Being a computer technician pays nice money and has for a very long time. Why?well,mainly becuase alot of new computer owners fail to learn how to use and maintain there new computer. Before purchasing my first computer back in 1998,I took an 8 hour class on the basics of operating a windows 95 system based computer. . Even with the class,within the first few months,I had crashed the computer 3 times. This gives you somewhat of an idea about what we have here today. . Alot of people now are getting computers becuase there friends have one,or to just get into the chat rooms,or the adult sites. . point being. . they dont know how to use a computer,much less maintain one.

To save yourself alot of money and unneedless trips to the computer shop for repairs,there are a series of very simple steps you can take to keep your new computer running fast and efficient. Myself,I have windows xp home edition running on my computer. I find it to be the best system out there at the moment. The choice is of course yours as to what operating system you install on your machine. When you get your new computer home and you configure an internet connection,the first thing I recommend that you do is to get to the windows update site. The site will automatically update your new operating system with files to prevent people on other computers from accessing your data. Next step is to install an anti-virus and spyware program on your computer.

If your buying a new computer from a big outlet,this is usually included with your purchase but not always. Make sure to inquire about this when purchasing your computer. Both these programs,the anti-virus and the anti-spyware are a must have in todays computer age. . You can get good information from google(http://www. google. com}. Just type in anti-virus in the search box. . you will get choices for alot of programs. . same for the anti-spyware.

Over time,you will visit alot of websites. . Most of these sites has what are called “cookies”. These are little embedded packages of data(files),that the sites you have visited leave on your computer to track your browsing habits. After awhile,these files need to be purged,deleted from your computer.

Other files that need to be purged at least once a week,are your temporary internet files and your history files. Failing to do this will really slow down your computer to a crawl and possibly cause a system crash,meaning you will have to re-install your operating system.

When you open up internet explorer,at the top left of the page,you will see options. . Look for the Tools option. Left click “Tools”,then left click “Internet Options”. From there it should be straight foward for you. After you have deleted your temporary internet files and history files,click “OK” I do this at least once a day,really keeps my computer running fast.

Now im going to share with you,some things you can do about whats inside of your computer “the case”or your computers “hardware”. No matter how clean the surroundings where you have your computer placed,over time,alot of dust and particles gather on the inside. . your motherboard,inside the power supply,on your cpu,all your cards”video,sound,ect. ” I clean the inside of my computer every 3 months and I recommend all new users do it also.

Here is how to do it: First,before you do anything,make sure the computer is unplugged from the outlet and is completely turned off! Next is to get a screwdriver for those little round screws you will need to undo to get inside your case. When both sides of the case are removed,you will need a can of compressed air. . you can buy this from any computer store for under 5 dollars. You then spray all the areas inside the case. . you will see the dust and dirt flyng off from the places you sprayed. Doing this 4 times a year(every 3 months)Is a great way to save alot of money and keep your computer running like its brand new.

I hope you all have enjoyed my computer tips.

Sincerely, William

copyright – 2007

If you have been shopping in the market for a new computer system, you might have noticed that most branded computers today have become highly unaffordable. Sure, prices have fallen in certain sectors that contribute to the making of computers. The prices of memory have hit an all time low due to the enhancements in manufacturing volumes of memory manufacturers. The prices of mother boards and other assorted computer innards have also fallen steeply. But the fact remains that the branded computer manufacturers are in the business to make their own profits. Therefore, despite the all around falling in prices that we have been witnessing, the prices of good computers have remained more or less constant!

Does this mean that a good computer system will always remain unaffordable? Not really! If you consider sourcing your computer from dealers who specialize in wholesale computer parts. Wholesale computer parts are an excellent way to source out and build your own computer. Most people are of the opinion that wholesale computer parts are in some way inferior to the parts available in branded computers. The same was the case with me. I always believed that wholesale computer parts were a means for cheap and inefficient computer parts manufacturers to offload their inferior stock on unsuspecting customers. Until my computer broke down recently that is. When I took it to the authorized dealer, I got a quote that was very high. Being unable to spare that much cash, and being desperately in need of having my computer restored, I grudgingly made my way to a nearby wholesale computer parts dealer.

What I saw there amazed and astounded me. This wholesale computer parts dealer has his own repair service. And when they opened up my computer and diagnosed the problem, the repair quote I got was a fraction of what the authorized dealer had given me. I was naturally curious as to what had created the difference and suspiciously eyed the wholesale computer parts on display. But the dealer opened up my computer to show me that the replacement parts would be the very same that my existing computer had. As installed by the original manufacturer. When I asked him how this was possible, he explained the wholesale computer parts business to me.

