PC Gaming Vs Console Gaming

PC Gaming Vs Console Gaming

Video gaming is nearly a modern sport. It is incredibly popular in just about every age group, from pre-teens to forty year old veterans. Nintendo Wii has even made progress in the senior citizen market by offering our older citizens a very accessible way to have fun and stay a bit more active. There is at least one television channel purely dedicated to video gaming, available from any cable or satellite television provider which carries Voom HD Networks. Even professional leagues and sanctioned video game competitions, not just for the glory of the frag but also cold hard cash.

So, with all this gaming the question is out there waiting to be asked: What’s the best platform? You shouldn’t be disappointed to learn there is no easy or straightforward answer to that question. In fact, the reasons so many platforms exist and enjoy their own success is because each has something to offer. Depending on your needs, personal tastes, and gaming style you will likely find that one platform has more to offer you personally than the others.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 has a solid catalog and is really the gold standard all around. It’s not the best at any one thing but the system does everything well. Sony’s PlayStation 3 was touted to have better graphics than the Xbox 360 but even at launch it was hard to tell. These days some games might look better on one system or the other, they’re considered pretty equivalent.

Unfortunately, Sony lacks some of the intuitive features Microsoft incorporated into their system. It’s not about the hardware, it’s about the overall experience. If you are strictly gaming, chances are you will have a better gaming experience on the 360. That being said, Sony’s machine is much more than just a game console. It’s a unique sort of computer. You can access media files over a network, browse the web, and best of all you can watch high definition Blu-Ray movies with the integrated Blu-Ray disc player. In other words, if you want more than just gaming, the PS3 beats the 360 fairly handily.

Nintendo’s Wii system offers a unique experience that really can’t be equated to any of the other systems. Technically it is inferior, but the motion controls Wii is based around can be so intuitive it offers a completely new way to game. This game system is extremely appealing to people who have never found video gaming appealing before. For veteran gamers, some may find it appealing and some may not. All will agree it’s a different sort of experience.

PC gaming is where the REAL hardcore gamers go, though. Being a PC gamer can be expensive because you are frequently choosing to buy upgrades to get the most out of the latest games. PC gaming also isn’t as straightforward as console gaming. You don’t simply put a disc in the drive and play, you have to go through an install process. You can get …

Read More

Three Reasons Why You Fail at Social Media

Three Reasons Why You Fail at Social Media

There’s no shortage of information out there about how to do well with social media, I thought I would look at things from a different perspective. Here are three things you must not do if you wish to succeed in social media.

You Try To Automate It.

I see so many people who think using social media is about the right tools that automate the experience. If a family member invited you to their wedding would you automate your interaction with them and your presence at their wedding? Too often we get caught up in growing our numbers that we forget how important our impact with those followers is. Automating your social media experience will undoubtedly lessen your impact on your followers. Spending more time making real connections will build you up faster than any automation.

You Pimp Too Many Links.

We’ve all seen these people on Twitter and Facebook, every update is a link to their website and if you dig deep enough (most people don’t bother) you will see that they are actually repeating the same links over and over. While this might get you a few clicks here and there certainly won’t ignite anyone or make them want to suggest you to their followers. The people who do get away with link pimping are the ones who interact and offer value 9/10 times while pimping a link less than 10% of the time.

You Follow And Unfollow To Try and Look Popular.

One of the biggest problems with Twitter is that the common misinformation out there suggests that you build up your following by following people and then subsequently unfollowing them. All this does is make people dislike you. You may look popular from a numbers perspective but your followers think you’re a douche bag.

The people who do well, follow those whom they respect and wish to receive updates from. Those people may or may not choose to follow you back, that should be irrelevant to you. The way to get more followers is to interact with the people you follow publicly as much as possible. Social media is here to stay and you should really consider what kind of reputation you are building for yourself online. Ask yourself this question every time you consider a new move. Would this fly at a party or business meeting? If the answer is no don’t do it on social media.…

Read More

What Are The Disadvantages Of Using A Gaming Laptop?

What Are The Disadvantages Of Using A Gaming Laptop?

Some people love using laptops but also like playing games. Most know that playing games on standard laptops doesn’t always give that great of performance. Because of this you might have the temptation to go buy a gaming laptop. While it sounds nice to have a laptop that could play high end games on it, you really should consider the disadvantages of these first.

These machines cost some serious money. They aren’t cheap at all. You could purchase a gaming desktop and a very good laptop for the same price as just one gaming laptop. You are really cutting out many options by investing this kind of money in hardware like this.

The weight of it is a huge problem. While you might think it’s portable because it’s a laptop, it really isn’t that portable. It will be too heavy to carry around all day. Additionally, you will need a gaming mouse to go along with it which adds to the weight and makes it more complicated.

The battery life of these machines are fairly worthless since it’s running high power hardware. You will be stuck near a plug if you want to do anything more than an hour of gaming. This really defeats the purpose of using a laptop. Most people purchase laptops so that they can be portable.

There is a huge risk with these laptops. The parts on them tend to go bad quickly. You will have to service the whole computer versus repairing a part or two yourself like on a desktop. This will also up the cost of owning this type of computer over the long haul.

You can’t upgrade that easily. As a gamer you know it’s best to have frequent upgrades. A gaming laptop will become old much faster than a desktop that you can upgrade. Most gaming computer laptops have most of the upgrades already installed when you purchase if you are serious about gaming. This limits future upgrades which would require you to purchase a new model in order to upgrade.

