Writing Your Life Story - Tips And Techniques For Success

Once a luxury of the rich and famous, technology has, for the first time in history, made it possible for anyone to capture, share and preserve their most precious life stories. With the advent of computers, the Internet, digital photography, video, and audio, anyone can capture the richness and texture of their life stories. These personal histories will be appreciated by family, friends, and future generations.

Today it is possible to easily blend the art of traditional biography and memoir with powerful new technologies into a new form of individual life storytelling: the personal life history. Personal life histories are satisfying to create. And, because of the interactive multimedia possibilities inherent in computers and the web, a well-done personal life history can be rich and fully rounded in ways that are impossible to achieve in text-only memoir or biography. But most importantly, personal life histories preserve vital individual and family stories. And, when properly done, they will last for generations.

In this article you will discover how to use time-honored life story writing techniques along with the latest technologies to create a story that is uniquely "you."

The Art of Traditional Life-Story Formats

For anyone interested in creating their own autobiography, memoir or personal life history, it is important to understand the distinctions between these forms of telling one's own life story. To over-generalize for a moment, an autobiography is more fact-based, while a memoir is more emotion-based.

Autobiographies are written by the subject, sometimes with the collaboration of another writer. Autobiographical works take many forms, from intimate writings made during life that are not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to the formal autobiography. Interestingly, the autobiography format does not necessarily have to be true. It may also be a literary fictional tale.

Memoirs are a form of personal recollection that has grown enormously in popularity in recent times. Memoirs often focus on more subjective recollections such as memories, feelings, and emotions and are generally written from the first-person viewpoint. The memoir is often focused on capturing certain meaningful highlights or moments.

In his own Memoir, Palimpest, Gore Vidal writes that "a memoir is how one remembers one's own life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked."

Memoirs usually focus on a brief period of time or a series of connected events (an autobiography covers a longer time period). In a memoir, the writer is usually retrospective, and contemplating past events. Memoirs may incorporate the techniques of storytelling such as setting, plot, conflict, character development, foreshadowing, flashback, irony or symbolism. And lastly, writing one's memoir often has a therapeutic effect for the writer.

Oral History Recordings

An oral history is a verbatim transcription of an interview, left in the narrator's exact words. These are usually left in a question-and-answer style and are an economical way to preserve family stories. A recording system with a good-quality microphone and a quiet spot free from interruptions are all that is really needed to capture an oral history. It helps to have questions prepared in advance of the interview.

Oral histories are usually recorded using analog tape or digital recording equipment, but it is also possible to record directly into a personal computer. Oral histories are often transcribed (typed or word processed) into a document format. The conversational style is appealing for its easygoing informality.

Caveats: Recording formats and standards are constantly evolving and could become difficult or impossible to play back if the equipment becomes obsolete. Taped recordings decay over time.

Video History Recordings

Do-it-Yourself: At the basic level, it's easy and fun to create a basic video history. Camcorders are relatively inexpensive, and many computers today come with basic editing software. Capturing a good video history shares all of the same prerequisites as an audio recording: a quiet spot, with questions prepared in advance. Plus, you will want an uncluttered background, flattering lighting, and right clothing to improve the quality of the end product. White shirts, pants or dresses, for example don't show up well on video. Likewise, busy patterns can be distracting. Solid light-colored neutrals or pastels are usually safe.

Professional videographers: A large number of professional video companies specialize in the creation of life story productions. Productions may range from a 10 or 15 minute short to an hour or longer mini-movie, complete with titles, music, and other Hollywood-style effects. Naturally, you'll pay more for a professional production than a homegrown effort.

When selecting a professional use all the usual smart-consumer tips. Ask for references. Ask to see samples of prior work. Get all costs, production timetables and commitments in writing. It's delightful to have movies of an individual or family. When well-executed they often have entertainment value and are great for special occasions.

Caveat: As with audio recordings, formats change over time, and media can degrade, even with proper storage methods

The Integration of Art and Technology: Web-Based Personal Life Histories

Just in the last few years, the Web has emerged as a powerful new medium for creating and sharing life stories. On the web it is not only possible, it is enjoyable and easy to create a rich multimedia story with text, photos, audio and video. This is the new format of the personal life history.

Web-based personal life histories enjoy several advantages over paper-based publishing, audio, video, or even CD life stories. Specifically, Web-based publication is updateable-one can add new information at any time. It is easily shareable among friends or family. The most advanced sites offer choices of privacy and security protection. The web is also multimedia, meaning you can add text, photos, audio, and video. Photos, audio, video are never lost, damaged destroyed. An finally, many sites offer print-on-demand, allowing you to create instant books. The books may be printed on your home printer, or sent out to small-run publishers. If you choose the small-run option, be sure to specify archival quality paper.

One of the biggest advantages of web publishing is the ability to build community around similar interests, occupations, backgrounds or life events. For example, a WWII veteran pilot who posts his story to the Web and makes it available to the public may be contacted by long-lost friends, other veterans, students, historians, museum personnel, or others interested in this pivotal chapter in American history.

Why Create Your Personal Life History?

Mark Twain once said: "There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is impossibility. Inside everyone, there is a drama, a comedy, a tragedy."

A personal life history can be as short as a few pages, or several volumes in length. Whatever the length or medium, it requires thoughtfulness and sometimes quite a bit of work to accomplish. But the work is worthwhile because it has the ability to influence generations ahead. Your personal life history may leave a legacy for your children and grandchildren. As with memoir, writing a personal history allows you to examine and reflect on your life up to the present day. It lets you add your story to the larger historical record of your family, city, and country. And lastly, if you don't do it, who will?

Start with a Timeline of Life Chapters

How does one start to tell the story of a life that may cover 60, 70, 80 years or more? Often it's helpful to create a chronological timeline of major events in your life. It helps to jot down a few notes around key phases in your life. In fact, you may already be thinking of your life as a book, with separate, distinct chapters built around important life episodes.

Of course, not everyone's life follows an identical chronological sequence, but here are a few ideas for chapter headings for your book or story. GreatLifeStories.com uses the following "chapters" to organize life stories:

o Your Beginnings

o In Your Neighborhood

o School Days

o Off to Work

o Romance and Marriage

o War and Peace

o Triumphs and Tragedies

o Words of Wisdom

o Humor

o Words of Gratitude

The chapter system is very flexible. For example, you don't have to start your life story with the days of your birth and youth. Perhaps you had a fascinating experience during the war. As with a movie, you might open your life story with that "scene," then tell the story how you got there.

Once you've got an idea for the "flow," of your story, here are some more specific guidelines to help add color, texture, and authenticity:

Just start writing! Do a mind dump. Get it out of your head and down on paper, the computer, the tape recorder, wherever. Don't worry about how it sounds. Just write. Resist the temptation to edit yourself; there will be time for editing later.

Be yourself. Don't worry if your grammar or spelling isn't perfect. Write it as you would say it.

Honesty is everything. The best writing tells it like it happened.

Include humor. Favorite jokes, stories, anecdotes

Detail, detail, detail. What kind of floor did the kitchen have? What color was the scarf she wore when you first met?

Go at a comfortable pace. Don't try to capture an entire lifetime in a single session of furious writing. Write, allow time to reflect, and return again to writing.

Consult others. Family members and friends can be invaluable sources of facts and interpretation.

Use photos to jog your memory. Tip: Set out photos in a timeline of your life, starting from your very youngest days, and moving through current times. Write or record to your visual storyboard

Look for themes in your life. Themes are broad ideas that are central to your life. Did you always want to be a pilot? A preacher? Own a restaurant? Be a farmer? Tell the story of how you met your goal, or how the goal changed to something else totally unexpected.

Here are just a few other thematic life story possibilities: a. The Spiritual quest b. The Confession c. The Travelogue d. The Portrait e. The Complaint f. Humor g. The Family history h. The Road to Recovery i. War Story j. Romance

Another Option: Hire a Professional

Most of this article has been focused on creating the do-it-yourself personal life history. There is, of course, the option of working with a professional. The right professional writer or videographer is a highly skilled interviewer and has the proper tools and equipment. And, believe it or not, it is sometimes easier for someone to open up in front of a stranger rather than in front of a family member.

There are many approaches to working with writers or videographers. However, there are a number of similarities in common. The writer/videographer often:

1) Meets with you to determine the scope and cost of the project.

2) Usually sets up taped interview sessions. Depending on your objectives, these may be an hour or two, or 10, 20 hours or more.

3) The recording is transcribed and edited with your input and guidance

4) Once a final manuscript/movie is agreed upon, it may be sent out for printing or duplication.

5) For books, personal history professionals recommend archival bindings and acid-free paper for longevity

6) You receive the number of books/movies agreed upon in your contract.

7) Be sure to discuss services, fees and end products in advance, and get all agreements in writing.

Thanks to high technology, the art of capturing and preserving the stories from one's own life is now open to more people and easier than ever before. A new genre of personal storytelling is emerging that draws on the literary traditions of the autobiography and memoir, while adding audio, video, and web technology to create personal life histories. On the Web, these personal stories personal life histories are multimedia, collaborative, shareable, and instantly updateable.

