Monday, July 23, 2007

Office Equipment, the WEEE Directive and Global Warming Issues

Environmentally Friendly photocopiers and other office equipment are crucial to workplace energy-saving and waste-reduction. Many measures (procedural and technical) have been implemented by equipment manufacturers, dealers and distributors - even before the government's introduction of measures via legislation such as the WEEE directive. Additionally, all government departments and private enterprise organisations have become acutely aware in recent years of the need for the implementation of energy-efficiency measures - not least to address bottom-line profitability as well as the wider responsibility to reduce climate change.

Environmental Issues: Recycling and the WEEE Directive

Office equipment including photocopiers which previously ended up on landfill sites are no longer able to do so under the WEEE directive. The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive affects those involved in the manufacture, selling and distribution, recycling or treating of any electronic equipment. Affected by the directive are household appliances, information technology equipment of all kinds , telephone/telecommunications equipment, audio visual gear, lighting equipment, electrical and electronic tools, hospital and medical devices and automatic dispensers and of course, office equipment including photocopiers.

The aim of the WEEE directive is to reduce the waste generated from electrical and electronic equipment. The directive is also designed to ensure an improvement in the environmental procedures and processes of all those involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic products. Manufacturers, sellers and distributors of office equipment are responsible for taking back and recycling electrical and electronic equipment. They are also required to achieve a series of rigorous recycling and recovery targets for different categories of appliance. Responsibilities can be discharged in a number of ways, including financial contributions.

Environmental Issues: Energy Efficiency and Fossil Fuel Consumption

Apart from computers and associated print devices, photocopiers are without doubt the most common items of office equipment in use today. Due to the need to be used "on demand", they can incur a significant environmental cost in terms of energy and paper usage and consequent greenhouse gas emissions

Thus power management features are important for saving energy and an easy way to reduce air pollution. Energy efficient photocopiers provide a significant step towards reducing the environmental impact of office photocopiers. Such machines come provided with "energy saving" mode so that when not in use they "power down". This feature alone can reduce the energy needed to support the machine in periods of low activity by over 60%.

A major energy-saving feature of the latest photocopiers are so-called "on demand" fusing systems. A thin fixing film, rather than a thick heating roller is used. Additionally, a ceramic heating element, rather than a halogen heater is used. With these twin innovations, the latest photocopiers operate with greatly improved energy efficiency and lower heat requirements. Heat is used only when paper is passed through the fixing mechanism and images are "fixed" via the fixing film. In addition to this, the new technology can allow the photocopier to make the change between a cool energy-saving "sleep mode" to full operating temperatures in less than 10 seconds. This is a major advantage over conventional systems, which typically take more than one minute.

Elements of this innovative system are available on the latest Konica Minolta bizbub series, including the bizhub C451. The induction heating fusing technology on the bizhub C451 is also one which minimises energy consumption and maximises energy efficiency, by fusing at a lower temperature.

Such technology is paving the way to increased energy efficiency - especially when coupled with an increase in the availability of "duplex" (paper-saving double-sided copying and printing) as standard.


About The Author

Jimi St. Pierre writes for several Office Equipment suppliers in the UK, including office equipment supplier Officemagic. The Officemagic range of mutifunctional office equipment can be found at => http://www.officemagic.co.uk/


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer

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How Much Debt is Too Much?

People have a certain threshold or tolerance for debt. Most of us can tolerate a little bit of debt. How much debt is all right? And when are you in over your head?

Most of the time, the decision that you have "too much debt" is made emotionally. That is, you have too much debt when you feel you have too much debt.

So why do some people panic over small debts but others sleep like babies even when they owe tens of thousands?

The answer is that people have an emotional sense of how much debt is acceptable. The danger is that this personal gauge is highly unreliable. You may have gotten it from your family situation, past experiences, or what you saw on TV or in the movies. Your debt style also involves your own maturity level and self control.

We also have an emotional response to what is unacceptable, which is sometimes called "hitting rock bottom." For some people, hitting rock bottom is having a car repossessed. For others, the repo man was a familiar character from childhood.