Heat will make it uncomfortable to use and eventually kill your hardware. There is a limited life span with these devices compared to a desktop that can deal with heat better while playing games.

A gaming laptop is something that many want to buy. Find out the disadvantages to this and why you might avoid buying a computer like this. Ask you friends if they think it would be a good investment before you go out and purchase one of these gaming laptops.…

Read More

Manners and Social Media Marketing

Manners and Social Media Marketing

Right and wrong is evident in social media marketing. The critical path to creating a following starts initially by being a follower. Participating in the process is integral in growing those relationships necessary to share your ideas and products. Opportunities present themselves to those who learn what works in the environment of social media marketing.

What will work for social media marketing is presenting yourself, along with your idea or product, to the community as a willing participant within the confines of the industry. Along with being a follower in the process of collecting followers, you should interact often with those whom you wish to share your opportunities and experiences. This shared learning from all parties leads to positive interaction within the community.

On the other hand, if you insist on spamming, you are not going to further your efforts. Another negative would be to do a hard sell of your idea or product prior to building the relationship side of the equation. People in social media marketing are well aware of posers and others who are out more for themselves than for creating a lasting relationship to share ideas or products. Your relationship building must be done prior to presenting your idea or product. Insisting on the inverse will adversely affect your reputation within the community. And without the opportunity to interact within the community, there will be no reward for your efforts.

As social media is about interacting and creating relationships, it is important to develop opportunities to share your ideas and products. Of course this does take time, and does not happen overnight. You should expect to devote the time and expertise necessary to nurture these relationships. If you do not have the time yourself, find someone to assist you. This aspect of social media marketing is possibly the most important asset you have to promote your ideas or products.…

Read More

PlayStation 3 Deals That People Cannot Resist

PlayStation 3 Deals That People Cannot Resist

A lot of people resort to searching on the web to source for the best PlayStation 3 deals, and in our era on online shopping, the large online retailers are often able to provide a better price for these gaming consoles as compared to traditional brick and mortar gaming stores, due to their lower cost of doing business.

But first, why would you want to get a PlayStation 3 now? While motion gaming has become the new standard for gaming these days brought by the advent of the Wii Console, the PlayStation 3 is undeniably still standing strong. One important reason is because there are many, many games such as strategy, action-adventure, and a whole plethora of other genres that do not go well with motion gaming yet. A lot of traditional gamers including myself still rather sit down to play our game. This is why there are still many people hankering after a ps3 for their household, contrary to popular belief.

Besides, the ps3 is good, not just for playing games. It can also be used to watch high quality blu ray DVDs, as well as to play songs and video. It can actually also be used to store your photos if you want to do so. Therefore, on top of the great gaming experience it gives to gamers, the extra invaluable functionality of it is also a major draw as to why demand for them is still going strong.

Also, there are actually some parents who get it to use it as a carrot or stick for their children. Parenting requires flexibility, and some parents have used the PS3 to either reward their child when they have done something outstanding, or deprive their child of playing when he or she does something wrong. Not to mention, the PlayStation 3 can allow for parent and child bonding if the parents take the initiative to join their child in the game.

Now, the basic PlayStation 3 with the least specs (160 GB hard disc storage) easily retails above $250 USD online. However, if you’re serious on getting one and can afford it, it is highly recommended to get the ones with at least 320 GB hard disc storage because with the variety of games and the large utility of the console, the smaller models may not pack enough punch to fulfil your needs. However, you ought to bear in mind that these larger memory consoles could easily cost more than $350, so you should carefully consider if it is worth it.

In order to get the best PlayStation 3 deals, always look for those that comes with games thrown in together as a package with the console. This would make it considerably cheaper for consumers as you need the games to play anyway, and the games that are just released usually comes at more than $50 a pop. When they are thrown into the package, they would most definitely be cheaper as compared …

Read More

Installing Business Wi-Fi: The Critical Factors to Consider

One of the significant challenges many enterprises face is having an effective information technology department, especially regarding Wi-Fi installation. There are several reasons you should always ensure your IT section is in its best condition by considering procuring professional services, such as those offered at Vann Data. Nonetheless, as explained below, it is critical to understand some of the vital considerations to ensure you get the best services when installing the internet in your enterprise.

The Contractor’s Professionalism

Getting the best results by installing your business Wi-Fi starts with working with professionals. This is why it is critical to consider how professional a particular expert is before hiring them. Putting up Wi-Fi in your business is not simple, making it necessary to check how professional the installer is.

The Charges

There are many business internet providers, but they all have varying charges for their services, depending on several factors. It is critical to understand where your budget ranges to ensure you get an internet connection that does not harm your profits. Take time to compare different Wi-Fi prices to pick one within your financial capabilities.

Speed

The Wi-Fi you install in your organization must offer top speed for effective operations. It is essential to confirm with your installer and provider about the best internet speed for a business. Nonetheless, the Wi-Fi speed you choose depends on how many devices and people will be connected to it.

Security

Online data breaches are among the top threats to many enterprises today, and some of them come through the internet you connect to your business systems. Therefore, it is vital to consider the security measures your Wi-Fi provider has implemented.

Having a reliable internet connection in business ensures smooth communication, detailed research, and easy data storage and access. Wi-Fi has become the king in the provision of business internet, but you must ensure you pick the best by making the above-explained considerations.…

Read More

Final Fantasy VIII – How To Get GF Bahamut

Final Fantasy VIII – How To Get GF Bahamut

Bahamut is one of the best GF’s in the game with many useful abilities and commands. However it is an optional side quest to get Bahamut and many Final Fantasy VIII players miss out on the opportunity.

