Wednesday, October 31, 2007

technology news

In recent times, privacy online has become a big issue, making free web proxy servers a viable alternative for many web surfers. Basically, a proxy server conceals your specific Internet address to protect your anonymity online.

read more | digg story

technology news

In recent times, privacy online has become a big issue, making free web proxy servers a viable alternative for many web surfers. Basically, a proxy server conceals your specific Internet address to protect your anonymity online.

read more | digg story

Qc Software Discusses Wcs Scalability in Accounting Software 411

Scalability, which is often expressed by a CEO in a negative outlook: “When will we outgrow it?” An operations manager will express the improvements with the new WCS system; the CFO will inquire about the life expectancy of this technology. The CFO wants to know the tax implications and know whether the company can “write it out” or depreciate it?

If a large company the CFO will want to know the cost to install at multiple sites as well as the stability, financial status and size of the WCS company. This is quickly addressed by establishing referrals and a strong industry reputation. Depending on the organization’s objectives, source code availability may also be a CFO concern.

Manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler contributed to the current issue of AccountingSoftware411.com; the feature titled, “Questions the CFO will Ask Before Endorsing the Warehouse Control System” details the decision-making process often conducted by mid-sized and large distributors and manufacturers.

According to Cutler, “The WCS (warehouse control system) is designed to manage activities within the four walls of a facility just like an MES (manufacturing execution system) for manufacturing. Large companies with many distribution centers will tend to have a dedicated WCS for many reasons. Although wide area networks have become more efficient, the fact remains that networks do get dropped periodically. When that happens, the network is not available to “talk” to the host system. No picking gets done. With a WCS, on site, the order fulfillment process which includes picking, replenishment, and shipping can continue.”

The first question the CFO of a distribution company will ask in deciding to purchase any new software, particularly something as plant floor specific as a Warehouse Control System is: “What’s the ROI?” The questions continue beyond an acceptable return on investment.

Total Cost of Ownership must also be considered including the Initial Cost (purchase cost of WCS, new hardware computers, terminals, printers, and all other related costs.) The reoccurring costs such as a maintenance contract, modifications, and upgrades will also be considered by a CFO prior to giving the blessing to purchase. Other questions may include the need for additional people resources that are required when the distributor or large manufacturer install an order management system.

According to Rich Hite, President of QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com), suggests, “The most important aspects of WCS for major distributors include dependability, modular functionality, configurable flexibility, and reliability. WCS is more dependable because…it uses standardized modules that are field proven, versus customized software. Many of the WCS modules have been running for over more than six years.” Hite also noted, “WCS Modular functionality is important because additional functionality can be added as required. The system can grow as the customers needs grow. You don’t lose your initial investment when new functionality is needed. We’ve seen this growth in clients ranging from Tommy Hilfiger to Under Armour to Arbonne.”

WMS systems are designed to manage information; they are planning systems versus execution systems, yet it is fair to say that the WCS is the MES for the warehouse because it directs the tasks.
The solutions provided by QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com) enables companies to streamline their warehouse operations with the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry ensuring increased corporate profitability.

Tags: Inventory Management, Warehouse Control System, Wcs, Order Fulfillment, Distribution Warehousing, Conveyor Control, Shipment Manifest

Taking a Hard Look at VOIP Services

It seems like almost everyone is pushing VOIP these days. You can hardly walk into Best Buy or Circuit City without seeing all kinds of ads and flyers for VOIP services. There are VOIP ads included with many of your credit card statements, as well as from your home DSL or residential cable Internet services provider. How do you know which one is best and how do you separate fact from marketing hype?

My advice is to take a long hard look at what is being offered. First and foremost, you need to understand a little bit about how VOIP works. You don't need to understand it down to deep technical degrees, but you do need to understand that VOIP uses your high-speed Internet connection to make and receive phone calls.

What this means to you is that if your residential high-speed Internet connection is not reliable and stable, you are not going to have a good experience with VOIP, and that statement is true regardless of which VOIP service you go with. Almost all home high speed Internet connection say they provide some speed. But what they don't tell you is that this is the DOWN speed, or the rate at which information comes into your computer from the Internet. What they are NOT telling you is two things:

1. That "down" speed is a theoretical maximum only. With residential high speed, you are SHARING your circuit connection with perhaps as many as 50 or more other households, and the only time you will probably see the advertised speed is if each and every one of those 50+ other households are not using their connection.

2. Your "up" speed, or the speed at which information goes from your home to the Internet is typically very much reduced, sometimes to the point where it is only about twice the speed of a dialup connection.

So what this means is that you stand a very good chance of running out of bandwidth, especially if you are trying to carry on a VOIP conversation while your spouse and son are surfing on your connection at the same time. You will hear pauses in the conversation and the conversation will be spotty and broken.