Apparently, most computer parts manufactures manufacture more parts than required by an order from a branded computer manufacturer. This is an in-built quality control feature in order to ensure that a sudden spurt in demand or a quality crisis can be handled quickly and efficiently. When the order is processed without incident, the excess parts are offloaded to wholesale computer parts dealers for a huge discount. These wholesale computer parts dealers then sell these equally good computer parts for a discount to users like you and me, who know better and are willing to invest the time and effort that it takes to build our own computers. Which means, that by buying the parts directly from wholesale computer parts dealers, we stand to make great savings!

The next time you want to go in for a computer purchase, do consider new source apart from the regular computer manufacturers. Consider sourcing out your computer from the wholesale computer parts dealers. And you’ll never regret your decision.

Although the term Information Assurance (IA) may have a modern sound, the concept has, according to McKnight (2002), been around since the times of the Roman Empire when parchment scrolls were sealed with wax to authenticate the sender.   The practice of protecting information has changed along with the means of transporting information.   In the days of the pony express the army helped protect riders to ensure the mail would safely arrive at the intended destination. Defining Information Assurance The term assurance has many meanings. In the context of information, it is defined as a measure of confidence that the security features and architecture of an information system accurately mediates and enforces the defined security policy. This assumes that a security policy has been defined, security architecture has been approved, and security features have been implemented. This confidence is based on analysis involving theory, testing, software engineering, and validation and verification. (McKnight, 2002). Information Assurance and Information Security Whereas Information Assurance is defined as a measure of confidence, many people not directly involved with IA confuse the concept with Information Security which deals more with providing the means to protect the systems.   The two do, however, work closely together and some concepts would seem to overlap.   Indeed, the CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability) triad of Information Security very closely aligns with the five attributes of Information Assurance, which are availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation. The following is an analysis of the five attributes of Information Assurance and how they relate to the Information Security concepts of the CIA triad: Availability The CIA triad component of availability establishes a goal to provide ?timely and reliable access to and use of information? (Stallings and Brown, 2008).   Whereas, the Information Assurance attribute of availability provides a measure of confidence that the state exists where ?information is in the place needed by the user, at the time the user needs it, and in the form needed by the user” (McKnight, 2002). Integrity The CIA triad component of integrity seeks to ensure that ?information and programs are changed only in a specified and authorized manner? (Stallings and Brown, 2008) and that ?a system performs its intended function in an unimpaired manner? (Stallings and Brown, 2008).   Whereas, the Information Assurance attribute of integrity provides a measure of confidence that the state of a system is in a ?sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition? (McKnight, 2002). Confidentiality The CIA component of confidentiality preserves ?authorized restrictions on information access and disclosure, including means for protecting personal privacy and proprietary information? (Stallings and Brown, 2008).   Whereas, the Information Assurance attribute of confidentiality provides a measure of confidence that sensitive data is held ?in confidence, limited to an appropriate set of individuals or organizations? (McKnight, 2002). Authentication Authentication as an attribute of Information Assurance provides a measure of confidence that, according to McKnight (2002), users or processes that access information are who they say they are and have the appropriate rights to access that information.   Authentication does not directly correlate to the CIA triad but proper implementation of confidentiality would ensure that authentication guidelines are met. Non-Repudiation The Information Assurance attribute of non-repudiation seeks to remove the validity of such a claim by providing ?a service that provides ?proof of the integrity and origin of data, both in an unforgeable relationship, which can be verified by any third party at any time; or, an authentication that with high assurance can be asserted to be genuine, and that cannot subsequently be refuted? [5]? (McKnight, 2002). Conclusion The provided definition of Information Assurance should remove the confusion that mis-represents this discipline as Information Security.   The preceding analysis of the CIA triad compared to the attributes of Information Assurance, however, demonstrates the close relationship between these two disciplines.   This relationship could be summarized by stating that Information Security is the discipline of defining and implementing the ?tasks of guarding digital information, which is typically processed by a computer? (Ciampa, 2005) while the discipline of Information Assurance provides a degree of confidence that the implemented Information Security policies and features are effective.   References Ciampa, M. (2005). Chapter 1: Information security     fundamentals [Power Point Presentation]. Security+     Guide to Network Security Fundamentals(2nd Ed. ).      Course Technology. McKnight, W. , L. , Dr. (2002). What is information assurance?     CrossTalk The Journal of Defense Software Engineering.      Retrieved July 13, 2008 from     http://www. stsc. hill. af. mil/crosstalk/2002/0/mcknight. html. Stallings, W. , and Brown, L. (2008). Chapter 1: Overview.      Computer Security Principles and Practice. Upper Saddle     River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