The earliest point in the game to get Bahamut is on disk 3 once you have acquired the Ragnarok. Before setting out to get Bahamut make sure you have some good junctions and abilities. Don’t worry about your characters levels as almost all monsters and bosses in Final Fantasy VIII (Bahamut included) level up as your party levels up, so in essence the stronger you become the stronger your enemies become. Meltdown, meteor, triple, flare, holy, ultima etc are good to have before setting out.

Once you’re ready set out to the deep sea research center which is located in the far South West of the map (bottom left hand corner), you can’t see it on your map. Once you find a small floating island, land the Ragnarok and walk inside. You will notice a glowing, blue core in the middle of the room. Walk toward it but pause when the glow intensifies, not doing so will cause you to enter a battle with Anacondaur’s and Blood Souls. Encounter None and Encounter Half have no affect unfortunately.

Once you reach the core you will be given an option of what to answer, choose “It is not our will to fight”. You will now enter a battle with a ruby dragon, they can be quite tough so be careful. If Quistis is in your party kill it instantly with a “degenerator”. After you have beaten it you will be given another option of what to say, select “Never”, you will enter a battle with a second ruby dragon. Once defeated you will be given a third and final question to answer, select the third option (it’s blank, you can’t see it). After a bit of dialog you will fight the big boy himself, Bahamut.

Hopefully you took my earlier advice and have equipped some decent junctions and abilities. Begin by casting meltdown on Bahamut then aura on your best characters. Limit breaks like Irvine’s shot (AP or pulse ammo if you have it), Zell’s combos and Squall’s Renzokuken work well. Heal with X-potions or Curaga spells or Quistis’s white wind, her mighty guard works well too in buffing your characters up. His HP is dependent on your party’s average level so the length of the battle will likely be dependent on what level your characters are at. Eventually he will go down and you get this great GF as well as his card (which converts into 100 megalixers using card-mod).

Now that you have Bahamut you are free to go get Eden which can be drawn from Ultima Weapon at the bottom of the deep sea research center, just make sure you’re prepared!…

Read More

Sky Drift PlayStation 3 Review

Sky Drift PlayStation 3 Review

Since the release of Super Mario Kart in 1992 kart racing games have been flooding the market and so many of them have been released that the genre has almost been killed. Let’s face it, kart racing isn’t exciting anymore.

Sky Drift, however, is a kart racing game that puts all others to shame and breaths new life into the genre. The tracks are fabulous and although there are not many, you will fall in love with the few that are present. The races are exciting and full of action. Throughout the race there are signs pointing you in the right direction. If you should lose control and spin off the track and crash you are instantly re-spawned and thrown back into the race. Most of the time you start from where you left off. The game is quite easy and most kids will love it.

There are many things you can collect which will enhance your racing skills and give you better enjoyment as the game progresses. You also have weapons to take down opponents and other stuff to protect you from getting hit. If you love speed this game is what you need.

There are three different modes to choose from and all of them offer something unique and satisfying. In survivor mode you race for a certain time and when the timer stops the person in the last place is eliminated from the game. This goes on until there is only one player left.

In campaign mode you have to race several tracks. All of them are different and you have to adjust your strategy in order to overcome really hard obstacles. Unfortunately, you can’t customize the tracks and must choose one that is available in the game. However, it’s nice to play against other real humans and you will have plenty of excitement in your living room. Play too long and it can become rather tedious and mundane. Because of the limited tracks available, you will spend many hours racing too familiar territory and yawning all the way to the finish line. It’s best to play the game once and put it away for good, or swap it on eBay.

Sky Drift takes kart racing to new heights. It has everything to make the game wholly satisfying. The good looking tracks and non stop action make this a fun game for kids and adults alike. The limited tracks to race are a serious flaw, but won’t affect your fun too much. But another downside is the high price the developers are asking. $15 is a bit high for such limited content. Sometimes selling at a reasonable price isn’t only fair, but allows you to sell much more and in the end your profit margin is bigger. Far too many gaming companies are just out to make a quick buck.…

Read More

Gaming Notebook – Knowing the Pros and Cons of a Gaming Laptop and Gaming Desktop

Gaming Notebook – Knowing the Pros and Cons of a Gaming Laptop and Gaming Desktop

If you go to a computer shop, you will notice that there are now selling gaming notebook from various brands like Dell, HP and so on. For a person who loves gaming, he may feel that laptops are not meant for playing games. Desktop computers are considered to be very powerful for playing games. However, the recent laptops that are mainly designed for enjoying high-end games seem to be equally efficient.

Let us study the pros and cons of gaming notebook and desktop computer and try to find out which one is better:

Pros

1. It is a portable device. You can carry it wherever you want. You can take it to your college, to your pal’s house, etc.

2. Since it runs on battery and can connect to the web wirelessly, you are free from the hassles of cables

3. Before you purchase the device, you can customize it by asking for the processor, RAM amount, and video card of your choice.

Cons

1. At the price of a gaming laptop, you will be able to purchase even more powerful desktop PC for playing games.

2. Because of its size, laptops tend to get heated up quickly. Some systems get so hot that you will not able to place it on your lap.

3. Size of the keyboard is also a matter of concern. Desktops give you full sized keyboard, however on laptops you are restricted to small sized one.

