Warning - Formatting hard drive information does not
permanently erase the data. Even after a computer has been formatted,
deleted files can be easily recovered. If you want to permanently wipe
your hard drive by completely overwritting hard drive data, check out WipeDrive.
To format your hard disk during Windows 7 installation, you'll need
to start, or boot, your computer using the Windows 7 installation disc
or USB flash drive.
Turn on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the
Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, and then shut down your
computer.
Restart your computer.
Press any key when prompted, and then follow the instructions that appear.
On the Install Windows page, enter your language and other preferences, and then click Next.
If the Install Windows page doesn't appear, and you're not
asked to press any key, you might need to change some system settings.
To learn how to do this, see Start your computer from a Windows 7
installation disc or USB flash drive.
On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms, and then click Next.
On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom.
On the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Drive options (advanced).
Click the partition that you want to format and click Format.
If you have more than one partition on this hard drive and want to
get rid them to make one big drive again, then select a partition and
click on the Delete option for each partition. Once you have deleted all of the partitions, select the Unallocated Space partition and click Format.
Pick the formatting option that you want.
When you've finished formatting, click Next.
Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows 7, which include
naming your computer and setting up an initial user account.
If you do not want to reinstall Windows 7, you can cancel the installation at this point and keep your newly formatted drives.
How to Format a Computer with Windows Vista
Warning - Formatting hard drive information does not
permanently erase the data. Even after a computer has been formatted,
deleted files can be easily recovered. If you want to permanently wipe
your hard drive by completely overwritting hard drive data, check out WipeDrive.
To format your hard disk during Windows Vista installation, you'll need to start, or boot, your computer using the
Windows Vista installation disc or USB flash drive.
Turn on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the
Windows Vista installation disc, and then shut down your computer.
Restart your computer.
Press any key when prompted, and then follow the instructions that appear.
On the Install Windows page, follow any instructions that are displayed, and then click Install now.
If the Install Windows page doesn't appear, and you're not
asked to press any key, you might need to change some system settings.
To learn how to do this, see Start Windows from a CD or DVD.
On the Get important updates for installation page, we recommend
getting the latest updates to help ensure a successful installation and
to help protect your computer against security threats. You will need an
Internet connection to get installation updates.
On the Type your product key for activation page, do one of the following:
If you are reinstalling Windows Vista, you should enter your product key now.
If you are not reinstalling Windows Vista, you can skip this step.
On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms.
On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom.
On the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Drive options (advanced).
Click the partition that you want to format and click Format
If you have more than one partition on this hard drive and want to
get rid them to make one big drive again, then select a partition and
click on the Delete option for each partition. Once you have deleted all of the partitions, select the Unallocated Space partition and click Format
Pick the formatting option that you want.
When you've finished formatting, click Next.
Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows Vista, which
include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account.
If you do not want to reinstall Windows Vista, you can cancel the
installation at this point and keep your newly formatted drives.
Microsoft Office Online is a suite of online applications that lets
you create Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and more. You can store
the documents you create—plus any other files you want—on Microsoft OneDrive, an online file storage service. Both of these tools are accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection, and both are free.
In this lesson, you'll learn more about the features and advantages of Office Online and OneDrive. You'll also get an idea of what to expect from the rest of this tutorial.
OneDrive was previously known as SkyDrive; Office
Online was previously known as Office Web Apps. You may occasionally see
references to SkyDrive and Office Web Apps while using these services.
What is Office Online?
Office Online is a free basic version of the most
popular programs in the Microsoft Office suite. It lets you create Word
documents, Excel spreadsheets, and more without having to buy or install
software. There are four Office Online apps:
Word: For creating text documents
Excel: For working with spreadsheets
PowerPoint: For creating presentations
OneNote: For taking and organizing notes
You don't need to install anything on your computer to use Office Online. Instead, you work with it online using a service called Microsoft OneDrive.
What is OneDrive?
OneDrive is a free online storage space you can use as your own personal online hard drive.
When you create a document with Office Online, it will be saved to your
OneDrive. You can store other files there too. Some people refer to
this type of online storage as thecloud.
Since Office Online and OneDrive are based in the cloud, you can access
them from any device with an Internet connection at any time.
Check out our lesson on Web Apps and the Cloud to learn more about the basics of cloud computing.
Once you’ve used Office Online and OneDrive to store files in the cloud, you can editandshare them without ever having to download them to your computer. You can also uploadfiles from your computer, including photos and music. You can even syncyour computer and OneDrive
so any changes you make to your files are automatically copied between
the cloud and your computer. As you can see below, working with the
cloud makes all of these things possible.
To use Offline Online and OneDrive, you'll need a Microsoft account. Getting a Microsoft account will also give you access to features like emailandinstant messaging. You'll learn how to create an account in our lesson on Getting Started with OneDrive.
Google Drive is a free service from Google that allows you to store files from your computer online and access them anywhere using the cloud. Google Drive also gives you access to one of Google's most popular services, Google Docs.
Google Docs is a free, web-based application for creating documents, spreadsheets,
and more. In this lesson, you'll learn more about Google Drive and
Google Docs and how the cloud can help you in your everyday life.
Generation in computer terminology is a change in technology a
computer is/was being used. Initially, the generation term was used to
distinguish between varying hardware technologies. But nowadays,
generation includes both hardware and software, which together make up
an entire
computer system.
There are totally five computer generations known till date. Each
generation has been discussed in detail along with their time period,
characteristics. We've used approximate dates against each generations
which are normally accepted.
Following are the main five generations of computers:
Generation & Description
1
First Generation
The period of first generation: 1946-1959. Vacuum tube based.
2
Second Generation
The period of second generation: 1959-1965. Transistor based.
3
Third Generation
The period of third generation: 1965-1971. Integrated Circuit based.
4
Fourth Generation
The period of fourth generation: 1971-1980. VLSI microprocessor based.
5
Fifth Generation
The period of fifth generation: 1980-onwards. ULSI microprocessor based
First Generation
The period of first generation was 1946-1959.
First generation of computers started with using vacuum tubes as the
basic components for memory and circuitry for CPU (Central Processing
Unit). These tubes like electric bulbs produced a lot of heat and were
prone to frequent fusing of the installations, therefore, were very
expensive and could be afforded only by very large organisations.
In this generation, mainly batch processing operating systems were
used. In this generation, Punched cards, Paper tape, Magnetic tape Input
& Output device were used.
There were machine codes and electric wired board languages used.
The main features of First Generation are:
Vacuum tube technology
Unreliable
Supported Machine language only
Very costly
Generate lot of heat
Slow Input/Output device
Huge size
Need of A.C.
Non-portable
Consumed lot of electricity
Some computers of this generation were:
ENIAC
EDVAC
UNIVAC
IBM-701
IBM-650
Second Generation
The period of second generation was 1959-1965.
This generation using the transistor were cheaper, consumed less
power, more compact in size, more reliable and faster than the first
generation machines made of vacuum tubes. In this generation, magnetic
cores were used as primary memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks
as secondary storage devices.
In this generation, assembly language and high-level programming language like FORTRAN, COBOL were used.
There were Batch processing and Multiprogramming Operating system used.
The main features of Second Generation are:
Use of transistors
Reliable as compared to First generation computers
Smaller size as compared to First generation computers
Generate less heat as compared to First generation computers
Consumed less electricity as compared to First generation computers
Faster than first generation computers
Still very costly
A.C. needed
Support machine and assembly languages
Some computers of this generation were:
IBM 1620
IBM 7094
CDC 1604
CDC 3600
UNIVAC 1108
Third Generation
The period of third generation was 1965-1971.
The third generation of computer is marked by the use of Integrated
Circuits (IC's) in place of transistors. A single IC has many
transistors, resistors and capacitors along with the associated
circuitry. The IC was invented by Jack Kilby. This development made
computers smaller in size, reliable and efficient.
In this generation, Remote processing, Time-sharing, Real-time, Multi-programming Operating System were used.
High-level language (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68, etc.) were used during this generation.
The main features of Third Generation are:
IC used
More reliable
Smaller size
Generate less heat
Faster
Lesser maintenance
Still costly
A.C. needed
Consumed lesser electricity
Support high-level language
Some computers of this generation were:
IBM-360 series
Honeywell-6000 series
PDP(Personal Data Processor)
IBM-370/168
TDC-316
Fourth Generation
The period of Fourth Generation was 1971-1980.
The fourth generation of computers is marked by the use of Very Large
Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having about 5000
transistors and other circuit elements and their associated circuits on a
single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth
generation. Fourth Generation computers became more powerful, compact,
reliable, and affordable. As a result, it gave rise to personal computer
(PC) revolution.
In this generation, Time sharing, Real time, Networks, Distributed Operating System were used.
All the higher level languages like C and C++, DBASE, etc., were used in this generation.