It was 26 years ago when I asked myself one question? It was rather challenging back then because there were no funds, only enough to finish engineering school with several student loans and a dream! How to become a real estate developer? This question was raised in my mind when my partner and I won the NJIT alumni award for our senior project in 1985. It was the site design for a 13 acre residential subdivision with minimum zoning requirement of one acre lots. After 13 weekends in South Jersey, we manage to situate a cul-de-sac, road. retention basin, and 12-one acre lots including topographical, sanitary and drainage designs all performed on the new versa CADD system. Computers were hard to come by back then. If you can actually imagine this story, my college only had 25 PC systems for over 8000 students during the transition to personal computing. You would have to punch numeric cards using a type punch machine of such, that’s right one card for each line of programming in Fortran, bundled by rubber band and placed into the alphabet boxes on the wall. An hour later you would return to hope you didn’t mess up a punch to find that your cards didn’t run and the possibility the print out would read error.  It was a like a bar in the computer room stacked 4 deep. I was fortunate that my partners Dad were an architect and professional engineer who mentored us and taught how to use his new CADD system to engineer a real estate development site. I was so excited so every weekend I would stay at my partner’s house whose Mom would cook us Italian meals out of this world after 12 hours days. It didn’t matter because I had found a mentor to teach me engineering from the practical perspective. Theory put to action before hitting the streets all wet behind the ears. I was even more fortunate that my parents understood the computer room chaos and helped me get my first IBM XT with the two floppy drives. It was a grand slam because I could get my work done at home and did not have to travel and spend enormous hours at school, sleeping in the hallway literally to catch a nap while waiting for the printout with your fingers crossed. I finally installed more chips to reach a whopping 256k and eventually switched in a 20MB hard drive in lieu of the 2nd floppy. Those were the days. Well let me get to the story which is really about having mentors that give you the ability to mirror and model there steps of success with the objective of preventing you to reinvent the wheel instead of simply following the steps of a successful mentor. During the last 26 years, I have given the opportunity to be trained and work alongside of the largest developers in the world. Sometime I take for granted the projects that I have managed to complete because I’ve always done BIG projects from my internship for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority in the World Trade Center in 1983 and thought figured this was routine. The standards around me were always high. It was like being in the marines of real estate development being trained and raised in my early years in Lehrer McGovern Bovis, the #1 construction management company in the world, Pete Marchetto, the CEO, my Executive mentor on who I wanted to emulate, John Norris, Olympia York’s legendary Senior Vice President in charge of construction for the Financial District, NYC, Canary Wharf, London who taught me how to build any building, Robert Sanna, SVP for Forest City Ratner who put me through all the tests and I thank him because he manages the largest projects in New York City today and his knowledge and training was invaluable. These are the mentors that inspired me to look at the big picture. During the years I always wanted to know about the civil engineering, building hi-rises and performing real estate development and went to seek an understanding of the process through many more mentors that taught me the details down to the foundation, screws, pipes and finishes, contracts, project management, emotions, life you name it. Then one day it clicked. . . I can do this with the big boys. It really comes down to three simple steps 1. Find a mentor that can give you a system to follow because the word SYSTEM stands for Saves Your Self Time Energy and Money. 2. Change Your Belief System – Realize it s easy and you can do it 3. Take wise, calculated and consistent action. What I’ve done because it’s hard to find someone who’ll will teach you what Donald Trump doesn’t want to you know, I’ve combined my knowledge and expertise into a commercial real estate development and syndication system which was used on major NYC projects and my own personal $14. 2 million, 90 unit assisted living facility that I developed with NO MONEY. This system can be used anywhere in the world. Why do I say that? “Because New York City is equivalent to playing in a World All Star game of soccer or baseball and if you can perform real estate development in NYC, you can do it anywhere the world”, John Norris said to me at one of many 6 AM breakfast meetings.  In two days I teach you the exact steps on how I found real estate deals, cut through all the theory form New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers College of Engineering and New York University into an executive style system that allows you to succeed in real estate syndication, investment and development. We dissect the real estate development process form finding the project, breaking down the bundle of legal rights, how to make an offer to control property contingent upon approval, conceptual design, funding using investors money, design development, project proposal witting, Finance package preparation, planning board approval, engineering, construction, the entire development process. It may sound like a lot to cover, however I want to assure you it’s like the first time you rode your bike or tried on a new pair of shoes. It feels uncomfortable until you break them in or unit you practice riding the neighborhood. Even if you are a real investor already you or want to learn more about real estate, this is the course for you. Why? Because it teaches you how to think like the big boys from the onset. It stretches your comfort zone, its fun, easy and you leave with a sensory acuity that would have take you 25 years of hard work and education if you’re lucky. So remember. . . LUCK is when preparation meets opportunity!