When you compare the pros and cons, you may think that desktops have slight advantage. However, problems like heating and keyboard size among laptops can be solved easily. With practice you will be type quickly and for playing games, you can make use of a gamepad. As far as heating is concerned, you can connect a USB cooling fan. Also keep in mind that all laptops do not get heated quickly. As far as price is concerned, you can customize the laptop according to your needs and purchase a system that best fits your buck.

In order to promote, gaming notebook, many retailers also give away many freebies like gamepad, USB pen drives, free games and software. The best thing such kind of laptops brings to you is the power mobile gaming. You can be at a coffee shop or at your friend’s place and start gaming wherever you want.…

Read More

Acer Predator G5 Gaming PC Review

Acer Predator G5 Gaming PC Review

Acer Predator G5 gaming PC is one if not the industry leading top gaming PC out there. The G7 might have all the nitty gritty performance extras as would with any high end system but the G5 comes with some impressive features and a drop dead look. The G5 with its overall black look with some orange trimming makes it quit an attractive PC. A handle is fitted at the back of the case and a carefully placed sloping top. When you pop, open the DVD drive you are greeted by two Predator like mandibles. However, the mandibles seem to be too much of plastic and pose the question of their long-term durability.

So how is the hot swapping on the G5? Located at the bottom front fascia of the G5 is a panel that opens to let you access two hot swappable hard drive cages. A lever is available to allow you the ease of access to these cages and you can place your 3.5-inch hard disk that you can secure using tiny mounting studs. Fitting your new hard drive in there will not be much of a problem… more on that some other time.

The G5 for its size packs in some impressive performance attributes. If you are to set the resolution to its maximum of 1920?�1080 with most games today it will deliver as promised. I recently tested out Cyrsis since I was having heavy lagging issues on my other PC. The G5 with high graphic settings together with 8x anti-aliasing it performed pretty good with frames averaging from 39fps and if I have the resolution reduced and in game settings lowered I get frames as high as 59fps. I intend on carrying out more performance tests and see how this G5 handles but so far, I am impressed.

One of the great things about the G5 is that it makes little or no noise when you are throwing all your system demanding games at it. When you consider purchasing the G5 know that it does not come with a monitor. Now for a quick breakdown on other features you will get on the G5: a multi-format memory card reader along side a 1TB Hitachi hard disk. It gives you connectivity options, with a gigabit Ethernet, VGA, DVI, an HDMI port and incredible choice of 10 USB 2.0 ports. However, they fell short by not including a USB 3.0. It is shipped in with a clean installation of Windows Home 7 Premium not to forget a basic budget mouse and keyboard are bundled with the base unit.…

Read More

A New Laptop Purchase Might Not Be Warranted

A New Laptop Purchase Might Not Be Warranted

Troubleshooting computers can be tricky sometimes. They’re like cars in a way: if you don’t know what lies underneath the hood, you could easily have a hard time finding out what the problem is. They’re also like cars because it’s sometimes better to replace individual parts than to buy a completely new machine, especially if you’re talking about an Apple computer. If you have a feeling your laptop could be damaged, it may be time to purchase an Apple laptop motherboard and get it fixed.

Apple computers are highly prized because they meld design and functionality together in a way that most other manufacturers wish they could emulate. Because no one can match what they offer, they tend to charge a premium on their laptops. Unfortunately, their laptops are vulnerable to damage just like any other laptop. For example, if you were to drop it from a certain height you could end up causing extensive damage to the machine. Also, a power surge could end up destroying internal parts like the Apple laptop motherboard. If your machine is damaged and inoperable, you may be tempted to buy a new one, but you’re much better off replacing the component that’s damaged.

Before you buy a replacement motherboard, you should make sure that the motherboard is indeed the problem. If a power surge preceded your problems, then it would be reasonable to assume that either the power supply or the motherboard would be at fault. Try testing your power supply unit on a different laptop to see if it’s still functioning normally. If it is still okay, you should test various components and peripherals to see if they’re fine. If they’re not, you should probably purchase a replacement Apple laptop motherboard and go through the procedure of replacing it.

When it comes to actually purchasing the part, you could buy a brand new one, but you’re probably going to have to pay a premium for it since it’s an Apple part. Alternatively, you could try purchasing a used component. People frequently sell their laptops online and the undamaged parts of them could end up being available for people like you at a fraction of the cost of new parts. You and your computer would not end up noticing the difference in terms of performance or reliability too. Additionally, you’d be doing something good for the environment if you bought a used Apple laptop motherboard. A new parts means that new resources have to be utilized. A used part though means recycling has taken place, which is always good for planet Earth.

The final piece of the puzzle is performing the actual replacement itself. If you don’t have any experience doing this kind of repair, you might want to hire a computer support specialist to perform the operation for you. If you do have some experience, you can tear into the machine and perform the repair yourself. Just make sure that you diagram or take …

Read More

Why amazon attribution important to increase outside traffic to your Amazon listings?

You need to find alternative strategies to get qualified traffic to your listings as Amazon grows more competitive and sponsored ad prices climb. Though don’t anticipate mountains of organic traffic, more traffic equals more sales. By running advertisements outside of Amazon, you should actively look for new customers rather than relying on them to discover your products on Amazon on their own. If your listings are fully optimized and have a respectable conversion rate already, we advise that you start right away. You can direct visitors to your Amazon storefront—which is devoid of adverts for your rivals’ listings—by driving outside traffic rather than depending on sponsored ads within Amazon search results through amazon attribution.