The main features of Fourth Generation are:
VLSI technology used
Very cheap
Portable and reliable
Use of PC's
Very small size
Pipeline processing
No A.C. needed
Concept of internet was introduced
Great developments in the fields of networks
Computers became easily available
Some computers of this generation were:
DEC 10
STAR 1000
PDP 11
CRAY-1 (Super Computer)
CRAY-X-MP (Super Computer)
Fifth Generation
The period of Fifth Generation is 1980-till date.
In the fifth generation, the VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large
Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of
microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components.
This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software.
AI is an emerging branch in computer science which interprets means and methods of making computers think like human beings.
All the higher level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net, etc., are used in this generation.
AI includes:
Robotics
Neural networks
Game Playing
Development of expert systems to make decisions in real life situations.
Natural language understanding and generation.
The main features of Fifth Generation are:
ULSI technology
Development of true artificial intelligence
Development of Natural language processing
Advancement in Parallel Processing
Advancement in Superconductor technology
More user friendly interfaces with multimedia features
Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates
1. Improve fps: Get the latest drivers for your graphics card
Running old drivers isn't a good idea if you want the best
performance, but a surprising number of people fail to update to the
latest versions. It's much easier these days (with certain brands, at
least) since pop-up notifications tell you when a new driver is
available.
First, find out which graphics card you have, and also check which version of Windows your PC
is running. Head to Device Manager in the Control Panel and click on
Display adapters. You'll see the name of your graphics card.
To find out the specific version of Windows, right-click on My
Computer and choose Properties (or click on System in the Control
Panel). This will tell you whether you have the 32- or 64-bit, as well
as exactly which version of Windows is installed.
Then, head to the relevant website to get the latest drivers. This
will be either Intel, Nvidia or AMD. Don't go to the card manufacturer's
site, such as Asus, MSI, Gigabyte or Sapphire. Be sure to choose the
correct model of card, and the appropriate operating system.
Once downloaded, install the drivers and reboot your PC if necessary. Depending on the game, you might get up to 30 percent better performance with just a driver update.
Similarly, check if there's an update to the game itself. If you
bought it via Steam, it should be updated automatically. Otherwise,
check the game developer's website.
Finally, make sure Windows itself is fully up to date. Unless you
chose to disable the feature, updates should be installed automatically.
If they're not, search the Start menu (or Start screen in Windows 8)
for Windows Update.
2. Improve fps: Optimise game settings
Updating drivers will get you only so far. The biggest gains in
frames per second come from tweaking and compromising on graphics
settings.
Ideally, you want to run your game at your monitor's native resolution. For most PCs
that's 1920x1080; on a laptop it's likely to be 1366x768. To find out
your monitor's resolution, right-click on the desktop in Windows 7 or 8
and click on Screen resolution. In earlier versions, click Properties
instead.
The highest selectable resolution should tell you the native
resolution, and should say 'recommended'. You can also search Google for
your monitor's make and model if you're still unsure.
Lowering the resolution should give you more frames per second, but
don't adjust the resolution here. Instead, load your chosen game and
look for the graphics settings. Here you can change the resolution and
many other settings.
Anti-aliasing is one setting to watch out for. AA smoothes out jagged
lines, but incurs a performance penalty. Typically you'll see a slider,
but it might be just a number, such as 2x, 4x 8x etc. First, try
disabling AA altogether and see how your game plays. If it's fast
enough, you can enable AA again at the lowest setting and progressively
increase it until you find the best balance between quality and
performance.
The same sentiment goes for most other graphics settings, including
draw distance and shadows. Lighting effects, including shadows, tend to
be real performance drains, so if you can live with basic effects, you
can make the difference between a game being unplayable and playable.
Essentially, it's a process of trial and error. Unless, that is, your
graphics card drivers can optimise each game's settings to work well
using the hardware available. For example, the Nvidia card in our test PC has drivers which can do precisely that.
3. Improve fps: Check and benchmark performance
If your game has an FPS readout (you will need to enable this
somewhere in the options, or install a third-party utility such as FRAPS),
you'll be able to see how fast it's running. The minimum figure (on
average) that you want is 25 frames per second. Anything less looks
jerky.
The fps will vary depending on what's happening on-screen. When
there's lots of action, it can drop considerably, so aim for graphical
settings at which the game will run acceptably when that happens.
4. Improve fps: Overclock your hardware
This isn't something we recommend for everyone, but if you know what
you're doing and understand that there's a risk of breaking your
graphics card, CPU and RAM, you can run them faster. This should give
you a few extra fps.
Your first port of call should be the graphics card, since this has
the most direct impact on fps. You may find an option to overclock the
GPU in the driver itself (launch the interface from the relevant icon in
Windows' Notification area). Alternatively, you might need to track
down third-party software.
Overclocking the CPU and RAM is easier, as you should find the
settings in your PC's BIOS. Simply reboot, press Delete (or whichever
key takes you to the BIOS) and look for the performance settings.
5. Improve fps: Use optimisation software
Lots of programs run in the background in Windows, and they use up resources including memory and CPU time. You can use PC
optimisation utilities to ensure there are no superfluous processes
running that could hamper game performance. You can also clear out
temporary files and defragment your hard drive (don't do this on an SSD
though).
Windows includes some optimisation tools, but you can also try Razer Game Booster which does a lot of the hard work for you. One version works with Windows Vista 7 and 8, and there's a separate download for XP.
The insurance contract or agreement is a contract whereby the insurer will pay the insured
(the person whom benefits would be paid to, or on behalf of), if
certain defined events occur. Subject to the "fortuity principle", the
event must be uncertain. The uncertainty can be either as to when the
event will happen (e.g. in a life insurance policy, the time of the
insured's death is uncertain) or as to if it will happen at all (e.g. in
a fire insurance policy, whether or not a fire will occur at all).
Insurance contracts are generally considered contracts of adhesion
because the insurer draws up the contract and the insured has little or
no ability to make material changes to it. This is interpreted to mean
that the insurer bears the burden if there is any ambiguity in any terms
of the contract. Insurance policies are sold without the policyholder
even seeing a copy of the contract.[1]:27 In 1970 Robert Keeton
suggested that many courts were actually applying 'reasonable
expectations' rather than interpreting ambiguities, which he called the
'reasonable expectations doctrine'. This doctrine has been
controversial, with some courts adopting it and others explicitly
rejecting it.[3]
In several jurisdictions, including California, Wyoming, and
Pennsylvania, the insured is bound by clear and conspicuous terms in the
contract even if the evidence suggests that the insured did not read or
understand them.[4][5][6]
Insurance contracts are aleatory in that the amounts
exchanged by the insured and insurer are unequal and depend upon
uncertain future events. In contrast, ordinary non-insurance contracts
are commutative in that the amounts (or values) exchanged are usually
intended by the parties to be roughly equal. This distinction is
particularly important in the context of exotic products like finite risk insurance which contain "commutation" provisions.
Insurance contracts are unilateral, meaning that only the
insurer makes legally enforceable promises in the contract. The insured
is not required to pay the premiums, but the insurer is required to pay
the benefits under the contract if the insured has paid the premiums and
met certain other basic provisions.
Insurance contracts are governed by the principle of utmost good faith (uberrima fides)
which requires both parties of the insurance contact to deal in good
faith and in particular it imparts on the insured a duty to disclose all
material facts which relate to the risk to be covered. This contrasts
with the legal doctrine that covers most other types of contracts, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). In the United States, the insured can sue an insurer in tort for acting in bad faith.
Structure
Early insurance contracts tended to be written on the basis of every
single type of risk (where risks were defined extremely narrowly), and a
separate premium was calculated and charged for each. This structure
proved unsustainable in the context of the Second Industrial Revolution, in that a typical large conglomerate might have dozens of types of risks to insure against.
In the 1940s, the insurance industry shifted to the current system
where covered risks are initially defined broadly in an insuring
agreement on a general policy form (e.g., "We will pay all sums that the
insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages..."), then narrowed
down by subsequent exclusion clauses (e.g., "This insurance does not
apply to..."). If the insured desires coverage for a risk taken out by
an exclusion on the standard form, the insured can sometimes pay an
additional premium for an endorsement to the policy that overrides the
exclusion.
Insurers have been criticized in some quarters for the development of
complex policies with layers of interactions between coverage clauses,
conditions, exclusions, and exceptions to exclusions. In a case
interpreting one ancestor of the modern "products-completed operations
hazard" clause, the Supreme Court of California complained:
“
The instant
case presents yet another illustration of the dangers of the present
complex structuring of insurance policies. Unfortunately the insurance
industry has become addicted to the practice of building into policies
one condition or exception upon another in the shape of a linguistic
Tower of Babel. We join other courts in decrying a trend which both
plunges the insured into a state of uncertainty and burdens the
judiciary with the task of resolving it. We reiterate our plea for
clarity and simplicity in policies that fulfill so important a public
service.[7]
”
Parts of an insurance contract
Declarations - identifies who is an insured, the insured's address,
the insuring company, what risks or property are covered, the policy
limits (amount of insurance), any applicable deductibles, the policy
period and premium amount. These are usually provided on a form that is
filled out by the insurer based on the insured's application and
attached on top of or inserted within the first few pages of the
standard policy form.