Years ago, a computer science degree was seen as something that attracted mainly math and computer nerds. The stereotype may not have been fair, but it looks as though the computer science students have the last laugh in any event. Today, courses and programs of study in computers offer not only excellent job opportunities, but also some very creative courses as well. Thanks to the fact that computers have evolved so rapidly and are now being used in every field, graduates of these computer programs have a cachet and coolness factor that simply did not exist before. A computer science degree, at its simplest, is any degree that studies computers and their systems in depth. Students in the computer sciences study subjects such as algorithms, programming languages, computer hardware, software, program design, and other subjects. Of course, degrees vary widely. Some students focus on theoretical or mathematical work, while others focus on studies that will allow them to build practical systems and software programs for businesses. A student with a computer science degree has plenty of career options, many of them very creative and interesting. Advertising agencies, digital artists, and web design companies require graduates to help transform creative ideas into creative software, graphics, and multimedia. Rock stars and music industry executives rely on students with computer science skills to assemble high-tech music videos, special multimedia effects for concerts, and other computerized effects. Today, as animated films and movies with special effects are more popular, computer science students are in demand by movie studios. Students not only help build and fix computer systems, they are also often involved in creating some of the most popular cultural products of today. From movies to music to television and Internet trends, students from the computer sciences are responsible for many of the entertainment options we enjoy. Students with a computer science degree may also build systems or software that is used by companies, by NASA or by home computer users. The possibilities are virtually endless. Now that so many people use computers, the work of people with computer skills is vital. The employment news for students with a computer science degree is also very good. The U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the Computer Programmers section of the 2002-03 Occupational Outlook Handbook, states that computers scientists are expected to be the among the best growing occupations through the year 2010. Companies at all levels require workers with excellent computer skills. Today, even small businesses hire experts to create personalized computer systems or custom-built software elements for a business. Major corporations such as NASA, IBM, and major movie studios, hire students from the computer sciences. Often, students graduating with this sort of degree can expect great career options, a well-paying job, and good benefits. Students with these skills are in demand, and companies have responded with attractive employment offers. Students who are familiar with computers and want to pursue one of the more creative computer career options have plenty of choices. They should look for degree programs that offer plenty of hands-on experience. A degree with a good reputation goes a long way towards helping a student land a good job. Beyond that, networking can help students in applying for careers that are of interest. Many companies, even in glamorous fields, are actively looking for computer professionals. Networking is often as simple as letting prospective employers know about your skills. Many schools that offer good computer programs have career centers. These are also excellent resources that should not be overlooked.

For a gamer, what can be more fulfilling than to build your own gaming computer? In fact, the only way to get the best out of your computer and maximize your gaming experience is to build it yourself. However, there are tightly kept secrets among computer retailers that they don’t want you to know, because it will affect their profitability to a great extent. This article will reveal the secrets that all gamers need to know. Secret 1) It is very easy to build your own gaming computer

If everyone knows how easy it is to build a computer, then no one will be buying from the computer retailers. This is why most computer retailers tell you that it is very troublesome and complicated to build your own and it is better off to buy one off the shelf. In actual fact, my 10 years old kid took only 1 hour to figure out how to build a computer. How long do you think you need?Secret 2) It is much cheaper to build your own gaming computer than to buy one off the shelf

Keep in mind that the main focus of the computer retailer is to make as much profit from you, not how good your gaming experience is. As such, never expect a cheap gaming computer from computer retailers. Occasionally, computer retailers may package their computers in a low price to entice you to buy. The fact is: you will not be getting the quality component that your price is paying. Most of the parts in the computer will not be suitable for gaming usage. It might boost the latest CPU in the market, but the power supply, graphics card, motherboards and memory are parts that get obsolete very fast. If you are patient enough to shop around and source for the parts you want, you can save up to 30 ? 50% of what you going to pay at the retail stores. Secret 3) Off the shelf computers are not upgradeable

Building your own computer allows you to choose the parts that are upgradeable in the future. Off the shelf computers don’t and the retailers are keeping mum about it. Most off the shelf computers are using parts that will grow obsolete in a year or two times and the only choice you have then is to buy another computer from them again. Secret 4) You don’t need extended warranties and technical support

