Title:

Toll Free Conference Calls

Word Count:

577

Summary:

Conference calls are a convenient method of communicating with a lot of people all at once. Technologies today allow many different types of conference calling.

For a small business, simple 3-way calling may suffice. This feature is available through your telephone company and whatever long-distance rates you have on the phone that originates the call will apply.

When several people located in many different places need to access conference calls, a conference call comp...

Keywords:

conference, call, toll, free, pricing, business, calls

Article Body:

Conference calls are a convenient method of communicating with a lot of people all at once. Technologies today allow many different types of conference calling.

For a small business, simple 3-way calling may suffice. This feature is available through your telephone company and whatever long-distance rates you have on the phone that originates the call will apply.

When several people located in many different places need to access conference calls, a conference call company can provide this service.

A basic conference call service offers audio conference calls (also called teleconferencing) over the telephone. Usually, you have the option of toll-free calls or flat-rate calls.

“Toll-free” is sort of a misnomer because “toll-free” does not mean it’s entirely a free call because the person or business that hires the conference call company pays for the service.

Toll-free conference calls are free for the participants. With toll-free packages, participants use a toll-free number to dial into the call via the conference call company.

The charges for the calls are usually by the minute for the length of the call. In many cases, the more minutes used, the less money per minute it costs. For instance, one package may offer 1,000 toll-free minutes for $70 or 7 cents a minute. If you go over 1,000 minutes, each additional minute would cost 7 cents. Another package may offer 10,000 minutes for $400 or 4 cents a minute and 4 cents for each minute over 10,000 minutes. You can see the cost goes down with the larger packages.

A flat-rate conference call package requires the participants to pay their own long-distance charges. They dial a regular phone number to access the call via the conference call company. The company who hires the conference call company also pays a flat fee to set up the service.

The conference call companies always offer features that augment their basic service. For example, you can have the conference call company record your conference calls and then provide a playback. The playbacks can even be on-demand so people can hear them at any time 24/7.

As you might imagine, conducting a live conference call with dozens of people on the line at once could get a bit out of hand with everyone talking at once and noise in the background as well. Technology comes to the rescue with mute buttons that allow the moderator and/or operator to control what is broadcast on the call.

The operators at the teleconferencing companies can assist you in many ways. In addition to connecting participants as they call in to access your conference, operators can even call participants and then connect them to your call. Operators can attend the entire conference call, providing opening announcements, introductions for host and speakers, moderating question and answer sessions and making closing comments at the end of the call.

Audio conference calls are not the only options available to you. Web conferencing is another type of conference call that utilizes access through participants’ computers. Participants are able to view PowerPoint and whiteboard presentations and to share documents. Communication among participants can be audio or via chat formats. Upgrades of web conferencing services include application and desktop sharing, remote control and video conferencing.

As you can see, there are many ways that businesses today can communicate effectively via conference calling. There are lots of conference-calling companies to choose from and the competition among them drives good bargains for business owners who will take the time to do a little research to find the best bargains.

Title:

Antenna - How One Works

Word Count:

539

Summary:

A simple English explanation of just what happens inside your TV or radio antenna that allows it to pick up signals and transmit them to your receiving device.

Keywords:

antenna

Article Body:

It's probably not something many people are interested in unless they're some kind of an electrical engineer or just bored, but understanding how an antenna works can be useful when the one on your TV or radio goes south on you and the reason is beyond your comprehension.

Trying to explain how an antenna works in simple English is not an easy task as there are a lot of technical specifications that need to be explained. But a general understanding is possible without getting into tech speak that would make Einstein cringe.

In order for an antenna to work it has to radiate. Your antenna, whether TV or radio has what is called free electrons running through it. It is these free electrons that vibrate. The question becomes, how do these free electrons vibrate and what causes them to vibrate?

Well, in real life it takes an electric field to move an electron. If you take an isolated straight dipole, the power comes from the combined fields of all the charged particles, both positive and negative, in the antenna. We'll call this field the antenna's coulomb field.

In addition to this field, the antenna exhibits a magnetic field that is the sum of the magnetic fields of all the free moving electrons. The antenna also has a dynamic electric field that is the vector sum of the dynamic electric fields of all the free electrons. What we can do is separate the electric field of the antenna at any point in space into two components. One of the components will be in phase with the total magnetic field and the other will be 90 degrees out of phase. The in-phase component is the radiation field of the antenna and the out of phase component is the induction field. At the antenna, both fields are parallel to the metal surface.

What happens is that the coulomb field and the induction field fall off much more quickly than the radiation field as the distance increases from the antenna. When you reach distances greater than a few wavelengths from the antenna, you have what is called the antenna's far field. This field is pure radiation. As you get closer to the antenna you have what is called the antenna's near field. This field is a mixture of radiation, coulomb, and induction fields. Still with us? Great, we're getting to the good part.

