seen a place like that before. Paddy and Xuma sat down while the woman came in with three glasses. They raised their glasses and cheered Xuma. However, Xuma kept on thinking about Paddy's woman.

The atmosphere at Paddy's house made Xuma thought he knows what Eliza wants. Paddy came in with food and when they had finished eating they drank more wine. Xuma and Paddy talked about the mines. Paddy took the things away. And Xuma forgot that they were white and even spoke to the woman.

On his return, Paddy asked his woman what she thinks about Xuma. The woman replied "he is just a mine boy". The man and his woman arguably extensively about Xuma as the woman spoke favourably about Xuma. Paddy looked at her. His face clouded. And Di got up and went into the kitchen but the argument continued.
Xuma was glad to be away from the two white people. It had been uncomfortable there. Only when he had been with the woman had he felt all right. He crossed the street and went his way back to Malay Camp.

Gradually he left the heart of the city behind him.

He turned down Jeppe Street where he came across people standing at the lower down the street. A man being chased by the police has climbed a rooftop. The roof sloped steeply. One wrong move and the man would be plunged down, either to death or a broken body. Fear rose from the crowd. The man had lost his hold and was slowly sliding down. For a minute the man was in space. Then with a dull thud, he fell to the ground. But the doctor was there to administrator help.

The doctor tried to lift the man up but could not. Xuma however stepped forward but the policeman tightened his grip on his club and washed it from side to side. Xuma lifted the man. The first policeman prodded Xuma with his club. Xuma got up. His body trembled and bunched his fist into hard ball.

Xuma picked up the wounded man to the doctor's car. The doctor pleaded with Xuma to go with him to help him.

At the other end of Malay Camp the doctor folded up. Between them they carried the man into a house. A colored woman met them at the door. They carried the man into the surgery where the doctor worked on the man. Xuma sat on a little chair and watched.

The wounded man was revived. The man expressed fear that the police would arrest him.

The doctor and Xuma left him behind as they went for some tea. The two men entered a room where Xuma felt as he had felt in the place of the Red One.

Emily reported that the wounded man had escaped through the window. The doctor got up and went to the surgery while the others followed. The doctor spoke harshly to Xuma. This made Xuma felt hurt. He was angry but more the anger he felt hurt. He turned abruptly and walked to the door.

An Introduction to CNC Turning Machines and How They Can Help Boost Productivity

For those that are not sure of what CNC turning machines are, these devices are machines that would make your milling, drilling and machining tasks a lot easier with the help of Computer Numerical Control (CNC). Highly thought-after in the world of manufacturing and processing of components, these machines are able to produce precise, accurate parts and components in fast and cost-effective manner. Some of the parts that are manufactured precisely through the use of these devices include aerospace components, automobile parts and many other different components. If you are unsure of whether you need these CNC turning machines or not for your business, going through the benefits of these devices and exploring how they can help to boost productivity might help you decide.

Wondering how CNC turning and milling machines can help enhance your productivity and increase your profit margins? Here are some of the reasons how:

1. CNC-based machines work based on CAD / CAM software that can produce and manufacture large output numbers without any compromises in terms of precision or accuracy. In return, you would have an advantage over your competitors that do not own such machines, as they would be limited by the limitations of manual labor. One good example is the outstanding capacity of these CNC milling and turning machines to perform multi-axis cutting processes, for instance a machine can work on 5 or 6 different axis, so you can produce fine and precise components when you own such a machine


2. You would be able to save your design and re-fabricate the same design over and over again when required. The utilization of CAD / CAM software allows this to happen, so you would save plenty of time once you have a design saved, all you have to do is retrieve the design and start manufacturing


3. These CNC turning machines come with good waste and chip management modules, so you could rest assured that you will minimize waste and your device would also be able to manage your wastage well


4. By owning a CNC turning machine, you are also making your plant environment a lot safer to work within. Instead of exposing your workers to the dangers of cutting, milling, drilling and other machining processes, let the machine take all the danger and shield your workers from such dangers. Your machine can also work for long hours without much issues, so instead of having a manual worker perform the same task (he would be given to fatigue), opt for a machine to do the task instead. You would automatically increase your productivity rate!