Your computer retailers will definitely sell you the benefit of having extended warranties and technical support because they know that most of the time, it will not realise and it is a pure profit for them. By buying one, you’re betting that your product will break, that the extended warranty will cover the damage, and that repairing the product would cost more than you paid for the extended warranty. In that case, why bother to buy from them in the first place? When you build your own gaming computer, each part comes with warranty. Even if it spoils, you only have to change the individual part rather than the whole computer. This is much cheaper than what you pay for the extended warranty. In addition, the lifespan of a computer system is generally 3-5 years. By the time your whole computer system is spoilt, it is also time to get a new one because all your computer parts will be obsolete by then.

The only way to get the best out of your computer, be it the cost or the gaming performance, is to build your own gaming computer. Computer retailers are keeping mum about this fact and trying means to entice you to buy from them. If you are serious about gaming, don’t ever let the computer retailers stand in your way of owning your very best gaming computer.

In the past couple of years, USA has seen a number of hurricanes and floods. Natures furry seems to be unleashing itself every now and then, and destroying not only lives and houses but the hard work of many. Forget the hurricanes and floods, your own house is no less of a threat to data stored on storage devices!!! It’s a common situation many of us seem to face in our day to day lives?coffee falling on our computer, the laptop falling into water, etc etc. For most of us today, computers and laptops have become probably the most vital machines in our lives!! If your car gets damaged you can buy a new one. If your laptop gets damaged, you can again buy a new one, but what about the data that was on it?? You can’t possibly buy that, can you? This data can be salvaged with the help of data recovery services. For example, if your laptop falls in the water after a rain. Here are some simple dos and don’ts that would help you salvage data from the drive: DON’TS: DO NOT TURN ON THE SYSTEM: The most common mistake people make is to try and turn on the drive. This further damages the drive. The reason is that when you dry out a drive, all the residue present in the water, damages the drive further and makes it very difficult to salvage data from the drive. DO NOT DRY THE HARD DRIVE: The first thing anyone would think of doing to something that got wet by mistake, is to open it up and dry it. This however is not the right thing to do in case of hard drives, reason being that water contains sediments. When you dry out the hard drive, these particles stick to and damage the sensitive components of the drive. DO NOT CLEAN IT YOURSELF: Never try and clean the drive yourself especially with household cleaning appliances. This could only lead to more complications and could cause you to lose your data for good!! DOS: REMOVE THE DRIVE FROM THE WATER ASAP: Ensure to remove the system from the water as soon as it falls in. This could reduce the damage done to it. TAKE OUT THE HARD DISK FROM THE SYSTEM: Take out the hard drive from the CPU and wrap it in an air tight bag immediately after. CONTACT A DATA RECOVERY SERVICE: They have helplines and technicians who perform data recovery from damaged hard drives. Hard drive recovery services have clean rooms where they perform data recovery and this is the only place where a hard drive should be opened (in order to ensure that no further damage occurs to the same). Stellar Data Recovery Services, NJ, which follows a ?No Data, No Charge? policy, is a well reputed and recognized company in the field. They are able to perform data recovery from any kind of damaged hard drives (damaged due to natural disasters like fire, water etc, due to virus attacks etc).

The following article appeared in the May/June edition of New Jersey Countryside Magazine and is reproduced with the permission of the publisher. Please visit NJ Countryside Magazine at http://www. njcountryside. com/

The greening of the swimming pool

by Lindsay Bosslett

Organic, chemical-free pools are making a splash all over Europe. Jim Robyn, owner of Rin Robyn Pools, hopes to bring one to your New Jersey backyard.

If there’s one thing Jim Robyn knows about, it’s pools. You don’t spend most of your life working with them without learning a thing or two.

But it’s more than that. Robyn, owner of Rin Robyn Pools, has a passion for pools: the art of the design, the technology that creates and maintains them, the chemistry involved, and even how the pool works with the world around it.

This past winter, he and his wife, Hae-Sun, also an owner of Rin Robyn, spent two months in Austria attending a conference by BioNova, a European swimming pool company that specializes in the creation of all-natural, chemical-free pools. For the past 20 years, Austrians have been looking at pools in an entirely different way than Americans have. If your neighbor said he had a “green pool”, well, you might offer him another chlorine tablet. But, in reality, Mother Nature has been making “green pools” all along – the Austrians just figured out a nifty way to re-create them in your backyard. And Robyn, along with BioNova USA, wants to bring them to New Jersey. Now in New Jersey, no matter what type of pool you own, it requires chlorine and other chemicals to keep the water clean.

