Category Archives: Featured

Conference Call Rates Comparison

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If you are considering to sign up a conferencing service, and has no idea which of the conference calling companies has the best to offer, then it might be good that you take into consideration the call rates being offered by each companies as well.

Call rates differ based on different types of conferencing, this guide aims at providing you with a better understanding of the price each conference calling companies has to offer, disregarding the quality and overall feedback of the company in the process.

Comparison is taken from AT Conference’s comparison chart.

Audio Conference Call Rates
Provider Per Minute Rate* Maximum Participants
AT Conference 7.9¢ No Limit**
AT&T Reservationless 10¢ 125
Budget Conferencing 12¢ 99
Conferencecall.com 14¢ 25
Genesys Conferencing 26¢ 100
Intercall 15¢ 125
Premier Global 18¢ 125
Sprint Personal Conferencing 18¢ 30
Verizon Audio Conferencing 16¢ 20

Web conferences rates are shown in the table below:

Web Conferencing Rates
Provider Per Minute Rate* Maximum Participants
AT Conference 15¢ No Limit
All Conferencing 25¢ 96
AT&T Web Conference 25¢ No Limit
Conferencecall.com 17¢ – 20¢ No Limit
Intercall 17¢ 125
Verizon Web Conferencing 25¢ – 28¢ 100

The above list of conference call centers are not exhaustive, and they may not suit or support your need of conferencing. It is also important to take note that these conference calling service provider may operate in the United States only, any international conference calling needs may need to resort to more established companies.

Lastly, conference call prices vary in different area, even when a company claims that the fees needed to make conference calls are next to nothing (some even offering free conference call plans), you will need to be aware of hidden costs like toll-charges and international call charges. A reputable company should thus offer affordable conferencing service by listing out all costs for their clients, avoiding the possibility of future confrontations when there is a different in understanding due to their misleading advertisements.

In Search Of The Best Canon All-In-One Printer

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Recent business and personal needs have prompted me to purchase a new printer — one that can provide me with the capability of printing (of course!), scanning, and copying documents.

Which prompts me the question, just how do you define the best all-in-one printer? I believe that the best is always one that suits all your requirements, and is still affordable to you at the end of the day. There is just no point in me studying through all the available printers and eventually selecting a printer that is way out of my budget.

So, what are the criteria that I am looking for? For most home users and personal business users, you may find my criteria similar to yours.

Why Canon?

Simply put, I love Canon’s printers. They are affordable, their cartridges are widely available, and much cheaper than some other brands. Their maintenance rate is also the lowest among all consumer-grade brands. It is easy to focus on one brand, browsing through the printers and then selecting the printer of your choice.

Color Mode and Quality

The ability of printing color documents has somewhat became a norm for most printers. Most all-in-one printers are inkjet printers and thus it is even more unlikely to come across an all-in-one printer that prints only black ink. So, I am more concerned about the quality it can produce. Printer quality is measured by DPI (dots per inch), technical information aside, just understand that the higher the value, the better the printout quality.

I am not looking for stunning printouts, so something that “just does the job” would be more than sufficient to me.

Printing Speed

Canon uses the more accurately measure IPM (images-per-minute) mechanism to define the speed of a printer, which varies significantly from the PPM (pages-per-minute) mechanism. For non-technical users, just understand that the higher the number, the faster the printing speed.

As I do not normally print documents with urgency, this is something that I will not pay too much attention to.

Auto-Duplex Printing

This, to me, is a much needed feature. Many may not understand or appreciate what auto-duplex brings to home users. As a corporate employee, we are all used to printing full, double-sided documents from our office’s laser printer. For inkjet printers, the story is slightly different. The ability to print on both side of the paper automatically is known as “Auto Duplex Printing”, not all inkjet printers support this function, as most still require you to perform some degree of manual intervention to achieve double-sided printing.

For me, as most of my printouts are double-sided (go green, save the earth!), this is a very important functionality that I will be focusing on.