Definitions - define important terms used in the policy language.
Insuring agreement - describes the covered perils, or risks assumed,
or nature of coverage, or makes some reference to the contractual
agreement between insurer and insured. It summarizes the major promises
of the insurance company, as well as stating what is covered.
Exclusions - take coverage away from the Insuring Agreement by
describing property, perils, hazards or losses arising from specific
causes which are not covered by the policy.
Conditions - provisions, rules of conduct, duties and obligations
required for coverage. If policy conditions are not met, the insurer can
deny the claim.
Endorsements - additional forms attached to the policy form that
modify it in some way, either unconditionally or upon the existence of
some condition. Endorsements can make policies difficult to read for
nonlawyers; they may modify or delete clauses located several pages
earlier in the standard insuring agreement, or even modify each other.
Because it is very risky to allow nonlawyer underwriters to directly
rewrite core policy language with word processors, insurers usually
direct underwriters to modify standard forms by attaching endorsements
preapproved by counsel for various common modifications.
Policy riders - A policy rider is used to convey the terms of a
policy amendment and the amendment thereby becomes part of the policy.
Riders are dated and numbered so that both insurer and policyholder can
determine provisions and the benefit level. Common riders to group
medical plans involve name changes, change to eligible classes of
employees, change in level of benefits, or the addition of a managed
care arrangement such as an Health Maintenance Organization or Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).[8]
Policy jackets - A policy jacket is a cover, binder, envelope, or presentation folder
with pockets in which the policy may be delivered. Historically,
standard boilerplate provisions common to an entire family of policies
were often printed on the jacket itself; then the underwriter would type
up the declarations form and insert that form along with insuring
agreement and endorsement forms into the jacket to assemble a complete
policy. They are increasingly rare because jackets do not feed through automatic document feeders and must be manually copied or scanned in order to produce a complete image of the entire policy text.
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This article is about risk management. For Insurance (blackjack), see Blackjack. For the contract between insurer and insured, see Insurance policy.
Insurance is the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment. It is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss.
According to study texts of The Chartered Insurance Institute, there are the following categories of risk:[1]
Financial risks which means that the risk must have financial measurement.
Pure risks which means that the risk must be real and not related to gambling
Particular risks which means that these risks are not widespread in
their effect, for example such as earthquake risk for the region prone
to it.
It is commonly accepted that only financial, pure and particular risks are insurable.
An insurer, or insurance carrier, is a company selling the insurance;
the insured, or policyholder, is the person or entity buying the
insurance policy. The amount of money to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage is called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.
The transaction involves the insured assuming a guaranteed and known
relatively small loss in the form of payment to the insurer in exchange
for the insurer's promise to compensate (indemnify) the insured in the case of a financial (personal) loss. The insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be financially compensated.
Why You Should Let Your Car Insurance Company Ride Shotgun
Tired of paying too much for your car insurance? If so, you're not alone.
According to J.D. Power, car owners got hit with average increases of 35
percent -- $153 -- on their car insurance premiums last year. And that
was up from an increase of $113 in 2012.
As rates reach for the sky, more car owners are reaching out for options
to control their costs. And according to consumer financial website
NerdWallet, one option you should look hard at this year is usage-based,
or "pay-as-you-go" car insurance.
The 411 on Usage-Based Insurance
Usage-based insurance is a relatively recent innovation. The National
Association of Insurance Commissioners describes it as a way to align
the premiums that drivers pay with the amount and manner they drive, "making premium pricing more individualized and precise."
The basic idea is that the less you drive, the less chance your car will
be damaged while driving -- and so the less you should pay to insure
against the risk of such damage. Similarly, the better you
drive -- e.g., by driving "gently," obeying the speed limit, and neither
accelerating nor braking too precipitously -- the less you should be
charged.
The question is how to prove to an insurance company that you drive
little enough, and well enough, to deserve a discount. And the answer to
this question is telematics.
Big Insurer is Watching You
Telematics refers to new advances in technology that permit an insurer
to monitor how a driver drives. It basically boils down to you, the
driver, permitting your insurer to install a GPS monitoring device in
your car that records how the vehicle is driven over a period of time.
Whenever
an individual annuitant, who is receiving periodic payments under a
Structured Settlement, desires to sell some or all of their future
payments for a lump sum of money, the cash flows are sold at a discount
in exchange for the lump sum payment. This discounted Structured
Settlement is then available for sale to the Purchaser. This manner of
securing the payment streams at a discount directly from the seller is
how the Purchaser secures very favorable yields. This transaction is
normally facilitated by a financial broker on behalf of the seller (or
annuitant) and the purchaser.
These structured settlements normally earn more than two times the
yearly rates of Municipal or Corporate Bonds, Bank Issued Certificates
of Deposit (CD’s), or Government Issued Treasury Securities. Investors
can certainly purchase an annuity directly from an insurance company,
but these Direct Annuity Investments are backed by the same insurance
companies as the Structured Settlements arranged by a broker, and they
are typically originated with large sales charges or commissions, and
offer substantially lower yields.
The major benefits of purchasing these structured settlement annuities are:
1. Purchaser receives significantly higher yields than Purchaser can secure from comparable fixed rate investments.
2. Purchaser receives a fixed income over a defined period of time,
based on the specific parameters of the purchased Structured
Settlement.
3. Purchasers can aquire this asset to increase the yields in personal
holdings, to maximize income at retirement, or to preserve principal for
future years. They can be purchased by individuals, retirement plans,
corporate entities, foundations, trusts, through investment clubs, or
group investment accounts.
4. The Structured Settlement is backed or supported by annuity contracts
issued by a rated insurance carrier. The insurance carrier that issued
the annuity contract is state regulated and will generally have a
Standard & Poor’s credit rating between “A-” through “AAA”.
5. Purchaser has control throughout the investment process; Purchaser
receives assignment of the Structured Settlement payment rights directly
from the seller through an approved court approval process, and the
Purchaser receives the future cash flows directly from the rated
insurance company that is obligated to make the payments. At no time
during the lifecycle of the asset should the broker have possession, or
control, of the Purchaser’s money.
Considerations of Purchasing from Annuitant
1. The transaction process facilitates a court order of the asset
directly from the Seller to the Purchaser. The broker does not own the
Structured Settlement payment rights, and should not receive, hold, or
disburse any of the investor’s money. This is NOT a fund, and the
Structured Settlement payments are made directly to the Purchaser from
the insurance entity.
2. The security of the annuity is directly related to the claims paying
ability of the insurance entity. The designation of an annuity as a
“claims paying” obligation means that these obligations supersede
obligations to bond holders, stock holders and other debtors. The
insurance entities are required to hold capital to support these
obligations as required by the applicable state insurance regulator. To
date, a situation has not been reported where an insurance company rated
A, or better, by Standard & Poors has defaulted on an annuity
obligation that supported a structured settlement, and a concomitant
loss has resulted to the payee. However, as the current financial
markets illustrate, past history is not a guarantee of future results,
and there could be future issues that arise relating to Structured
Settlements that have not existed in the past.
3. Annuities, depending on the amounts owed, are partially or fully
guaranteed by state insurance funds, and are designed to protect annuity
holders from loss. This may provide an additional level of security to
the potential Purchaser.
4. Structured Settlements are issued in U.S. dollars. Foreign Purchasers
should consider the impact of exchange rates and U.S. withholding taxes
on any potential investment.
5. A Structured Settlement may be less liquid than other investment
options. The court order assigns the payment rights directly to the
Purchaser or designee, and any future assignments may require an
additional court order. There is no established secondary market for the
resale of Structured Settlements and hence, Purchasers should be
prepared to hold the Structured Settlements for the entire term.
6. In evaluating Structured Settlement payment rights, Purchasers should
review the structure of, and support for, the payment rights. For
example, some Structured Settlement payment rights are guaranteed by the
related insurance company.
7. The Structured Settlement payment rights purchased may be all of the
payments due to a Plaintiff or only a portion of the payment rights.
Because the court will only approve a transaction that is in the best
interests of the Plaintiff, in many instances, only a portion of the
payments can be purchased since the purchase price for these limited
payments will meet all of the Plaintiff’s current needs. Because most
state guaranty funds have dollar limits on the amount that they can be
obligated to pay in respect to annuities and life insurance policies
issued by insolvent insurance companies, Purchasers should be cognizant
of the size of the underlying annuity that supports the Structured
Settlement relative to those limits.
8. There are tax considerations applicable to purchasing, collecting,
holding and selling Structured Settlements. Please note that Section 104
of the Internal Revenue Code, which exempts Structured Settlement
payments being made to an injured person pursuant to a settlement, is
not applicable to
Secondary market purchasers. Hence, the receipt of Structured Settlement
payments are generally taxable to a secondary market purchaser.
Purchasers should consult their own tax advisor as to the tax
considerations that would be applicable prior to purchasing any
Structured Settlements.
