Monday, November 9, 2009

How To Select The Best Broadband Internet Providers

Everyone who is on the internet knows that there are a lot of choices when it comes to broadband internet providers. There are so many sources that it can be baffling to even imagine. It is a trade that continues to expand and new companies are challenging against the big companies and from time to time they can find their niche. Broadband internet providers compete against each other for a share of the countless people who make use of the internet. Some are gradually choked out of the industry and others carry on to get bigger all the time. It is a distinctive industry to be in for the reason that the costs for the different companies are roughly the same and the fee that they charge to their customers is very close too. What people should be looking for is a company that is reliable and offers good service at a reasonable price.

There are so many broadband internet providers existing that if the service isn't up to same level the user can always switch to a different provider. Some of the providers are big name companies and others might be little recognized players. The services can be just as good with a small provider and the customer might even save some cash. The other pleasant thing about using a smaller company is that the customer service might be superior with people willing to spend extra time with the customer. All of this can amount to a great experience and good internet connections.

Where To Find Cheap Broadband


For those who are still on dial-up service, it may appear that working with your old Internet service is a pain, but broadband still isn't economical enough. Those feelings are comprehensible, since fees for dial-up service are going down and broadband service all seems to be around the same price. However, that 's no reason to give up in the quest for cheap broadband service. If you know where to look, you should be able to save money on your Internet service and still take pleasure in the fast speeds of broadband. Of course, the simplest way to locate cheap broadband is to look out for sales and membership drives by the broadband companies. Frequently, if you're willing to go into a service contract for a year or more, many broadband companies will offer you a deal on the monthly cost. That alone can mean considerable savings through the year. Look into websites that evaluate broadband services and use that to easily acquire an idea of the range of broadband services. You'll be amazed just how many companies put forward cheap broadband packages.

Some Tips In Saving Money From Your Broadband Expenses

1) Try Getting A Package Deal

If you already have a mobile phone, cable TV or even a regular phone line, consider checking with your providers for these services to find if there are package deals on broadband service plus the services you already have. As so many phone and cable companies are also Internet providers, there is likelihood that they have some kind of contract to help you save. If you're keen to keep working with them for your Internet service, you'll have another way to get cheap broadband.

2) Accept Less Bandwidth

Sometimes the offer you see on the advertisements isn't always the cheapest offer. Many will attempt to advertise ou a faster Internet connection than you need. By selecting a slower, lower-bandwidth connection, you can always save on the cost of your Internet service. Think practically about what you need. If you would like faster surfing for e-mail or web shopping, you don't need the bandwidth you would otherwise require if you were watching videos over the Internet. Even slower speeds can be a considerable jump over dial-up speeds. Start at the entry-level speed and take pleasure in cheap broadband.

3) Do Away With Other Bills

If you have a dial-up service and a second phone line for it so callers don't get a busy signal, you should factor that into your Internet purchase. By getting broadband service, which doesn't impede the phones, you can chuck out that second line. When you prefer that option, it still seems as if you're getting cheap broadband service while still getting excellent bandwidth. Shop around, try to find ways to save with your other utilities, and only purchase as much as you require, and you'll realize that it 's simple to get cheap broadband services

Saturday, October 24, 2009

European MPs votes on new telecoms law

A major overhaul of telecoms law across Europe is due on 24 November as the European Parliament votes on new rules.

The package comes amid controversial laws being introduced in France and the UK to cut off persistent illegal downloaders.

Protecting internet access and users' rights was a high priority for MEPs hammering out the Telecoms Package.

Many critics say the eventual compromise solution is too weak and will not prevent disconnections.

Other measures in the telecoms package include an aim to harmonise the way mobile broadband is rolled out across the EU, which would help in the push to achieve 100% broadband coverage in Europe by 2013.

It also seeks to improve co-operation between member states' telecoms regulators and make it easier for incumbent operators to both provide and buy network services.

Two other parts of the telecoms package have already been approved.

A law on citizens' rights aims to improve how quickly customers can change their mobile telephone number and strengthen personal data and privacy protection by, for example, allowing users to opt in to the use the cookies.

Fair hearing

Perhaps the most scrutinised part of the package is that which relates to file-sharing.

It comes as individual member states introduce tough penalties for those who download content illegally.

France has introduced a "three strikes" policy for those who share illegal content. If letters fail to stop them, illegal file-sharers risk being disconnected.

And the UK's Digital Economy Bill also seeks to impose technical restrictions, including disconnection, on persistent pirates.