Scanning and Copier Functionalities

As a home user, as long as the scanning function works, and I am able to photocopy whatever I intend to with a reasonable quality, then I am a happy man.

For those who cares, DPI is again the measuring unit for scanning quality. Also, some may be particularly concerned about the need to connect to a laptop or PC to just get a document scanned. There are some all-in-ones that offer to scan documents and copy to your thumb-drive, which is very convenient indeed.

Wireless Printing

Home users expect printers to be shared among the occupants, and if everyone uses laptops, it will be a painful experience placing the printer at a public place that is accessible by everybody at anytime. The alternative way is to look for a printer with built-in WiFi capability. A WiFi-enabled printer can join your home broadband network, and anyone that is on the network can print documents without needing to physically connect the laptop to the printer.

For me, this is a good option, but not something that is mandatory.

So, what printer can I choose?

Considering all of the above, and the budget I hold, a laser all-in-one printer is definitely out of the question. The range of inkjet all-in-ones at Canon has a more reasonable price tag. One printer that stands out is the Canon Pixma MG5170 – it prints at an excellent speed of 9.7 ipm for mono printouts, has auto duplex printing, and the price is merely SGD 249 (about USD 180).

Printing On The Go

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Printing documents has become one of the most common computer-related action to produce deliverables, be it at business, at school, or even your personal life. We print documents for almost everything.

However, printing has always been fixed at a location — you can’t simply print anytime from anywhere you like — and that used to be true. The invention of portable printers, or mobile printers, for laptops users in particular has taken the world by storm. Business executives who are always on the go can now print high quality color documents as long as they are willing to carry that extra weight with them wherever they go.

Not only mobile workers benefit from portable printers, for small families that do not require printing very frequently, they can simply purchase a mobile printer, bring it out as and when needed, keep them in the drawer while not in use to save space!

As technology advances, the size of the printer no longer has a significant impact on the quality of the printout. Take Canon Pixma i90 for example, with its small size it qualifies for mobility, yet the printout quality is still as stunning as a full-fledge color inkjet printer. However, it is true that such printers come with a hefty price tag, and that is what you pay for actually — mobility with quality.

However, do note that one common weakness of portable printers is the lasting power of the battery. Most mobile printers have a built-in rechargeable battery (the same one used for laptops or netbooks), which has a limit to the pages it can print. If possible, look for mobile printers that allow power being generated from USB or an external AC adapter, although the latter introducing extra weights, and is dependent on having power points, it ensures that you are able to print what you intend to print, even when the battery is out.

What a Tile Contractor Learned from Steve Jobs

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What would you say if I told you I was a Tacoma tile installer that loved to read? Seems kind of out of the ordinary, doesn’t it? Well, I do. And I just finished up reading Steve Jobs’ biography, and I wanted to talk about it here. It has a bunch of great lessons that anyone from tile installers to lawyers can take and implement into their lives. Here’s what I learned.

1. In a Highly Commodotized World, it is Possible to be Different

One of the things I struggle with from time to time is setting myself apart from everyone else out there doing what I do. As you might imagine, I’m not the only Tacoma tile contractor in the business. There are many of us out there. I know and others in the business know that one tile contractor is not like the other – there are good ones out there, there are great ones out there, and there are terrible ones out there. This is very similar to computers (or phones, or tablets).

Steve Jobs taught me that it is possible to differentiate yourself from others in what appears to be, on the surface, at least, a commoditized industry. The way that Jobs did it was with experience. He provided an experience to the people that bought his products, along with, of course, a superior product. Figuring out how I can provide that experience is the key to blowing away the competition.

2. It’s Okay to Demand Perfection

In my line of work there are people that are interested in getting the job done as quickly as possible. A cut’s off by a quarter of an inch? That’s okay, they’ll never know. But I will know. And Steve Jobs would know if some aspect of his product wasn’t the best it could be. The secret to being great at selling computers, and being a great Tacoma tile installer, is not the ability to do something fast, but to do something that is remarkable. Steve taught me that it’s okay to demand perfection and not rest until it’s achieved.