Risk Mitigation of Purchasing from Annuitant
The purchasers return on the investment is based entirely on timely
receipt of payments outlined in the court order which assigns the rights
to those payments to the Purchaser. The risk associated with receipt of
those payments is mitigated by the historical performance of the asset,
as well as the various guarantees that may apply.
1. In most cases, the seller has already been receiving payments related
to the original Structured Settlement. This indicates that the
insurance company has accepted that obligation, and has established a
pattern of making timely payments.
2. Annuities are typically secured through a process of matching assets,
meaning that the insurance entities typically invest the original
principal received from the defendant or assignment company into
investments which offset the obligation.
3. The annuity companies have historically performed as agreed.
4. The Court Order process establishes the rights of the purchaser
related to receipt of the payments, as well as the completion of a
process that includes the acceptance and acknowledgement of the specific
insurance entity.
5. Annuities are “Claims Paying” obligations, and they supersede other
creditors in the unlikely event of default or liquidation.
6. The underlying rating of the insurance entity is available.
Structured Settlements where the underlying annuity is from a company
with an S&P rating of A- or better are normally very safe
investments.
7. The insurance entities typically have large parent companies, with a significant asset base.
8. Finally, each state provides a limited guarantee fund to support the obligations of the entities within that state.
The ownership of some Structured Settlements represents a direct
investment in an annuity contract. In some states, this provides the
sophisticated Purchaser an opportunity to shield assets from creditors
since annuities and/or the cash proceeds thereof can be exempt in whole
or in part from creditor claims. The laws differ by state, and
Purchasers should thoroughly research how this applies to their
situation and consult with their own legal counsel.
Fixed Rate Annuity Backed Structured Settlements are not typically
offered directly to the general public, except in connection with the
settlement of lawsuits and certain other limited circumstances.
Therefore, they provide a limited opportunity to sophisticated and
cautious purchasers to secure safe fixed returns at superior rates of
interest.
Burt Kroner is the President and CEO of Client First Settlement Funding,
a company focused on providing alternative financial options for owners
of Structured Settlements. In the last twenty years, Mr. Kroner has
completed thousands of transactions that provide consumers cash for
their periodic payments.
Web hosting is a generic term which we will explain in the context of the web services you receive. Such services include:
Registering a domain name, such as example.org.
Using this domain name for serving a website such as http://example.org.
Having a website building tool or a blog or CMS application.
Using email by your domain name me@example.org.
Others - backing up your important data online, supporting chat / voice services and so on.
Free web hosting?
It is important to know that web hosting
is not necessarily purchased. You can have your own web hosting for
free - almost every computer with internet access can offer web hosting
with a little technical knowledge on your end. On the other hand,
reliable web hosting for busy / feature-rich web sites is expensive and
would require complex setup. In other words, it all depends on your
needs and abilities.Fortunately most people have common needs, which
include a relatively simple website (blog, CMS, forum or other
mainstream software) and an email solution for their domain name.
Shared or Dedicated hosting?
Most people's needs fit in the popular shared hosting
solution. It is quite affordable, fast and stable. However, resources
are shared among users and this has drawbacks in terms of performance
and configuration flexibility. For example, if your application has a
specific server requirement you should not expect the shared server to
be re-configured to meet your needs.That's where the expensive dedicated
solutions come - usually high end servers with dedicated resources
which allow much faster performance and global server
re-configurations.Prices vary between $5 and $10 per month for a shared
hosting to more than $100 for a dedicated solution. If you are not a
very experienced user and your website needs a dedicated machine, it
would be best to purchase managed dedicated hosting
solution, where the hosting company would make all server settings and
security protection for you. The managed dedicated solutions prices
start from $200/month.
By all accounts the Windows 8 Consumer
Preview is proving very popular, and it’s a good way to get a feel for the
new operating system – due out later this year. You won’t need fancy hardware
either, just a reasonably recent Vista/W7 machine with a minimum 1GHz processor
– faster is better, at least 1Gb of RAM and at least 20Gb free drive space.
Many newcomers to W8 are
complaining that there’s no obvious way to shut down the machine. The familiar
Start button is no more, and there’s no power-off function. It probably wasn’t
an oversight by Microsoft, they’re quite keen to get us to learn new habits and
don’t forget this OS was designed for touch-screens and tablet PCs, which have
a dedicated on/off button, but on desktops and laptops it’s not clear what you
have to do. Well, there are a number of ways to shut down W8. The simplest
method is to press Alt + F4, which brings up the Shutdown dialogue,
alternatively set Shut Down as your preference for the Power Button or when you
close the lid. Another option is the new Charms Bar – the new take on the old
Start menu -- which you can open with the shortcut Winkey + C, or go directly
to the Charms Bar shutdown options by pressing Winkey+I. Another common concern
is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to close down apps on the Metro
interface. You can, but there’s actually no need as Windows automatically
suspends apps when they’re not being used, so they consume no system resources.
However, if you want to make certain you have to think touch screen, and the
way to do it is to click on an app icon and drag it quickly it to the bottom of
the screen. The other method is to press Alt + tab to display the Switch List
and right click on the app you want to close.
Or else you will probably go
mad, or blind, or both. The fact is we all spend far too much time staring at
our screens and the simple fact is, it’s not good for you. The general advice
is to take a break every so often, but hours can pass without you realising so
what you need is a gentle nudge, to stop what you are doing, stretch your arms
and legs, have a cup of tea or coffee, go for a pee… you get the idea. Here’s a
simple way to get your PC to do the nudging, it’s a free Open Source utility called
Pause4Relax, and at
intervals of your choosing the screen goes dark (semi transparent), with the message ‘It’s time to
relax’. It’s up to you to decide how long the break is, and there is the option
to ‘skip’ the break and add 5, 10 or 15 minutes to the next interval. There’s
an optional audible alert, progress bar to show time remaining, and it’s very
light on resources, it’s portable and you don’t even have to install it, though
you can set it to start automatically with Windows. You can feel those
shoulders starting to stiffen, so what are you waiting for?
03/02/14
Sounds Relaxing
If you are back to work and
feeling stressed after all of the festivities there here’s a nifty little
freeware called Sound
Valley. It runs in the background, playing a series of restful,
nature-themed soundscapes that include singing birds, wind blowing through the
trees, a stream in the forest, rain and thunder, and the seaside, in the night
or during the day. It is very subtle, though it is highly configurable and you
can wind it up, or suppress loud sounds, but at normal listening levels you’ll
be so relaxed that the only danger is you’ll drop off… Even the control panel
is discrete, and this lets you set a sleep timer and reminder it’s semi
transparent and takes up very little screen space, or system resources.
06/01/14
Crap Zapper
New computers are great, apart from one thing, they come
stuffed full of pre-installed crapware. They’re all the ‘free’ trial programs,
promotions, limited time offers and utilities installed by the manufacturer or
retailer and they can be a real pain, with a constant stream of popups,
reminders and requests for your credit card details. Getting rid of them can be
a real pain, and some of them just won’t go away without a fight. So here’s
what you do. As soon as you’ve unpacked your new PC, set up Windows and your
Internet connection, download and install a freeware utility called SlimComputer. You decide how aggressive, or
conservative it is, which pre-installed programs end up in the bin, and which
ones are disabled (just in case you change you mind). Not only will your new PC
have more room, it should also run a little faster, and without all that unnecessary
stuff hogging your resources it may even be a bit more reliable.
13/05/13
Simple Shutdowns and Timed Tasks
From the
things-you-didn’t-know-you-needed-but-now-can’t-do-without department comes a
small freeware program called KS Shutdown. The name
says it all, well, almost all, because in addition to automatically turning
your computer off a time of your choosing, it can also be set to send it to
sleep, restart, lock the screen or carry out a preset action, like download a
file or play media. All in all a really useful little program, very easy to use
and hardly any bother as it can be set to run in the background and get on with
its tasks with a minimum of fuss and bother. Well worth the price of a 10
second download.
11/03/13
IE Best Of The Battery Bashers
Here’s a handy tip for laptop users. Switching to a
different browser could give you an extra 20 minutes of battery running time.
The intrepid whitecoats at Lifehacker have been putting the most popular
browsers to the test, but this time it wasn’t speed or performance they were
concerned with, but power drain. And guess what came out on top? None other
than clanky old Internet Explorer. The test, which used a standard battery test
program, pitched IE against Chrome, Firefox and Opera on a laptop with a new
installation of Windows 7 and was repeated three times to iron out any
inconsistencies. Top of the pile was IE9 with an average running time of 104
minutes, Opera came in second with 100 minutes, Firefox managed 92 minutes but
Chrome ran the machine dry in just 85 minutes. Obviously results will vary from
machine to machine but if your battery light is blinking, and you need to
squeeze a few more minutes browsing, then switching to IE could just give you
the extra juice your looking for.