Enjoy capturing your life story!

References and Further Reading

Web Sites:

http://www.greatlifestories.com

Associations:

The Association of Personal Historians is a 600+ member organization of professional personal historians who create life stories in all formats: text, audio, video. http://www.personalhistorians.org

How-to Books:

There are many good books filled with different approaches and tips for writing a personal life history. Here are just a few:

Daniel, Lios, How to Write Your Own Life Story

Rainer, Tristine, Your Life as Story Books

Roorbach, Bill, Writing Life Stories

Xerox ColorQube 8570 Review

Xerox faces tough competition from a whole host of familiar manufacturers such as Canon, HP, Epson, Lexmark, OKI and Brother. All offer a range of market leading products filling the many niches for homes and businesses everywhere. The Xerox ColorQube 8570 is certainly one of the stand out performers in any field.

Getting an inkjet printer is a great choice for people who are looking to print on a budget. However for those who are looking for greater volume and performance, it usually has to be a laser. Fortunately though, the unique design and exceptional performance of the Xerox ColorQube 8570 solid-ink printer allows it to provide an effective rival to most laser models.

Main Features and Setup

The ColorQube 8570 uses a solid-ink technology which helps to distinguish it from most other contemporary devices. Fortunately, these supplies are rather easy to install as the internals under the output tray provide colour-specific chutes for easy loading. Starter and replacement cubes are already included with the package and are good enough for 3000 pages.

Solid-ink supplies have the advantage of being environmentally friendly because they do not have plastic housing elements that both toner and ink cartridges have. The ink is also cheaper and Xerox provides a number of bundled packages for high usage customers to maximise savings.

Specifications

This Xerox printer has 525-sheet cassette located on the bottom along with a 100-sheet multi-purpose tray. There is also a 200-sheet output tray on top of the printer. You can connect the printer to both Windows and Mac OS X systems via USB and the printer can join the local network by plugging in directly to the router via Ethernet cable, so no special USB router is required. Windows users need to install a driver, which does not take long to install while Mac users can plug right in.

There is also a backlit monochrome LCD display that can display up to six lines. Various buttons are positioned near the display for going through the menu structure. Getting used to the interface takes some time but you may find an easier time with the navigation if you print the menu map. Once you are at ease with the functions it is an incredibly useful interface and will make controlling your printer functions a breeze.

Performance

The solid-ink printer takes some time to turn on and generates a little noise while doing so. To fix this problem, it is best to use the "Sleep Mode" feature, which saves energy and does not completely turn off the unit. The print speeds are on the average side with PC speeds clocking in at around 15 pages per minute. Mac users will enjoy slightly faster speeds at 10 pages per minute. It can print photos at around 2.5 pages per minute if the file size is approximately 20 MB.

The quality makes up for it by delivering deep blacks and exceptional business graphic quality. Some may find the photos to be grainy while the thin text to be jaggy. However in the most part you should have no cause for complaint when it comes to representing colours.

Bottom Line

With the average print speeds, the ColorQube 8570 may not be the best replacement for a midrange laser printer, especially considering the estimate price of 460 pounds. But the solid-ink technologies remain as the highlight delivering convenience and economy with environmental qualities.

Dell Online (Case Study)

Background (General Facts from Case Study)

Dell is a computer corporation recognized for manufacturing computer systems through parts assemble. In 1983, Michael Dell saw an opportunity in using IBM compatible computers for a new assembly line that can be sold to local businesses. The idea as explained by Michael Dell, in an interview with Joan Magretta[1], is that in the early days of computers' manufacturing, companies had to be able to produce every part of the system. As the industry matured, companies started to focus on single parts and to become specialized in creating items that can be assembled with other parts to prepare a computer. As a result, Dell understood that to have a competitive edge in the market, they needed to focus on activities that drive sales instead of putting capital in producing items that other manufactures are already creating.

In the 1990's, the computer market revolved around desktops, notebooks, and network servers. Dell competed with high-end machines from IBM, HP, and Compaq with a product line that provided value-priced systems for consumers and highly reliable networked systems for business. In the late 90's, around 40% of households owned a pc in the US. On the contrary, from the business side, around 80% of the companies still had old server and desktop machines. Management had to approve purchasing orders, which resulted in only 2.2% of servers' sale in comparison to the total purchases for desktop PCs in 1996.

In order for Dell to achieve $7.8 billion from sales in the late 90's, it had to skip over the traditional channels of using retail or value-added resellers (VARs) to sell directly to the consumers . The "direct-model "or as Michael Dell comments on how his new employees call it "The model" is not that all powerful system. It is simply a way for Dell to cut on the standard supply chain cycle and deliver goods directly from the manufacturer to the customer. They created partnerships with several suppliers such as Sony, Intel, and others to deliver goods effectively at the time of the order to Dell's plant where the assembly took place. The delivery and shipment were outsourced through a dedicated service that also insured delivering the monitors directly from the supplier at the same time. Mr. Dell talks about how suppliers are benefiting from the fact that Dell buys more items from the suppliers keeping no inventory and only requesting faster delivery upon orders.

In 1996, Dell capitalized on the growing number of customers who are using the Internet and launched its online store at dell.com. The online venture then proved to be the most appropriate sales channel that matched the supply chain direct model implemented by Dell.

In its path to compete in the market, Dell had to provide additional services such as DellPlus that enabled Dell to install commercial software packages, DellWare which provided hardware and software from other vendors, and after sales and on-site support services. These actions, as described by Michael Dell, required establishing more partnerships, which Mr. Dell describes as a process of "trial and error". The integration with partners was changing as the technology is evolving and many venders go volatile while others remain sold. Furthermore, looking for an IT company to build the online store brought in very few players, which made Dell accept the overhead of developing the portal in-house.

Enterprise Architecture Issues

Supply Chain Management: The purchase and number of transactions that Dell took in required a properly configured and concise business process.
In-sourcing: To meet the demand of the market some parts of the process required the services of other companies that can be in partner with Dell.
Quality Assurance: The computer industry is a very dynamic one, which makes quality products stand out when faced with technology-oriented consumers.
Business Automation: As Dell advanced into online markets, its sales staff feared from losing their jobs in favor of automated sales transactions.
Dynamic Industry: The technology industry requires closely monitoring consumers' trend to maintain a low gap between the point of demand and the point of supply.

Analysis

Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) aims at integrating all corporate activities to improve relationships at all levels (internal operations, supplier networks, and distribution channel) to meet the competitive edge and satisfy the customer (Al-Mashari and Zairi 2000)[2]. In order to build an effective and complete business process that supports SCM, information among all business partners need to be shared. Information sharing through the Internet reduce the gap for business-to-business (B2B) commerce by enabling seamless integration with enterprise processes among partner corporations (Archer 2006)[3].

Dell developed its internal business process by creating production cells that start assembly at the point of order. It also established an internal information system to make the details of the products under production electronically available to all parties within the chain. To manage the supply of computer parts, Dell maintained close relationships with their suppliers and logistics providers to make their vendors manage the inventory system while Dell focused on product assembly (Kumar and Craig 2007)[4]. In addition, Dell used enterprise technology to make their database and methodologies available to the supplier to understand how Dell works. On the consumer side, orders made through the phone or online through dell.com produced a tracking code that the consumer can use to track the status of his or her order at any time through the phone or on Dell's website.

In sourcing

Organizations worldwide are benefiting from the specialized services offered by various companies. In the shipping and transport arena, companies Like UPS (United Parcel Service) and DHL stand out as masters in their industry. UPS and DHL have established offices and transportation vehicles all across the world. They provide business services through in-sourcing which enables them to be part of the internal business process of companies (Marcum 2007)[5]. To a company like Toshiba for example, after-sales support service would require shipping the damaged computer to and from the consumer's side. For that, UPS would say, "Look, instead of us picking up the machine from your customers, bringing it to our hub, then flying it from our hub to your repair facility and then flying it back to our hub and then from our hub to your customer's house, let's cut out all the middle steps. We, UPS, will pick it up, repair it, and send it right to your customer" (Friedman 2006)[6].

Dell understands that it need not compete unless it would get the advantage in the market. Michael Dell says that one should evaluate the competition field and pick the best one. In that context, after-sales services were contracted with firms who are specialized in that field and can be contacted directly through the integrated supply system to fulfill the requests of the consumers. Furthermore, shipping is handled through multiple shippers to deliver systems to consumers or to resellers across the world. In addition, Dell has saved the overhead cost of monitors' delivery by requesting shippers to deliver from the monitor's supplier directly to the consumer at the same time.

Quality Assurance

In a competitive arena, companies seek to have an advantage through means that are not necessarily related to price. Constraints against outsourcing due to excessive decentralization within organizations can have a negative impact on the value chain process. Combing various options and being open to diversification would support in increasing the speed-to-market and enhancing the quality of products (Ernst 2000)[7].