If you haven’t read the book, go read it. It won’t disappoint.

Alternative Fuel – Do The Positives Outweigh The Cons?

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Green living addresses many ways of bettering our earth. One good way to do this is through the use of alternative fuels. There are people who love alternative fuels and they could give you a hundred reasons why you should be using it. On the other hand, you can find a lot of people who will give you various reasons why alternative fuels are a terrible idea.

You’ll be hard pressed to contradict the fact that alternative fuels are good for the environment because they burn much more cleanly than petrol. Many of the problems that our environment is facing, such as global warming and terrible health conditions, need to be challenged so that we can make positive changes. Do we know who has to decide what is best for our planet and will people do what must be done without legal requirements that they do so?

Whenever an individual decides to buy a car that runs on alternative fuel, fewer pollutants are released into the atmosphere, and this is fantastic for the earth. Another plus is that alternative fuel vehicles get much better gas mileage and some hybrids can actually increase the number of miles per gallon by 20%. This can make a great deal of difference for a lot of folks. As there are numerous reasons why people prefer not to purchase alternative fuel cars, the government is extending tax incentives so that people will at least give these automobiles a try. Driving alternative fuel autos will provide welcome tax breaks for the drivers and will help to keep the planet cleaner.

Cheap efficient car batteries can give a lot of savings for your cars as well. There are solar types that can draw energy from the sun. Walmart golf cart batteries are sample of these and there are more that can be used for cars also. You can try checking out solar battery prices at walmart because they have many of these available.

Even with saving money on their taxes, some of the downsides of alternative fuel vehicles keep majority of people from purchasing them. For starters, these vehicles cost substantially more even with the tax benefits The expense is significant and large numbers of people just do not have the means to pay for them. Another significant downside to alternative fuel cars is the difficulty in sourcing the different fuels. While E85 fuel, a combination of ethanol and gas, is not difficult to obtain, other alternative fuels may not be easily accessible. Although E85 fuel is available, many suppliers only have a limited amount, and this means that several customers have to drive far to buy the fuel they need.

No doubt individuals will continue to contend the positives and negatives for a lot of years to come. The hidden cost of people’s health should be added in, but nearly all folks don’t think about whether pollutants damage their health. Your commitment to preserving the environment will determine which side you end up on. You’ll be willing spend your money on this type of vehicle when you are convinced that it can make a difference for our environment.

Keeping Goods Secure with Blister Packaging

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Blister packaging is an excellent way to ensure that goods are kept safe and secure in nature. The packing is made in such a way that things are protected against physical impact and damage while still being transparent enough to see through.

Additionally, the amount of goods that are stolen will plummet with the use of this process, due to the way that it makes a quick grab almost impossible. Essentially, everything about the process makes for a more safe and secure experience.

Blister packaging is made out of transparent sheets of hardened plastic, which are then heated in such a way that they soften and form perfect mold s over the items that they are going to be protecting. Additionally, people also have the option of selecting other options, if they need something specific.

This transparent plastic has been hardened and treated to make it non-permeable and able to stand up to a lot of force and effort. This first of all serves to make sure that products are kept safe from impact and other natural forces.

Put simply, it is a great way to make sure that inventory is kept safe and that it has been properly protected. As the plastic is able to absorb shock and points of impact and shearing force, it is a great way to keep goods from being damaged.

Obviously, damaged goods are going to be a liability and people are going to lose money with every product that gets physically damaged in any way. Protecting these units is therefore a priority for any entity that needs to make money with their efforts.

The other primary benefit involved with the blister packaging is the fact that it is very tough to crack into, and removing a product from it requires a person to either rip a way a back or apply force in order to get the item out of it. Essentially, this makes shoplifting much harder on those who would try it.

