OtaSoft

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the first "next-generation" game console
to hit the market in November 2005, beating the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3
by a full year. Like its peers, the 360 initially suffered from a somewhat
anemic game lineup and some annoying hardware and software limitations.
Microsoft and Apple have both been pushing the digital format model, which many
analysts believe will be the thing that beats Sony’s Blu-ray victory. If the
Xbox gets Blu-ray capabilities, it will be on a more level playing field with
the PS3. Microsoft really done a great deal to add this console in the next-gen
market. There are more and more webites showing up on the internet offering games
downloads for Xbox. When downloading from such a site always be aware that
you do not break any copyright laws. That’s why it is recommended to stay away
from P2P networks, because most games are pirated and you might get into trouble
faster than you might believe now.

If you need tips or you desire some helpful information on not so normal topics, strongly recommend Free Tips Blog. You will be extremely happy and relieved after finding a site with such priceless and unique information. This site will guide you quickly though any topic you need. The tips include basic topics like increasing your connection speed. Then there are facts about how bloggers make money and even more tips on how to make money simply joining a few free online programs. The blog features over 30 different posts and posts seem to be made once or twice a week. The content isn’t old fashion or out of date. And it seems the writer has a young vibrant style of writing that won’t make you think you are reading a history textbook.

This website is addicting. The information is so intriguing that this is the kind of website you will need to come back to often. Instead of many tip websites that are very specific this site has a wide range of topics that change often and still stay in the time line of this year. This allows you to learn even more about other related topics instead of just one thing. The information is classic however with a new spin on things. With this site you won’t need to continue the search for the information you desire. It will however, be right there staring you in the face.

The website features many extras including great video clips and a very organized set up with links and important advertisements on one side of the site. You will not get distracted by this marketing material, in fact you may want to click on this material, since most of the advertisements are relevant to the posts in this very interactive blog. I recommend this site as a must see and I know that everyone will appreciate the knowledge earned from it.

With the number of spam filtering solutions increasing each week it’s getting tougher for consumers to make informed choices in their purchases.

There are 3 basic types of spam blocker:

1. Integrated
2. Standalone
3. Online

We’ll look at each type of spam filter and at the end you should be able to decide what spam filter is right for you.

Integrated spam filters
This type of spam filtering software is the most common. Once installed it sits “on top” of your existing email software and installs a new set of buttons into your email software. In future when you collect
email you’ll see options for marking email as Spam, marking the email as Not Spam, Bounce the email back to sender, etc. The description and position of these buttons varies from one product to the next but their purpose remains the same.

Most integrated spam filters automatically place suspected junk email into a separate folder on your PC for you to review or
delete later on.

The newer integrated spam filters are also “intelligent”. They can basically learn the difference between what is
spam and what is not and delete the junk email you don’t want.

The most popular integrated spam filters are:

iHate Spam
Spambully
Spam Inspector

Integrated spam filters are most popular amongst people who want a one click solution to collecting their personal email and filtering junk email at the same
time.

Advantages:
One click solution.

Disadvantages:
Software specific. Some work with Outlook and Outlook Express only.

Standalone spam filters
These are less common than their integarted counterparts but that doesn’t make them any less useful. A standalone spam filter is basically a separate piece of software installed on your PC that you use to check your email for spam.

Standalone filters have the big advantage of being able to preview your email on the mail server before it’s downloaded to your PC. This one single feature has the
huge benefit of allowing you to just download the email that you want as opposed to downloading all of your email, including the spam, and then sorting through it.

Using a standalone spam filter is a little more work simply because it’s a separate piece of software that you have to run
before you open up your email software. Most standalone filters do allow you to configure them so that your standard email
application is opened once you’ve chosen what spam to filter. This suits some people and not others.

The most popular standalone spam filter is:

Mailwasher Pro

Advantages:
Doesn’t rely on specific email applications to work properly.

Disadvantages:
Two step process. Load standalone filter and then your email application.

Online spam filters
There are really two types of online spam filters. One is for business use and one is for home use. A typical example of
a business type product is iHate Spam server edition where the software deletes junk email directly from the mail server before the end user even sees it. Large companies employ this type of technology.

Home users will be using Spam Arrest or similar. Spam Arrest offers an inventive solution to spam whereby any email sent to
the users account has a challenge request sent back to it which the sender must authenticate. The automatic junk email software used by spammers can’t currently deal with this type of response.
Any failure to authenticate the challenge email results in the junk email being left to die in cyberspace. A user is authenticated with Spam Arrest only once for security just to make sure the software
doesn’t become a nuisance.

