Ever Thought Of Building Your Own Personal Computer?

Are you sick and tired of so-called 'experts' that warn, "Oh, don't do this yourself! Get a pro to do it for you." That pro is probably him and he's got dollar signs whizzing around in his head; "Oh good, another gullible customer to rip off with jargon!"

Well folks, I am here to tell you, "You don't need them!!"

Anyone can build a personal computer - you will save plenty of $$$'s and have a sense of achievement. Unfortunately, there will be some unavoidable technical content, but most good guides do their best to explain it all in jargon-free terms.

If you're put off my terms such as "CMOS" and "BIOS" don't worry; most good guides come with some sort of jargon buster or glossary of technical terms for you to refer to if you get stuck.

The main aim of this article is to illustrate to someone with no technical knowledge that the process of building a personal computer is not as daunting as it may first seem. So, go on! Get to work! Maybe you will enjoy it as much as I do and start a small business.

In my opinion, there is no such thing as an expert when it comes to building a personal computer. The expertise is with the people who develop the electronic components and software that make the personal computer work. These things are readymade and all you have to do is to learn what goes where.

You don't have to know how it works to build a personal computer.

I could tell you how a CPU works; give long explanations on how digital signals are translated into video imagery or the workings of the analog to digital converter. But you don't need to know this stuff to build your own personal computer.

The sad thing is that the so-called experts baffle you with techno-babble that they probably don't understand themselves and then con you into buying more expensive components than you actually need. That's how they make their money!

I'll tell you again that there is no such thing as a computer expert with respect to building a personal computer. If you just take a small amount of time, you can find out how easy it is to build your own Personal Computer step-by-step, and pick the components that you need. This will save you a lot of money and give you a great sense of achievement.

The words "Expert PC Builder" will fade into oblivion when you see how simple it is to do. Many guides will show you with easy-to-understand illustrations how to build your own personal computer and give you the necessary technical terms to fend off "experts". You get the knowledge necessary to buy the right parts, build your own personal computer and to be your own expert!

What are you waiting for? Knowing what you know now, and if you want to save $$$'s, then go to your favourite search engine and do a search for 'How to build your own personal computer' or similar term. In no time at all, you'll find a guide that will give you all the help and information you need to get started and build your own computer - within the week.

Your Guide To Downloads

Oh, we all know that we can download a load of free stuff from the Internet easily. But the best downloads are the ones that DON'T come with extra features like viruses, worms, adwares, spywares, whathaveyounots. It's the truth. When you download something free on the Internet, they sometimes come with some kind of a program that will either give you a headache or give your computer a sickness.

You see, downloads are free on the surface. But whenever you download something from the Internet, they want something in return, such as our personal information which is sometimes harmless.

The better way to download things online is to get a download program to help you download things off the Internet. For instance FlashGet which is a program that can help you download large files like mp3, programs, songs, videos off the Internet in an organized way.

And another wonderfully amazing software for downloads is the GetRight download manager. This software not only speeds up the download process but it also allows you to download different files from different servers easily and organize it in such a way that you will be able to find the files that you have downloaded very easily. You can download multiple files at the same time without slowing down the speed of download. If the download is interrupted or connection is severed, you can continue the download process from where you left off without having to start the download all over again. GetRight also works with many different types of Internet browsers, i.e., Internet Explorer, FireFox, Opera, Mozilla, Netscape, AOL, MSN, etc. Whenever you download stuff from the Internet using this software, you can get the download without downloading the spywares and adwares that comes with some of these downloads.

Not to be left behind, SpeedBit also provides the same kind of service that GetRight and FlashGet provides, with the speedbit software, you can download files from the Internet at 500% faster than the usual speed, broadband or not. The focus on SpeedBit is to make the technology of Download Accelarator Plis (DAP) more accessible to anyone in the world. There are tens of millions of people who are currently using SpeedBit to download stuff from the Internet. SpeedBit also helps you sift out the adwares and spywares that comes with most downloadable stuff on the Internet.