Shoplifters primarily rely on walking out of stores with things concealed in their clothes, in order to remain inconspicuous in nature. The blister packaging makes doing this nearly impossible in many cases, because of the way that the wrapping increases the profile of something.

As the profile of the item is enhanced, it makes tucking it under the clothes almost always impractical. This removes one of the options for the shoplifter, and forces them to change up their strategy in order to get away with their actions.

The other option that the packing removes from the equation is being able to subtly get something out of the packing and walking away with it. Put simply, something that has been protected in this way is difficult to open, and always leaves evidence of tampering.

The plastic surrounding these things is loud and does not give way to a simple effort being made in an aisle or in a bathroom. One has to put in effort which essentially destroys the plastic and the backing of the item in order to remove anything from it.

Destroying the plastic and the backing of an item is not exactly the most subtle way to get something out of a store, so either the person will have to give up with their attempt, or they will have to be much more brazen with it. Either way, the security of the goods is enhanced in a very real way.

As the crimes that are committed are mostly crimes of convenience, removing that convenience is a powerful deterrent. As people have no easy way to remove the item from the unit, there is much less motivation to do so.

All of these factors combine to illustrate how effective this process is at enduring that the security and quality of various goods is always upheld. Put simply, the process is effective enough to always justify it from a financial perspective.

Blister packaging is an excellent way to ensure that goods are kept safe and secure. Not only does this lead to better protection form a physical standpoint as damages are reduced, but it also sharply cuts back on the rate with which things are stolen, due to the difficulties in getting away with such an act.

(Image courtesy of bulkbag-s.com)

The Best Anti Aging Beauty Products

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This review is meant to help you buy the perfect product for your unique body. They are highly effective at firming and plumping slackened skin. Among the best anti aging beauty products on the market, the following products will help to conceal under eye circles and imperfections and strengthen your skin.

Olay Age Defying Anti Wrinkle Replenishing Night Cream

The Olay Age Defying Anti Wrinkle Replenishing Night Cream includes a high dosage of Vitamin E which is proven for its effectiveness in revitalizing the appearance of skin. One of the best anti aging beauty products on the market, this Olay Night Cream works by penetrating deep within your skin to regenerate dead skin cells. It goes on luxuriously smooth with a non-oily feel. After about two weeks of consistent use, it will gradually eliminate wrinkles and tone your skin for a more radiant appearance.

Nivea Visage Anti Wrinkle Q10 Eye Creme

The Nivea Visage Anti Wrinkle Q10 Eye Creme was one of my favorite products because it worked so quickly on my skin. The manufacturer recommends to apply this product each morning and night for about two weeks and then to limit it to just the morning. It is important to apply this product on a consistent basis in order to get the results you desire, otherwise you will slide back to having wrinkles and sagging skin. The Nivea Visage Q10 Creme is designed to gradually reduce under-eye circles and puffiness. In only about two weeks, you will notice a significant reduction in wrinkles and fine lines under the eyes. Your skin will develop a lighter, more radiant complexion that you will be very satisfied with.

Prevage Advanced Anti-Aging Serum

The Prevage Advanced Anti-Aging Serum includes a powerful array of antioxidants that combat toxic free radicals built up through the day from pollution and several other harmful environmental factors. It will firm and tone areas of your skin that show any signs of aging. You’ll notice that it also provides the added bonus of beautifully brightening the skin leaving it looking much younger than before. This effective serum also includes the ingredient Idebenon which helps to stimulate the production of collagen and lock in moisture in order to firm the skin over time.

You will see a boost in the appearance of your skin soon after applying any of these effective anti aging beauty products. They all work like botox without the scary injections. Each product is highly effective at removing deep lines while locking in moisture. By making you look 10 years younger, you will feel 10 years younger and have more confidence and energy.