What ultimately happens with all these fields that makes it so that your TV or radio picks up signals through your antenna is this. The free electrons moving through your antenna are moving at their maximum speed. The right hand half of your antenna accumulates electrons. The left hand half of your antenna is where the electrons depart and leave an excess of charged ions. The coulomb field produces an imbalance and opposes the electrons' rightward motion. The electrons then stop, coast for a bit and then head back towards the left. After they reach maximum speed they then stop and process is repeated, now heading back to the right. The result is a vibration of free electrons that heats the metal and in turn generates electromagnetic waves.

And that, in as simple English as possible, is how your antenna works.

Title:

Testing electronic Systems - DUTS

Word Count:

249

Summary:

Electronic test equipment, commonly called testgear, is equipment that is used to create stimulating signals and capture the responses from electronic devices under test. These devices are knowns as DUTS, Devices Under Test. Given this controls it is possible to prove the proper operation of a device through these tests, and deem them as being needed of repair or not.

Keywords:

used electronic test equipment, equipment telecom test used, used avionics test equipment, used electrical test equipment, automated equipment test used, used aircraft test equipment, used semiconduct

Article Body:

Electronic test equipment, commonly called testgear, is equipment that is used to create stimulating signals and capture the responses from electronic devices under test. These devices are knowns as DUTS, Devices Under Test. Given this controls it is possible to prove the proper operation of a device through these tests, and deem them as being needed of repair or not.

Electronic test equipment is an essential element to any major electronics system. Ranging from a simple light bulb to expense and even automated tasks,electronic test equipment covers a very large range. In general it can be said that when developing electronic systems that more advanced equipment is needed opposed to when doing routine production testing on existing systems in the field. This rule is not always however true, because every system is different.

Some examples of test equipment are: Ammeter, Voltmeter (Measures voltage), Multimeter (Measures all of the above), Oscilloscope (Measures all of the above as they change over time), Frequency counter (Measures frequency).

In the past, it used to be that tests would have to be initiated by some type of man given command, through a controller or other. With the level of technology present today, the majority of testing is done automatically through the use of computers, either continuously or at given increments. This automation of testing greatly led to an increase in production and in reliability of electronic systems as they almost have the ability to monitor themselves and know when something is going wrong.

Title:

3 Tips for Sending Special Messages

Word Count:

330

Summary:

Staying in touch with family and friends has never been easier with the speed and efficiency of today's technology. We live in a world of e-mail, text and instant messages and mobile conversations.

Keywords:

3 Tips for Sending Special Messages

Article Body:

Staying in touch with family and friends has never been easier with the speed and efficiency of today's technology. We live in a world of e-mail, text and instant messages and mobile conversations.

While such options make it easy to stay in touch, these technologies have also lessened the emotional aspect of our communications.

Here are a few suggestions on how to use technology to stay close to loved ones and, at the same time, bring back the personal element in your communications.

* Send a personal DVD message. Now you can give the gift of vivid, colorful memories by creating personalized DVD messages for your friends and family. It's a fast, easy and fun way to stay in touch.

Can't make it to your high school reunion? Use a Sony DVD Handycam camcorder to record a special message to old classmates. You can even get special Sony DVD mail envelopes to share your discs.

Encourage friends and family to reciprocate. When you receive their DVDs, just pop them into your player as you would a movie.

* Make a Webcam chat date. A picture tells a thousand words, but real-time video speaks volumes. While nothing can replace an in-person conversation, you can get awfully close to the real thing with a Webcam chat.

Gather your loved ones in front of the Webcam to talk, view photos or share advice.

First time carving the turkey? Get Dad on the Webcam - he can probably walk you through it. Schedule your chat on a special occasion - perhaps on a birthday or holiday - and don't forget to plan your next one. You can even make it an annual event.

* Create a video file on your digital still camera. Forgot your mom's birthday or couldn't attend your child's school play? Send your loved ones a video clip so that they'll know how much you care.

Be creative, shake things up and share your ideas. It's never been so easy to "be there when you're not." - NU

Title:

About Botnet

Word Count:

359

Summary:

BotNet, also called zombie network and network of bots is a group of computers which are used to discreetly send data like spam and viruses to other computers on the internet. These actions are carried out by malicious programs without the knowledge of the users.

Keywords:

About Botnet

Article Body:

BotNet, also called zombie network and network of bots is a group of computers which are used to discreetly send data like spam and viruses to other computers on the internet. These actions are carried out by malicious programs without the knowledge of the users. These malicious programs mainly consist of viruses, Trojans and worms. Infected computers are called bots or zombies. Most computers which are infected are personal home internet PCs which are inadequately protected.