Hitting rock bottom may be the day you cannot make minimum payments, the day you lie to a spouse about an overdue bill, or the threat of impending homelessness. In other words, the emotional response and not the event itself is what defines a "hitting rock bottom" moment. One man's rock bottom is another man's standard of living.

So when is debt too much debt? On a purely emotional level, many people hit "rock bottom" when the first calls from bill collectors start to come.

Getting hounded by a professional bill collector is tough. Some people cope, but others find it embarrassing, humiliating, and shameful. For some people, it may take an intervention of friends or family members to drive home the point that the debt is getting out of control. Others may wait till they are evicted or sued.

So how much is too much debt?

First, it's not a question you should answer emotionally. Most entrepreneurs have nerves of steel when it comes to debt and financial risk taking, but most of them do not carry a lot of personal debt. So the amount of debt you can tolerate emotionally is not the governing factor; in fact, it should not even be taken into account.

Debt is financial and the only way to evaluate financial things is to look at the big financial picture.

Your financial report card is something called your "net worth." You can do a reasonably good snapshot of your own net worth without hiring an accountant or doing a bunch of fancy stuff. Just write down all of the money you owe. If you have credit cards, list all the balances. If you have loans, list all of them. If you have a mortgage, add that. Take all of these debts (the accountants would call these "liabilities") and add them together.

Now take everything you own. This includes the contents of any bank or investment accounts you have, your retirement account, stock portfolios, and so on. If you own a house (even if it's mortgaged), add the fair market value of the house. If you have vehicles (cars, boats) add them in. It is fair to add in the value of your furniture, electronics, and clothing, but be very conservative. It may have cost you thousands to build the wardrobe hanging in your closet, but it's doubtful you could convert it to very much cash. Don't count what you spent, count what you could get if you had to sell it today. Add everything together to get what accountants call your "assets."

Now subtract liabilities (what you owe) from your assets (what you own), and you have your net worth.

I hate to disillusion you, but the number should be positive. And it should be thousands.

There are some reasons for a low net worth. For those who are just starting out or those just starting over, your net worth may be low because you have not had chance to amass any assets. You may have just gone through a major medical disaster or other catastrophe. The other reason your net worth may be low is a lot of debt.

Now look at your income and your monthly bills. Don't worry about total debt here, just look at what you spend each month versus what you bring in. Take some pencil and paper time here. Does your out-go exceed your income? That's a debt-making machine. Until you turn this around, you're going to keep your debt growing which, in turn, will keep your net worth negative.

If you can't make minimum payments, if you are adding to your debt each month, or if you are really unsure of your financial states, you are probably in need of some financial help.

Certified credit counselors can help and there are lots of excellent books and programs on the market aimed at getting you debt-free. There are even free resources. For instance, your local banker can probably help you come up with a financial plan to manage your debt, including things like debt consolidation.

If you're wondering if you have too much debt, you probably do. One of the great financial secrets of the truly wealthy is this: no debt. It's possible for even ordinary people to live debt free.

The bill collector or the repo-man are not the first signs of debt problems; they are really symptoms of a prolonged period of too much debt. When the warning signals come, even if we are not rattled by them, we should take firm steps to dig ourselves out of debt. The difference between too much debt and being destroyed by debt are just a few missteps.


About The Author

Jo Ann LeQuang writes about debt management solutions and is a frequent contributor to websites. For information on debt consolidation, check out http://www.Debt-Consolidation-Diva.com .


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer

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12 Ways Leaders Tell Their People They Are Important

Leaders know the old saying "How you act shouts so loudly I can't hear what you're saying" is the truth. They use it to their advantage. Leaders know the greatest sense of accomplishment and importance often comes from non – monetary rewards, and from positive recognition from the person who is the boss. And they know they can do it without "breaking the rules" or incurring big expenses.

Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations of their organizations. They feel that their hands are tied when it comes to rewarding their people – that their actions are controlled by others, and there is little of any real value they can do to motivate their people.