Restless Nights and A Soft Sided Dog Crate

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I have a really good dog who turns into a monster at night. She’s great with the kids, she is affectionate, she doesn’t bark at strangers too often, but she roams the house all night. We have wooden floors and often the click-clacking of her claws is enough to wake me from a dead sleep. Because she is a good dog, I wanted to make things work. I tried a hard plastic crate, but she was not a fan. You practically have to shove her into a plastic crate, but she will go almost gladly into a soft sided dog crate. When I first got my dog, I told myself that she would never sleep in a crate. I don’t know why, but I thought they were cruel.

However, after several months of my dog roaming the house and waking me up at night, I was more concerned about my lack of sleep than allowing her to have free reign of the house at night. Waking up to her shaking her collar, or the sound of her paws on the floors, or the sound of her hacking and coughing–she would even come up to my bed and lick my face–it was too much. Something had to change, so I went out and bought a hard plastic dog crate. My dog hated it from the get go. The first night she was constantly shaking her collar against the plastic and bumping into the walls. I don’t think she stopped moving all night long. Even though she was in a room with the door closed on the opposite side of the house, she still kept me up.

The only benefit for me was that she couldn’t come into my room. Even though the first night was pretty much a disaster, I decided to try it again. The second night was worse. She was restless, and halfway through the night, she began howling. There was no denying it. The free roaming dog was better than the caged monster. Still, going back to the roaming was not an option for me. I knew that something had to change. I considered getting rid of her, but I didn’t have the heart, and even if I did, my wife and kids would not have allowed it. Instead, I decided to try a soft sided dog crate. It was a last resort. I was desperate. I didn’t want to face the alternative of the soft dog crate not working, but I really was not hopeful.

The soft sided dog crate was roomier, more breathable, and more open. I set up the crate, and said a silent prayer. Whereas I had to force my dog into the hard crate even on the first night, she walked freely into the soft sided dog crate. Hope resurfaced. What followed was the best night of sleep I had had since my dog first came home. There was no collar shaking, no click-clacking, no hacking–there was silence. I don’t think my dog even moved once. The soft dog crate was just enough for her to know she was contained without making her feel caged. The fabric walls had just enough give that she could reposition without bumping into a solid barrier.

Moreover, because she was unthreateningly contained, she learned to stay put. Her need to roam was eventually extinguished. She began to sleep more soundly. Because my dog was finally still at night, I began to sleep more soundly as well. I am a fan of soft sided dog crates because they saved me from being family enemy number one when I was at the point of not being able to take even one more night of my dog’s roaming. A soft dog crate is just what I needed.

Home Office Furniture Geared Toward Productivity

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If you are a home worker it can be difficult since there is a perception that when someone is telecommuting, they aren’t actually working. In light of this perception, it behooves the home worker to be very productive; maybe even more productive than a worker who commutes into the office.

Telecommuting has certain obvious benefits not the least of which is the fact that the daily commute involves walking from the kitchen to your home office. As a result, the remote worker can maximize the precious time that they have by either working more or doing something fun. The other big benefit of working from home is the cost savings in gas, vehicle maintenance, or public transportation. If you do own a vehicle there is also a long-term savings effect since you won’t have a need to replace your car nearly as quickly as if you had a commute to and from work.

But if you are a teleworker there is one obligation that you have that your co-workers at your company headquarters do not. That is the fact that you have to furnish your home office. There isn’t someone else who is going to find the office furniture and foot the bill for your home office. So where do you start? Well, there are two mandatory pieces of furniture that you need for a home office; a desk and a chair. You could go on the cheap and buy a basic chair and find an old desk around the house or at a consignment shop. If you want to optimize your office configuration for productivity, you should do a little research on what is out there in the marketplace for office furniture.

In this day and age of specialization, office furniture has certainly evolved into products that are made for the technology of today. You could go out and buy a natural wood desk to match your home’s decor but that may not be the wisest move on your part. If you are working from home your computer is the center of your universe. It is your connection to your company. With technology today you can be sitting in your home office and you are able to access all of the computer services and applications available if you were sitting in a cubicle at your company office building.