“There is a trend now toward saltwater pools, and even ‘natural’ mineral sanitizers, but all these still require the use of chlorine,” Robyn says. Chlorine works to sanitize pools by killing basically everything in the water, good microbes with the bad. Although effective and obviously perfectly safe when used properly, chlorine is, at heart, a poison.

“We still design and build chlorinated pools, but bringing all-natural green pools to the area is just part of the overall greening movement – another option for a customer to consider. And it appealed to us; it makes sense. We used to be able to drink directly from lakes or pools because nature had created a system that cleaned the water safely and naturally. This isn’t the case anymore for most natural water sources, but it can be re-created. “

First seen in Austria in 1985, green pools work by sectioning off a part of the pool for plants and microbes that “eat” the bad stuff that floats in the water, such as algae or dangerous impurities. Called the “regeneration zone,” this creates, as Robyn puts it, “actual living water. ” And it’s safe for your kids and pets to swim around in, and even accidentally ingest. Like normal swimming pools, there is still a pump and filter that keeps the water moving and eliminates debris and leaves from the surface. The process is so effective, homeowners all over Europe are not the only ones to build them – many public and hotel pools have gone green too, even pools that see 3,000 swimmers a day. BioNova now has partners in 22 countries around the world, including Australia, Canada and the United States.

And it makes sense that so many people are enthusiastic about natural pools. Not only are they more earth-friendly, they’re beautiful: clear, clean water instead of neon blue, and lush green plants landscaped however you wish. Many natural pools are designed to look like actual ponds or lakes, with beaches and rocks jutting out of the water. Organic pools create the effect of having your own personal backyard lake or oasis, only they are perfectly landscaped, groomed, pest-free and romantically lit at night.

“There are no green pools in New Jersey yet – none east of the Mississippi, in fact – but when we build them here, we’ll use indigenous New Jersey plants, energy-efficient pumps and filters, and all the modern conveniences we’ve developed in America for the pool owner, like automatic skimmers and covers,” Robyn says. Rin Robyn also offers many safety devices, including a state-of-the-art sonar technology pool alarm that goes off poolside and in your house if something should jump or fall into the pool. They also offer a removable mesh fence that goes next to the pool’s edge to keep out toddlers, younger children, pets and wildlife.

And with a green pool, owners no longer have to worry about getting the pH balance correct, flooding the pool with shock or testing the chlorine levels. In addition to the usual maintenance – filtering, skimming, maintaining the pumps, etc. – they will just have to worry about . . . well, a little bit of gardening.

“The regeneration zone needs to be tended like any garden,” Robyn says. “Plants will have to be cut back occasionally, some will eventually die and need to be replaced, and you may have to weed. ” Pool owners will also have to wait in the spring for the plants to regrow before the water-cleaning process can begin again, but the plants will be ready by the time swimming season comes about again anyway. The “good” microbes that eat impurities will also regenerate on their own.

Many people might worry about mosquitoes in a non-chlorinated pool, but Robyn and BioNova assure that they aren’t an issue. “The water in this pool is moving – mosquitoes only lay eggs in stagnant water. “” Plus, green pools contain natural predators that take care of any overly ambitious mosquitoes.

Green pools work by sectioning off a part of the pool for plants and microbes that “eat” the bad stuff that floats in the water, such as algae or dangerous impurities.

Natural pools are not luxury-free, either. Heated water is also an option. The Austrians pretty much leave that to the sun, but Rin Robyn offers a whole slew of options, from earth-friendly heat pumps and solar panels to more traditional methods. The plants, however, work best if the water maxes out at 82 degrees.

As a partner with BioNova USA, Robyn is the leading local expert for the all-natural pools. Having been in the pool business since 1966, Robyn started out as an installer, and eventually inherited the business from his father, Rin, and mother, Betty. With credentials that include a degree in astrogeophysics, postgraduate study in computer modeling and simulation, a master’s degree in business administration and, apparently, the ability to speak fluent German, Robyn brings a unique and studied perspective to his profession. After college, he spent a few years in the corporate world, but he’s been heading Rin Robyn Pools since 1988. To further bolster his pool-pertise, Jim is a member of The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals, The Ultimate Swimming Pool Association, The Association of Professional Landscape Designers, a gold member of the Genesis 3 Design Group and a partner with BioNova USA.