  • Your best-seller ranking

Again, if your Amazon listings have a respectable and reliable conversion rate, your overall sales will probably rise along with an increase in visitors. The more sales you generate, the higher your product will rank in Amazon’s A9 algorithm, which determines how products are ranked inside search results.

  • Boost your keyword positions

Listings that bring in visitors from outside Amazon appear to be preferred by Amazon. Therefore, you may anticipate that your organic keyword rankings would rise as well, provided that the traffic your external ads drive to Amazon likewise increases conversions.

  • Obtain more details regarding your clients.

You’ll learn important information about the shopping habits and locations of your clients using Amazon Attribution. You can now learn how the other half of consumers explores the products you’re selling since we already know that more than 50% of shoppers begin their product searches on Amazon.

  • Earn a bonus of up to 10% for referrals.

You can apply the incentive as credit against your referral fees. Amazon will identify sales that qualify for referral benefits using Amazon Attribution, and bonuses will be credited to your account two months after the sale is made. Brands will save money on referral fees thanks to this scheme, which will hasten the expansion of your off-Amazon marketing initiatives. Depending on whatever product category your product belongs to, you will receive a bonus. Visit the Brand Referral Bonus program support page to discover your anticipated referral bonus rate or to learn more about the Bonus program.

How to setup Amazon Attribution tags?

Go to Amazon Attribution after logging onto your Amazon Advertising interface. A tutorial on how to put up the attribution tag is also available on Amazon.

  • To start a new campaign you need to click on start campaign.
  • Select a creation strategy. You have the choice of manually creating a new campaign or automatically creating plenty of tags.
  • The next step in manually creating a campaign is giving it a name and selecting the product.
  • You should now make a fresh ad group. You will give your ad group a name, select an advertiser (you have a lot of options here, such Facebook or Google Ads), and channel.
  • Now your attribution tag is ready. To ensure that Attribution can accurately assess the effectiveness of your ads,
Read More

The Rise and Rise of Social Networking Websites

The Rise and Rise of Social Networking Websites

What exactly is social networking? Firstly, I should point out that this is not an entirely new phenomenon, and, at its most basic it has existed forever in the coming together of individuals into specific groups, based on what they have in common. Be it a small rural community getting together to talk about local issues, or a selection of people becoming linked through an affinity for dressing up as Harry Potter, these are the social networks of old. However, while ‘in-person’ networking obviously does still exist, online social networking sites are now what most people think of when they hear this term.

Social networking websites provide a platform for people to create and publish online content simply for the benefit of sharing it with other people. They offer a stage for airing opinions, thoughts, experiences, pictures – almost anything that people want – and they enable conversations to take place around them. There are endless options in terms of the social networking software that enables individuals to write blogs, start forums, post videos, and begin conversations online and social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all use different combinations of these elements to satisfy their growing base of users.

So how can businesses capitalize on this? Well, as with everything, there is obviously no cut and dry answer, and what works for one business may be inappropriate for another. Targeting appropriate existing social network websites to spark dialogue with your customers is definitely a good idea, but another, lesser walked path is to create a bespoke social network designed specifically for your customers. Your members would design their own profiles and upload videos, blogs and profiles and be in control of their own privacy settings. With interactive walls, activity feeds and the ability to search for other members using multiple criteria, your social network would have the potential to create a real sense of personal ownership and involvement with your brand. Hot topics or news stories relating to your brand could be discussed, and this would amount to a fantastic way for your business to converse with customers, listen to what they are interested in and to expand your online consumer base.

It all seems rather simple when put like that, and you would be forgiven for being sceptical as to how easy it really is to just create a social network from scratch. However, in reality it only takes a few minutes to set up and once people begin to interact with it, then it is only a matter of days or weeks before your own social network is up and running. At a time when everyone is clamouring for a bite of the social media apple, setting up a social network moderated by you that enables real interaction with your customers might just be the way forward.…

Read More

Promote Your Business for Free Using Social Media

Promote Your Business for Free Using Social Media

Small businesses are in a roll the past few years. Gone are the days where they need to spend big bucks just to market their products or services. Now, any business owner with access to the Internet can showcase his wares to a wider audience with the help of social media. So you don’t have the funds to advertise in print and TV? No problem. All you need is Facebook, Twitter, and other online channels in order to get your business noticed at little or no cost.

For instance, you have a small business but can’t afford setting up a traditional store. By selling your stuff online, you do not have to maintain overhead costs apart from your Internet subscription. Here’s how to get started:

Create Your Online Store

Websites like Multiply are godsend to small business owners. All you have to do is sign up, create an account, post pictures of your products and voila! Instant online store created for free. Of course, you will have a lot of competition, which is what you can expect from free accounts. To stand out among the horde of online stores, you need to be creative. Multiply has lots of great-looking templates that you can use for your website. Take high quality pictures of your products and upload on your site. Presentation is everything so you need to use good quality camera to take snapshots of your products. Remember, you need to thwart the competition so you have to do the extra effort.

If you do have some cash to spare, you can create your own website, with its own hosting. Here you can customize all you want to get the look and feel you like for your store’s image. You can hire a web designer to make your website look pretty or you can just use a WordPress platform and choose from one of their professional-looking templates.

Use Facebook and Twitter

Now is the time you put your Facebook habits to good use. Create a fan page for your business and link your online store here. Post pictures of your products in your fan page and garner as many likes as you can. This shouldn’t be hard; a little emotional blackmail to your friends will do the trick. Ask them to spread the link to your store as well. Post regular updates about your products and services to keep them interested.