Dell has an operational facility in Penang Malaysia, which places Dell at a central position near to where most suppliers actually have their factories. Orders for goods come directly to Penang center through the integrated suppliers' logistic centers (SLCs) chain[8]. The Penang center sends emails to suppliers requesting the parts that will be assembled based on the customer's order. The entire model was efficient enough to require no more than 36 hours from order to shipping. In terms of quality of service, Dell has won numerous awards for highest quality. In spite of that, it continues to find means to increase the efficiency of its products. Michael Dell suggested that reducing the human interaction with hard drives during assembly would decrease its failure rate. As a result, the reduction of the number of "touches" dropped the failure rate to 20%.

Business Automation

The general attitude from individuals and employees within organizations is that automation through information systems complicate their internal processes, and might result in cutting down the number of staff (Khatibi, V.Thyagarajan and Seetharaman 2003)[9]. There are several psychological and behavioral problems associated with reluctance to change, which appear to impede the growth of E-commerce. On the other hand, retailers no longer think their web sites are simply an added benefit for their customers since the ROI (Return on Investment) percentages from online websites have far outweighed their bricks-and-mortar counterparts (Casey 2004)[10]. For that reason, the staff involved in the traditional sales process requires training to embrace new technologies and to learn how they can benefit from it.

For Dell online store the response from the consumers was huge, however, at first the sales representatives feared that the online website would reduce the number of sale deals they closed. To overcome this, Dell introduced the cost saving model showing how the online store would support sales representative close more deals and at the same time would produce cost effective results that would have a positive ROI on the business.

Dynamic Industry

Customer relations management (CRM) is a very vital competency that was born from the amount of transactional sales deals through call centers. The process of understanding customers goes through the initial phase of collecting data then analyzing trends and eventually building a knowledge base that will drive the profitable relationship (Liew 2008)[11]. Organizations' use of CRM models is an attempt to get firsthand knowledge that would improve marketing effectiveness, bring more personalization, and build brands among other objectives based on the nature of the business (Anderson, Jolly and Fairhurst 2007)[12].

Michael Dell model is based on keeping no inventory, in order for Dell to maintain that they focused on segmenting their customers into scalable businesses that can be analyzed for their level of demand. Sales executives at Dell used communication skills to elicit information from customers that would further support the demand forecast initiatives at the company. In addition, Dell sent surveys to customers to further understand the satisfaction level with the services provided by Dell and modify its product line and services accordingly. Furthermore, Michael Dell discussed how regional meetings in various countries invited potential customers to further enrich the relationship and give room for comments and feedback about Dell's services. On top of all that, Dell strived to provide information for its customers to help them make proper choices for their IT requirements and gain privileged information about new and upcoming technologies. Dell invested in developing a web portal in the form of "Premier Pages" for high-end customers and another for small to medium businesses at Dellmarketplace.com[13]. Both sites aim at providing information to customers and establishing a single point of access for customers' IT service requirements.

Conclusions

Dell is simply a success story; it shows how one can gain market advantage by simply understanding what brings value to customers. No one, even Michael Dell himself when he started, thought that people would enjoy customizing their PC orders and wait patiently as the order makes its way back to their homes. Some studies talk about how people challenged the initial delivery estimates provided by Dell to see if they were met.

The level of expansion Dell strived to achieve brought in problems as with any growing business. However, by adapting techniques such as In-sourcing and mutual benefit partnerships it reduced its potential staff from 80,000 to only 15,000. Dell also was aware of factors that would hinder its supply chain. For example, they maintained a multiple list of shippers as not to be affected by unexpected delays and organizational issues. In addition, they understood the importance of developing their own enterprise systems in-house to control all the variables and maintain their business processes.

This is one of the best case studies in the IT industry. I believe the level of commitment Dell showed in the model he created is inspiring. On the editorial side, I believe more highlights on the internal infrastructure of Dell's network would have helped in building an understanding of how the supply chain actually worked. Did they use CRM modules, ERP, SCM, or a combination of all? How did Dell secure its information link with its suppliers, were all of them mature enough when it came to Information systems?

Recommendations

Organizations should focus on value adding activities like establishing online portals for their customers.
Businesses should conduct frequent surveys to measure the level of service they provide and work on enhancing their products.
Organizations should decentralize and enable expansion through global techniques such as out-sourcing and in-sourcing.
Building internal enterprise information systems is the most effective methodology for information and knowledge sharing.
Establishing multiple touch points with customers, strengthen the relationship and increases satisfaction levels.
Meeting global quality standards is the only way to get an advantage in a competitive arena.
Internal organization assessment and training is vital to maintain the high spirit of employees and increase their productivity.
Management support and funding is a key element in the success of any information system implementation.

References

Joan Magretta , "The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Dell Computer's Michael Dell." Harvard Business Review 76, no. 2 (Mar/Apr 1998): 72-84, 13, 2.
Majed Al-Mashari and Mohamed Zairi, "Supply-chain re-engineering using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems: an analysis of a SAP R/3 implementation case." International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 30, no. 3/4 (2000): 296-313
Norman P. Archer, "Supply chains and the enterprise" Journal of Enterprise Information 19, no. 3 (2006): 241-245, 242
Sameer Kumar and Sarah Craig, "Dell, Inc.'s closed loop supply chain for computer assembly plants." Information Knowledge Systems Management 6, no. 3 (2007): 197-214,18.
Marcum, Jennifer. "In-Source or Outsource?" BioProcess International, June 2007
Thomas L. Friedman, The World Is Flat (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006), 168.
Dieter Ernst, "Inter-Organizational Knowledge Outsourcing: What Permits Small Taiwanese Firms to Compete in the Computer Industry?" Asia Pacific Journal of Management (Springer Netherlands) 17, no. 2 (August 2000): 223-255, 248
Friedman, The World is Flat, 516
Ali Khatibi, V.Thyagarajan, and A. Seetharaman, "E-commerce in Malaysia: Perceived Benefits and Barriers." Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers 28, no. 3 (Jul-Sep 2003): 77-82, 6.
Bernadette Casey, "Online Monday blacker than in-store Friday." DSN Retailing Today, December 13, 2004: 13-13,0.
Chor-Beng Anthony Liew, "Strategic integration of knowledge management and customer relationship management." Journal of Knowledge Management 12, no. 4 (2008): 131-146.
Anderson, Joan L., Laura D. Jolly, and Ann E. Fairhurst. "Customer relationship management in retailing: A content analysis of retail trade journals." Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services 14, no. 6 (November 2007): 394-399, 6.
Alorie Gilbert, "Dell Online Marketplace Targets Small Businesses." Electronic Buyers' News, October 2, 2000: 58, 0.

What Causes Physical Memory Dump?

I am sure you freak out when you computer screen suddenly turns blue and you see the error message that says "beginning of physical memory dump".

What do you do? Most people would just reboot the computer and pretend nothing happens. Some people want to know what happened and what they should do to fix it. It can be very daunting and stressful when you get the blue screen of death while doing important work. You would not have time to save it because it happens suddenly without any warnings. You must do the work all over again after rebooting.

What actually cause the physical memory dump?

DLL error
RAM Hardware Problems
Memory allocation error
COM error
HIVE crash

What should you do when it happens?

If it occurs because of your memory problem, then you should consider buying a new computer.

The ignorant way is doing a reboot and hoping that it does not happen again. The hard way is to address what caused the error and fix it manually. If it occurs because of your chaotic registry, you could find and fix it, which is very dangerous because one simple mistake can lead to a total error in your system. Reinstall your operation system might be a wiser decision to make.

The easy way is to pay a computer technician hundred of dollars to fix it for you. But in fact you could do what the technician would do to fix your computer; the wise way is to be a computer technician yourself. Did I said that you could actually do what a computer technician would do to fix your computer? Yes, it is very simple really. A technician uses a simple software to fix your registry.

If you could be the technician yourself and pay less to get the software that you can use forever, why should you pay a technician hundreds of dollars to fix it only one time for you?

You will want to do regular maintenance to keep your PC error-free so that this problem never re-occurs again.

Motorcycle Intercoms - How to Choose the Best Motorcycle Intercom For You

Without a motorcycle intercom, motorcycle riding is a solitary experience. When you're riding alone it's a good way to clear your head or get your thoughts together. But if you've got a passenger, or you're riding with another biker, inevitably you'll want to talk to them. Motorcycle intercom systems that mount in your helmet let you do that.

The problem is that there are so many to choose from in such a wide price range. It's hard to decide which one to choose. And given that motorcycle intercoms have to work in an extremely difficult environment, choosing the right one can make the difference between enjoying your new purchase or hating it. This motorcycle intercom review will hopefully make your decision easier.

Let's start with a broad overview of the types of motorcycle intercoms available.

Acoustic Motorcycle Intercom

The most basic form of motorcycle intercom is the acoustic intercom. By acoustic I mean that it doesn't use electronics at all. It just uses hollow tubes that your voice travels through. They're like the old ships where the captain yells down a tube to the engine room to tell them to "give it more steam."

These systems have rubber-tipped tubes that insert in your ear the same way an earplug would. There is also a mouthpiece tube for you to talk into and all the tubes connect into a junction box.

One of the positives is that there are no batteries or electronics to mess with. That makes them very dependable. However, there is no amplification which means there is no way to adjust the volume or filter out wind noise. So at higher speeds, it will be more difficult to hear. Another problem is that some people find the "earplugs" uncomfortable in their ears for long periods.

