Photo: NancyHugo

Bring the family together
By making your kitchen the centre of your home you can help bring your family together.  Make your kitchen somewhere for your family to congregate at the end of the day and where they can chat about what has been going on.  Have adequate bench space so you have plenty of room to prepare meals and also seat family members around the bench.  Encourage people to sit around and talk by making sure the television is in a separate area of the house.  If you have the kitchen in the centre of your home you are encourage everyone to spend time around the cook, who often finds themselves trapped in the kitchen preparing the evening meal and missing out on the conversation.

Good for entertaining
A home that has the kitchen at the centre of its design is also great for entertaining.  Having an open planned home is also great for when you have lots of people over.  The best thing you can have in your kitchen is lots of bench space so you can lay out all the food, but people can also congregate and sit around the benches.  You should also have plenty of storage space and a large fridge that can handle all your bigger platters.  It is also nice for the host if the kitchen is the centre of the house because they then won’t find themselves shut away in another part of the house doing all the work and preparing the food while everyone else is off having a good time.

Save energy
The kitchen is usually the warmest room in the house, especially at night when you have the oven and stove working.  By making the kitchen the centre of your home you can help keep the hub of your home even warmer, and if you encourage everyone to use this as the main room in the house then you will save on heating bills in the winter.  It makes sense to heat the core of your home as the rooms on the outside, such as bedrooms, don’t need to be overly warm as once you have gone to bed you don’t necessarily need the heater on.

Heart of your home
The kitchen is often called the heart of the home, the main reason being because this is where the family all comes together at the end of the day.  Make your kitchen worth spending time in by having the best quality appliances, that not only look great, but help make your life a lot easier.  As well as making sure they are functional make sure they are aesthetically pleasing too.

Photo: Sunfox

Before I called for computer repairs, I did some research of my own. I was the victim of spyware and malware that went undetected by my big-name anti-virus software for some time. Nonetheless, I had to pay the bill, which prompted me to change the way I use and monitor my internet. Controlling, monitoring and protecting your internet from sabotage and unauthorised use is extremely important, even if you are using an unlimited plan. If others are using your bandwidth, your internet speeds will slow down. Here is a look at the best ways you can control internet use.

• Content Security. Most browsers offer a certain level of content security. The only problem this can be easily manipulated. Children will soon work out how to manipulate this because they are often more adept with their computer use than their parents. Content security applications are available, and many of them are free to download.
• Anti-virus. We have all needed computer support at one time or another because our computer is acting very strangely. In most cases, it was because of a virus. Anti-virus programs are very important, and we are still susceptible to virus invasion. The bigger name brands are always better because they will update to the alert of new viruses faster. Some spyware or malware are designed to make your computer a host for internet access by other computers, and this can cause a huge amount of interent use without you even knowing. These kinds of malware exist of many websites and we don’t know.
• Bandwidth Manager. Knowing exactly what process or program on your computer is using bandwidth is another way to tell what you are using. The best bandwidth manager applications will breakdown the upload and download speeds with each process operating on your computer. This is the easiest way to see when your computer has been infected. You can compare this amount of usage with the amount displayed by your internet service provider. When the two amounts are different, you know there is unauthorized access at your location.
• Wireless Passwords. Wireless in the home is very common. It makes using your internet easy and there is just less hassle with fewer cables. It is important you have a password for access. Newer model wireless routers can broadcast very far, and more modern laptops can pick up the weakest of signals. This can mean all of your neighbours are enjoying free internet without your knowledge.

Malware that hijacks your broadband internet connections are becoming increasingly common. Even the best anti-virus programs may not detect them, and it is recommended you use a program that is specific for monitoring spyware. Spyware monitors your computer for being monitored and abused.

Photo: jurvetson

Everything you have ever done, ever purchased, ever been, is stored somewhere, and eventually that all end up in the hands of government. Here is a look at some of the reasons why this is happening.

• Big Name Websites. Can you imagine the amount of dedicated servers and tape storage being used by Google and Facebook, and even Skype to backup their data. Can you image the amount of information that is stored by huge companies like Google, Facebook and Skype? All of that information is stored on servers and is regularly backed up by professional companies. Do you think your VOIP phone system is really safe? Tape will last for at least 50 years, and there is no reason they will not be backed up again.

• Big Business? Have you ever wondered why companies like Google and Facebook, and Skype have been allowed to grow so big? Do you think they don’t have special relationships with government, military, the FBI, and the CIA and their central dedicated server? Why is it Hilary Clinton is always standing up for Google. I don’t see her doing that for smaller companies? All of these companies have been allowed to grow because they are cooperating with the government of their origin. Apple and Microsoft have collected so much data on all of us over the last 20 years, there must be enough tape stored to wrap around the planet many times. There is no way any of these companies could exist without being supported, encouraged, and protected by the government of the United States.

• Banks. The banks having been playing the same game with governments for years. Your information will be handed over to a private investigator if they have the appropriate documents. The banks have benefited from information technology created by companies like Google, and as they are all handing over data to governments, do you not think there are not computers churning through that data 24 hours a day. Programs are looking for key words, and programs are getting more intelligent.