Same goes for Twitter. Twit the link of your online store and garner as many followers as you can. With a little help from your friends, your business will gain potential customers.

Of course, there’s eBay and many others.

You can’t write about online selling without mentioning one of its pioneers, eBay. It’s easy to set up an account and post pictures of your merchandise. In order to thrive in eBay, you need to get positive reviews to get more customers and retain existing ones.

If you would like to heed the …

Read More

Trying to Find Good Gaming Laptops For Under $1,000?

Trying to Find Good Gaming Laptops For Under $1,000?

Most gamers will play their computer games on their laptops because they were simply not able to find good gaming laptops without spending a ton of money. With technology improving so much over the last decade, you can not only find laptops for gaming, but you can find one that will rival any desktop that is out there today.

Asus has made a name for themselves in the computer industry rather quickly. While the have swarmed the mini niche, they are also putting out full sized laptops that would make anyone happy. The most prominent of these is the Asus Eee PC 1005HA. This machine is quick and will handle just about anything that you throw at it. The best feature is the fact that it costs under $500!

If you are scared to try one of the new kids on the block, Dell also has a great laptop for gaming that will run you only $799. The Dell Studio 15 Laptop Computer is fast, has a ton of memory and was built with gamers in mind. Being one of the biggest companies in the industry, you know you are getting a quality machine.

Toshiba is another company that is putting out a great machine for gamers. The Toshiba Satellite A505-S6960 will only set you back about $700 and is going to give you everything that you need. It is amazingly light at only 6.4 pounds adding to the attractiveness of the machine as a portable gaming center.

The days of being stuck in your room because you have to play on a desktop are over. For well under $1,000, you can buy a great machine that will serve as both your gaming laptop and your home computer as well. It’s time to get out of the house and hit the road with your gaming laptop notebook.…

Read More

Gaming Laptops Vs Standard Laptops

Gaming Laptops Vs Standard Laptops

It can be confusing when trying to purchase a laptop that fits in with your requirements and budget especially when it comes to manufacturers pushing you to buy their products. It does not have to be that complicated as buying a gaming laptop can be simple as you want it to be. You may be interested in a laptop because you want to work whilst on the move or is a replacement for a desktop computer.

This article will give you useful tips on securing the best gaming laptop. A gaming laptop will use performance based components to produce outstanding graphics. The type of games you buy will help you in deciding how much to spend on hardware components for the laptop. Another criteria to consider is future game releases as you want to make sure the laptop can handle these games as well.

Another consideration is your game play style as some gaming laptop may have too much power and performance for you to handle. The majority of standard laptops today are able to run many games as technology has become cheaper and far more advanced. Laptops can handle games such as World of Warcraft or games that have a good FPS and will also save you money in the long run.

The major different between gaming based laptops and your standard laptops is the hardware components inside the laptop. You can get a performance based laptop that 2GB of RAM with a decent graphics card, 250GB hard drive and Core 2 Duo processor at an affordable that can run most games. With a gaming laptop the hardware specifications should be a minimum of Quad Core processor with 4GB of RAM, 250GB+ hard drive or SSD (Solid State Drive) that offers the ability to play two or more games at once.

You need to look to see if the laptop can be upgraded in terms of its hardware components i.e. added in extra hard drives or replacing them, the maximum amount of RAM memory that can fit inside the laptop. You also need to look at seeing if these main components are interchangeable.

A warranty is essential must when buying a laptop due to the expensive hardware components inside the laptop.

When buying a gaming laptop, it is important to do research so that you do not end up with a laptop that does not meet specifications. The ideal place to look first is online as you can visit the manufacturers/retailers websites to see what kind of laptop they have in stock but also you can make comparisons between different laptops. Another area to look at is review sites and online forums as this will give you an idea as to what other people have said about the various laptops in terms of their performance.

In conclusion, the main differences between these devices are its components and how they perform to produce images on the screen whether it is from a standard laptop or …

Read More

Managing Video Marketing Costs Under Control

Managing Video Marketing Costs Under Control

You simply can’t afford not to. Part of the strategy is to advertise your business enterprise merely particular times, is going to save you finances.

Each and every small business proprietor needs to be quite conscious these days of where each and every penny is going. They need to come up with tight spending budgets and stick to them diligently or they could struggle with being forced to shut down their business altogether. Among the key aspects where small business enterprise owners make some mistakes is in either spending too little or too much on marketing and advertising costs. Advertising, marketing as well as promoting your small company or business could make or break you and you have to get expert assistance before you invest a lot of dough into the process.

The initial thing you need to do is some research. Just before you even hire any outside experts or firms you must know some important issues yourself. The very first thing you have to think about is: who am I selling to? Quite simply, what exactly is my target market? Who is going to buy my products as well as exactly who do I would like to purchase my merchandise? These are two different concerns and you need the answers to the two prior to starting. Advertising costs could significantly get out of hand in the event that you do not have a clear cut plan of action.

You need to figure out who your competition are and exactly what they are doing for advertising as well as marketing, including exactly what their websites look like and how they offer their products. Does their site have a shopping cart option or online catalog? Is there an interactive reply box for clients to contact you? Exactly how is the contact made? Are there Flash banners or other animated graphics? You have to rate each one of their websites on a scale of 1 through 10, with ten being the best and having the most desirable features. In business it is alright to acquire ideas as well as things that work, that is why people protect their business secrets so dearly. There is nothing improper in modeling your own site with your rivals, particularly when you are starting out and have no room for error.