Obviously these acoustic intercoms only work for rider-to-passenger and not bike-to-bike.

Wired Motorcycle Intercom

The next step up is wired intercoms. These systems have wires that run from the rider and passenger into a central control box that houses the electronics and battery.

Just like the acoustic intercom, with a wired system you don't have to worry about any external interference like you do with wireless technologies, unless you add a radio handheld communicator for bike-to-bike talking to your system. Some wired units let you plug in an FRS/GMRS radio, which is described in the wireless technology section below. The radio requires voice activation for it to work.

One of the issues some people have is that the wiring can be a little bit of a pain. Every time you and a passenger get on and off the bike you have to remember to unplug the units. Depending on how you have it set up, this could be two or three plugs.

Wireless Intercom Technology

There are four types of radio technologies used in the U.S. for motorcycle intercoms. They are GMRS, FRS, FM, and Bluetooth. There are also wired intercoms that enable you to plug into a handheld Citizens Band (CB) radio that has voice activation.

Frequency Modulation (FM) radio is similar to the FM radio you listen to, but for motorcycle intercoms a narrower frequency is used. Like FM radio, these systems can produce clear sound, as long as the distance between them isn't too great. FM radio works best when there are no obstructions such as hills between the transmitter and receiver. If long range is the most important feature, then GMRS intercoms will provide better performance.

The Family Radio Service (FRS) and the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) are the modern equivalents to the old walkie talkies you may have had when you were a kid. FRS radios typically have a maximum range of two miles with few obstructions in between, while GRMS radios communicate up to several miles. Like FM, these are public frequencies so other people can hear your conversations and vice versa. In some heavily populated areas these FRS/GRMS radios are heavily used, while out on the open road you should have fairly private conversations.

One nice thing with the FRS and GMRS radios is that you can go to your local discount store and purchase a cheap handheld radio that will communicate with these units. If someone were following you in a car, or they had a wired motorcycle intercom system that lets them plug in an FRS/GMRS handheld radio, they can communicate with you. The downside of this was just mentioned in that there are millions of these radios out there so in heavily populated areas you'll pick up lots of other transmissions. Also GMRS radios require an FCC license for legal use.

Bluetooth is the latest technology to hit motorcycle intercoms. Not only can these systems communicate totally wirelessly from rider to passenger, they can be used to communicate from bike to bike. Although with these systems the range is not in miles, it is in hundreds of feet. Since you are likely riding close to your buddies, this is not usually a problem. Although, range can be as much as 800 to 1600 feet.

The Bluetooth range limitation actually works as an advantage since it limits the amount of outside interference you'll get. Also, since you must program two units to work together, you won't pick up conversations from other people with Bluetooth devices...and they won't be able to hear you. You won't have to worry about your conversations listened to by anyone else.

If you want Bluetooth wireless communication there is one thing to watch for. Some units that say they are Bluetooth use FRS or GMRS to communicate bike-to-bike and the Bluetooth is just used to communicate with a Bluetooth enabled cell phone or other device.

Bluetooth intercoms also usually have some other features you won't find on other types of intercoms such as:

Integrate with Bluetooth enabled cell phones and automatically answer calls totally hands free.
Enjoy your favorite stereo music from your A2DP enabled cell phone or MP3 player
Listen to the audio navigation message from your Bluetooth enabled GPS.

Some Bluetooth intercoms only have one ear speaker while others have two.

Motorcycle Helmet Intercom Features

Here are features to look for as you are shopping for an intercom to use with your motorcycle helmet:

If you may be riding in the rain, get a system that says it's waterproof and not just water resistant. Some riders will put a water resistant system in a plastic baggie and that works for them.
You can get systems that have a headset speaker for one ear or both ears. Installation and moving the intercom to another helmet is easier for systems with only one ear, but some people want to hear sound in both ears.
Most systems have voice activation of some kind to keep the headset quiet when no talking is occurring. This voice activation often has the ability to be disabled and a push-to-talk switch used instead.
Many intercoms have noise reduction capabilities with digital signal processing to help reduce the noise they pick up from the microphone. The faster you drive, or the windier it is, the more important this feature is.
If you want music, look for a system that has a built-in FM stereo radio tuner or an auxiliary stereo input for a Walkman, MP3, iPod, or satellite radio unit. You can also use this input to receive driving directions from a voice prompted GPS unit.
Some systems mount on your helmet, while others have capability to mount on your belt clip or bike. If the system is big and bulky, you may want the ability to mount it on your bike.
You can integrate some intercoms with cell phones so you can talk while you ride. They require special cables or you can get motorcycle intercoms that have Bluetooth capability so they connect to your Bluetooth-enabled phone wirelessly.

Once you find the right motorcycle intercom for you, it will really make your ride with other people much more enjoyable. You'll wonder how you got along without it. You typically get what you pay for when you buy motorcycle intercoms, but even a bad motorcycle intercom is better than none at all.

How to Clean a DVD Player Laser in 8 Steps

Whether your DVD player is malfunctioning or you get a no-disk error you may need to clean out the player. Inside your player is a laser pickup which reads your DVDs and allows you to access or view the content. To make your DVD player functioning again you simply need to properly wipe the laser pickup clean following these simple steps.

Before following these steps let us just look at what we are basically need to do. We need to basically remove the DVD head and electronics out of the player case to have easy access to the actual laser pickup enabling us to clean it properly. Once cleaned it is just a matter of putting everything together again.

Before following the steps, make sure the laser pickup lens is the actual problem. Inserts a few DVD is into the DVD player to confirm the problem is actually the lens. If some DVDs work and others do not, the problem is clearly not the player. If none work, there can be a wide variety of reasons why a DVD player is not functioning properly anymore. But, it is highly likely that the laser pickup lens has simply become dirty.

What You Need to Clean the DVD Player

lens cleaner disc
screwdriver
cotton swab
isopropyl alcohol
flashlight (optional)


How to Clean DVD Player Laser

Step #1 - Lens Cleaner Disc - The first thing you need to do is to get or borrow a lens cleaner disc to try and clean the laser pickup. These lens cleaner discs usually do a terrific job cleaning the laser pickup. Next, try out a few more DVDs to see if the problem is resolved or not and if you have to take further steps to clean out to the pickup up manually or not. If the player still does not work follow step 2.

Step #2 - Removing the Outer Casting - Unplug the player from the power supply and remove the screws of the outer casting. You will now see the plastic head of the DVD player which can be actual electronics attached to it.

Step #3 - Opening the DVD - The next thing we need to do is get the plastic head with electronics out of the DVD player case. In some cases the tray of a plastic head has a tiny other casting attached to it. To remove it, simply plug in the power supply, power on the DVD player, open up the player, power off the DVD player and unplug the power supply. Now, simply detach the tiny outer casting from the tray.

Step #4 - Detaching the DVD Head - Next, we are going to unscrew the DVD head with electronics from the main board. Thanks to step 3 we can easily remove the head by unscrewing it from the main board and unplugging any and all cables going from the head to the main board.

Step #5 - Detaching Electronics from Head - Now you will have the DVD head in your hands, being the plastic mechanism, a clamp and the actual electronics. Remove the clamp. Look for the actual laser pickup which has a blue tint to it. If you have trouble finding the laser pickup, you go to shine a light to detect any reflections. If you can now see and easily access the actual laser pickup for cleaning already, there is no need to detach the electronics from the head. If not, you need to first simply detach the electronics from the head and then follow step 6 on how to properly clean the laser pickup.

Step #6 - Cleaning the Laser Pickup - Now that you have easy access to the laser pickup, use a cotton swab and some isopropyl alcohol and gently wipe the lens. Use the other end of the cotton swab to dry it. Now wait a few minutes and let it dry.

Step #7 - Putting Everything Together Again - Now that the laser pickup lens is clean again we can partially put everything together again and test the efficiency of the lens. Attached the electronics to the head again, attached the clamp, attached the head to the board again, attach all the previously detached cables onto the main board again, and plug in the power supply to test a few DVDs. Power on the DVD player, insert a DVD and test the disc reader's efficiency. If the DVD works you have effectively cleaned your DVD player. If not, follow the steps again and try to clean the laser pickup a bit more thoroughly.

Step #8 - Attach the Outer Casting - Put the power off again, unplug the power supply in screw all the outer casting parts back onto the DVD player.

You DVD player is now cleaned and ready to be used again!

Sample Resume Objectives - Good, But Summaries Are Smokin'!

Since college I've been told that a resume ought to have an "objective statement" at the top. Maybe you've been told the same.

I'm here to tell you somebody's been lying to you!

Well, not necessarily, but maybe. Every resume has an objective, but not every resume has to have an objective statement. So before you get the urge to search online for sample resume objectives, keep reading.

Every resume has an objective. How you TALK about that objective in the resume is a different matter entirely.

An objective statement simply states your objective. I got a four-year degree so I could make brilliant statements like that. But it's true, and most of the sample resume objectives you'll find online are statements of what the job seeker wants.

That's a mistake. A bad mistake.