Of course, the faster your Internet connection, the faster you will be able to download programs and files from the Internet. Hence, it will make a significant difference whether you#re using a Broadband internet connection or a dial-up. Dial-ups are definitely much slower than Broadband. If you're using Broadband and downloading real media files, it may take anywhere between 15 minutes to 45 minutes. However, if you're downloading files from the Internet using dial-up connection, you may have to wait around 30 minutes to 180 minutes to download one single media file.

Therefore, if you're using Broadband and combine with one of these downloading softwares, you'll have a far more pleasant experience than those without such privileges.

All In One Printers Are Affordable

Most of the all in one printers are of now of high quality, and the prices have come down considerably. So buying a printer can be a complicated business but you can make it easy and ask for recommendations and just pick one. Although there are more shapes, sizes and types of printers available to the home and small business user than ever before, the competition has made us many excellent printers to choose from. OK, there are many different types of printers on the market today, but still the inkjet printer is the dominant force.

You can now find a number of inkjet printers on the market that are capable of deploying dye-sublimation techniques. Although there are a number of affordable models available, some of the best CD label printers can cost more than a thousand dollars. Therefor the ink jet printers, though the slowest type of printer, are also the most affordable.

There are various type of CD printers available in the market today, the manual, automated and integrated printers. As those are a bit more costly you still have several great alternatives with ink jet printers, monochrome laser printers and color laser printers.
The bar code label printers are the most common dot matrix, laser, ink jet and thermal printers. The advantage with direct thermal printers compared to thermal transfer printers is that they do not require the mechanisms and electronics that are necessary to control and run an ink ribbon. On the other hand, direct thermal and thermal transfer printers require print software and an optional bar code label design.

Inkjet printers are a good choice for many as they have a lower initial purchase cost. They will cost more to run though as the ink is more expensive when measured on a per page basis. Another alternative is the toner cartridges for laser printers. They have a higher unit price than inkjet cartridges, on the other hand they have a higher capacity so that the cost per page is lower for lasers.

Nowadays we can purchase an inkjet printer at a much lower price than all the other up-to-date printers. But, as said before they have higher maintenance cost than laser printers. With all the fantastic technology offered in laser, color and photo quality printers you can also get the all-in-one printers. All in one printers offer scanning, printing, copy and fax to amazingly low prices. Around $100 is really a good bargain for the functionality you get.

There is still some way to go until the modern technology has taken over completely. In many offices we still have to use an older technology, critical to running many of the day to day business operations. Traditionally, the laser printers have been the best printing solution for office users as they produce a very high quality black text finish and to relatively low running costs. For now the monochrome laser printers offer the best balance between print quality, price and speed.

The prices of all in one printers and others are so low now that the manufacturers do not make any profit on them or very little profit. Selling the ink and toner cartridges over and over is where the manufacturers make the money.

Backup -- But Where To?

We all know we have to backup regularly, but those backups files can get huge. Add that to your existing your files and your notebook computer hard drive seems to have shrunk overnight. No matter what size hard drive you have on your notebook computer, space is a premium. Besides, it's not exactly a good idea to store your backups on the same hard drive since you can't retrieve it -- rather defeats the purpose of backing up don't you think? So what do you do, what are your options?

Backup to an external hard drive. This is probably the quickest, most cost effective option. You can often get a removable drive on sale or with rebate for a low price too. You can get one with hundreds of Gigabytes of space too. They can be easy to hookup to your notebook computer. However, do remember that they are hard drives and hard drives can fail. You may find the external backup fails before your notebook computer does.

Online backup. This is actually a good idea because physical disasters can happen to your home. And when that happens, you will always have a copy in a place not affected by the disaster. This is why businesses usually have one backup in the premises and one (or more) off premises. The good thing about online backup is, it's accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. So if your notebook fails when you're away from home, you can still retrieve your data.