The most popular online spam filter is:

Spam Arrest

Advantages:
Users are guaranteed to only receive the email that they want or requested.

Disadvantages:
Any techncial problems with the Spam Arrest server and you have no defense against spam

If you are looking for multiple site hosting in a web host package, you have plenty of options. There are literally dozens of web hosting companies that advertise multiple site hosting options. But what can you expect from these companies and what is it likely to cost? The cost will vary greatly, but there are lots of web hosts that advertise a web hosting package for less than $10 per month. What to expect from a web host depends largely on the host. Services, like price, will vary. Your specific needs will determine what you should expect from a best website hosting .If one of your important requirements is multiple site hosting in a web host package, you should first determine exactly what you expect the company to provide. It’s probably a fairly simple matter to have a single company sell you a web host package for each of the websites you plan to maintain. In some cases, you might find that a company offers discounts for having more than one website package.

In some cases, finding a company that can offer multiple site hosting in a web host package means that you want to maintain several websites on a single account. Some companies offer to provide that service at no additional charge. Others have a “per website” rate and will charge extra for each website maintained. You might want to look for a web host package that offers a specific amount of space for a specific price, and that price remains fixed for that amount of space even if multiple websites are established within the set criteria.

If you are looking for a web host package for a company, remember that the current needs of that company could be different from future needs. As you search for multiple site hosting in a web package, keep in mind that your business might expand. If your multiple site hosting package proves to be too small, will this particular company be able to meet expanded needs? If you are purchasing a web host package and expect to use all the space immediately, you could be faced with the dilemma of finding a new web host service provider very soon.

Whether you’re looking for a company to host multiple sites or plan to establish only a single site, remember that comparison shopping is your best chance of finding the service you need at a competitive price. Even for multiple site hosting in a web package, look at total disk space, security, number of e-mail accounts and bandwidth before making a decision. If you find a company that has multiple site hosting in a single web host package, find out if a specific amount of space will be allotted to each website, or if a total amount is promised with you being allowed to use it as you please. For example, you might have one large site and two smaller sites, with the three easily accommodated by the total space allotted. However, if your service provider divides the space and allows only 10 megabytes for each website, you might find that the larger site is too big for the space provided.

Choosing a web host is never easy. There are just so many unknowns when it comes to finding a host. It’s hardly ever possible to walk into a web host’s office, look around, meet the owners, and get a feel for whether or not you’d like to do business with these people.

It’s important, though, that you bend over backwards to establish whether your prospective web host is a credible provider - or a fly by night artist.

The webmaster industry is awash with horror stories about signing up with a web hosting company, onlty to find out later that this ‘business’ is run by a 14 year old who lives at home.

For the most part, you’ll make your decision using whatever information you can find online.

Start out with the website of the web host you are considering.

Is it professionally designed and written? Typo’s and spelling errors may signal that this is a company ran by kids or amateurs.

Is the website easy to use? Is it designed with a view towards helping people? Are help materials available online? This should give you a flavor for whether the company is client oriented.

Where is the company located? Is there an address? Can you email them?

Look at the Terms of Service. Does your prospective web host clearly spell out what may be expected of them and what is expected of you? Every deal is different, but both parties should clearly know what the deal is.

Next, do a search for the company on Google. Are you finding any negative statements? Try different searching techniques, like typing the company name followed by the word “scam”, or by the words “poor support”.

Now, try emailing their customer support department. Do you get a fast reply? What about their sales department? Do they answer enquiries quickly? Let’s face it…if they won’t pay any attention to you when they’re trying to get your business, how much more will you be neglected after you sign up?

If you follow these simple suggestions, your chances of signing up with an excellent web host increase substantially.

If you search the ‘net for “Free Software” you’ll alway come up with links to the Free Software Foundation or something called a GNU, rather than software that doesn’t cost anything.

You see, “Free Software” it doesn’t always refer to software that is free of charge. It actually refers to the software being “Free” as in “Freedom” !

Just so that you understand the difference, here is the definition of free software from GNU.org

“A program is free software, for you, a particular user, if:

You have the freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
You have the freedom to modify the program to suit your needs. (To make this freedom effective in practice, you must have access to the source code, since making changes in a program without having the source code is exceedingly difficult.)
You have the freedom to redistribute copies, either gratis or for a fee.
You have the freedom to distribute modified versions of the program, so that the community can benefit from your improvements.
Since “free” refers to freedom, not to price, there is no contradiction between selling copies and free software.