Here are 12 Ways leaders let their people know how important they are:

Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their people is important. This may sound pretty basic, but that is an absolutely essential belief. Without it there is simply no way people can be convinced that what they do is important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of saying – or thinking – "Oh, she's just the receptionist" or, "He's just the janitor" or "They're just trainees" or "They're just a staff weenie?"

Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle for nothing less. Nothing makes people feel more important than high expectations for their performance. Leaders make sure their people share in setting the expectations.

Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show the tie in of individual work with the success of the organization.

Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they have. Every tool is used to ensure that the best possible decision is made on who is selected. People watch very carefully to see who is picked – they need to be involved in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know that actions taken in selection communicate how important the open position is. Who is selected is seen as a direct reflection on the quality of the people in the organization.

Way #5 – Leaders are their people's institutional champion! What's that mean? When their pay is wrong, leaders get it right. When their reviews are scheduled, leaders ensure they are done accurately and on time. When their raises are due, leaders make sure they are handled properly and on time. Leaders jealously guard their relationship as the go to person for their people. Institutional support people can help, but leaders know they are the key contact for their people.

Way #6– Leaders are absolutely intolerant of unsafe, disruptive or other negative behaviors. They act on them quickly and decisively, and never let their people see them knowingly ignore a bad situation. Leaders know these situations will not go away, regardless how much "wish'in and hop'in and pray'in" might be done.

Way #7 – Leaders know that trust and respect are not the same thing as being liked. It is nice to be liked, it is absolutely essential that people trust and respect their leader. As a comedian said: "If you want to be liked, get a dog."

Way #8 – Leaders cultivate a climate of civility for their people. In their relationships with their people, they make sure their actions reflect a fundamental respect for others.

Way #9 –Leaders get every one of their people some form of self development activity on a regular basis. It may be a seminar, it may be tuition refund, it may be a book, it may be a CD set, it may be reimbursement for a Webinar or a podcast, it may be a Community College course – it does not have to be expensive and time consuming, but the act of creating added value through the investment of personal effort supported by organizational resources is a powerful way to express importance.

Way #10 – Leaders respect their people's time – it's their most valuable asset. Leaders start meetings on time, end them on time, keep meeting commitments. They do what they have to do to ensure their people have the use of as much of their work time as possible.

Way #11– Leaders keep the rules and policies to an absolute minimum. If there is workable set of cultural and organizational "Way's Of Doing Things" then the basis for treating people with individual regard exists. If they don't exist, leaders set them in their own area of responsibility.

Way #12– Leaders celebrate the successes – they create the opportunity for group recognition to happen all over the place – if Safety is an issue, they create a Safety Award process that celebrates progress. They make the celebration events frequent, the rewards modest – but they do it all the time. Leaders know the frequency of awards and the opportunity for celebration are as important, actually more important, than the annual lunch or dinner or whatever.

Did you notice one thing about all 12 Ways? Not one of them deals with lots of money, or more capital, or new policies or procedures. All do require beliefs and behaviors – and they are the most challenging, most high leverage efforts that can be made to improve an organization. It's always tempting to do a feel good seminar, or buy something, or take some action that shows a high level of commitment to the people.. But the truth is that the way to greater success is through a focused, day to day effort to improve the level of commitment of the people in an organization, and that takes hard work, leadership and the acceptance of change.

If you can see Ways that can help you organization or your work group or yourself in this article, take them and run with them – they are the basis for successful managers becoming successful leaders.


About The Author

Andy Cox and the Cox Consulting Group have helped many organizations in designing and implementing change. To reach the Cox Consulting Group, go to http://www.coxconsultgroup.com .


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer

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Sunday, July 22, 2007

Advantages of Open Source Software

by: Fat Jack

PHP-Nuke, PHP PostNuke, TikiWiki, Xoops, b2evo---you can find them everywhere in the web. These are all the open source software solution used in various areas of web applications. These are most of the time free applications released under special licensing terms. This allows the coding to be shared by all and edited to suit the unique needs of the user.

What is the secret behind this immense popularity of all these software? The use of open source software has some practical benefits. Let us discuss about them in details.