Website developing as well as layout are expensive and there are several solutions to go about putting one together. To start with, figure out what you would like it to look like and storyboard or pre-plan every single page and the different links. Once you have that you should get a firm or freelance artist that specializes in setting up sites. Most companies and freelancers make use of Dreamweaver or various other identical software such as Front Page to make their sites. It is advisable to see samples (live website urls) that match what you have in mind for your own site before choosing your designer. You may want …

Read More

Using Social Media Marketing Can Save You Time and Money

Using Social Media Marketing Can Save You Time and Money

In our current economic climate it is all too important for businesses to really find ways to leverage a multitude of different mediums to “spread the word” about their products and/or services. One of the best ways to do this is through the use of social media marketing. In this article we will discuss some of the best ways to use it to save you both time and money when marketing your business.

Social media marketing which could also be called social network marketing is in its infancy. There so many ways to implement this type of marketing into your current strategy that it can sometimes become confusing. My experience has taught me that when people become confused or overwhelmed by a topic, they typically choose to avoid it. I don’t suggest you do that. So let’s discuss the minimum ways that you can use the social media marketing platform to help you stamp out a solid place in the socialsphere (not really a word, but it sounded good!).:)

One of the absolute minimums you should have to really compete in the social media marketing arena, would have to be through the use of a weblog also commonly referred to as a “blog”. Blogs have been around for a long time. They started as simple sounding boards for anyone with an opinion. They are now used as a primary way to disseminate information on the internet today! Blogs or blogging is one of the best and easiest ways to increase your search engine position, position yourself as an expert in your industry and also to gain the trust of your website visitors. One of the most popular platforms used for blogging is called WordPress. It is extremely easy to install and/or use. Best of all, the major search engines all love WordPress. All of these benefit help to save you money and time because you don’t have to devote as much of your marketing budget to buying traffic to your site, instead you can get free traffic through the search engines.

Another minimum for any business is the use of any of the social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and etc. My personal favorite is Facebook. This is only because of the ability to really increase brand awareness through the use of Fan Pages. The ability to directly interact with customers, clients or possible clients is invaluable. The internet is still not wholly accepted or trusted by a lot of people. This is because of the anonymity that is present. Anyone can buy a domain name, build a website and do business online. The whole time, they can remain nameless and faceless. So the interaction that is afforded by using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and others, is a huge advantage to those who choose to embrace it. Social media marketing is all about conversations. And using these networks is the best way to start and continue the conversations.

Social …

Read More

Enterprise With Social Media

Enterprise With Social Media

It’s no doubt that social media is finding ways into businesses. More and more businesses are using it. It’s probably the fastest way to get connected with people all over the world. You have to be a part of social media to stay in the competition. Businesses are taking the role of leadership and finding their new way with social marketing.

To be apart of social marketing you first should know the people you are working with. Some people are just on these websites to have a blog or web page. Some people have their own social networking profiles. Some are people who like to comment online about businesses. Some are people who actually like to write blogs themselves. You can profile employees and customers to see how active they are in social medias.

As a business person you want to list your company’s objectives when it comes to social medias. Innovation is a good focus point. Posting video on a site where employees can submit ideas. Make a group where members can communicate and share documents with each other. A support area where employees can post and answer questions. Be open to learning new things.

You want to come up with a strategy for your business objectives to achieve them. Social strategy should focus on people in the community, and not the technology. It’s called social media for a reason. It’s changing the relationship between business and customers. You want a way to communicate to employees what’s happening. You want a way for members find and make connections with customers. You want a way for members to create their own content. And a way for members to be rewarded.

When you have your media site, make sure you determine which employees are allow to access what parts of the site. What you want to be shared.

James Hickey

Master Business Consultant…

Read More

How To Choose The Best Gaming Laptop On The Market

How To Choose The Best Gaming Laptop On The Market

Computer gaming has become one of the largest phenomenons if not the largest in recent years. The need to play games at home on a computer has increased greatly and what people look for has changed. When looking for the best gaming laptop you are no longer just looking for a standard laptop anymore you are looking for specifics which will give you the best performance.

Most people believe that the more expensive the machine that you buy is then the better the game experience will be however this is not the case. On average most gamers will look for an inexpensive computer which has a good list of high specifications for the price. So when choosing the your gaming laptop then what specifications should you look for.

If you are looking for the games laptop then you should look for a higher specification than a standard one. A system with a higher RAM should be first on your list as this sort of system will be able to handle the higher resolution graphics and motions that most games these day have.

As most people should know 3D games require the computer to run at high resolutions so with this you need to have a powerful processor. The better the processor then the better it can handle game speeds as well as being able to use faster graphics cards.

If you are looking to buy the best laptop then you should also look for a high end graphics card as they will boost your performance as well. Always remember that when buying a games computer that you try and buy within your means.

The higher the specifications of your machine then the more expensive it will be but that should not put you off. The choice is what you are going to play and what you need. Most games have a minimum requirement of specifications and this should also be consulted before buying your new machine.

There are many brands that design specifically for the games market and it is up to you to choose what you think is the best gaming laptop for you and your needs. Whether you look at the range designed purely for playing or computers that are available through the more mainstream range there is bound to be one out there that will meet you requirements and in most cases will exceed them at the same time. Happy playing!…

Read More

5 Tips on Becoming a Social Media Manager

5 Tips on Becoming a Social Media Manager

Building a business on any type of social media service takes a light touch and an experienced mindset. Unfortunately not everyone can boast having both of these attributes. If a small time businessman includes himself/herself in the equation than that usually turns out to be a recipe for disaster. No one can think of managing a social media business presence without the aid of relevant management skills. You can opt to hire a social media manager to do the job for you which helps lesson the learning curve and saves you tons of hours.