A computer desk is developed around the computer systems of today. You can buy them in many different sizes, shapes, and materials but they all have a certain commonality when it comes to their features. One feature which is found on most computer desks is a pullout tray that is typically used for the keyboard but, if you own a laptop, you can place your laptop on this convenient, easily-accessible surface. Another common feature with these technology desks is that they tend to be multilevel allowing for proper placement of computer peripherals including monitor, printer, and CPU tower. Another feature based on the technology is that there is ample room for the free flow of cords emanating to and from the computer system and wall plugs. Finding a model that will work well in your home office space should be achievable given the fact that the variety of these types of desk is plentiful. If you find the proper desk for your office configuration and your computer system, this should lead to an increase in your work productivity.

Your office chair is a very important piece of furniture which should not be taken lightly. This is the place that you will be sitting for hours on end in your office. You could just find an available chair in your home but that may not be your smartest move. With the advancements made in the field of ergonomics which is the scientific study of equipment design, it would behoove you to look into an office chair that is ergonomically designed. If you want to go high-end you could invest in a leather office chair. A more reasonably-priced model would be a mesh office chair. You may want to consider a reclining model with a built-in footrest or with a separate ottoman. There are times during the day that you just might need to rest your eyes and take a quick nap to revitalize yourself. The reclining feature allows you to do just that and then you will be ready for a productive rest of the day. Not only will the proper office chair allow you to be productive but it may also spare you future back pain that could result from using a basic, non-ergonomic model.

Investing in the proper office furniture for your home office is important if you want to be an effective worker throughout the day. Working from home may carry with it a perception that nothing is getting done. But you can certainly prove that perception wrong by being the most efficient and productive employee your boss could want even though you just happen to be working in an office at home.

Can Colon Cleansing be done at Home?

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Colon cleansing at home is the most convenient form among others who are claiming as the best colon cleansers. This process does not require too much of an individual’s time. Before we discuss colon cleansing at home let’s understand first why there is a need to do colon or intestine cleansing.  Colon cleansing is important because without it, there is no way we can get rid of bad bacteria and toxins from the colon if in case the natural process of the body is unable to do the job of cleansing itself. Too much toxins and wastes in the colon walls can lead to colon cancer and other mild and serious illnesses that we don’t even want to discuss in this article.

Now that we know why it is important to cleanse the body every now and then, let us discuss more about natural colon cleansing at home. There are just two of them that I would like to emphasize. One is concerning the eating habits and the other one is proper exercise.

Eating Habit

Be informed that the culprit why we are talking about colon cleansing products, methods and cleansers is the food that we eat daily. Don’t just try but do this—change your eating habits while it is not too late. It is never easy getting a colon cancer. Not even constipation or diarrhea is easy to tolerate as it causes too much discomfort and pain.  So to avoid experiencing any of these situations, shift to high fiber diet. Eating veggies and fruits is one way of obtaining a healthy colon because fiber for one aids in flushing away wastes and toxins from the colon. Stay away from processed and junk foods as well. In line with eating habit, also see to it that you are drinking an ample amount of water every day to keep your body hydrated all the time.

Proper Exercise

Exercise helps promote fast metabolism and fast metabolism means regular bowel movement. If a person gets to discharge bowel daily, it is a good sign that the colon is clean. Proper exercise also helps burn fats and turning them to energy. It does mean that you take a day off and go to the gym. Doing a 15-20 minute exercise inside the house will do the trick. You don’t necessarily have to enroll or sign up a membership form in a gym to do this.

Doing colon cleansing at home is indeed very simple compared to using many colon cleansing products or colon cleansers wherein you are not even sure if you are getting a genuine one. The best colon cleanser does not have to be costly. Everyone can do natural colon cleansing while at home. No fasting involved and no painful medical procedure to endure. It only takes the right attitude and inclination to do this. Get your colon back to its healthy state when you were younger. Do intestine cleansing at home.