A good resume objective statement should tell the reader what the candidate will do for him. Specifically, it ought to tell him what profit the candidate will add.

No, I'm not kidding. Here's an example of what I mean:

"A highly experienced sales and marketing professional with comprehensive strategic planning and implementation skills, and $27 million in total profit improvement added in 8 years, seeking a position as a Sales Manager where these skills will add similar or greater value."

Wow! That objective statement screams, "Keep reading!" Do YOU know any hiring manager or executive who would turn his nose up at $27 million in 8 years? I don't. It's at least worth talking to you about, which means you'll get an interview. What if it was only $1 million, or $100,000? Whatever the number, it's money, and that counts.

And that, folks, is the magic. Everything in the job search process should have a focused purpose, and be done on purpose. The purpose of your resume and cover letter is to compel an interview. A strong objective statement like that can help.

Feel free to start with a sample or three. Just be sure to modify any sample you use. Keep the good and scrap the bad.

But is that the best you can do? Hardly.

I have nothing against objective statements, and you can find some solid sample resume objectives online. My only gripe is that using a solid objective statement is settling for good when there's a (typically) better alternative.

That alternative is the resume summary. Some might call it a "Profile," or a "Summary of Qualifications," or even just "Qualifications." Whatever the name, it's a grab-'em-by-the-throat killer. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

"Savvy, results-oriented leader with proven success in managing multimillion-dollar software product rollouts to disparate sales channels. Background includes launching a high-productivity expert development team, increasing revenue by $2.5 million and achieving unit profitability within nine months (six months ahead of plan), at Widgets, Inc., with leading technology and feature-rich product releases to meet known demand. Critical thinker and adept negotiator who can apply extensive industry knowledge to profitable vendor partnerships and revenue-enhancing co-branding opportunities. Expertly directs development, technology integration, and customer demand discovery. Published author, and frequent keynote speaker at industry conferences."

Good grief! If the example resume objective a few paragraphs ago was solid, that summary will leave a reader gasping for air.

Put a summary like that in a resume (with your own qualifications in it, of course), and you'll almost certainly get a phone call for a job interview.

I can hear you saying that whoever has the summary you just read can walk on water. What about lowly old you? Here's what I used on my last resume, and I wasn't a high-powered executive either:

"Results-oriented software developer and consulting project manager with six years' experience at Big 5 firm. Experienced OO developer with particular expertise in Java and Extreme Programming (XP). Over seven years' experience developing software and managing projects in challenging, fast-paced consulting environments. Demonstrated ability to acquire technical knowledge and skills rapidly. Innovative problem solver, able to see the business and technical sides of a problem. Proven leadership, negotiation and problem resolution abilities. Exceptional communication skills, both oral and written. Published author and conference speaker."

See? That summary needs some improvement, but it shows mere mortals can do it too. That means you can.

A powerfully stated objective statement makes your resume pop. A powerfully stated summary makes it a thermonuclear explosion. Most others in the resume pile (and there's always a pile) have objectives that translate into "get a job." Then you come along with a Sherman tank summary. They're dead meat.

Make no mistake, job search is war. Powerful summaries give you an advantage.

(c) Copyright 2005 by Roy Miller

Advantages of Using HP CP1510 Printer With the CP1510 Toner

Small business establishments have to do everything to market their products and this would include sending out flyers and advertisements to their target customers. With the use of HP CP1510 printer, you will be able to create the perfect materials for your company. The built-in components of this amazing gadget can produce attention grabbing images which are pleasing to the eyes of your readers. Even your boss will say that you have done a wonderful job with the ads.

The best thing about this printer is that it is not immensely compact making it easier to transport from one area of your office to another. Furthermore, it only measures 15.7 inches in height and 17.8 inches in width so it can perfectly fit even in small spaces. As compared with other printers of the same dimensions, the CP1510 is rather quick and you can see its swift mechanism by printing 12 copies every 60 seconds for black and gray-scale and a maximum of 8 copies every 60 seconds for colored works.

Hewlett-Packard is a company with all the innovative ideas and various enhanced formulations for their computer gadgets and this business definitely did it well for its HP CP1510 printer. This all-encompassing type of printer can be used for any purposes and the quality of its job does not fade, unlike what is happening to most printers which are being sold in the market. CP1510 has integrated network base software which makes it more convenient and faster for the user to make a connection and share a platform with other people.

Another important thing which is very remarkable with this printer is its HP CP1510 toner which was manufactured to handle bulk of printing works and graphic intensive materials at the perfect tempo. The suitable combination of black and colored CP1510 ink cartridge produces a higher yield of top materials and if these tanks run out of ink, it is so easy to remove and re-install the same.

The highest number of pages which this gadget can generate within a period of 30 days is 30,000 and this is already a large number when compared to other printing gizmos which cannot even come close to this bulk. This is the primordial reason why it is imperative that you make use of the printer's original ink in your project. There are various advantages of using the CP1510 toner and one of which is that you will be able to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of your printer.

Canon Photo All-In-One Inkjets: PIXMA MG8120 Review

When it comes to printers, there is one name that will always be on the tip of a person's tongue. That name is Canon. For years now, Canon has been turning out a wonderful selection of printers and all-in-ones that are competitive, if not superior, with everything else on the market. Today is the age of the wireless printer, but we don't want a printer that does just one thing. We are all about minute machines that multi-task and do so without the inconvenience of us having to be tethered to a single location. In answer to the market demands, Canon released the PIXMA MG8120 wireless all-in-one photo printer. It might be a mouth full, but it is likely that you will love saying it once you learn about everything that this piece of technology has to offer.

The petite and sleek frame of this printer is home to a whirlwind of activity. Inside, six Canon PIXMA MG8120 ink cartridges go to work to print out very high quality photos fast. However, the undeniable selling point of the machine is its ability to scan and print directly from 35mm slides or strips of film. What once wasn't digital can be in an instant, and thanks to the cyan, black, magenta, and yellow Canon PIXMA MG8120 ink combination, the prints from film are brilliant, crisp, and clean every time. Aside from this very notable capability, the machine has scored well in print times, wireless distance, and nearly every other test that has been thrown at it.

That being said, there is a downside to the machine that should be noted before a person makes the decision to buy. Though the scanner is very high-end, it is not matched with an auto-feed option. That means that the next time you have to scan several pages in one setting, you will have to load and unload each and every sheet manually. The same is true, of course, of the copying function.

For those who don't have to make frequent scans or don't mind having to manually feed each, this printer has little else to complain about. Canon ink cartridges might not be the least expensive on the market, but a consumer can purchase each Canon PIXMA MG8120 ink cartridge for about fifteen dollars individually, or he can opt for a four-pack for about fifty-two dollars. Comparatively speaking, this isn't a bad price to keep the machine up and running. The Canon PIXMA MG8120 printer certainly has a lot going for it.

Review of the Brother P Touch 7600 Label Printer

For professional tradesmen, time is indeed money; moving from site to site and diagnosing faults certainly eats away at a day, which is why Brother have developed the PT-7600. This rugged and robust electronic labeller is packed with time-saving features, particularly the Smart technology, a layout function which allows the installer to quickly lay out and print labels for a variety of applications, including:

Cable marking
Datacomms
Distribution boards
Racking & shelving
Tools & equipment
Signage
Barcoding

The intelligence in the Smart technology also automatically determines font size, data positioning, label size and other attributes, depending on the type of application. To save even more time, data only needs to be saved once as it is treated like a database which can be used on any future layout.

The design of the PT-7600 could not be more durable, the protective rubber grip not only protects it from any potential 'wear or tear', but is also less likely to fall from your grasp in harsh environments. Furthermore, it is supplied in a sturdy carry case to store additional labels or accessories. To ensure you never run out of power in the middle of an important task, included is a rechargeable battery pack (unlike its sister printer, the PT-7500). The USB cable that is also provided eliminates the need for a computer on site; simply transfer the templates you require to the PT-7600's memory. It is also possible to import Microsoft Excel & Access files, edit them on the printer's ABCD layout keyboard then print when the need arises.

The P-Touch 7600 also use Brother's flagship range of labels, the TZ tape. In rigorous tests performed by Brother, the labels were found to be extremely abrasion, chemical, fade and temperature resistant; thus making them ideal for industrial applications. They will adhere to almost any shape or type of surface too. It uses 6mm tapes, all the way up to 24mm.

The only disadvantage however, is the fact it doesn't use 36mm tapes. These would be extremely useful in large warehouses when performing palette racking. In conclusion, the PT-7600 goes to show that industrial labelling on the move needn't cost a fortune, as this very sturdy piece of kit continually proves.

Some Instructions in Canon CD Label Printer

Canon CD label printer will be great option that you can take. You will be able to print labels for CDs with manufacturer quality. You will be able to make labels that you want in your home with this label printer. This will allow you to express your idea so that you will have freedom in making labels for your CDs and DVDs.

However, there are some instructions that you should do when you are about to use this device for printing labels for your CDs. The first is that you should determine the interface of the printer. You will find that some label printers form Canon use standard USB interface and some others use parallel port connection. In this case, you should make sure that you check your computer's connection so that you will find the correct connection whether it uses standard USB or parallel port connection.