09/04/12
Site For Sore Eyes
Here’s something for all of
you out there going goggle-eyed staring at the screen in front of you. It’s
called Eyes Relax and it’s designed
to help you avoid eyestrain by reminding you to take a short break at regular
intervals. These can be long or short breaks and you decide what appears on the
screen, it can remain blank, a single colour, or your favourite restful image.
It’s very flexible, allowing you to specify independent short and long breaks,
there’s a choice of notification sounds and even a password-protected parent
mode that can be used to force your little mites to take a break from gaming,
social networking or whatever else it is they get up to in the bedroom with the
computer…
04/07/11
Drain Brain
Until someone invents a
better battery we’re stuck with the curse of the laptops running for a fraction
of the time claimed in the specs, and it’s all downhill from the day you first
start using it. When you’re running close to empty the traditional power meter
is no use, all it tells is very roughly how much time you have left, and on
some machines it is very rough indeed. What you really need is some way of
telling what applications are sucking up all of your precious juice. Presenting
the PwrDrain Gadget it
shows, in real time via a nifty analogue meter display, the current power drain
on your battery, so you can quickly tell which program or application is
killing the battery. Just watch the needle go up and down as you switch on Wi-Fi,
vary the screen brightness or plug and unplug your USB sticks and very soon you’ll
have your machine fine-tuned to give you the longest possible running times.
23/05/11
Time On Your Hands
Unless you happen to be a
Time Lord, then like the rest of us, time is a mysteriously slippery substance
that you never seem to have enough of, and have no idea where it all goes.
Normally there’s not much you can do about it but you can take charge when you
are in front of your PC with a little utility called TimeSheet. You’ve probably
already figured out what it does from the name but if you’re feeling a little slow
today, essentially it logs everything your do on your computer. Everything from
opening an applications and creating documents to playing Solitaire. This is
especially useful for those where time is money and indeed anyone who needs to
bill for the hour, or day, or are just curious about how they spent their day.
It can create reports and spreadsheets, and it’s really easy to use, which
means more time for you and less time spent working out how much time you’ve
spent doing stuff, if you see what I mean…
08/12/10
Assault On Battery
Laptop manufacturers are
notoriously optimistic when it comes to battery running times, and as you know,
battery capacity declines rapidly after just a few months use. So just how
accurate are those battery meters? Not very is the simple answer and if you really
want to know how bad it can be then download and install this little freeware
utility, called Battery Eater. This puts your notebook or laptop battery a very
thorough workout. It disables all power-saving options and puts it under the
sort of load that it’s rarely going to have to endure in real life, but it’s a
very good way of determining the minimum running time. Once completed the
program provides you with a set of benchmarks so you can keep track of your
battery’s performance and hopefully, provide you with a timely warning that it’s
time to get a replacement.
29/10/10
Stretch and Go
How long have you been sat
in front of your PC screen? If you are anything like me you’ll have no idea, it
could be minutes, hours, or days, time just flashes by, but you’ll know all
about it when you stand up… You really need to take a break every now and again,
if only to have a stretch, grab a coffee and give your eyes and fingers a rest,
but who is going to prod you into action? Big Stretch RSI Reminder,
that’s who. This simple to use little freeware program can be set to flash up a
message at pre-set intervals, maybe a little something you’ve put together like
‘Hey dummy, get up and walk about for five minutes’, or some handy tips on how
to avoid repetitive strain injury (RSI). The alert can be non-intrusive balloon
window -- or intrusive – slap bang in
the middle of the screen, and there’s an option to disable the alerts when the
PC is idle.
19/07/10
Timely Remote Switch Off
Let’s suppose that you are
in the middle of a monster download, and you have to go out. You have two
choices, you can leave your PC running and switch it off when
you get back, which probably isn’t a problem if you’re only going to be out for
a short while. Or, you can stop the download and restart it when you return.
Neither scenario is terribly attractive but now there’s a third option. Install a freeware utility called Airytec Switch Off and you can
set it to automatically shut down or hibernate your computer at a preset time,
when the CPU is idle and the download has finished, or here’s the clever bit,
shut it down remotely from another PC on the network, over the Internet, or
from your cellphone. It runs from the System tray, either as an installed
application or a non-installed portable app and it works happily on all
versions of Windows from XP onwards. It’s small too; the full install download
is just 187kb.
05/07/10
Sonar Saver
I am a big fan of
applications that make clever and unusual use of a PC’s hardware and Sonar Power Manager definitely ticks
my boxes. It’s basically a way of putting your laptop into a low power/power
save mode when you are not using it, and the way it does that it is to use a
form of Sonar. That’s right, it’s based on the technique submarines use to detect the
presence of underwater obstacles and other vessels. Your laptop’s speakers send
out a hopefully inaudible tone and if there’s anything in front of the screen
moving around– i.e. you working – the
sound is bounced reflected and picked up by the computer’s microphone. It’s
really easy to use and simple to configuration as it sends out a series of tones
to establish the so-called ‘presence threshold’. It definitely works, but… Not
all laptop speakers can handle ultrasonic tones. Two out of the three we tried
it with weren’t able when meant that they emitted a rather annoying whine that
you may find difficult to live with…
22/03/10
Be Good To Your Battery
And with a name like Battery Care, how can
you afford to ignore this little freeware application that tells you things
about your laptop battery that you never thought to ask. It keeps a running
check on your battery’s condition by recording charge/discharge cycles and a
specially written algorithm works out when a full discharge is needed, to keep
it in tip-top condition. Based on what it learns about your battery the program
calculates running time left and such things as life expectancy, power
consumption and even the name of the manufacturer. If you like it can optimise
your power management settings and it can also help to configure such things as
Vista’s Aero graphics and other power hungry services. Finally, as an added bonus
it displays CPU temperature.
13/08/09
Eye Saver
Remember what your mum used to say about watching too much
telly, and how it will give you ‘square eyes’ (for those of us who remember
pre-widescreen TVs)? Well, the modern equivalent must surely be the danger of
developing 1280 x 1024 eyes, from staring too long at a computer monitor. So
here, for all you mums out there, and indeed anyone concerned about PC-induced eye-strain,
is a little program that reminds, or forces you, to take a break from the
computer screen. It’s called Eyes Relax
and in addition to an easily configurable timer, you can set it to show a Balloon
Tip, coloured blank screen, an image of your choice and there’s a Parent mode,
which is password protected and enforces the screen break. It’s free, highly configurable and at just 932kb the
download should only take a few moments on a broadband connection.
05/02/09
Peace and Tranquillity from your PC
If you’re a New Ageist, or simply stressed out, then here’s
something that might interest you. It’s called Tranquillity and the
simplest way to describe it is to think of it as a really sophisticated
screensaver, but with the emphasis on sound, rather than images. The acoustic ‘environments’
can be configured to suit your karma and company, and programmed and customized
to run at particular times or when the mood takes you. You may find that a busy
morning will be easier to bear with the sounds of a mockingbird in the
background, or you may prefer to listen to the ocean, or spend ‘A day in the
woods’. Don’t knock it, it’s actually quite restful and makes a very pleasant change
from the usual assortment of background noises we have to put up with in our
daily lives.
18/09/08
Trust Me, I’m in the WOT…
Remember the ‘Circle of Trust’ in Meet the Parents
and Meet the Fockers? Don’t worry if you haven’t seen those movies, but
that was the first thing I thought of when I came across the Web of Trust or WOT. It’s all a bit cheesy,
but the principle is sound. WOT is a Firefox and Internet Explorer add-on that
tells you at a glance if a site you are about to visit contains anything
suspicious or dangerous. Sites are graded with a colour coded traffic lights, green
for okay, amber for caution and red for danger and these appear alongside the
site when you do a search using Google or any of the popular Search Engines.
WOT has rated almost 20 million sites and it’s kept up to date with member
feedback, so nothing should slip through the net. If you are concerned about
the safety on the net then give it a test run. It’s all free and I’m pleased to
report that all of our associated sites get a bright green light!
09/06/08
What Have You Been Doing Today?
I am utterly convinced there is something wrong with the
space-time continuum and that an hour actually only lasts around 40 minutes. At
the end of the day I’m left with the nagging question, where did it all go?
Well, now you can find out, with a free Open Source utility called Personal Task Manager . It is a
time-tracking tool and it looks just like the Windows Task Manager. It lists
what you and your PC have been up to throughout the day, creating log and
summary files, so you can look back over the past week and see how much time
you’ve spent really working, taking lunch, or drinking cups of coffee. Come to
think of it, it’s also just the job for suspicious bosses – I would check that
it hasn’t already been installed on your office PC…
11/02/08
Who’s The Boss? You Are, Instantly…
Work you dog! If you
are a slave to your PC it’s time to take back control, or at least, control how
your PC controls you, as it were… Let me explain, This little program, called Instant Boss is basically a
timer that you program to tell you take breaks at pre-determined intervals. You
can also program how long the break lasts, and how many times each day it
happens. At the appointed time a little message pops up on the screen,
accompanied by the sound of a cup of tea being poured and you can click the
Take a Break button, and the break timer starts. There’s also ‘Work a Little
Longer’ and ‘Skip the Break’ buttons. At the end of a break you will be told in
no uncertain terms to ‘get back to work’! Now, do as you are told, install this
program!