Using his knowledge of computers, Robyn is able to design detailed, scaled drawings for each client electronically. If you decide to build a green pool in your little piece of the countryside, the process from conception to completion can take up to two years, but in the end you won’t just wind up with a swimming pool – you’ll have a work of art in your own backyard built by people who know, and love, pools.

A Network Address Translator can cure many of the access problems you may have with your home broadband connectivity through the process of multiplexing. This simple, affordable solution can mean the difference between effective in-home networking, and being bogged down with broadband restrictions.

You work from home and have a computer network, your own little LAN for you and the kids. Great. You get your work done, your spouse gets connectivity and the kids get their schoolwork done in record time on their own computers. And all of you can work, study, instant-message your friends or surf the Web from anywhere in the house, or even out by the pool. All this is thanks to your wireless connection to your broadband Internet service.

There?s one little problem?your broadband provider will supply you only a single Internet address, and it wants to charge you for each additional address, or, worse yet, there are no more addresses available right now. Only one computer can connect to the Net at a time. Oops.

?What do I do now?? you say. ?Go back to a dial-up connection? Go back to a snail?s-pace link?? (Can you hear the kids now?) ?Nooooooooo!?

Fear not, dear modern homeowner and connected parent, there?s a simple, and affordable solution. It?s called NAT, Network Address Translation, and not only will it allow your family simultaneous connectivity to the Net via that single Internet address, it will provide a little more security as well.

Network Address Translation is a technique used by NAT routers to translate Internet addresses from one address to another as data passes through the router. An ordinary router leaves the Internet address unchanged and simply passes the information along. A NAT router, however, changes the address to its own. This serves two purposes: computers on a LAN can access a broadband connection and ?look? like only one, and it keeps computers outside your network from ?seeing? yours, which adds another layer of security to your home-based LAN.

Here?s how it works. Each time it contacts the Internet, a computer is assigned an address that works much the same way your street address does. Information sent out from a computer is given an address so it can get to its destination. At the same time, a return address is attached to the information. Information sent through a standard Internet router looks the same way it did when it left your computer. It has the destination address and the return address on it. It?s this return address that the Internet reads to know who is sending the information, but so can everyone else. Additionally, if you have a broadband connection with only one Internet address authorized at a time, only a single computer in your LAN can be on the Net at a time.

However, information sent through a NAT router has its return address removed and stored in the router, which then passes the information along with no further changes. The NAT router assigns its own return address to your information, so, no matter how many computers are accessing the Net, they all have the same, single Internet address. The many look like one, which means the broadband system is seeing only that one Internet address, and allows the traffic to pass unimpeded.

The division of one signal, the signal on the Internet side of the NAT router, into the many signals on the LAN side of your router, is called multiplexing. Multiplexing, this ability to have several computers using only one Internet address on the Net, may sound like you?re cheating the broadband provider, but you are actually providing a necessary service to the entire Internet community. There are only so many Internet addresses available, about four billion. Four billion. That sounds like a lot, and it is, but the number of computers accessing the Internet exceeded that number years ago. Were it not for multiplexing, the Internet would slow down and possibly just grind to a virtual halt.

Multiplexing allows computers on LANs to be serviced by a single Internet address. The individual computers will share addresses within the LAN, and these may be the same used on the Internet and other LANs; however, since they are isolated in their own, closed system, there is no problem with the duplication. The global Internet sees only the single Internet address assigned to your NAT router. Thus, the world?s more than four billion computers can still use the less than four billion available addresses without bogging down the system.

The second advantage of the NAT router, which is pure serendipity, is that your LAN is essentially invisible to the world. Outside computers see only the router, not the computers on your LAN behind it. Since the router removes and stores Internet addresses originating from the LAN, it expects only those transmissions that it recognizes as being in response to what it sent out. Unanticipated messages coming from the Net literally have nowhere to go; the NAT router doesn?t recognize them, and won?t let them pass. A computer from the outside, say that of a hacker, cannot initiate contact with your LAN.

Now, so we don?t give you a false sense of security, running a computer behind a NAT router will not give you complete protection, though it can complement your current security measures. Malicious codes can still be downloaded through NAT, and Trojan Horse programs can still initiate connections to a hostile server. Web browsers and email operates through NAT unhindered, so any threat from Web sites and email still exists because the intended victim initiates these contacts, and opens a window to trouble if not careful. Imagine Dracula hovering outside your bedroom window?he can only enter if you invite him in. NAT?s your window; don?t open it to the vampires!