This is NOT the fault of the VOIP provider. The VOIP provider is assuming that you have a rock solid high speed Internet connection, and they have no control over your Internet connection. It's like going out and buying the best tires that money can buy, but after you put them on your 62 VW, that will not make it a competitive race car.

Assuming your residential Internet connection is solid and reliable, examine each offering to see what it provides. VOIP service typically includes unlimited local and long distance calling within the continental US, and some providers also include unlimited calling in Canada, Puerto Rico, and other places. But for that basic service, some carriers are charging $40 per month or more, while others are charging under $20 per month.

Look at what you are paying for and whether you will really use or if you really need more extras than that. Why pay $40 when the services you need 99% of the time can be had for under $20?

VOIP is a very competitive market these days and you need to understand what you are paying for and how much you are paying for "extras". Also be aware of how much you are paying for the extras and if you really need them. VOIP is a great technology but make sure you are getting as much bang for your buck as you should so that you can enjoy your VOIP services.

Tags: Voip Services, Voip Phone, Voip Provider

Patch Cords and Why you Need Them

Devices of different types, such as a switch connected to a computer, or switch to router are connected with patch cords. A patch cord (sometimes patch cable or patch cord) is an electrical or optical cable, used to connect ("patch-in") one electronic or optical device to another for signal routing.
Patch cables and patch cords are flexible cables that are terminated at both ends with a plug and used to interconnect circuits. These male/male cables and cords are used with patch panels, groups of ports that connect lines between communications and electronic devices. Patch cords are usually produced in many different colors so as to be easily distinguishable, and are relatively short, perhaps no longer than two meters.
There are many types of patch cables and patch cords. Choices include Cat 3, Cat 5, Cat 6, coaxial, triaxial and twisted pair and even more commonly known products such as microphone cables and headphone extension cables.
Patch cords are often made of coaxial cables, with a positive or "hot" signal carried through a shielded core, and the negative electrical ground or earthed return connection carried through a wire mesh surrounding the core. Each end of the cable is attached to a connector, so the cord may be plugged in. Types of connectors may vary widely, particularly with adapting cables. Patch cords can be as short as 3 inches or 8 cm, to connect stacked components, or route signals through a patch bay, or as much as twenty feet or 6 m or more in length for snake cables. As length increases, cables are usually thicker, and/or made with more shielding, to prevent signal loss and the introduction of unwanted radio frequencies and hum (electromagnetic interference).
Patch cords may be:
• single-conductor wires using, for example, banana connectors
• coaxial cables using BNC connectors
• Ethernet Cat5, Cat5e, or Cat6 cables using "RJ-45" connectors with TIA/EIA-568-A or TIA/EIA-568-B wiring
• Optical fiber cables
An infamous type of optical fiber cables that are labeled under patch cords are Fiber Optic Patch cords. These fiber optic patch cords are more and more used to transmit telecommunication signals than traditionally copper patch cords in the network. Compared with traditional copper patch cords, fiber optic patch cords features higher operation speed -up to 10 gigabit, broader bandwidth, which means it is with a larger capacity of carrying the signals, longer transmitting distance, better to the environment- no noise, no radios, and easier to maintain them.
Usually the fiber optic patch cord structure is like this: fiber glass in the center with cladding on it, this is called the "core”, around the core people put some other different materials to make the cables with different features, for example, more tension-resistant, waterproof, etc. the most outside layer which is called "jacket" of the cable usually is made of PVC, and there are different standards, for example, riser, plenum, ofnr, ofnp, etc. the most commonly used cables for making fiber patch cords are with 0.9mm outer diameter, or 3mm outer diameter, or 2mm outer diameter. 2mm outer diameter is the most commonly used in North America; they look smarter although they operate the same as 2mm and 0.9mm ones.
Typical types are simplex fiber optic patch cord and duplex fiber optic patch cord, a simplex patch cord means this patch cord is made of a single fiber cable, a duplex patch cord can be regarded as two simplex ones put side by side.