5. You would be able to produce a wide range of products without much restrictions when you own a CNC turning machine. When you are able to manufacture different products with varying levels of complexity and difficulty, you have found yourself a niche in the marketplace to distinguish yourself from your competitors

CNC turning machines are suddenless expensive, so if you can not afford these machines, consider outsourcing the processes instead and continue to reap the benefits. All the best!

Activated Carbon/Charcoal Air Filters: How Long Do They Really Last?

That's a great question. A lot of air purifiers/air cleaners have activated carbon filters to help remove chemicals, odors, smoke, etc, and sometimes it's hard to tell if it's still working or not or exactly when you need to change them. The manufacturers usually give a suggested time frame for changing the filters, but then state that how long an activated carbon filter lasts really depends on the amount of pollutants in the area, which is a little confusing.

A good rule of thumb is to change out all filters, HEPA and activated carbon/charcoal filters once per year, especially if you're really sensitive to indoor air pollution. If you're extremely sensitive, don't take a chance-change your filters any time symptoms even begin to reappear.

For the rest of us that may not be able to tell if we're really sensitive or not, but still want a better idea of how long our activated carbon/charcoal filters last and really when to change them, there is a way to 'test' it-by how well it is still removing odors and smells.

Military grade carbon in gas masks, and in good carbon/charcoal air purifier filters work by absorbing or attracting airborne chemical residues in the air. And since odors and smells also come from airborne chemical molecules and residues, if an activated carbon/charcoal filter in your air purifier is still working well, it should be able to mostly or completely remove an odor or smell in a matter of minutes, right?

So, one way to 'test' your activated carbon/charcoal air filter is to put your air purifier either in the kitchen after you've finished cooking, making coffee, or spray a little air freshener or cologne into the air around you, then turn the air purifier on high for 15 minutes or so. If the smell goes away completely or is very noticeably reduced, the activated carbon/charcoal filter is probably still doing its job trapping the airborne chemical molecules responsible for the smell.

You can test the filter again later and if it takes longer to get rid of the odors, that tells you that the carbon is 'filling' up and the air is needing to circulate through the air purifier a few more times to become clean. True military grade carbon or charcoal filters (as in Austin Air purifiers) will do a better job and last longer, but once you begin to notice that odors aren't going away like they used to, that carbon filter is probably 'full' and needs to be changed to make sure you and your family are still breathing clean air.

It is very important, however, if you're using an air cleaner for severe health issues, chemical sensitivities, or in an industrial application where hazardous airborne chemicals are present, to replace the carbon filters or at least install fresh bulk carbon on schedule or a little before to ensure than the air cleaner isn't circulating more pollutants than normal because the carbon filter is saturated and just blowing polluted air through the unit.

There are also various electronic and saturation / color change type chemical and VOC detectors and for any industrial applications where dangerous vapors or gases are present, we highly recommend using those with your air cleaner to let you know when the filter has stopped removing the pollutants, or if the air cleaner isn't sufficiently removing them.

7 Thai Phrases You Should Learn to Impress a Thai Girl

So, you've decided to take my advise and find a Thai girlfriend. Great! That is the first step to a very happy life for you. So the first thing is to go out and find a girl. My past articles have given some great advise on how to do that and there will be plenty more advise in the future. But once you do find that special Thai girl, you will want to impress her by knowing a few words / phrases that will come in handy when impressing your new Thai beauty.

Today, I'll go over 7 Thai words / phrases that you should know when dating or trying to date a girl either online or when traveling to Thailand. Keep in mind that these are rough English pronunciations to the actual Thai words. The good news is that most Thai girls can read at least a little English and will be able to understand these English written Thai words and phrases if you are chatting online using IM or on Thai dating websites. Let's get started!

1. The first thing you should learn is to tell your Thai girl that she looks beautiful. This can be said as the following: Sway mak. The word "sway" means beautiful and "mak" translates into very. Alternately, you can say: "Narak mak" which translates to "very cute".