The second is that you should find the correct labels. This is the most important thing to do since these are the most important thing for printing labels. You will find that the correct labels will give you the best result that you want. For Canon label printer, the perfect labels you should use are genuine labels from Canon. But, if you want to other options of labels, make sure that you use high quality labels. When you are about to load the labels into your printer, make sure that you do it correctly.

The third thing is that you should connect your printer to your computer. This is done through the connection that you have found before. If your printer uses USB interface, you can do is by inserting the square end of the USB into the printer and the flat end into your computer. If your printer uses parallel connection, you can do it by connecting the larger end of the cable to the printer and the smaller end to the computer.

Those are some instructions that you should pay attention before you print labels with Canon CD labels. But, before starting the printing process, you should make sure that you have installed the device to your computer. After everything is ready, you can enjoy printing the labels that you want for your CDs and DVDs.

HP Inkjet Printer Review - Find The Right HP Printer For Your Needs Without The Marketing Hype

HP has really become of the leaders in home based technology from their personal computers and laptops to being the folks that brought all-in-one printing into the home. Back when the internet first began gaining popularity and Microsoft Works was still the word processor of choice I owned a Hewlett Packard and swore them off ever since. However, that changes a couple of years ago when I purchased my first all-in-one printer which did photos. I fell in love with the crisp quality of the printing, the ability to use the machine without needing to hook it up to a computer but I hated the bulkiness of the required software, especially on my Macintosh. If I would have taken a minute to look at the hp inkjet printer reviews out there instead of making an impulse buy, I probably would have chosen a different model. We live and learn right?

In earlier days one would have to spend time searching Google and other sites to find reviews for hp printers, but it seems now the major manufacturers have caught on. Upon reviewing HP's website I noticed they provide their own customer review capabilities as well as giving potential buyers the ability to check out other review sites, like Cnet, and showing what rating those sites have given the product. All in all it's a pretty handy feature for the hp inkjet printer reviews to be right there on the manufacturer's page.

However, just in case there are several other sites still accessible with product reviews. Not to insinuate that HP is being Machiavellian but no company wants to display reviews and ratings that paint not so beautiful pictures of their products. So just be sure to check around and don't be suckered into buying an hp printer based solely on the reviews. Also be sure to read the hp inkjet printer reviews thoroughly and decide if the pros or cons the other consumers listed fit your specifications. While a Macintosh user may have problems with the software, like I did when I bought my HP printer, if you use Windows as an operating system then in all likelihood that won't be something that affects you. If a user gives the printer a low rating because it's slow to print black and white, but you want the printer for photos then that review isn't necessarily relevant and their recommendation shouldn't be held as highly in your mind.

While consumer ratings or hp inkjet printer reviews can be helpful to see how the population responded, it's always a good idea to get reviews from experts who have more understanding of what a printer should be capable of and what they're dealing with. Sometimes the population feels like a piece of technology should be able to perform a task much better than we are actually capable of making, or their "forever" is actually a fairly standard time period.

Canon i-SENSYS LBP3250 Toner Review

Canon's i-SENSYS LBP3250 mono laser printer is a small and thoughtfully made machine. Its specification is humble - an individual USB port, diminished noise levels in addition to 8,000 page maximum monthly duty cycle turn it into a fine personal laser printer designed for house or office use. We were pleased by small details like a flap to supply less difficult access to the printer's recessed USB port, that spared us the usual procedure for fumbling blindly to try to get the cable in to place. We likewise enjoyed its smooth design and style, which has a hinged dust cover to keep the end result clean whenever not being used. In case you commence printing with the cover shut, pages can still appear via a narrow slit within the cover. The input tray folds right out of the front of the device.

It's not hard to setup and install, having a basic driver and merely one consumable - a black toner cartridge which has an integrated photoconductor drum. We were likewise happy to discover that the LBP3250 has a 1,000 page starter cartridge. Replacement 2,000 page 1871B002AA cartridges will cost you £49 each. This makes a page cost of 2.5p. Whilst this is not substantially over the normal price of a mono page from the majority of similarly priced laser as well as inkjet printers, it does not stand out in comparison to the the print costs of other, cheaper, mono lasers.

The printer's Total Cost of Ownership likewise does not impress. If you are a small user, printing 100 pages a month for a total of 3,600 over three years, you can expect to pay out £198 through that period of time. This goes up to £590 with regards to medium users printing 21,000 pages over the identical three-year period.

Print rates of speed happen to be some of the fastest we have observed out of a lightweight mono laser machine, at 21.7ppm in the mono text examination along with 20.6ppm for our heavily illustrated greyscale business documents. Standard quality text along with business illustrations were found to be sharp, dark and also solid.

While the printer includes a fixed native resolution of 600x600dpi, there are actually three different quality options: Standard, Text/Lines as well as Web Pages, which use resolution enhancement to produce a powerful resolution up to 2,400x600dpi. Text/Lines mode is intended to smooth out jagged edges whenever generating mono prints of coloured text and line drawings.

The Web Pages setting helps to make sure best quality while printing graphics-heavy content like web pages, pictures or perhaps illustrated documents. We employed the latter together with the Canon i-SENSYS LBP3250 toner cartridge for the purpose of our picture printing tests. This created simply no change to the pace at which our photographic images printed - 16 seconds for six pictures upon three sheets of A4 - yet made some noticeable enhancements to their quality through smoothing out regions which appeared grainy with Standard quality setting.

The LBP3250 is very well designed, with great print quality, as well as remarkably fast print rates with regards to this type of compact device. Nevertheless, unless its smooth style and fast printing specifically grab you, its running expenses are not sufficiently good to overcome the competitors. If you're a small user with a modest initial budget, Epson's Aculaser M1200 costs a bit less than half the cost to purchase, whilst customers with large printing demands should look at possibly Samsung's SCX-4600 mono laser MFP or perhaps ML-2525 single-function model.

Canon Printer PIXMA MX340

I have been looking for a printer for about a month and came across a wireless printer. It's the Canon printer PIXMA MX340. I wasn't even looking to get a wireless printer, but there are advantages. I do have 3 children ranging from 14 to 22 years of age and having the printer in a more centralized location works the best for all. What I thought was real neat was that you could print the pictures directly from your cell phone. With this workhorse of a printer the price was less than $80.00.

Design

The design to this printer is very sleek. The LCD display and the rest of the controls are on the top front of the unit and is easily read. The output tray can be closed when not in use. When it begins to print it can automatically open up so the paper can come out. The rear tray can have different paper sizes including 4x6 photo, 8x10 photo, letter, legal and envelopes.

Set up

After the printer out of the box it probably took me about 30 minutes get the printer running. Word of caution, do not read the user manual. I am one of those guys that actually love reading manuals. But this manual does get a bit confusing. After reading it about 3 times you will get the hang of it. Best bet is throw in the DVD and go with that. DVD is a step by step guide which is a snap to go through.

Print speed

I like the print speed. The first page always takes the longest. I'm not sure why this is the case. After the first page the rest of the printed pages are of normal speed. What I like about the printing, it has a draft print selection which I think doesn't change the printing speed but uses less ink. For the first page, the print speed is about 14 seconds for black and white and 16 seconds for color. After the first page, it goes into a fast print speed, printing 8 ppm, and 5 ppm for color.

Fax

Faxing was easy, just plug the telephone cord to the back of the printer. You have a way to switch it to fax only or to use it as a phone only.

Energy test

This Canon printer PIXMA MX340 is also Energy Star qualified. It uses anywhere from 10 to 15 watts of power comparing to around 30 watts from a non energy efficient printer. In sleep mode it uses only 3 watts.

Brother LC61 Printer Cartridges Review

The Brother LC61 cartridges have a unique design, come along with three other color sets namely magenta, yellow and cyan and boast high quality prints. An economical choice, these sets of cartridges represent value for money.

Unique design

As part of our Brother cartridge review we found that these LC61 cartridges come with a unique design element. There is a spring catch located on the front part of these cartridges.

Features and specifications

The Brother LC61 cartridges come with approximately 14.6 ml comprising ink. This dye based ink yields around 450 pages at around 5% of coverage.

Price

The brother LC61 cartridges have a market value of around 27 dollars but you can easily get the compatible cartridges for around 6 to 7 dollars. The compatible cartridges work just as fine if not better than the Brother LC61 cartridges available in retail stores.

Other features

As part of our definitive Brother ink cartridge review we found that these cartridges produce very vivid prints and high quality print output. The specially developed formula for the ink helps create graphics and prints, which are ozone resistant as well as resistant to light fading action. All of these Brother LC61 cartridges have undergone rigorous testing in the Brother laboratories and the presence of a high viscosity and consistent printer ink produces ink flow without any clogs and which is easily regulated in flow. When it comes to the multifunction peripherals of Brother, the ink is anti-smearing in nature.