Tags: Cable, Wires, Connectors, Cords, Patch Cord, Cable Cord, Coaxial Cables

Clive Barker’s Jericho Review: Nothing Groundbreaking

Clive Barker’s Jericho is a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC video game that comes from the warped mind of none other than Clive Barker himself. He is notorious for his books and movies that are based around the horror genre. Now, he is attempting to make a successful transition into video games. The storyline in the game revolves around a city known as Al Khali and the Jericho team. Al Khalid is the location that uncanny and inexplicable events are an everyday occurrence. These ineffable supernatural reports are due to demons and fiends that inhabit Al Khalid. The protagonist in the game is Captain Devin Ross, and he is the leader of team Jericho. The plot may seem like an unsolvable jigsaw puzzle, but I still appreciated it. It had twist and turns that will keep any gamer guessing until the bitter end. Speaking of bitter ending, the epilogue was a bit of a disappointment. In regards to the gameplay, the game plays like any other ordinary first person shooter with a emphasis on the word ordinary. You can issue commands to your other people in your group. The various people in your squad are Sergeant Delgado, Lieutenant Black, Church, and Jones. They all have their pros and cons; furthermore, each character has different attributes and weapons. For instance, Sergeant Delgado is equipped with a gun. Lieutenant Black is armed with a sniper rifle and a grenade launcher. Church possesses a sword and machine gun. Jones prefers to use a shotgun. In addition to the weapons, there are numerous abilities that you have at your disposal. For example, Captain Ross has the power to heal. The gameplay has its moments by keeping the style of the game fresh at certain moments. Lieutenant Black can use telekinesis, Jones can use mind control, and Church knows how to use magic.
The variety of the other characters is the only thing that makes this game different from other video games in the same genre. Just about every enemy in the game looks grotesque. They will have nails attached to their bodies and other sharp objects. If you have seen a horror movie before, then all of the frightening aspects of the game are foreseeable. Maybe I found it to be predictable because I already seen countless scary games. Moreover, there is nothing fancy in this game. The artificial intelligence across the board is imperfect. Your teammates will usually get mauled by a swarm of enemies without any resistance. I am not sure how that is even possible because the opponents themselves can be easily killed. None of the levels are unique. For the most part, they are all the same rudimentary restricted surroundings. I felt like the game was unintentionally humorous for no apparent reason. Regrettably, there is absolutely no multiplayer in the game. The lack of a multiplayer is exacerbated by the fact that there is nothing done extraordinarily well in the game. Players will feel like the ambiance of the game has a mundane look. The gameplay will take the avid player approximately eleven hours to fourteen hours to complete from start to finish. Visually, there is nothing in the game that will make anyone have a “Wow, that looks incredible” moment. The full motion cut-scenes themselves are amazing, but the actual gameplay footage is banal. I would have appreciated better graphics from a next generation console like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. The audio in the game is nothing to be elated about either. Yes, there is music and voice acting. However, there is really no point in having music and voice acting when they are both lackluster. Overall, Clive Barker’s Jericho is a video that is not for everyone. No, the game is not on par with BioShock. The game is not exemplary, but the game is not egregious. It is just plain average.
http://wwwfunnyman.blogspot.com/

Tags: Review, Nothing, Jericho, Clive, Barker’s, Groundbreaking

Protecting yourself Online With Free Web Proxy Servers

Protecting Yourself Online with Free Web Proxy Servers

In recent times, privacy online has become a big issue, making free web proxy servers a viable alternative for many web surfers. Basically, a proxy server conceals your specific Internet address to protect your anonymity online.

Protecting privacy online is a very real concern. For example, many people resent the idea that the government can have access to an individual's online history-- often without needing a warrant. Likewise, many companies, organizations and schools routinely monitor the online history of their computer users. And unfortunately, there are also spammers and online criminals who seek to gain personal information about web surfers for identity theft or other illegal acts.

How does a free web proxy server work?

The word "proxy" means "to go between." This is actually the simplest way of understanding what a proxy server does. Proxy servers act as a filter between your computer and the Internet. The most popular use of this technology is to provide anonymous web surfing from any location in the world.

When using a web proxy server, you are technically not connecting to the Internet; instead, you are connecting to a remote computer or server which is connected to the Internet. Therefore, you are able to surf the Internet "by proxy."

When surfing the net on a free web proxy server, your Internet browser history will reveal only that you have connected to the proxy site, not the actual web sites you have visited. Using a proxy server will also eliminate the problem of web sites depositing so-called "cookies" on your computer.

Tags: Free Web Proxy Servers, Proxy Web Sites, Proxy Sites

A "cookie" is a tiny information file that is left behind when you visit a particular web site online. It can contain information about the exact time of your visit, the length of time you were on the site, information about your location, IP address, operating system and other identifying characteristics. "Cookies" can even contain log on and password information, making them a potential security risk if they should fall into the wrong hands.

But using a free web proxy server completely eliminates "cookies" on your computer. Instead, the sites you visit will attempt to deposit "cookies" on the actual proxy server -- not on your computer.

For all of these reasons and more, it can be smart to use a web proxy service to surf the web, and there are many online to choose from. A simple Google or Yahoo search will reveal thousands of free web proxy servers; however, it is important to be aware that the most popular of these free services tend to run very slowly, making for a frustrating web surfing experience.

But if the free web proxy servers are too slow for your taste, there are also paid services that will provide much faster anonymous online browsing. There are many of these available, and most require either a monthly or weekly subscription fee. If protecting your identity and privacy online is a primary concern, paid proxy services can provide peace of mind for a very reasonable cost.

The Internet is a great resource, but unfortunately, it also has its share of disreputable webmasters and spammers. Using free web proxy servers is a great way to keep your private information from falling into the wrong hands.

Author: This article is the property of PXYList.com. PXYList.com provides a monitored, hand-picked list of free Web proxy servers that are guaranteed to be up and working 24/7.