2. Next, you should know what she might reply to you when you tell here she is beautiful. She may just say "hob khun ka" which is Thai for "thank you". Or she may be sassy and say "pak waan" which means "sweet mouth". This is a cute and flirty way of a Thai girl that means she does not fully believe your sweet words to her.

3. If you are just meeting your Thai lady, you may want to ask her if she already has a boyfriend or kick, To do this, say: "Khun me faen mai?" This literally translates to: "you have boyfriend?"

4. When you are starting to get serious with your Thai girlfriend, it may be time to start calling her by the name that Thai ladies love. The word is "tirak". When you call her this, she's literally melt with happiness. But just be sure that you mean it first!

5. If you are talking to a girl and it's late, you might want to tell her "sweet dreams". To do this you can say: "Faan dee". She'll really like that and go to sleep thinking of you. Trust me.

6. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly is the first night you go on a date. If you are in Thailand, make sure to go to a nice romantic restaurant and bring a bottle of wine. Raise you glass and say "chon gaow". If you are drinking from a bottle, say "chon cuord". "Gaow" means glass and "cuord" means bottle.

7. The final phrase you will want to learn when dating a Thai girl is the big "L" word. To say I love you, simply say "Pom rak khun". I'll leave the rest up to you!

Airport Parking and Vehicle Servicing

Parking your car at any airport can be a stressful time and even more so at Heathrow Airport the UK's busiest airport. If you are going on holiday or away on business and are flying from Heathrow Airport, you need a company who will take the stress, worry and hassle away by offering an excellent, professional and personal unique service combining airport parking & providing your car with a part or full service while you are away.

People incur numerous problems when parking their car at an airport including: Booking a local parking facility prior to their trip away not to mention the high costs involved especially in peak season, making your way to the terminal can be a task in itself. Waiting for the for the shuttle at both the beginning and the end of your trip and last but not least returning to your car after your holiday to find it is covered in dirt and dust or worse still does not even start.

Call a company who take clients directly to the terminal building before taking the clients vehicle to their fully equipped car servicing and storage facility located only minutes from London's Heathrow Airport. Search Google for a Company who will then proceed to carry out all the necessary repairs, maintenance or car servicing required by you. You should rest assured that your car is in good hands and securely stored at their secure concessions. All vehicles should be returned to clients in a pristine and excellent working order including a safe journey home. This takes all the hassle out of parking at the airport. Find a Company who offer a complete professional service dedicated to your individual needs and offer a complete range of services to all major makes and models of car.

These unique meet and greet services offer free collection and delivery while you have peace of mind that your car will be delivered personally to you so you do not have to worry about it getting scratched, damaged, dirty or unable to start so you can enjoy your holiday. If you wish to take advantage of this unique service and have you car serviced while you are away,

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.

How to Make Email Marketing Works for Your Business

Topic 1 ~ Your Email Subject Lines ~

How To Write A Good E-mail Subject Lines That Works?

Here are the 5 tips:

1. Ask a question. One of the best ways to get a reader's attention is to ask a question. But like a trial lawyer questioning a witness on the stand, make sure it 'll get you the response you're looking for. "What's the best way to grow your business?" is a great subject line for business owners. After all, what business owner would not want to grow his or her business? Or let's say you run a health club. An e-mail with the subject line, "How can you lose 5 pounds in one month?" would certainly be compelling. It's important your question to be relevant to your audience.

2. Be a tease. A clever subject line can be enticing. When it's done right, reader curiosity is piqued. They want to know more - and they'll open your e-mail. Writing a teaser-style subject line requires some creativity, and your content needs to deliver. A company that sells high-definition TVs could use the subject line, "You're not going to believe your eyes" as a teaser to introduce a new addition to their product line.

3. Tell it like it is. Often, what works best is to say exactly what you want your reader to know. Examples of this straightforward approach are, "Sale on all sweaters this weekend," "Master jazz pianist plays live this Friday" and "The seven secrets of a profitable business." This just-the-facts approach works especially well when you can appeal directly to your audience's interests. It's also the best approach to use when you send a newsletter.