• IBM. IBM, the biggest innovator in computing technology and networks is behind all of the technology that drives this world. New players on the block do not even compare. Again, we have an example of companies that work for the United States government. IBM stands for International Business Machines, and is an international corporation, which was founded in 1896 as the Tabulating Machine Company. Imagine how much data they have stored on dedicated server hosting for the United States Government has access to.

• Websites. Websites collecting your every move are little compared to the big picture. Every company is subject to handing over all of their details, and every company is subject to the laws of the country, and even the unlawful behavior of the governments that run them.

If you are Australian, and want to have an idea of how much information is stored and shared about you, just apply for your Travel Authorization from the ETSA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) website. If you have a criminal record in Australia, you will not be getting on your flight. The system says it can take up to 48 hours to process your number, but actually, you should get it in 5 minutes. If it takes any longer, you know they are doing deeper research on you.

Photo: atmtx

When they buy an iPad, they will end up buying an iPhone, and then they will want a Macbook. The iPad has indirectly been a huge personal computer market penetration tool in a very short time. It has been an extremely successful device despite the high price tag. Microsoft needs a great tablet to compete with the iPad and, considering their resources, there is nothing stopping them. Here are some of the features and functions of what we should see with a Windows 8 tablet.

• Start-up — Apple laptops, desktops, iPhones and iPads are notorious for starting up slowly. The iPad is particularly slow, taking over 20 seconds. This might not sound long, but when you are trying to impress a client, and they are staring at your iPad starting up, that 20 seconds feels like an hour, and you may have lost their interest and business. The sleep/resume features promised with Windows 8 should be very functional when it comes to the tablet.

• Power Use – Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the iPhone, but the iPad seems to go on forever. Charging once every two days in not uncommon. The iPhone 4 has the ability to replace the battery, which is a lifesaver for iPhone users. The iPhone runs out of battery way too fast. The iPad doesn’t. Microsoft should think very carefully about this. Manufacturers need to make sure they deliver. A tablet is designed to be carried around, and sitting at a desk while it charges is not an option.

• Good Looking – There is something about Apple devices. They just look better. This has had a huge impact on the sales of the iPad. A new Windows or Microsoft tablet running the Windows upgrade needs to look good. There is no way of getting around it. The operating system itself looks smooth enough, and quality housing for that operating system is needed.

• Wifi – Chromebooks come with 100mb of wireless broadband. A laptop or computer is nothing without a connection. A tablet with Windows 8 should come with integrated 3g wifi, and a great plan to go with it. 100mb is barely enough for a couple of days. A tablet release by Windows should have at least 3 gigs of wifi connection for the month, at a reasonable price.

• Payment Plan – Buying an Apple is expensive. The chromebook, which is more like a netbook, or a tablet with a keyboard is being sold on a monthly plan. Students are a huge market, and schools have huge buying power. A tablet with Windows 8 or a Windows 8 tablet should be available for students on a payment plan.

Microsoft is the company that first introduced us to personal computing. If they can take us to the next level with an operating system that works on all devices and a tablet is available cheaply and on a payment plan they will have truly put themselves back in the number one reputation-based position.

Photo: xotoko

What About SEO?
Consumer relationship marketing has been the catch-cry of traditional marketing and advertising agencies for a long time, especially when they are talking about anything to do with the internet. They have had little experience in the world of SEO (search engine optimisation), they are not admitting it, and the simple fact remains, the biggest and best way to make the most out of online marketing and websites is with SEO.

SEO is king, and has little to do with consumer relationship marketing. These agencies are still refusing to admit they are way behind the game, especially when we have agencies, in cities like Sydney, Australia, who have been involved in the business of SEO for over a decade, and continue to take their client’s business to new levels.

SCO – Another Advertising Agency Sales Pitch
Advertising agencies have amazing skills to create theories and explanations, of how they are the best in the business. If you have ever worked in an advertising agency, you will know the most important part of your job is to baffle the client with your sophistication, and ultimately dazzle them with your complicated and yet convincing sales pitch. You are selling your agency, not discussing how you will improve the business of the client. SCO (social content optimisation) is the latest of these theories and hype-loaded strategies to come out of advertising agencies. Their pitch starts with something like, “is SCO the new SEO?”

How these two can possibly be compared is an absolute joke. Without getting too involved in the details of the strategy (sales pitch is a better way to describe it), a general summarisation goes as follows. The (big name global) agency states they “believe search and social are intertwined”. It is amazing that they can come to such a belief, considering Google search has had integrated social features and functions for a very long time. There is no ‘belief’ needed – it is a simple fact. The SCO theory goes on to talk about how the consumer’s mind is influenced and how that is a big part of the optimisation process of the content to be disseminated with social media market.

Photo: PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE

This is another example of advertising and agency bluff and pomp. The internet is not that complicated, and there are very real tools that we can use, and they are very clear cut. Advertising agencies are doing what they do best make out how sophisticated and stunningly impressive they are to sell themselves to their clients. Those professionals in the world of online marketing, don’t have sophisticated strategies, they have systematic methods that work. Those results can be seen in exact numbers.

There is no ‘feel’ to how popular your website has become. You will know exactly how many visitors you are getting for exactly the amount of money you are investing. If you want help with marketing your business online, go with those professionals who have been in the business for over a decade. Let the advertising agencies do what they do best, bluff and plunder large amounts of money out of global corporations and spend that on TV advertising. You can get the same reach at 1% of the cost. Go with those in the SEO know.