Specifications

The Brother LC61 variety of cartridges comes with three color sets namely cyan, yellow and magenta. The average page yield is approximately 500 pages along with a coverage spanning 5%. The recyclables nature of these cartridges is not seen as both pre-consumer as well as post-consumer recycling is not available from the manufacturer. Each pack of these Brother ink cartridges comes in three colors. The approximate weight of these cartridges is around 0.600 pounds and the unit of measuring is in PK. The standard black ink version of the Brother LC61 is perfect for Brother printer models such as DCP-585CW, DCP-165, MFC-250C, DCP-385C, MFC-290C, MFC-5490CN, MFC-490CW, MFC-6490CW, MFC-5890CN as well as MFC-990CW model versions. The respective model numbers such as LC61C, LC61Y and LC61M are for the cyan, yellow and magenta versions of the colored Brother printer cartridges.

Our verdict

Overall, the Brother LC61 version of cartridges is superior and provides solid performance. The specially developed ink formula guarantees exceptional print quality and graphics, which do not fade in the presence of light or ozone exposure. In addition, the average pricing of the cartridge per ml is around 46 or 47 cents, which is not much. Thus, these Brother LC61 cartridges are cost effective and produce high quality of graphics as well as prints. The cartridges also guarantee a long shelf life because of the even ink flow and distribution of ink across the page, which lends a uniform print quality.

A Review of the HP CM1415fn

The HP CM1415fn is an attractive printer. The colour scheme is good and the design is contemporary and compact. The sharp angles of past printers have gone away, offering a softer more curved alternative. So let's take a look at what lies beneath the surface of the HP CM1415fn and see how it weighs up against competitors.

The printer has a 35 sheet automatic document feeder and a touch screen with an 89mm display. There are buttons on both sides for individual control of the four functions. They include print, scan, copy and fax.

The handy function of being able to email a document straight to the printer is a definite plus. This is only if it is linked to a router. This function also allows you to list the users so as to cut down on spam. The printer does not have an option to purchase an extra paper tray and the one that comes with the printer only holds 150 sheets.

This is a bit of a disadvantage as the tray will need to be loaded every day or every other day depending on the usage. So in terms of heavy usage in a busy office environment, this might not be the best option.

The sockets for the Ethernet and the USB are on the back of the printer and there are CDs for Windows and the OS X and drivers to download for different versions of Linux. HP says the printer will print 8 ppm in colour and 12 ppm in black, however testing did showed black text printing at about 6 ppm. Colour came in at 4.9 ppm. The print quality was good. The colour graphics are also quite bright and they are not muddled. The print even has a bit of a sheen which is desired by some people.

One thing about the photo colour is it is not an exact match to the photo being copied and it was also somewhat vibrant. The darker areas of some of the images had a loss of detail and this makes this printer not the best choice for photos.

It is quiet running and has a 600 x 600 dpi resolution. The memory is 160MB. The all in one has proven to be a popular printer and the drum and cartridge slot are in a rack in the front which pulls out. This makes them easier to pull out and replace. The The main focus of the HP CM1415fn is how easy it is to use. The consensus is that the print speed is more of a focus as well as the need for a larger capacity paper feed.

The running costs are along the same lines as what is considered average for this type of printer. It does have the option of wireless networking though, which will make it attractive for home and small business networks. The ePrint function is not unlike that of other HP printers and is becoming a feature of most of HP's inkjet and laser printers.

Overall for the price, the HP CM1415fn is a decent printer with the capabilities of most printers today. There are only a couple of aspects that could be improved, but at the price and with the features it does have it still comes highly recommended.

Where To Find Unbiased Inkjet Printer Comparisons

So you have finally decided to join the 21st century and buy an inkjet printer? Or maybe you're updating from one printer to another. There are a lot of options out there and many specifications to consider.

Are you looking for an all-in-one machine? Do you know how many pages per minute (PPM) the printer should output? Do you want just blank printing or color as well? What about photos? The amount of information available and the questions you'll be asked are numerous. It's a daunting task but finding the right product to spend your hard earned cash on is always that. Thankfully there are inkjet printer comparisons available on numerous websites and magazines. Even some businesses, like Office Depot, Staples, and Office Max, provide charts and cards which contain the printer's information which allows you to compare to others.

Personally I like doing my research on the web at places like eOpinion, Cnet, or Consumer Report. These provide me with opinions from people who already own the printer I'm looking at and lets me wade through the various reviews and see what people said. With sites like Cnet I can read about the group of editor's actual experience. They go out and buy, or have donated a printer and then perform all the functions the printer states it has and reports back in it. If the printer claims to print 16 pages per minute, then the Cnet editors will attempt to print 16 pages and time the action. I like it because the reports are usually pretty objective and provide "just the facts ma'am".

If you are considering buying a printer from on source, like HP, Canon, or Brother, then you can go to the manufacture's webpage and narrow down your search results. Then they allow you to click on one, two, or even five printers and get a side-by-side inkjet printer comparisons. Remember these comparisons are only going to be for the printers that these companies actually sell, so you won't be able to compare a Brother printer with a HP in this way. Before setting your heart on a printer, remember to check it's required specifications. Some printers may only work on Windows Vista, or nothing older than Windows XP, and some printers may only be Macintosh specific. Also be sure to get yourself a USB cable. Most printer require this cable to hook up to your computer, but they rarely provide them when you go to purchase.

Portable Photo Printer: A Review of the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo Printer

Printing is very easy nowadays, but wouldn't you just love to have a portable photo printer? I would, and so I got the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo printer. It's one very useful device and I'm quite satisfied with it. To learn more about it, read on with this review.

Design

As a portable photo printer, this model is a perfectly handy device. Its design is completely unique - the device is a small box with an LCD that you can prop up if in use and push down if not. The printer output feeder also has a removable cover which you can use to seal the face of the printer when you're not using it. If you're printing, you simply have to remove the lid from the front face of the printer and voila! Imagine how easy it would be to store with its foldable parts. The dimensions of the printer are 9.92'' x 4.61'' x 5.28'' and it weighs a mere 2.3 pounds. If that's not compact enough for you, then you might not be able to find any printer suitable for your taste.

The printer has a 3.45'' CGD display with TouchSmart control panel, which makes navigating through the device very easy to do. You can print directly from various sizes and types of memory cards, USB devices, PictBridge cameras, and Bluetooth-enabled devices. See how flexible it is to print on this model? You get to choose from a wide variety of removable storage devices where you're going to save your photos in. You won't have to worry about where you saved your important illustrations or your family pictures - almost any removable storage works with this baby.

Printing and Other Functions

This device is a dedicated photo printer, and it really can't support printing on regular paper sizes like letter, legal, or A4, but you have to know that before you buy it. I bought this for the specific purpose of photo printing, and I have a separate document printer. But the prints this device produces are really astounding, and for a portable photo printer, this is really a remarkable model. It can print as fast as 28 seconds for one bordered picture, and it can print borderless up to 5R or 5x7 size photos.

The paper feeder can carry 20 sheets of photo paper for easier printing - no need to feed a single sheet for every photo. The photo paper sizes which you can print on using this device are 4x6'', 4x8'' photo card, 4x12'' panorama, and 5x7''. The device also has editing features for photos through Real Life Technologies, featuring HP Auto red-eye removal and instant photo fix. There are also add-ons which you can use to enhance your photos such as clip-art, borders, captions, and more.

Other Features

The CGD display isn't just for aesthetics, it definitely adds value to the device. You can edit your photos on the display so printing without a computer is relatively easy. Just insert a compatible removable storage device, view, edit, and add captions to the photos that you want to print, and you can print them professionally with the great quality of this device. This is a very nice feature that I love about this printer because I can add a lot of designs and even captions to the photos. The stylus makes navigating through the touch screen much easier. It's also an Energy Star qualified device so I won't have to think about wasting a lot of energy. As a nature-lover, I really give high regard about this feature in the printers that I get, so when I found that this was Energy Star, I didn't hesitate to buy it.

Conclusion

I think the only drawback with this device is that it's quite costly for a portable photo printer, especially because photos are the only images it can print, but I got it at a sale price which makes it a good bargain. You can also get it at sale prices on different online stores. If you're interested with the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo Printer after I've elaborated on almost all of its attributes, then I highly recommend you get it now. There's no regrets to getting such a high-quality photo printer that you can carry anywhere you go.

Microboards Print Factory Pro DVD, CD Printer Review - (Microboards PF-Pro Printer)

The Microboards Print Factory Pro inkjet CD / DVD printer is fully automated with a 100-disc capacity, large individual CMYK ink cartridges, and PC / MAC compatibility.

This review of the Microboards PF-Pro inkjet printer is based on seven different criteria, on a scale of 1 to 5 stars (5 being the highest rating possible). We have run about 60,000 CDs and DVDs through 10 different Microboards Printfactory Pro printers over the past 45 days. And here are the results...

Price - MSRP of $2995, and a street price around $2695. The Microboards PrintFactory Pro printer is more expensive compared with other inkjet printers like the Microboards PF-3 and GX Auto Printers, and the Primera Bravo Pro, Bravo II and SE models. 3 Stars.

Speed - There are multiple print resolution options with the Print Factory Pro. For our testing and production runs we used either the "text and graphics best" or "photo normal" options. The photo normal mode slower and lays down more ink, for a high-resolution print, than the text and graphics mode. The design of the disc artwork also influences the number of CDs / DVDs that can be printed per hour. We found that you get about 75 full coverage discs/hour printing using photo normal. With 30% print coverage using the text and graphics best mode you will get about 115 discs/hour. 4.5 Stars.