4. Remember "WIIFM". When a person gets your e-mail, the first thing they consider is "what's in it for me?" They have a decision to make. Do they open your e-mail, leave it for later or delete it? If there is not something about the subject line that lets them know why it's worth their precious time to see what's inside, then the choice will be clear. Keep WIIFM in mind when creating every aspect of your e-mails, including the offer, content, images - and most definitely the subject line. It's all about them. They know that; just make sure you know it, too.

5. Get personal. The more you can make each contact feel you're speaking directly to them, the more effective your communication will be. Whatever style of subject line you use, you can make it personal by using the word "you." Professional copywriters know the secret of using this powerful little word. Just look at the advertisements, mail and e-mail you receive. A few examples are, "Find the right swimsuit for you," "You can save 50 percent on travel," and "You're look phenomenal in a custom-tailored suit." "You" is ideal, but "your" works too.

6. Not sure which approach is right for you? Try them all, and then show a friend or colleague to get their feedback. Pick the one you believe will be most effective for your audience. Whichever approach you choose, it's always worth spending the time and effort to write a great subject line. Because if your readers do not open your e-mail, they'll never have the chance to read the important message you've created for them inside.

Topic 2 ~ Increase Click-Through Rate (CTR) ~

How to Increases Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

Here are some guidelines:

1. Include a feature, a benefit, and an advantage in the opening. This needs to be used in a subtle way, but in the opening you're really doing a small marketing job for this issue of your email newsletter. Highlight an article or two that are important, explain what you're providing the readers that they will not get elsewhere, and tell them what the benefit will be. A great example is something like "Nokia and Sprint announced second quarter earnings today. Learn what our Wireless Week experts say about the results, and what effect you can expect them to have on the industry at large."

2. Put the email newsletter in the context of your readers' day. This goes hand in hand with the last point. Your readers are busy, and if you can make a compelling case for why they should stop what they are doing and take a few minutes now to read your email newsletter, you'll get them in. We recommend editors reference important events, upcoming trade shows, or other things that say to the reader "You will find it worthwhile to stop and read this email newsletter now, because the information in it will help you stay on top of your business."

3. Keep it fresh. Do not craft a "perfect paragraph" and use it issue after issue after issue. One of the keys to success is to keep the copy fresh and highlight items in that issue of the email newsletter. If you use the same generic language repeatedly, people will stop reading it and it'll be a waste of your time.

4. Keep it short. This is critical. We recommend no more than two to three sentences - just enough to get them interested and pull them in to read the rest of your email newsletter.

Try it out and see the results! This is just one of the simple things you can do to engage your reader and optimize your CTR.

Topic 3 ~ Killer Email Sales Letter ~

How to Write Killer Email Sales Letter That Get Results?

Here are what we've found works best. Use these tips correctly and your results will skyrocket.

1. Your email "from" sender line should be your brand name or company name and stay consistent. Use your own personal name only if that is your brand image.

2. Send emails only when you have something to say that will benefit the reader. No fluff. No filler. You must be relevant. If you can not be, do not send an email until you have something beneficial to say.

3. Start your emails with the specific benefit the reader can get from your message. You have no more than 3 seconds to pass the crucial "what's in it for me?" test.

4. The copywriting tone and language should be personal and conversational, instead of stuffy and "corporate".

5. Make a specific offer to the reader and, if possible, include a short deadline by which he must respond to get it.

6. Use as much copy as is needed to fully pile on all the benefits the reader will get by ordering, answer objections, create urgency, and close the sale.

7. Test your subject lines and offers on small segments of your list before you send the email to your entire list.

8. Include "Email this to a friend" service in all your communications for pass along and viral marketing.

Topic 4 ~ Good Call-to-Action ~

Get More Clicks With a Good Call-to-Action!