17/09/07
Take Solace in Good Health
If you have health problems, and especially if you do a lot
of travelling, you may be concerned about what would happen if you were to
become ill whilst on holiday or a business trip. Here’s something that could
give you some peace of mind. It’s called Solace, and it’s a
free PHM or Personal Health Manager program. It’s a set of forms that you fill
in with all of your vital statistics and health details, medications you are
taking, allergies, details of any chronic conditions or diseases, surgical
history, physical condition, diagnostic reports (EKG, MRI etc.), and if you
like, details of your will, power of attorney, directives in case of death etc.
The information is encrypted, password protected and stored securely on your PC.
There’s an option to print it all out so you can keep your records with you or,
for an annual fee of $19.95 it can be uploaded to a secure web server where,
with your permission and passwords it can be viewed by any doctor or medical
practitioner with a web connection, should you become ill when you are away
from home.
14/09/07
Recharge Your PED
A PED, in case you didn’t know, is aircraft industry jargon
for a Passenger Electronic Device, in other words MP3 players, cellphones and
organisers. As anyone who has travelled long haul knows, one of the worst
things that can happen is your MP3 player battery running out, just as they
bring round the first drinks trolley. A small company in California, called Inflight Power has come up with a neat
widget that provides you with a useable source of power from the audio jack in
your aircraft seat. Just plug it in, wind up the volume on the seat socket and
connect your PED to the charger’s USB socket.
It’s pretty slow and charging
takes around three times longer than using the USB socket on a PC, but it could
be enough to get your MP3 player back up and running for a couple of hours. It
works on all types of seat, including cattle class in aircraft, and
audio-equipped seats in coaches and trains. In case you were wondering how it
works, the device uses a circuit called a charge-pump, which basically uses a capacitor
to store the energy in the audio signal – typically peaking at a around 1.5
volts. Over time it adds up all the pulses of energy and converts them to a
steady 5 volt DC supply, the same as you get from a USB socket
07/09/07
Travels With My
Laptop
It’s that time of
year again but just remember that more laptops get lost or die on holiday than
at any other time. Sun, sea and sand are amongst your computers worst enemies,
so don’t take yours on the beach – you won’t be able to see the screen anyway
-- and here’s a few more timely tips to make sure your laptop comes back from
holiday safe and sound.
Pack it carefully in
a padded bag, and surround that with more padding. Laptops bags are not
necessarily a good idea as they prove a tempting target for thieves but in any
case never leave the bag containing your laptop unattended. Make sure you have
suitable power and modem adaptors and cables for the places you will be
visiting, pack a LAN cable as well. If you are going to be relying on a WI-Fi
connection practice before you go and make sure you know how to log on to
hotspots and access points. Make a note of your ISP’s phone number, just in
case…
Before you go backup
anything on your laptop that you do not want to lose. Also carry some extra
backup with you in the form of large capacity USB flash drive, and keep this
separate from the computer at all times, in case you lose one or the other. In
some countries customs and security like to see the machine boot up, so leave
enough battery power otherwise they’ll have you rooting around for your mains
adaptor.
If you are flying
long-haul charge your battery when you can. You never know when you’ll get your
next chance; there are usually plenty of power outlets in departure lounges. An
extra battery is a worthwhile investment if you are going to be doing a lot of
travelling, and check with your airline to see if there are any in-seat power
adaptors on your flight, and the type of connector they use.
08/08/07
Going on Strike…
Although it hasn’t rained for the best part of a month, I
have it on good authority that next week we are all going to get wet. Assuming
this crazy weather isn’t too far out of kilter, April showers mean
thunderstorms. At around this time of year, for as long as I can remember, I
get a succession of emails from people who’s computers and modems have been
fried by lightning strikes. There is no cure and in many cases the PC’s a write
off and data is lost.
It doesn’t have to be a direct hit, a strike on
a nearby power or phone cable is all that’s needed. You might think you are protected
because you live in a city or town, the power cables are buried and phone poles
all have lightning conductors or you have a surge protector fitted to your
power cable. Wrong! Lightning strikes are several tens of millions of volts and
a hit on the pole outside your house and puny little anti-surge devices are not
going to protect your PC. The only sure way to do that is when a storm is
overhead or nearby is to unplug your computer from the mains and disconnect the
modem or network cable and wait for it to pass, which usually only takes a few
minutes.
20/04/07
Don’t Just Sit There!
If you are anything like me, sat sitting staring at a
keyboard and monitor all day long then sooner or later you are going to suffer
from stiffness, aches in the back and neck and probably end up being quite
unfit. It doesn’t have to be that way and all you need is a little prompting to
do a few stretches every so often, but somehow you never get around to it. What
you need is Exercise Minder,
it’s a freeware program and at preset intervals it pops up next to the system
tray with some simple exercises for you to follow, and useful tips, to keep you
moving and hydrated. You can set it to remind you as often as you like, and the
pop-up include simple animations, showing you what bits to move, and where to put
them. Now, jump to it, hup two three…
23/03/07
Save a Tree With Your PC
Here’s something to think about, if everyone who owned a
PC remembered to switch it off when they finished using it, it would save more
than 30 billion kilowatt-hours of energy. We all want to do our part to reduce
carbon emissions and although an individual PC doesn’t use a lot of energy,
multiply it by the several hundred million that are in daily use and it starts
to become very significant.
Windows XP has some useful energy-saving tools but this
small, free application, called LocalCooling takes it several stages further
and shows you how by tweaking your PC’s power settings you can actually save energy,
reduce costs and most importantly, help reduce the emissions that are contributing
to global warming.
LocalCooling automatically optimises your PC’s power
consumption and shows, in terms we can all understand, how many trees and
gallons of oil the savings represent. You are also invited to join the
LocalCooling Community. Their aim to get 100 million users on board and prevent
more than 300 billion kg of CO2 emissions and save over 1.8 billion gallons of
oil per year.
08/12/06
How much Power does your PC Use?
The short answer is it depends. However, one way to get a
fair idea of how much electricity your PC uses, and its contributing to global
warming, is to consult the Journey Systems Power Supply
Calculator. It works by adding up the individual power consumption figures
for all of the components in your PC, from the CPU to the CD or DVD drive. The
site makes it very clear that the final figure -- designed to help PC builders
work out the sort of power supply they will need -- is a theoretical maximum
figure and unlikely ever to happen in normal use but it is a useful guide, and
if you add it to the power consumption of your monitor you should be able to
work out roughly how much your PC is costing your to run.
27/09/06
Computer Keep-Fit
Sitting staring at
a computer monitor all day is bad news, health-wise, but if you just can’t
spare the time to get down the gym then take a break and try a few simple
exercises. Here’s a couple of websites to get you started. Deskercize from the
University of California Human Resources and Benefits department has a
particularly imaginative selection. ‘Firm your Fanny’ and ‘Seventh Inning Reach
and Stretch’ sound quite interesting and fellow workers will treat you with new
respect after seeing you doing a ‘Ready for Fight’ workout.
If that sounds a
bit too much like hard work then head over to Desktop Yoga with Ellen
Serber, and she will take you through a series of exercises to alleviate the
strain of working at a computer and help you to avoid Repetitive Strain Injury
(RSI) and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Apparently it can set you up for a calmer,
happier, more productive day, Just don’t fall asleep…
19/09/06
Better Battery Display for Laptops
You may remember a few days ago we looked at laptop batteries, and how
to prolong their active lives by maintaining at least 40 to 50% charge. In
practice keeping tabs on a battery pack’s state of charge can be quite difficult.
You have to ‘hover’ the mouse over the Windows battery meter in the System
Tray, and the proprietary battery meters supplied with some laptops vary from
quite good to awful. This one, called Power Meter
Plus takes all the guesswork out of it. The meter is displayed as clear
bargraph on the right or left side of the screen, and it gradually appears, as
the charge drops, so it’s difficult to ignore. When the battery is charging the
meter gradually fades and disappears as the battery reaches full capacity.
25/08/06
Prolong the Life of your Laptop Battery
Laptop batteries have been in the news recently, thanks to some
unfortunate design or manufacturing flaws over at Dell, or Sony (who make the
allegedly self-destructive cells). However, for the most part these unsung
heroes of portable computing lead rather dull and uneventful lives, until they
start to wear out. Unfortunately this is a fact of life and the Lithium Ion
(Li-ion) battery packs used in most laptops, and pretty well all portable
electronic devices these days, start to deteriorate from the day they roll off
the production line, almost regardless of how many times they are charged.
They’re expensive to replace so it makes sense to look after them and
the number one Li-Ion killer is heat. For example a Li-ion pack, correctly
charged, stored and used at a chilly 0 degrees centigrade loses only 2% of its
capacity in the first year and 6% in year two. At a comfy 25 degrees year 1
losses amount to a modest 4 % but leap to 20% in the second year.