In fact, the freedom to sell copies is crucial: collections of free software sold on CD-ROMs are important for the community, and selling them is an important way to raise funds for free software development. Therefore, a program which people are not free to include on these collections is not free software.

Because of the ambiguity of “free”, people have long looked for alternatives, but no one has found a suitable alternative. The English Language has more words and nuances than any other, but it lacks a simple, unambiguous, word that means “free,” as in freedom–”unfettered,” being the word that comes closest in meaning. Such alternatives as “liberated”, “freedom,” and “open” have either the wrong meaning or some other disadvantage.”

“Free Software” is often but not always free-of-charge but it does have other benefits. Often the software is written by people who are doing it for the challenge or simply because they enjoy writing it, or to solve a particular problem, and this approach can produce really useful programs without the usual commercial undercurrent.

Also because the source code is normally freely available it is also likely that many people from the software community will have had a hand in the creation or debugging of the finished article.

IT help desk software can be a valuable resource for technicians to manage and resolve troubleshooting tickets. Most companies realize the benefits of purchasing help desk software since it is a reliable way to manage customer inquiries and complaints. IT help desk software is preferred by both companies and clients over a traditional call center.

In traditional call centers, customers often complain of long hold times and unreturned voicemails. Other times, the less-than-technically-savvy customer may become frustrated in his or her attempt to explain the problem. Help desk software allows an IT department to effectively manage and direct certain issues to the appropriate personnel.

Many IT help desk software programs offer the convenience of a user-friendly menu and easy-to-manage files. Customers can choose from a variety of help topics and even copy and paste error messages to send to IT. For those customers who are not technically advanced, menus can be set up to offer a variety of common questions.

HelpDesks.com is an excellent resource for extensive IT help desk software reviews and information. This site allows you to compare the leading providers of the products to find the right program for your needs. Convenient charts allow you to see various amenities offered such as whether or not the program is web-based, costs associated with purchase and upgrades and the number of users allowed for each program.

One of the most popular IT help desk software programs, according to consumer reviews, is FootPrints. On a scale of one to ten, it has a rating of 9.2 and has multiple consumer reviews. This is a web-based program, and the initial cost is around $6,000. FootPrints offers unlimited user capabilities and free upgrades with their annual maintenance contract. This program is compatible with Linux, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Unix operating systems. It also offers searchable databases, assignment of reference numbers, F.A.Q databases, billing databases and much, much more.

In our exclusive interview with Novell’s CEO Ron Hovsepian recently, he proclaimed that in his turnaround plan for the company, “One thing we decided was to develop desktop to data center Linux.” So why is there still so little Linux as a desktop OS?

Matthew Aslett over at analysts The 451 Group asked exactly that question over here recently – and as you can see from the comments on that blog, there is some disagreement over just how much penetration Linux has on the desktop!

So who’s seen some official-looking stats for just how much Linux there is on the desktop? Share them if you can, and in the meantime I’ll see what I can dig out that may help put the argument to rest for the time being…

Original post by Jason Stamper and software by Elliott Back

Red Hat, which says it has always supported Sun’s attempts to build an open source community around Java, has made its support a little more official by signing Sun’s contributor agreement that covers participation in all Sun-led open source projects by all Red Hat engineers.

This goes to show that the father of Java, James Gosling, was being a little pessimistic when I interviewed him back in March this year: he said that the open sourcing of Java would make little difference to the range and depth of people helping to support its ecosystem because it was already a community process before it was open sourced.

Red Hat has also signed Sun’s OpenJDK Community TCK License Agreement. “This agreement gives the company access to the test suite that determines whether an implementation of the Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE) platform that is derived from the OpenJDK project complies with the Java SE 6 specification,” the firm noted.

Original post by Jason Stamper and software by Elliott Back

IT security specialists Global Secure Systems (GSS) have warned Apple Mac users to revisit their IT security software and manually update it, following the arrival of the first serious Trojan Horse for the Apple Mac.

GSS’ warning comes as Intego, an Austin, Texas-based Mac security firm, has reported the first serious Trojan to affect the Apple Mac platform.

Original post by Jason Stamper and software by Elliott Back