One thing you must understand is that hiring a social media manager is not the be all and end all of online business management. You can’t just pay one off, sit back and dream of the oodles of cash just waiting to be tipped into your bank account. Before even thinking of hiring one, it’s always best to learn the ropes of social media management yourself. So, how should you go about it?

Get to know the lay of the land

The first thing you must do is to map out the online terrain and get to know the lay of the land. In layman’s terms that means you have to familiarize yourself with the best social networking and bookmarking sites and direct a large portion of your activities there.

Choose your tools wisely

Keep tabs on your most frequently visited sites and choose the most suitable tools to make your social management easier to manage. You can do that by regularly posting your progress online. Take Twitter for instance. If you have an account on that social media network along with a large following you can automate your tweeting with tools which will aid you in updating regularly.

Strategy is Key

Every website needs regular maintenance to keep it afloat. The same applies to business sites which need more than usual tune ups. The key to doing this is through website traffic analyzers like Google analytics which will provide you with detailed reports regarding where your traffic is coming from as well as the most used or popular keyword searches to your site.

The geographical diversity and density of your users can also be found out through the use of these analyzers making. This continuous update will allow you to strategize your business website accordingly.

Importance of Market potential

Be sure to check out the popularity of any good websites and blogs. When you find them try and have your advertisement campaign displayed on it especially if it is related to your products or services.

Don’t be the Needle in the virtual Haystack

The World Wide Web has been perceived as a potential business venture by billions of users around the world. Making your presence known in this dense corporate jungle can prove to be the key to many successful business ventures world wide. It’s therefore essential that you make yourself as visible as you can amidst …

Read More

Final Fantasy 13 Characters – Find Out Who’s in the Game!

Final Fantasy 13 Characters – Find Out Who’s in the Game!

Final Fantasy 13 (also known as FFXIII) is the latest game in the massively popular Role Playing Game series created by Square Enix. This is the first game in the series that will be released both on the XBOX 360 and the PlayStation 3, so both parties will now be able to meet the Final Fantasy 13 characters and experience their adventure.

Since the E3 event in 2006 when the game was first revealed (albeit, a rough demo of the game), the hype has been building, and information has slowly but surely been filtering through about the game. Now, with the release of the game not too far away, everyone’s wondering what the main cast of Final Fantasy 13 characters will be.

The game’s main character is called ‘Lightning’, and is a female soldier, once of the ‘Cocoon army’. She has red hair, and is quite the tom-boy. Lightning has elements of past Final Fantasy characters about her, as he main weapon is a cross between a sword and a gun (similar to Squall’s Gunblade in FF8), and she is supposedly the game’s female answer to Cloud Strife (from FF7). She, like Cloud, has a dark, mysterious past, and it is known that she was an orphan from an early age.

Vanille is another of the Final Fantasy 13 characters, and she originally starts out on the opposite side to Lightning; as a rebel who fights against the Cocoon army. She is another female character, who lives in a town called Pulse after being forced out of Cocoon. After the events at the start of the game, she joins up with Lightning and a team is formed.

The third main character in that team is called Snow. Snow is the direct opposite to the small, thin female characters previously mentioned, as he is a huge man, who uses brute force more often than not. Snow is undoubtedly the coolest character in the game, as he can be seen in the trailer riding a motorbike.…

Read More

PS3 Red Screen Fixes

PS3 Red Screen Fixes

Got PS3 red screen when turning it on? Have searched around the Internet but found no fixes that work? Maybe you should try my way to fix the PS3 red screen of death. It has helped two PS3 players repair their red screen and I hope it will work for you as well.

One way to fix red screen of death on PS3 is to update the firmware. You need to download the latest firmware from Sony’s website. Prepare a USB memory stick, and create a folder called PS3 on it. Inside this PS3 folder, create a folder called UPDATE. Down load the PS3 firmware into the UPDATE folder.

Connect the USB memory stick to your PS3. Hit and hold the power button on PS3 until you here 3 beeps. You may seen the menu screen on PS3. If not, press and hold the power again. From the onscreen menu, you should be able to install the new firmware. Update your PS3 and see what happens. No change? Go to the next method.

The other way of PS3 red screen fix is to reformat your PS3 hard drive. There is high possibility that your PS3 hard drive has been corrupted which causes red screen. Therefore you have to reformat it, and restore the system to build the new database.

Firstly, backup all your personal files onto an external USB drive. Take out the your HDD and reformat it using your PC. OR reformat on you PS3 too. Press and hold the power button on PS3 until you here 2 beeps. Then you got a menu where guide you format the HDD.

After reformatting, reboot the PS3, there should be a screen asking you the restore the system. Follow the instructions and accept all the default settings. After that check to see how your PS3 works.

Give these two fixes a go. You have nothing to lose.

There are also chances that none of them works for you. If that is the case, you have to call Sony. They may ask you to send it back to it and return it after 4-6 weeks. But some lucky guys may have a replacement of a new PS3.

OR get yourself a PS3 repair Guide. This is also a good idea, for it costs little but benefits in the long term. Because a good repair guide will provide detailed fixes to most of the PS3 problems, including PS3 red screen.

No matter which way you choose, wish you a success at last.…

Read More