The NAT program is implemented in a computer or dedicated hardware device that joins two networks. One network is your LAN, and the other is the Internet, or WAN, the Wide Area Network. A NAT router has at least two physical connections or ports. These can be either two Ethernet cards, or an Ethernet and a modem. NAT software, like Internet Connection Sharing software by Microsoft, is available from many companies.

NAT software running on a computer is not the same as a Proxy Server, which can also run on a computer sitting between two networks. Every Internet-based application on a Proxy Server must be reconfigured on every local computer to use the server. With NAT, no reconfiguration is needed, which makes your life a lot easier.

NAT can also be implemented in a dedicated hardware device called a broadband router, cable modem router, or DSL router. In the purest form, the router has two Ethernet ports, usually labeled LAN and WAN. Some devices come with a DSL modem, V. 90 modem, or cable modem. The modem or cable connection replaces the WAN port in those cases. Some devices have a Wireless Internet connection built in that is connected to the LAN port, allowing additional computers to connect through the wireless network.

Typically, routers incorporate a DHCP, a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, which assigns an Internet address and a Gateway address to each computer on the LAN. The NAT router is the Gateway, the access point to the Internet, so the LAN computers use its address for their own. The Internet protocol sends information not addressed to another computer on the LAN to the Gateway address. Thus, any information destined for the WAN, the global Internet, is sent directly through the NAT router looking as though it only came from the router, not the individual computer.

NAT can cause some problems with some protocols and Internet applications. A simple example is a Web server, which must accept incoming connections from other computers wishing to access its data. If the server is behind a NAT router, incoming connections are not possible and the server will be invisible to computers on the Internet.

Problems can also be had with FTP and some videoconferencing protocols; however, there are simple work-arounds and provisions to overcome difficulties with these and other programs.

Incoming signals that aren?t accepted by the NAT router can be stored in a ?safe? area of the router called the DMZ, for Demilitarized Zone, rather than throwing them away. This feature allows these files to be reviewed and dealt with individually instead of just discarding them unseen.

NAT is a simple way to connect several computers in a wireless LAN to a single broadband connection or add an extra level of security to complement your existing firewalls, virus detection systems and other security protocols. While it may not solve all connectivity problems, it is a quick, affordable and easy solution that can be readily installed in your family?s local area network. Your mobile family members are safe to access the Web with their wireless Internet connections, your broadband provider won?t be stifling your connectivity and you?ll be helping the global Internet community to boot. The best part is, your window shades will be drawn and Internet vampires can?t get in, unless you invite them.

Used computers are available plenty in number. But, the prime concern is that how it will satisfy the needs of the purchaser. The next one is about the functionality of the used computer and the longevity of the computer parts of the used computer. Many people decide to purchase used computers due to a tight budget, but they should not end up buying a showpiece rather than a working piece. This makes it very important to evaluate the used computer before buying it. Evaluation can be done by the purchaser himself provided he has some knowledge on computers and their parts. If not, he can get some help from their friends or relatives who are good in evaluating computers.

The used computer?s physical parts should be inspected thoroughly. First step is to look for any damages and then trying to turn on and off. It should be done by the buyer or by his friend rather than watching the computer sales person do it as it will alert for any glitches. Checking needs to be done to find out if the used computer has an original version of the operating software without which the computer is not worth buying. Manuals, licenses for software applications, discs and fonts should be got along with the computer. The operating system of the used computer should be compatible enough to run the required applications of the buyer. Some times the seller may sell a used computer along with used disk drives, scanners and printers and include the cost of them too. It is not wise to buy used scanner, printers or disk drives as they have peripherals with moving parts which wear and tear with the passage of time and also the cost of them can be deducted making the price of the used computer even lesser.

The speed of the central processing unit needs to be checked. If it is not up to the expectation of the buyer, it needs to be found out if the used computer system can be upgraded for improving the speed and functionality. The entire hardware components should be checked including the keyboard, speakers, monitor, mouse and microphones. It should be if all the hardware components inside the computer like the CD-ROM drive, sound card, number of RAM sockets etc are if present or not and if present what are the components in use. Also it needs to be checked whether it has a provision for adding different type of cards etc.

If the purchaser has already got some computer components like the monitor, printer and so on, the used computer which is bought should be compatible with them. Nowadays used Pentium machines and power PCs are available at very low price. It is not advised to buy a used computer which is very old. Also it is good to find out if the used computer comes with a transferable warranty or service, if so it is worth buying.

The buyer should not end up overpaying as used computers depreciate at a lightning speed. There are many online auctions, which can give the idea of how much people are ready to pay for a used computer. Unfortunately, there is no reputed or unbiased source for knowing the prices for used computers.