The call-to-action is a determining factor of your click-through rate. It is an important component of your email copy because it answers three important questions for the recipient. They are:

1. What you want them to do

2. Why they should do it, and

3. How to take that next step.

Whatever action you want your recipients to take, you can make it happen more often with a good call-to-action. First, decide what you want them to do:

1. Buy something

2. Sign up for a service

3. Fill out a form

4. Read an article or get more information

5. Visit your website or store

6. Make an appointment

Etc ...

Then, make sure you incorporate these 6 characteristics to get the results you're looking for. Make your call-to action:

1. Visible - People read, react, make decisions and take action differently. Some make decisions right away ("You had me at hello.") And some need more details ("I'm from Missouri."). Place call-to-action links in the beginning, middle and end of the email so that recipients can click whenever they are ready.

2. Clear - Stick to simple words, short phrases, bulleted benefits and paragraphs of 1-3 short sentences. Include appropriate graphics and cut the clutter by making effective use of white space.

3. Compelling - Use action-oriented verbs and phrases: "buy now," "call today," "save" and so on.

4. Rewarding - Offer an incentive or reward for action. For example, "Act now and also receives ...," or "the First 100 responders will be entered into a raffle to win ..." The giveaway, or prize, you choose should be closely related to your product or service. That way, you will be targeting customers who are interested in what you have to offer, not just the latest gadget.

5. Urgent - The longer an email sits in an inbox, the less likely it is to be acted on. Create a sense of urgency to get a more immediate response. Try limiting the offer to a specific time period, to the "first 50 customers," "while supplies last," etc.

6. Direct - Your call-to-action links should go to the appropriate page on your website with more details on the specific product or service you're promoting. If you do not have a website, the call-to-action might be store locations to visit or a number to call for an appointment.

Keep in mind that, in addition to repeating your call-to-action, you can vary your call-to-action to appeal to different types of buyers (and to fit your sales cycle). For example: "Click here to buy now" will naturally work better with loyal customers. The softer, "Click here to learn more" may be better for newer prospects.

Topic 5 ~ Avoid Common Pitfalls ~

Read Your Email Message Backwards to Avoid Common Pitfalls

Here are some common problems to look out for:

1. Misspelled words - It's a good idea to spell-check a document, but it's not enough. A spell checker will not catch every error.

2. Wrong word used - This is why a spell checker is not enough. A spell checker will only flag words it does not recognize. It can not tell if a legitimate word is used incorrectly. Some words commonly confused: accept, except; your, you're; then, than; there, their, they're; cite, site, sight; lay, lie; loose, loosen, lose. Also, look out for missing "r" in the word "your." It's easy to overlook a sentence such as "Visit our Web site now to receive you free copy."

3. Grammar error - Again, if you know you're not a good writer, have someone else look your writing for grammatical errors. Mistakes make you look bad.

4. Punctuation error - This is another area where you'll benefit from a review by someone who knows their stuff. If you're determined to do it yourself, purchase a good grammar or style book. One of the most common punctuation problems: Too many stupid commas!

5. Vague or confusing statement - Make sure every sentence is crystal-clear. You do not want your promotional message to raise more questions than it answers.

6. Ilogical statement - Read over what you have written slowly. At the end of each paragraph, ask yourself: "Did that make sense?" Rewrite so that it does.

Topic 6 ~ Frequency of Sending Emails ~

How Often (Frequency) Should You Send Email?

There's no quick answer to the frequency question. It depends on the goals for your email and the type of content you send. Some rough guidelines:

1. Mail at least once a month. Mail less often than this, and you risk being forgotten by recipients. Monthly is the bare minimum if you want to keep your brand or company name top of mind (a common email goal).

2. Let content be your guide. Look at what you provide readers and you'll get a feel for proper frequency. Analyze how often the information changes and how quickly readers must receive it to act on it.

3. Work within your resources. A daily email requires many more resources than a monthly. Better a well-done monthly email than shoddy weekly or daily. It's recommended to start with a monthly. Once that's going smoothly, they can think about moving to weekly. You need to walk before you can run!