Many of these services are reasonably priced and they provide you with everything you need to get the backups safely transfered. But because your data will be on someone else's system, choose a reputable company, one who is not only established but takes customer data confidentiality very seriously.
Network attached storage. This would make more sense if you have several computers. They allow you to not only backup several computers' data into one location but also ability to share or retrieve files from that central area. You can also achieve a similar effect equipping an older computer with a large hard drive and use it just for storage or backup.

Backup to CD or DVD. This is considered the safest for long term data integrity. External drives and network storage can still crash and prone to virusses. CD's and DVD's are also inexpensive. But backing up to disks daily is chore as you'll find yourself having to manually pop in the disks. It becomes even more hard work when you have a lot of files and your backup spans several disks. The other problem with this method is, backup utilities that come with your operating system cannot backup to a CD or DVD drive. So you'll have to fork out extra cash to buy a third party backup software that will.

No backup solution is one hundred percent and what you choose of course will depend on how you work. If your data is really important to you, try not rely on one backup source. Create two separate sources if you can afford to, just in case.

Computer Components for Idiots

There are many fancy add-ons for computers, but the basic components of the computer are simple and universal. If 1 of these main components is missing, its not a computer.The 4 essentials of every computer system are: a motherboard, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory, and a hard drive. These components are installed in a case to which are attached a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. Thats your basic computer.

Mother WHAT?
The motherboard ("mobo" for short) is the foundation. Everything attaches to the mobo -- the CPU, memory, hard drive, monitor, mouse, keyboard, add-on cards, even additional peripherals like printers, scanners, and speakers. The motherboard is like the nervous system and skeleton of the human body -- it provides support for the internal components and also passes information between the computer parts.

CPU
If the motherboard is the nervous system, then the CPU is the brain. Most of the mathematical manipulations that make computers operate are done by the CPU. Other components may also have their own processors, but their results still have to be passed through the CPU.The speed of the computer is usually measured by the speed of the CPU. Even though other factors also affect overall speed, the CPU rating is generally seen as the single most important measure of performance.Modern CPUs are usually rated between 2.0 GHz and 3.0 GHz, although each passing month will see increasing performance. This measurement refer to the number of calculations the processor can make in 1 second. The higher the number, the faster (better) the computer.CPUs generate a lot of heat doing this work, so they need a heat sink and fan to keep them from overheating. Heat is a major enemy of the computer and directly affects its life span.

Computer Memory
RAM (Random Access Memory) is the part of the computer that stores information the computer needs while it is operating. It is Random Access because the computer can get the data in any order, not necessarily the order in which it is stored. Generally speaking, the more RAM the better. 512 to 1024 megabytes is common for memory.The most common type of RAM these days is DDR-SDRAM, which stands for double-data-rate synchronous dynamic random access memory. We already know what the RAM part means. DDR means that the data is accessed twice as fast as ordinary RAM.The latest type of RAM is DDR2. It offers even faster access rates and is quickly becoming the standard for computer memory.

Hard Drive
All the data contained in RAM is lost when the computer is turned off, so there has to be a place to store it permanently. This is what the hard disk is for.It holds the computers operating system. An operating system like Windows uses around 4 gigabytes of hard drive space. The extra space is used to install computer programs and to store your personal data.80 gigabyte hard drives are common, but 400 GB units are available. Furthermore, you can install more than 1 in a computer case for added security and convenience.

Peripherals
All you need to complete the basic computer system is a monitor, keyboard and mouse.Accessories like a printer or scanner are useful for office work, and gamers will probably want to add speakers and joystick controls.So there you have it. The basic computer needs just 7 major components. For the best performance, these components must integrate well. The motherboard is the most important component for determining the type and specification of the other parts. Choosing an appropriate mobo for your computer needs is the first step and may require a quick call to your local geek. Soon YOU will be considered the local geek!