Earlier this month, MEPs agreed on a compromise solution to protect user's rights which read: "A user's internet access may be restricted, if necessary and proportionate, only after a fair and impartial procedure including the user's right to be heard."

What the fair and impartial procedure will mean in practice is, as yet, unclear.

MEPs also agreed that restrictions on a user's internet access can only be taken "with due respect for the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy".

But an earlier amendment which ruled that any application for cutting off internet access must go through a judge was rejected.

Some critics say the compromise is too weak while some lawyers argue that it could put the UK's newly introduced Digital Economy bill at odds with the Telecoms Package.

Meanwhile protests over the UK bill have grown, with 11,000 signing an e-petition against it while others predicted "civil unrest" as a result of the bill.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Three Technology Necessities For The Online Student

So, you've made the decision to return to school and finally finish that degree. Great! With the abundance of online degree programs available today, there is no reason that you shouldn't be able to find something that not only helps you achieve your goals but also is fun at the same time.

Regardless of which school or program you choose, technology will play a significant role in the ability to complete all the coursework and degree requirements. Now, while it is not necessary to have the latest computer and equipment, the student experience will be significantly enhanced with use of at least some of the most up-to-date tech advancements available.So what technology might be considered a necessity for that student experience?

Broadband Internet Service -

Now, this may seem to many to be a "no brainer", but the reality is that many people online today are still using dial-up service. While dial-up will work in some cases, your online degree program may very well require that you have high-speed internet access. This will make downloading class material and participating in live, online discussions much faster and enjoyable. Once you see for yourself, going back to dial-up will scare you.

Internet Phone Service -

I know many of you may be thinking that this one is not a necessity. However, I would disagree for two main reasons. First, with the increasing utilization of broadband internet service, the use of internet phone service has continued to increase in popularity both here and abroad. With services such as Skype, more and more people will be using the internet as a medium for 2-way voice dialogue. If you are attending an international-based online degree program, this may very well be a necessity.

Secondly, the use of internet phone service is relatively inexpensive. Again, with services like Skype and Vonage, you can talk as long as you want for one low flat rate. In fact, you can even call many international locations with no extra charge. For a student who is financially strapped, the ability to talk long-distance for very little is quite a necessity.

Digital Audio Player -

One of the advantages of an online degree program is that you can often tailor the program to fit into your schedule. Because of the fact that you can go to class almost any time and do the work when you want, it is important that you be diligent in proper time management. One significant part of that is maximizing "down time". Many online courses utilize audio and video files that can be produced by the instructor and then downloaded by the student. Using an mp3 player (or something similar), you have the ability to download the course material and then listen to it when you want to. This could include in the car, at the gym, etc. The point is that with use of a digital audio player, you can stay in control and yet maximize your learning opportunities.

Please understand that while we have listed the above technology as necessities, it 's availability and/or affordability to you will not determine your online education success alone. These three technology necessities will greatly enhance the educational experience, but your success will also depend on your ability to stay focused, study hard and effectively manage your time. As with many technological improvements designed to make our lives easier, it is not difficult to become distracted and spend countless hours focused on things such as entertainment. However, your job as a student will be to minimize the distractions and accomplish the goal of obtaining your degree.

Let technology aid you, not hinder you.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Understanding Streaming Video

There are two ways to view media such as video or audio on the internet and that is downloading and streaming video.

Downloading

When you download a file the entire file is saved on your computer 's hard drive, which you then open and view at your leisure. The one major advantages is having quicker access to different parts of the file once downloaded, but it has the big disadvantage of you having to wait for the whole file to completely download before any of it can be viewed. If the file is quite small this may not be too much of a problem for you, but for large files it can tax your patience.

The easiest way to provide downloadable video files is to use a simple hyperlink to the file on your site or server. A slightly more advanced method is to embed the file in a web page on your site using special HTML code.

Making video files available this way is known as HTTP streaming or HTTP delivery. HTTP means Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, and is the same protocol used to deliver web pages. For this reason it is easy to set up and use on almost any website, without requiring additional software or special hosting plans.

Streaming

Streaming video works a bit differently, you or your visitors, the end users can start watching the file almost as soon as it begins downloading. The file is sent to the user in a constant stream, ideally, and the user watches it as it arrives. The main advantage with this method is that no waiting is involved, depending on the download speed of your service. Streaming media has additional advantages such as being able to broadcast live events, sometimes referred to as a webcast or netcast.

True streaming video must be delivered from a specialized streaming server.

Progressive Downloading

There is also a hybrid method known as progressive download. In this method the video file is downloaded but begins playing as soon as a portion of the file has been received. This simulates true streaming, but doesn't have all the advantages.