4. Watch for trends. Declining response, open, and click-through rates can be signs of list fatigue. Although some decrease is normal, watch carefully and cut back frequency if you see a problem. Do not assume if the unsubscribe rate is stable you're OK. Many people prefer to forward email directly to their delete folder rather than unsubscribe.

Topic 7 ~ Understanding Spam Filters ~

Understanding Spam Filters to Avoid Your Emails Get Junked!

If you send email campaigns long enough, you will inevitably run into spam filter issues. On average, you can expect 10-20% of your emails to just get lost in cyberspace, mostly due to overzealous spam filters. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. If you want to avoid getting your emails junked by spam filters, you have to understand how they work.

Generally speaking, spam filters look at a long list of criteria to judge whether or not your email is junk. For example, they might look for spammy phrases like "CLICK HERE!" Egypt "FREE! BUY NOW!". They'll assign points each time they see one of those phrases. Certain criteria get more points than others. Here's a sample of criteria from Spam Assassin, one of the most popular spam filters out there:

o Talks about lots of money (.93 points)

o Describes some sort of breach (.32 points)

o Looks like mortgage pitch (.297 points)

o Contains urgent matter (.288 points)

o Money back guarantee (2.051 points)

o Why Pay More? (1.249 points)

It's easy to use "spammy" keywords in your email without even knowing it. Here are some common ways marketers unwittingly trigger spam filters with their campaigns:

1. Using spammy phrases, like "Click here!" Egypt "Once in a lifetime opportunity!" too many times in your email. Sometimes, you can not avoid phrases like "FREE SHIPPING!" but use them sparingly, and do not do anything else risky.

2. Going crazy with exclamation points !!!!!!

3. USING ALL CAPS, WHICH IS LIKE YELLING IN EMAIL

4. Coloring their fonts bright red, or green

5. Coding sloppy HTML (such as converting a Microsoft Word file to HTML)

6. Creating an HTML email that's nothing but one big image, with no text (since spam filters can not read images, they assume you're a spammer that's trying to trick 'em)

7. Using the word "Test" in the subject line (agencies run into this all the time, when sending drafts to clients for approval)

Topic 8 ~ Why Email Marketing Does not Work? ~

If Your Email Marketing Does not Work, Think Again Why?

Before you arrive at the faulty conclusion that email marketing does not work, let's look at this from a different perspective for a moment that would make your emails ineffective.

First there's what you are writing in the body of the email. If this is your first attempt to get in touch with a prospect, what are you putting in the email? A dissertation? If it's longer than one or two paragraphs, it's too long. Look at your emails like an initial cold call. You need to laser in and deliver a compelling opening statement that's going to grab their interest and stimulate a conversation. Because there's no one to cut you off in an email or stop you from persistent pontification, people have a tendency to ramble on and on in an email, giving the prospect the life story of the product or service they want them to consider. Keep it short and focus on the one or two benefits, opening up the opportunity to have a dialogue. That's it.

Second, are you sending attachments in the first email? No attachments! It's hard enough sending an unsolicited email to a prospect. Now you're adding more barriers and increasing the opportunities of your email winding up in their spam box or junk email folder. Some people have filters on their email that if an attachment is sent it automatically gets deleted. No attachment until that information in the attachment is solicited by the person.

Third, html or text? Once again, with all the email filters people use today, you will increase your odds by sending a text message only rather than trying to get fancy with formatting, graphics and pictures. The prospect really does not care about how beautiful your email looks; they care about the core message. Beside, they will never even get a chance to see your beautiful masterpiece in an html email if it's winding up in the trash.

Finally, you are using way too many spam words. As mentioned, the largest enemy to email marketing or selling via email is the additional security that companies and individuals have on their network or computer. As such, the specific words you are using in the body of the email can be the culprit who is sending your email directly into the trash or spam box. In other words, you are using words that are often identified is spam and in turn, you email is getting flagged and deleted. Not even eye contact! The prospect is not getting a chance to, at the very least, see your email let alone read it and have a chance to respond accordingly.

Ending ~ Please Forward ~