You get the core framework for free

For a start up company, budget is a major factor. You can save on your initial investment cost by adopting open source software which comes free of cost.

Modification benefits

With Open Source software, the code is openly available and that enables the users to fine tune the codes to suit their needs. It also contributes to the improvement of a software product by making it adaptable to changing conditions, fixing of bugs, security problems and so on.

Excellent support base free of cost

With open source software you are not tied to a single company or do not need to fall back upon it for fixing all your application related problems. This dependence proves to be very expensive. But with open source software, you get the support of the entire support community on which these applications grow and thrive.

Forking leading to a new product

The open source software keep open the possibility of forking when the existing code base does not work thus leading to the creation of a new software altogether.

The entire online community is indebted to the various open source software for what they have contributed to transform internet into a vast collaborative community that it is today. With an array of open source software, you may conclude that the days of commercial software are numbered. But it requires time for their installation, implementation and trouble shooting. If you lack the time then you have two options---go for the expensive commercial software or hire an efficient and renowned web host who will tackle these problems for you. The second option is definitely better.


About The Author

Fat Jack Hosting is the Internet Marketer’s Dream when it comes to hosting. Not only do we have great ongoing 24/7 support, but we understand the small business owner, entrepreneur and internet marketer because we are owned and operated by an extremely successful one. That’s why you get great customer service, tips, strategies and support. Go here right now to get your hosting account—>> http://www.fatjackhosting.com


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer

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About Xoops---Pack of Information for the Newbie

by: Fat Jack

When it comes to the creation of a content rich, large, dynamic website, you are invariably faced with several myths---strong enough to make you drop your plan altogether. One such myth is: it requires you to be a smart programmer to upload and run a versatile website like this. WRONG!! Getting and running a dynamic website of your dream become piece of cake without hassle or lot of efforts, when you are armed with a tool like XOOPS.

If you are a web host, Xoops can be a great CMS tool for you to easily create dynamic websites. Xoops acts as an ideal tool for developing dynamic community websites---big or small. If you want to create personal weblog or corporate intranet site, or a content rich informative portal----Xoops can be the ultimate solution for getting them and running.

To install it in your server, simply what you need are: a PHP-capable web server such as Apache and a database preferably MySQL.

To keep with the spirit of the type of your website, you can use the software differently.

As for example, Lite XOOPS can be used to create a small size personal weblog or journal. The news module that comes inbuilt with its core framework is enough for the purpose.

For a medium size website you need to make use of the additional modules such as News, Forum, Download, Web Links etc. These modules will help in building up of a community and facilitate interaction among the members and with the visitors.

A feature rich e-commerce site however requires development of some of the customized modules. You can download them free or buy from the outside developers. In any case, Xoop’s uniform user management system will help you to seamlessly integrate these modules with the core system.

There are some must-to install modules which you need to use as add-ons for a stronger foundation along with the core framework of Xoops. These are:

Security module (antivirus and firewall), additional editors (word processors), a backup module to protect the data, and a few diagnostic modules for managing the site.

Here is a brief guide of the locations from where you can download these add-ons.

Security (the Protector Module v3.0)

Backup (DB Backup and Restore)

Editors (Frameworks and Xoopseditors v1.10)

Diagnostics (XoopsInfo v2.12)

In addition to the above mentioned modules which are essentially administrative in nature, you need to download more modules to support the features like news, photo galleries, links, forums, wikis, blogs and games.

Here is the last piece of advice relating to the selection of the version. We recommend the latest version which can be found by clicking Download Xoops’ in the Xoops .org Community menu. The latest version---2.0.16 has been released in March 2007.


About The Author

Fat Jack Hosting is the Internet Marketer’s Dream when it comes to hosting. Not only do we have great ongoing 24/7 support, but we understand the small business owner, entrepreneur and internet marketer because we are owned and operated by an extremely successful one. That’s why you get great customer service, tips, strategies and support. Go here right now to get your hosting account—>> http://www.fatjackhosting.com


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer

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About Drupal

by: Fat Jack

The Onion
The Spread Firefox
Ourmedia
KernelTrap
The Defective by Design campaign

Do these above mentioned names make any sense for you? Well, they are all the names of high-traffic websites….but apart from that?