When a PC becomes part of a BotNet, it can be instructed to do almost anything by the creator of botnet. In effect it becomes a drone which cannot resist the commands of its master. In this case, the master is the creator of the malicious software (malware). Most Bots are employed in propagation of spam and viruses. Often malware is used for key-press logging which can result in mass identity theft. Zombie computers can also be used for denial of service attacks in which many bots simultaneously log onto a particular server, thus exceeding the server's bandwidth and crashing it. This technique is particularly effective when the Botnet is large and contains thousands of computers. Many advanced malware can even spread themselves via email while the malware of smaller botnets lack this capability.

BotNets are programmed in such a way that they are difficult to find and analyze. Normally they receive instructions from their creators through IRC (Internet Relay Channels). As of April 2008, the Storm BotNet and the Kraken BotNet are the largest BotNets in the world with an estimated 400,000 bots. Other significant BotNets are Rbot and Bobax with an estimated 20,000 bots each.

So on a day to basis, the best way to protect your computer properly is to frequently scan and update your antivirus and firewall software. Special sensors called 'honeynets' have also been set up on the internet these nets mimic the characteristics of computers with known security flaws in an effort to lure hackers into them and track down malware creators. It has been recently quoted by Kaspersky Labs (creators of Kaspersky anti-virus) that botnets pose more of a threat to the internet community than individual viruses and worms.

Title:

What is ISAKMP?

Word Count:

153

Summary:

ISAKMP stands for Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol. ISAKMP is a protocol used for establishing the security associations and the cryptographic keys. A security association is used to support secure communication and it refers to the establishment of the shared security information between two networks.

Keywords:

ISAKMP?

Article Body:

ISAKMP stands for Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol. ISAKMP is a protocol used for establishing the security associations and the cryptographic keys. A security association is used to support secure communication and it refers to the establishment of the shared security information between two networks.

Security Associations contain all the information required for various security services and ISAKMP defines the required procedures and the packet formats so as to establish, modify and delete Security Associations.

ISAKMP is different from the key exchange protocols as ISAKMP clearly separates the details of the security association management from the details of the key exchange. ISAKMP defines packet formats which provide a framework for transferring the authentication and the key data.

It is possible to implement Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol over any transport protocol but the implementation must include the send and receive capability for ISAKMP using User Datagram Protocol on port 500.

Title:

Filtering Out the Lies

Word Count:

546

Summary:

The internet is filled with lies and truth, rumors and facts. Here are a few tips to differentiate between them.

Keywords:

free, websites, website, wiki, wikis

Article Body:

The internet is filled with information and every second of every hour of every day, new information is being poured into the forever-growing network. Whether the source can be from a research scientist involved in finding some new breakthrough discovery to a young child in her school's computer lab, information can be inputted by just about anyone who has the basic know-how of how to use the computer. However the internet is filled with all kinds of information. From facts and truths to rumors and lies, all kind of data is being inputted into the network.

For a student trying to write an extensive research paper of some random peculiar topic this turns out to be a disaster since now the internet is one of the most commonly used mediums of research. Be it for a research paper for your stringent professor, a report for your ambitious employer, or even a presentation for a committee, with rumors and lies floating about in the internet it will be difficult to extract only the truths to your target audience. However there are a few methods that you can use and as well as help from others that can help you with this tedious task.

The most common method to help you find out if the information that you hold is a fact rather than some made up rumor by an ominous person holding a grudge or maybe it was done completely by accident by a misinformed student or even something that started as a harmless joke by a person who was looking for a good laugh, is the use of cross referencing. Cross referencing is the first defense for a researcher to weed out the rumors and lies in their internet research. However it is not entirely fool proof as it may seem.

Cross referencing relies on the basis that if enough people believe that if a certain data is the truth then the so called data in question must be a fact. But using this basis today with the knowledge of how it turned out for our ancestors, we know for a fact that this is a rather foolish method to apply to when trying to find out whether if something is a lie or a truth. With the biggest example of how people blindly believed that the world was flat rather than round even though it was proven before them that the world was round by the use of mathematical calculations and scientific observations; because more people believed that the world was flat it was therefore concluded that the world must be flat.

Another method within cross referencing you can use to further purify your data is by cross referencing your information through different mediums such as print. Again this can only help with the process of filtering your data and is not foolproof. Nothing can completely remove the information you find on the internet but it is much more work for a person to put their rather poorly researched material onto print as it costs money as to putting false information on the internet is free.

However the best method you can probably use is your own judgment to see whether or not the information that you found is some random rumor or a fact.