Bin Capacity - The Microboards PF-Pro has a bin capacity of 100 discs, either CD-r or DVD-r. This stacks up well against most other sub $3000 automated inkjet printers. A larger input capacity would be nice with the addition of the larger C, M, Y, and K ink cartridges. 3.5 Stars.

Cost per Print - With inkjet printers the cost per print will fluctuate based on color combinations, print coverage, and the print resolution and speed selected in the Printfactory Pro print driver. We found that full coverage multiple color discs run about $0.12/disc. Discs with a 30% print coverage consisting of a few colors and black text cost about $0.05/disc in ink. 5 Stars.

Print Quality - Color graphics are vibrant, and the black text printing is pretty sharp. Models like the Microboards PF-3 are a bit crisper with text printing. The PF-Pro printer also does a good job with large blocks of solid colors. 4 Stars.

Print Durability - Inkjet printers use water-based ink, so when the CD or DVD comes in contact with moisture, the print on the disc will smear and smudge. This is the case minutes, hours, days, and years after the disc is printed (unless you print on Taiyo Yuden waterproof discs). That being said, the Microboards Print Factory Pro is as durable as any other inkjet CD printer on the market. 2 Stars.

Easy of Use - The PF-Pro has a single USB 2.0 connection to a PC or MAC. It comes with a popular and easy to use CD / DVD graphic software called SureThing. You can import standard graphic images like .jpeg, .bmp, .png and .gif. The print driver controls the robotic disc loading mechanism, so there is no complicated software to learn. You can also print directly from Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop with some adjustments to the margins within the printer driver. In addition, we were able to hook up 4 of the Microboards PF-Pro printers to a single PC with a USB 2.0 hub. 4.5 Stars.

Maintenance - As with most inkjet CD / DVD printers, the Print Factory Pro needs to have internal sensors and components cleaned about every 5000 discs due to ink over spray. In addition, there are two printheads (1 for Black/Yellow and 1 for the Cyan/Magenta) that need replacing every 50,000 discs or so. We have not had the need to replace any printheads as of this review. 3.5 Stars.

Technical Support - Microboards has above average phone technical support for the CD / DVD equipment industry. After warranty repairs can be expensive, as they are with other manufactures in this niche. 4 Stars.

Conclusion - Microboards PF-Pro (part# PFP-1000) is out top pick for automated inkjet CD printers for standard 120mm CD-r, DVD-r, and Blu-Ray media. Strengths are cost per print, speed, and the ability to hook up multiple printers on a single PC.

Check out the links in the resource box for more information and special pricing on the Microboard PF-Pro printer.

Canon Pixma MP270 Printer Review

The rivalry for the most effective and inexpensive All-in-One printer exhibits no sign of cooling down, with Canon issuing the most recent in their PIXMA multifunction collection for around £40. Cheap, however, does not always necessarily mean the best value so the important question is: will the PIXMA MP270 deliver everything it claims? Well this is certainly a small and chic product in cool hues of cream and black, that has a simple drop-down output tray at the front and a fold-back input tray at the rear. Measuring 450 x 335 x 155mm and weighing a comparatively light 5.6kg, this would be a perfect All-in-One for a college student or home worker with moderate printing demands who doesn't want a printer which occupies a great deal of space.

Three functions are available (scan, print and copy) and you've got a choice whether or not to use the supplied software or the quick function controls to the right of the top, which don't include an organising LCD display screen. The MP270 has built-in Auto Photo Fix II technology, nonetheless, that takes care of red-eye elimination and multi-zone exposure modification without needing to use a computer. PC connection is, as you'd anticipate, by way of USB 2. lead (no possibility of WiFi at this price tag) and there is additionally a separate PictBridge enabled USB port at the front for connecting cameras or memory sticks.

In terms of quantity, the input tray holds up to 100 sheets of A4 which is decent for a low-yield device like this. By using print resolutions as high as 4800 x 1200dpi, we were basically satisfied with the caliber of the results: black text, even in draft mode, is clearly legible and the 'best' version stands out boldly and unbroken, while colour prints kept the true hues of the originals with a bit of softening noticeable solely in A4 copies. We did spot, nevertheless, that larger sized copies tended to possess a yellowish tinge.

Canon, in contrast to several of its competitors, has tended to be a bit more reasonable in terms of advertised print speeds and its claimed 8.4ipm for black text printing was very accurate when it came to draft quality (going down to 2ppm in 'best' mode). On average it required 43 seconds to generate a 10 x 15cm colour print of standard quality and 1 minute 35 seconds at the highest, while standard copies took 37 seconds.

A4 photos only took 2 minutes in standard form and twice that at the top setting, with relatively quick copies taking 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Therefore even though printing was usually quite noisy, the rates of speed were encouragingly greater than predicted.

Canon has also included a bunch of efficient software in the form of MP Navigator EX (for scanning choices which include OCR and saving as PDF), Easy-PhotoPrint EX (that will enable you to produce albums, calendars and stickers) as well as the helpful Easy-WebPrint EX which will clip particular regions on a Web page for printing, thus minimizing waste. What you may gain here, however, you will lose when it comes to ink usage because you have just two ink cartridges to take care of your print needs and even the high-yield versions are rated to do merely 401 black text or 349 colour pages.

While you might find yourself to be getting through the ink cartridges relatively quickly, both the caliber of the prints and also the rate of operation were notable and, for the price tag, the PIXMA MP270 is a great option for a low-yield All-in-One.

Canon Pixma IP1900 - Inexpensive Start-Up Printer

One of the Canon's latest printers in the entry segment is the Pixma iP1900 which has recently caught on too much attention because of its pricing. When it was launched in the market last year, it carried a price tag close to £80 but now Canon is offering the same printer on their website for under £25 which is a discount of 70% off the original price.

Being an inexpensive printer, it is aimed at homes and the printer offers a best resolution of 4800 X 1200 dpi. Its ink droplet size is at 2pl which is the double of the latest Canon photo printers. Pixma iP1900 works on Canon patented ChromaLife100 system which is fairly equivalent to a lab quality print.

Unlike most of its photo printers, Canon uses two cartridge system on this one. Apart from the black cartridge, cyan, magenta, yellow and photo black and packaged into a single cartridge.

Printing speed is decent at 13 pages per minute for monochrome prints at normal mode while the colour prints are rated at a speed of 8 pages per minute in the same mode. The printer takes close to a minute to spit out 4" X 6" borderless photographs.

For an entry level printer, the connectivity option is basic with a USB port and is totally acceptable. But, the lack of a PictBridge port and memory card readers makes it a single dimensional printer that does not give users the choices they would probably need. Being a under £25 printer, the lack of basic functionalities still isn't a big concern. With two cartridge system, the price per print is bound to be steep and could well work against the printer.

Travelers Need Portable Printer Scanners

Travelers can make use of portable printer scanners. If you find you find yourself traveling a lot and do business wherever you go, then you might need a portable printer scanner. A portable printer and scanner accompanied with your own laptop basically constitutes a portable office. Doing business while you're on the road will be a lot easier since you have your computer to do all your editing, your printer to print your documents and scanners to scan pictures and documents.

When you're traveling as a businessman, it cannot be avoided that you need to do some printing. You may print documents, reports or business proposal. If you have your own portable printer and scanner, you will not have to look for internet cafés or computer shops so you can print your documents. If you also have your laptop computer, then all you have to do is print them in the rooms you are staying.

Generally, there is more need for a printer than there is for a scanner. However, when you are traveling, there maybe those rare moments where you will need one. Like for example, you need to scan your IDs or your passports. They may be used when you're trying to gather some requirements for some applications. With a portable printer scanner, it can be made as a copier. The scanner can copy the document and the printer can print them.

If you are traveling to meet family on the holidays, it will also be great if you have your own printer scanner. Assuming that you have one that is capable of printing photo quality, it will be a very good opportunity to share pictures with your loved ones. Portable models have features that allow you to interface with different portable devices. Cellular phones with cameras can directly print photos using these portable gadgets.

In terms of features, there hasn't been a portable printer and scanner model that has high printing speed. The fastest mobile printer has a speed of 22 pages per minute. However, for the combination of portable printer scanner, the highest so far is the BJC 85. It can only print up to 5 pages per minute. Nevertheless, it is the only one that is capable of printing and scanning at decent resolutions.

Printer companies are busy coming up with the new features like putting wireless interface on every printer. They may enhance features like maximizing the speed or printing quality. However, for now, there is no company yet that is able to come up with a printer and scanner that generates photo quality pictures at the same time scan at very high resolution. The scanning resolution that the BJC 85 has is 360 dots per inch. Compared to today's top of the line scanners, it is a very poor quality. It may take some time before they put in features that will have both the best qualities of top printers and top scanners.

Portable printer scanners like the BJC 85 may be obsolete now. However, there was a time when they were top of the line. Up to now, they may not be the fastest, or the one with the highest resolution, but they still do a decent job at that.