Deep discharging (i.e. constantly running the battery flat) also
shortens their lives and as few as 100 deep charge/discharge cycles can reduce
a Li-ion pack’s capacity by as much as 75.
In short the best you can expect is a lifespan of 3 to 5 years, after
which the reduction in capacity will make the battery virtually useless. If you
want your batteries to reach retirement age then keep them cool -- don’t store
them in cars in summer, for example -- and try to maintain a constant charge of
40 to 50%. If you have a spare swap it regularly with your other battery, and
when not in use keep it topped up and store it in the fridge (but not the
freezer, and warm to room temperature before using). If you need to buy a new
battery take note of the manufacturing date, and avoid old stock.
22/08/06
Watts
The Point -- Save the Planet!
Global
warming, energy shortages, pollution; these are difficult times for the planet,
so how much is your PC and laptop contributing to the problem and how much do
they cost to run?
You
might be surprised. A typical desktop machine and LCD monitor consumes around
300 watts, so if used for 10 hours a day that would set you back in the region
of £10 a month or around £120 a year. That probably doesn’t sound too bad but
if you are using a CRT monitor you can easily add another fiver a month to the
cost. In fact it’s worth chucking it out as switching to an LCD, which has
around half the power consumption, can pay for itself in around 3 to 5 years in
saved energy costs alone.
Laptops
are quite frugal compared to desktops and assuming that you power and charge it
from your home supply an average laptop, used for five hours a day will consume
around £20 to £30’s worth of electricity a year.
Of
course switching your machine off when it’s not in use is always a good idea,
though too many on/off cycles throughout the day can reduce the life of some
components. There are savings to be had by configuring your PC’s power profile
to shut down hard drives and the monitor after a period of inactivity, that
fits in with your working patterns.
If
you are curious about which appliances in your home are racking up the bills
then why not invest in a wattage meter?
07/08/06
Wi-Fi Travel Tips
You’re
probably gearing up for the summer holidays and if you are taking your laptop
with you, to try out those exotic foreign hotspots -- and I mean the wireless
kind -- then here’s a few things to bear in mind.
Don’t
let your defences down, make sure your Firewall is up and running whenever
you’re connected (though you may need to switch it off temporarily to make the
connection in the first place, just remember to switch it back on). The same
goes for your anti-virus protection that should go on holiday with you, and
check that it’s up to date if you don’t use your laptop very often. Switch off
file sharing, you really don’t want to be sharing your personal and private
data with people you don’t know and enable all of your PC’s password protection
options, including the one in the BIOS.
Keep
your wits about you, be aware of people close by acting suspiciously, laptops
are really easy to pinch, it only take a second or two’s lack of concentration
and if there’s any sensitive data on your laptop’s hard drive, encrypt it.
20/07/06
SHINE
A LIGHT, from Gavin Hatherell
Most computers are usually hidden under a desk, in the dark, so quickly
plugging cables in or out at the back means grabbing a torch to see what you
are doing. My tip is to use a spare USB socket on the back, and permanently
plug in one of those LED lights that come on the end of a bendy wand. They are
designed for laptops, to illuminate the keyboard, but work just as well to
shine a little in the dark! Just leave it on all the time.
15/06/06
LIGHTNING REACTION - PROTECT
AND SURVIVE
A couple of bright flashes
and loud bangs outside my window recently reminded me that we are rapidly
approaching thunderstorm season. Every year I hear terrible tales of woe about
PCs, hard drives and modems, fried and frazzled by nearby lightning strikes.
Hundreds, possibly thousands of PCs are zapped every year but it’s easy to
avoid. Firstly do not assume that a storm is too far away to do any damage;
they can move at frightening speed. If you hear a storm approaching save your
work, shut down the PC and if it sounds like it’s going to pass close by play
safe, disconnect the phone/modem and power cables and wait for it to move away.
Don’t rely on sockets and adaptors that purport to have built-in lighting
protection; a lightning strike on a phone or power cable outside your home will
take out just about every piece of electrical and electronic equipment in the
vicinity that’s still plugged in.
A
PAIN IN THE RSI
The last day of February has been designated
International RSI Awareness Day. As a former sufferer of
Repetitive Strain Injury I can testify to the fact that tapping away at a
keyboard for hours on end, day after day really hurts after a while. Painful
wrists plagued me on and off for almost 10 years but it disappeared in a little
over a week after switching to an ergonomic ‘split-field’ keyboard.Here's a five-point plan to avoid RSI:
Take regular breaks
Ensure your screen is
at eye-level and at a comfortable angle
Wriggle your wrists
and fingers every half hour and try a padded wrist rest
Roll your shoulders
and sit up straight once an hour
If you suffer from
back pain try a foot rest and ergonomic chair
By the way, I’m not sure
where all these ‘XXX Days’ come from and I don’t think there’s any official
co-ordinating body to keep them in check but there’s a daily updated list of
notable events at earthcalendar.com. I
HOT AND BOTHERED LAPTOPS
I don’t know if it’s just a
coincidence but in the past few weeks I have had to deal with several cases of
newish laptops that suddenly slowed down or shut down after an hour or two’s
use. After half an hour’s rest they’re usually fine, which means that
they are overheating. I suspect this has a lot to do with the new
generation of high performance processors being shoehorned into ever-slimmer
cases, which leave little or no margin for error when it comes to cooling. Typically
the overheating problem goes away when the user gives the ventilation slots a
blow through with an ‘Air Duster’ (a tin of compressed gas, readily available
form PC suppliers and stationers) and this usually dislodges a fair amount of
fluff and hairs. Otherwise it can often be cured by not resting the machine on
your lap, but if you must then support it on a tray or a flat board to a allow
cooling air to circulate more freely.
ON OR OFF?
There are two schools of thought about whether
or not you should unplug a PC from the mains when working inside. Leaving the
PC plugged in, but switched off at the socket will ensure that the case remains
connected to earth and therefore better able to disperse a static discharge but
if the wall socket has been wrongly wired -- and this is more common that you
might suppose -- there is a chance that the mains switch and the power supply
could still be live. Modern electronic devices are now very well protected
against static discharge so I recommend that you play safe and unplug your
computer (and monitor) whenever you remove the lid.
SAFE DISPOSAL
If you have an old PC to get rid of don't just
toss it in a skip or try to dispose of it with the household rubbish. Computers
and most peripherals contain a cocktail of potentially harmful materials and
toxic chemicals that really shouldn't be allowed to get into the environment by
being incinerated or dumped in landfill sites. CRT monitors in particular need
to be handled carefully and can be really dangerous if dropped. Most local
authorities now have collection points for computers and electrical equipment
at waste disposal sites and if you can't take it there yourself many councils
will arrange to collect bulky items for free or a small charge.
MIND YOUR BACK
Computers can seriously damage your health!
Inappropriate seating is a major contributing factor to back pain. If you are
going to be seated in front of your PC for more than an hour or so each day get
a proper chair. Purpose designed office chairs, with adjustable height and back
support are ideal, and they're not expensive.
SCREEN SETTINGS
Make sure your display screen is at the most
comfortable height -- e.g. eye-level and that the brightness and contrast are
properly adjusted. If you get a lot of reflections on the screen, from bright
lights or windows a clip-on anti-glare screen should help.Don't sit staring at the screen for hours
on end without a break. Stand up from time to time, walk around, maybe do some
stretching exercises
COMFY KEYBOARD
Keyboards can cause a lot of problems,
especially the cheap ones that come with a lot of PCs these days. Fast typists
and those used to mechanical typewriters can find the short, sharp keystrokes
of a PC keyboard uncomfortable, it can even lead to painful repetitive strain
injury or RSI. If you're going to be doing a lot of typing think about buying
an ergonomically shaped keyboard. Wrist support pads can help relieve the
strain, though if problems persist you should consult your GP.
FATTER FONTS
If you have poor or failing eyesight computer
display screens can be difficult to read. If you find the icons and printing
underneath too small to read easily try the 'large' and 'extra large' colour
schemes in Display Properties. They're located on the Appearances Tab that you
can find by double clicking on the Display icon in Control Panel.While you are there select the Settings tab
and try the 'Larger Fonts' size. You may also find it helpful to change the
Desktop Area slider to a lower value, especially if it has been set to a high
resolution figure (1024 x 768 pixels, for example) and you are viewing it on a
14 or 15-inch monitor. Most word-processor packages have a 'zoom' facility, to
enlarge the size of the text display.
A similar set of options is available from the
Accessibility Options icon in Control Panel. Double click the icon to open the
window. Select the Display tab, then Settings. The next set of options will
enlarge the display, with normal black on white text, or the whole thing can be
reversed, with white on black characters. Click on display, then check the Use
High Contrast box and confirm the changes by clicking the Apply button. Be
patient, it takes a few seconds for the display to change.