HTTP Streaming Video

This is the simplest and cheapest way to stream video from a website. Small to medium sized websites are more likely to use this method than the more expensive streaming servers.

For this method you don't need any special type of website or host, just a host server which recognises common video file types (most standard hosting accounts do this). Bear in mind you can't stream live video, since the HTTP method only works with complete files stored on the server. This method is very popular and will be used on this site and video syndication sites such as YouTube.

Create a Streaming Video File

There are many streaming video formats and the main one are probably familiar to you already. The most popular are Macromedia Flash, RealMedia, Windows Media, Quicktime and MPEG.

Each format has its pro and cons and people have their own preference. Ideally you should have files in all formats but this is far from practical and it is best to choose one or two at the most. Flash is the format recommended on this site and the Flash Player is usually found on the majority of computers connected to the internet.

There are two ways to create stored streaming video files

Once you have created you video in, let 's say, .avi format then you need to prepare it for uploading to your web site ready for streaming by one of the following methods.

1. Use a conversion utility program. This takes an existing digital video file (avi) and converts it into the streaming format of your choice, in this case Flash video.
2. Export streaming files from video editing software such as Adobe Premiere or Ulead Video Studio.

Conversion Utilities

A conversion utility is a stand alone program which imports a video clip and exports it in a different format. Examples include RealNetworks Real Producer External Link and Sorenson Squeeze External Link. There are simpler, cheaper and even free software programs for converting videos into Flash format which are perfectly adequate for the scope of this web site.

Basically, you simply open a file and select which which format to save it as. You can set various parameters to optimise the final video. The program will then chug away for some time while it makes the conversion.

Friday, September 25, 2009

How To Protect your computer in A World Of Computer Viruses

To stay healthy in a computer virus world, there are several steps to take. First, be careful with all email. If you use Outlook or Outlook Express, turn off the scripting feature. Make sure that anti virus software checks all of your incoming and outgoing email, and don't open an email with attachments unless you know for sure who sent it to you and why. It is always better to be safe than sorry, so if in doubt, don't open the attachment. Viruses and worms will attach themselves to your address book and replicate themselves by sending copies of themselves to everyone you know and commonly email, and they won't know not to open it because it will look as though it comes from you. Next, keep the anti virus software up to date. There are many good programs out there to stop viruses. McAfee 's , Norton, AVG and others work well. But, you need to keep them up to date. Most anti virus programs allow you to go to their web site and download updates on a regular basis. Some of them in fact can even be set to do the downloading and updating for you automatically on a regular basis. Viruses change all the time and the updates are set for the new viruses to keep you safe so be sure to update. Use a router for safety 's sake. A router will block your IP address and prevent many viruses from reaching you or any other computers on your network. This will work very well if you are on a cable modem or DSL, but is also useful for those who are on dial up. Routers are low in price, ranging from 25 pounds for a cable modem or DSL router to 100 pounds for a dial up router. Switch to software that is not as commonly used. Microsoft makes great products and is in common use, but Microsoft is also the biggest target out there for hackers. Also, if you switch to another browser, Netscape Navigator,Firefox or Chrome for example, you will avoid some virus problems. Switching from Outlook to something like Thunderbird or Calypso for your email or using web based email like Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail from Microsoft, which keeps the email storage away from your computer and also includes virus checking software is worth considering. There are many good email programs out there and many good browsers. Try several and see which you are most comfortable with. Next use a firewall. There are many good firewalls out there. Windows XP comes with a built in firewall. Zone Alarm has a free version. Other good firewalls are available at reasonable costs and many have thirty day free trials so you can check one out and see if it works well for you. A firewall can be your first line of defense against computer viruses. Install one, especially if you have broadband, like T1, cable or DSL access to the internet. Going on the Internet without a firewall is like walking into combat without a Kevlar helmet and a flak vest to protect your self. Next, backup everything you do. Get yourself a CD or DVD burner if you don't have one already, or a portable external hard drive. Get in the habit of backing your system up on a regular basis so that, if you are hit by a virus, your data is not permanently lost. You'll have a good backup copy of it handy and ready to reinstall. At the very least, email files that you cannot replace, to a friend to keep for you or to a free web based email account for storage. Finally, here 's the bonus tip of the day. Use common sense. Think when you surf. If you don't know someone, be leery of accepting the files they might want to transfer to you. If you want to download software from a site make sure that the site has proper security protocol. Read the instructions. Don't just automatically click from reflex. The brain you have is much smarter than your computer, but you have to use it properly. Use your brain, use your common sense and think. Having anti-virus installed though may not be enough. You may have installed some software that is causing your computer to run more slowly than before, or with time your machine is appearing to be running more slowly
than before , it may be time to give your computer a checkup and remove annoying software a good tool to fix your computer registry settings is Registryfix !
Registryfix will scan your system registry and
hard drive for invalid file and system references.
You can run a free system check by clicking here!
These invalid references may cause system instability, PC errors, constant crashes, and general system slowdowns.