Well, they are all bound by a common thread…they all use Drupal as their web application framework or blogging engine.

So what Drupal actually is?
Drupal is a software package that is

* Free o download and use
* Written in PHP
* Open-source system
* Distributed under the GPL
* Maintained and developed by a community of thousands of users and developers across the globe.
* Allows an individual or an online community to publish, manage and organize a content rich website.

The background

The credit for writing this software---today’s most popular tool for building online communities goes to Dries Buytaert. The name of the software has significance; the word Drupal has its origin in the Dutch word, “druppel” or Drop. Now Drop in Dutch also stands for Village or community. So the community aspect of the software has always been emphasized. However, others try to establish a link with the name of now defunct Drop.org website---the codes of which had a direct influence on the coding of Drupal.

What it can do for you

The latest version (Drupal 5.1) released in the early 2007 comes with the enhanced feature of easy-to-use web installer. The moment your web host adds this script to your web host account, it is all geared up to help you in your variety of content management and blogging tasks such as: Forums, Peer-to-peer networking , Newsletters, Podcasting, Picture galleries, File uploads and downloads and many more.

The wide ranging Drupal websites

Powered with a wide range of features, Drupal can support different types of website ranging from traditional blogs to Social Networking sites and Intranet applications to E-commerce applications.

If you want to have a glimpse of notable sites using Drupal, refer to this URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drupal

On your way to create a community based website or a community driven portal?

Or are you up to introducing a resource directory or an Aficionado site?

Whatever may be your website requirements, Drupal can handle them all. So start your warming up from today; but before that make sure you find an efficient web host who can offer you Drupal webhosting.


About The Author

Fat Jack Hosting is the Internet Marketer’s Dream when it comes to hosting. Not only do we have great ongoing 24/7 support, but we understand the small business owner, entrepreneur and internet marketer because we are owned and operated by an extremely successful one. That’s why you get great customer service, tips, strategies and support. Go here right now to get your hosting account—>> http://www.fatjackhosting.com


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer

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About DotProject - A Guide for a New Entrepreneur

by: Fat Jack

Project management is the most vital but often neglected aspect of your business. While the term project management conjures up the picture of complicated task---and surely it is---it can be managed with high level of efficiency if you know the tricks of the trade. In the software called dotProject you can find this trick----the key to your project management success.

Here is a short description of DotProject to help you understand what it is.

DotProject is a Web-based project management application. It is licensed under GNU General Public License (GPL), which means dotProject is free to use.

It comes with a modular structure and multilingual feature---- It is translated into 17 languages.

Its comprehensive feature list includes modules for companies, projects, tasks (with Gantt charts), forums, files, a calendar, contacts, tickets/helpdesk, user/module permissions, and themes.

Its modular architecture allows further addition of extra modules such as time sheets and inventory for enhanced functionalities.

Technology used in the software

The software uses the JavaScript and PHP as its Programming Language

It takes the Database support from MySQL.

DotProject can support your websites on an intranet, as well as on extranet environment.

How to install

DotProject is completely open source, and is supported by purely open source technologies. As such a Linux based web hosting service provider using PHP hosting and MySQL database management can add Dot Project in your web hosting control panel. Once installed, it will occupy not more than 2 MB size in your disc space.

As compared to its rival solutions, DotProject makes the BETTER CHOICE for two reasons:

1. A greater number of features
2. A more user-friendly interface.

So make sure to add the DotProject feature in your project management script and boost up your business with a flawless planning, smart execution and quality deliverance of tasks.


About The Author

Fat Jack Hosting is the Internet Marketer’s Dream when it comes to hosting. Not only do we have great ongoing 24/7 support, but we understand the small business owner, entrepreneur and internet marketer because we are owned and operated by an extremely successful one. That’s why you get great customer service, tips, strategies and support. Go here right now to get your hosting account—>> http://www.fatjackhosting.com


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer

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