CHIP CREEP
Here's an optional cleaning job for those
familiar with their PCs. Whilst you have the lid off the system unit unplug and
reseat the cables going from the motherboard to the disc drives, and remove and
replace expansion cards and memory modules. This prevents a condition known as
'contact creep', where cycling temperatures inside the case cause components
and connectors to expand and contract, which in extreme cases can unseat plugs
and even cause microchips to rise up out of their sockets.Remember, no plugs, sockets or connectors on
a PC should ever require more than light finger pressure, if you have to force
it then it's the wrong socket, or the wrong way around.
EASIER READ
You can easily change the font and size of the
typeface used by Windows Explorer and icon labelling. It's worth trying if you
find it difficult to read, you're using an unusually large or small monitor, or
you're simply bored with the default typeface. Right click your mouse on an
empty space on the desktop and select Properties, when the Display window
appears click on the Appearance tab. In the drop-down menu marked Item, choose
Icon. You will then be able to select a new typeface from the Font menu.
EASIER ON THE EYE
If your vision is impaired and you are having
problems reading web pages there are a number of things you can do to improve
legibility. First try increasing the text size of your browser's display. In
Internet Explorer this can be found on the View menu. Switching off coloured
backgrounds makes a big difference (even if you have normal sight...), this
option is on the IE Tools menu, select Internet Options, then the General tab
and click the Accessibility button. You can reduce the clutter on web pages by
disabling pictures and graphics, it is controlled from the Advanced Tab in
Internet Options, scroll down the list to Multimedia and uncheck 'Show
Pictures'. Finally, a lot of web pages have Text-Only versions and these are
usually much easier to read.
The main features of Second Generation are:
The main features of Third Generation are:
The main features of Fourth Generation are:
The main features of Fifth Generation are:
If you are back to work and
feeling stressed after all of the festivities there here’s a nifty little
freeware called 
New computers are great, apart from one thing, they come
stuffed full of pre-installed crapware. They’re all the ‘free’ trial programs,
promotions, limited time offers and utilities installed by the manufacturer or
retailer and they can be a real pain, with a constant stream of popups,
reminders and requests for your credit card details. Getting rid of them can be
a real pain, and some of them just won’t go away without a fight. So here’s
what you do. As soon as you’ve unpacked your new PC, set up Windows and your
Internet connection, download and install a freeware utility called 
From the
things-you-didn’t-know-you-needed-but-now-can’t-do-without department comes a
small freeware program called 
Here’s a handy tip for laptop users. Switching to a
different browser could give you an extra 20 minutes of battery running time.
The intrepid whitecoats at Lifehacker have been putting the most popular
browsers to the test, but this time it wasn’t speed or performance they were
concerned with, but power drain. And guess what came out on top? None other
than clanky old Internet Explorer. The test, which used a standard battery test
program, pitched IE against Chrome, Firefox and Opera on a laptop with a new
installation of Windows 7 and was repeated three times to iron out any
inconsistencies. Top of the pile was IE9 with an average running time of 104
minutes, Opera came in second with 100 minutes, Firefox managed 92 minutes but
Chrome ran the machine dry in just 85 minutes. Obviously results will vary from
machine to machine but if your battery light is blinking, and you need to
squeeze a few more minutes browsing, then switching to IE could just give you
the extra juice your looking for.
Here’s something for all of
you out there going goggle-eyed staring at the screen in front of you. It’s
called 
Until someone invents a
better battery we’re stuck with the curse of the laptops running for a fraction
of the time claimed in the specs, and it’s all downhill from the day you first
start using it. When you’re running close to empty the traditional power meter
is no use, all it tells is very roughly how much time you have left, and on
some machines it is very rough indeed. What you really need is some way of
telling what applications are sucking up all of your precious juice. Presenting
the 
Unless you happen to be a
Time Lord, then like the rest of us, time is a mysteriously slippery substance
that you never seem to have enough of, and have no idea where it all goes.
Normally there’s not much you can do about it but you can take charge when you
are in front of your PC with a little utility called 
Laptop manufacturers are
notoriously optimistic when it comes to battery running times, and as you know,
battery capacity declines rapidly after just a few months use. So just how
accurate are those battery meters? Not very is the simple answer and if you really
want to know how bad it can be then download and install this little freeware
utility, called 
How long have you been sat
in front of your PC screen? If you are anything like me you’ll have no idea, it
could be minutes, hours, or days, time just flashes by, but you’ll know all
about it when you stand up… You really need to take a break every now and again,
if only to have a stretch, grab a coffee and give your eyes and fingers a rest,
but who is going to prod you into action? 
Let’s suppose that you are
in the middle of a monster download, and you have to go out. You have two
choices, you can leave your PC running and switch it off when
you get back, which probably isn’t a problem if you’re only going to be out for
a short while. Or, you can stop the download and restart it when you return.
Neither scenario is terribly attractive but now there’s a third option. Install a freeware utility called 
I am a big fan of
applications that make clever and unusual use of a PC’s hardware and 
And with a name like 
Remember what your mum used to say about watching too much
telly, and how it will give you ‘square eyes’ (for those of us who remember
pre-widescreen TVs)? Well, the modern equivalent must surely be the danger of
developing 1280 x 1024 eyes, from staring too long at a computer monitor. So
here, for all you mums out there, and indeed anyone concerned about PC-induced eye-strain,
is a little program that reminds, or forces you, to take a break from the
computer screen. It’s called 
If you’re a New Ageist, or simply stressed out, then here’s
something that might interest you. It’s called 
Remember the ‘Circle of Trust’ in Meet the Parents
and Meet the Fockers? Don’t worry if you haven’t seen those movies, but
that was the first thing I thought of when I came across the 
I am utterly convinced there is something wrong with the
space-time continuum and that an hour actually only lasts around 40 minutes. At
the end of the day I’m left with the nagging question, where did it all go?
Well, now you can find out, with a free Open Source utility called 
Work you dog! If you
are a slave to your PC it’s time to take back control, or at least, control how
your PC controls you, as it were… Let me explain, This little program, called 
If you have health problems, and especially if you do a lot
of travelling, you may be concerned about what would happen if you were to
become ill whilst on holiday or a business trip. Here’s something that could
give you some peace of mind. It’s called 
A PED, in case you didn’t know, is aircraft industry jargon
for a Passenger Electronic Device, in other words MP3 players, cellphones and
organisers. As anyone who has travelled long haul knows, one of the worst
things that can happen is your MP3 player battery running out, just as they
bring round the first drinks trolley. A small company in California, called 
It’s that time of
year again but just remember that more laptops get lost or die on holiday than
at any other time. Sun, sea and sand are amongst your computers worst enemies,
so don’t take yours on the beach – you won’t be able to see the screen anyway
-- and here’s a few more timely tips to make sure your laptop comes back from
holiday safe and sound.
Although it hasn’t rained for the best part of a month, I
have it on good authority that next week we are all going to get wet. Assuming
this crazy weather isn’t too far out of kilter, April showers mean
thunderstorms. At around this time of year, for as long as I can remember, I
get a succession of emails from people who’s computers and modems have been
fried by lightning strikes. There is no cure and in many cases the PC’s a write
off and data is lost.
If you are anything like me, sat sitting staring at a
keyboard and monitor all day long then sooner or later you are going to suffer
from stiffness, aches in the back and neck and probably end up being quite
unfit. It doesn’t have to be that way and all you need is a little prompting to
do a few stretches every so often, but somehow you never get around to it. What
you need is 
Here’s something to think about, if everyone who owned a
PC remembered to switch it off when they finished using it, it would save more
than 30 billion kilowatt-hours of energy. We all want to do our part to reduce
carbon emissions and although an individual PC doesn’t use a lot of energy,
multiply it by the several hundred million that are in daily use and it starts
to become very significant. 
The short answer is it depends. However, one way to get a
fair idea of how much electricity your PC uses, and its contributing to global
warming, is to consult the Journey Systems 
Sitting staring at
a computer monitor all day is bad news, health-wise, but if you just can’t
spare the time to get down the gym then take a break and try a few simple
exercises. Here’s a couple of websites to get you started. 
You may remember a few days ago we looked at laptop batteries, and how
to prolong their active lives by maintaining at least 40 to 50% charge. In
practice keeping tabs on a battery pack’s state of charge can be quite difficult.
You have to ‘hover’ the mouse over the Windows battery meter in the System
Tray, and the proprietary battery meters supplied with some laptops vary from
quite good to awful. This one, called 
Laptop batteries have been in the news recently, thanks to some
unfortunate design or manufacturing flaws over at Dell, or Sony (who make the
allegedly self-destructive cells). However, for the most part these unsung
heroes of portable computing lead rather dull and uneventful lives, until they
start to wear out. Unfortunately this is a fact of life and the Lithium Ion
(Li-ion) battery packs used in most laptops, and pretty well all portable
electronic devices these days, start to deteriorate from the day they roll off
the production line, almost regardless of how many times they are charged.
Global
warming, energy shortages, pollution; these are difficult times for the planet,
so how much is your PC and laptop contributing to the problem and how much do
they cost to run?