Monday, September 21, 2009

New to Broadband

What is broadband? Broadband is a method of connecting to the Internet. It is called broadband as it provides a high-speed Internet connection when compared with older traditional methods of connecting which are generally termed narrow band (Dial-up). Why are the benefits of broadband ? The benefits of broadband are mainly related to the speed of the connection. If you're used to using dial-up Internet access, you will know that webpages generally take 15 seconds or more to load and downloading e-mails can take a few minutes depending on the size and if there are any attachments. With a broadband internet connection all these things happen much more quickly! You will be able to do many things at once with broadband. Allows instantaneous Internet access due to broadband's "always-on nature". There are no delays due to dialing up and logging in or from having to redial due to busy signals. So how fast is it? The speed of the connection varies based on many different things including where you live and what broadband provider you use. Generally the speed will be in the region of between 512k (512 Kbps) and 10 meg (meg is an abreviation used to mean Mbps - Megabits per second), although faster connections are possible in some areas. How do I get broadband? The first step to getting broadband is to see what is available to you. The most common technology used for a broadband connection in the UK is ADSL (a form of DSL) which is provided using the BT telephone network. This is available to 99.9% of premises in the UK, so you'll more than likely be able to get it. How to choose a Broadband Service Provider Unlike dial-up, broadband is very rarely charged based on the amount of time online. There are two main types of charging schemes used. The first are generally fixed-speed services that are based on the speed of the connection. The other is usage based charging, where you are charged by the amount of data you transfer. Be aware that different broadband providers offer a different quality of service. The adage, "you get what you pay for" is often true. How much data will I use? Downloading lots of music or viewing a lot of video content will increase your usage. The amount of data you transfer depends on what you do. Video is probably one of the main causes of high usage on the Internet. This includes watching movie trailers (or even entire movies), home movies posted on websites like YouTube, or viewing TV over the Internet. Peer-to-peer (P2P) programs such as eDonkey, Kazaa, Limewire and BitTorrent can also be high bandwidth mis-users. So what else do I need? A modem or router is required to connect to the Internet. A modem is a device that connects your computer to the Internet usually using a phone line. A router allows several computers to connect at the same time and can facilitate wireless access. If the ISP you choose offers a modem or router, it might be recommended to get one from them as they can usually assist in configuring the device to work with their service. Check with them to see what level of support they offer before signing up. If you are using broadband over a phone line (ADSL), you will also need a microfilter for each device plugged into a phone socket (This includes fax machines, sky box, everything!). This is a small device that plugs into the phone socket and filters the broadband signal from the telephone signal so that you can use both the phone and broadband at the same time. What now?

If you are new to Broadband or are thinking of getting connected, it may now be a good time to give your computer a checkup and remove annoying software a good tool to fix your computer registry settings is Registryfix !
Registryfix will scan your system registry and
hard drive for invalid file and system references.
You can run a free system check by clicking here!
These invalid references may cause system instability, PC errors, constant crashes, and general system slowdowns.
To summarise,
* You usually need a BT phone line.
* Pick an ISP and a package that suits you
* Choose what hardware to use and where to get it from
* Sign up!
Speed check

Friday, August 14, 2009

What Should I do there’s an unknown Broadband ISP in my house?

You've just moved into your new flat or house and naturally you want to get your PC up and running with Broadband so you can keep in touch with the rest of the world. But when you try to sign up for Broadband, you find that the previous occupant had Broadband already and that your chosen ISP is unable to connect you until the previous occupant's ISP is disconnected and a ‘marker’ removed from the line. Worse, you have no idea who the previous occupant was let alone who that ISP might be. What do you do?
You might think that BT (who still at least provides the physical connection to your house) would be able to help. Not so. Along with the many advantages of deregulated telecoms comes this one. BT has no way to tell which ISP is connected to your phone. Instead you need to contact The Telecom Regulator OFCOM on 0207 9813040. They will give you a reference number for your enquiry, and should clear the existing supplier from the line within seven days. You should then check up with OFCOM everyday till the marker is removed, do not lose your reference number.