How a Computer Operates

The average person who uses a computer on a regular basis doesn't think about what happens inside a computer once the power is turned on. As long as their version of MS Windows pops up within a few seconds, most people are quite content to continue on with what they want to do on their computer. A computer goes through many processes from the moment the power is turned on before its operating system (ex. Windows, Linux) is fully loaded and takes over.

The operating system is stored on the hard disk of a computer. It is stored on the hard disk because this type of storage is much less expensive and an operating system requires a large amount of storage space. So, in order to make computers more economical, they are designed to use a combination of ROM, DRAM, and hard disks. An explanation of each follows.

Once the power switch is turned on, the "boot-up" process begins. To "boot-up" a computer simply means to start it. Electricity then flows through all of the chips and their circuits. The instructions for what the computer is supposed to do next are found in the Read Only Memory, Basic Input/Output System (ROM BIOS). ROM is memory that can only be read from and has information that is permanently burned into it. It is nonvolatile and will not be lost or disappear once the power is turned off.

ROM BIOS or just BIOS, is designed to begin giving commands as soon as it receives power. The BIOS contains an entire set of instructions, in effect a computer program written into the chip that manages the boot-up process. Without the BIOS, the computer would not know what to do next. The first task that BIOS completes is to make sure that all of the hardware components are working properly (for example: disk drives, external buses, the mouse, the printer). This is called a power-on self-test (POST).

After the POST is complete, the BIOS activates other chips on different cards installed in the computer (SCSI and graphics cards) and provides a set of low-level routines that the operating system uses to interface to different hardware devices such as the keyboard, mouse, printer, etc.Once the POST is complete, the BIOS hands the next stage in the boot-up process over to the central processing unit (CPU). The CPU is a one chip processor or microprocessor that has two distinct capabilities:

1. The CPU carries out all of the mathematical and logical operations including basic math and comparisons of two or more numbers.

2. The CPU has the ability to intelligently manage the flow of instructions and data going into and out of its circuits.

The last instruction that the ROM sends to the CPU is to go to a specific location or address to find its next instruction. An address is a string of numbers that gives directions to where something can be found, much like an address on an envelope. Computers use addresses to keep track of information much the same way as the post office uses them to find residences and businesses. The bigger the number in an address the more locations it can refer to. Most current computers use a 32-bit address space for memory, which means that there can be over four billion separate locations to hold information.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

The instruction that the ROM BIOS wants the CPU to carry out is sent through a chip on a bus (a set of wires) to the address specified. The data bus is able to carry information into and out of the chip within the CPU. The information is not available within the CPU so it has to look elsewhere. The CPU then sends the address on another bus called an address bus. When the CPU does this, it is called a fetch.

The address bus is "fetching" information from elsewhere within the computer. The address bus is only able to carry instructions out of the CPU.The address bus fetches information from the computer's memory. Memory is a type of silicon chip that can hold instructions or data. This type of memory can be read from or written to by the CPU, but this type of memory or Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) is volatile. Once the power is turned off, the DRAM looses its memory or information. Since the DRAM is basically a blank slate, the CPU has within, a set of sequential instructions as to where to look for the required information.

Before the address bus can get to memory, it has to pass through a set of chips called a chipset. The chipset refers to a group of chips that provide an intelligent interface for the core components of a computer - CPU, memory, graphics, I/O system, described as core logic or glue logic. If the information that the chipset requires is not in memory, the chipset then sends or redirects it to the Input/Output (I/O) bus. The I/O bus connects the chipset to other places where the information is stored, such as the hard disk. The hard disk allows the CPU to read from it and to write to it. The hard disk is non-volatile so it retains its data or information once the power is turned off. A hard disk is much slower at retrieving data from than memory but memory is much more expensive.

Once the hard disk receives the address (via the I/O bus and chipset), it retrieves the information and sends it back through the chipset and then puts it on the address bus back into the CPU. The chipset functions as a bridge for the two buses; the I/O bus and the address bus.

The CPU uses a four step sequence: fetch, decode, execute, and store. Since the CPU does not retain its memory, it has to obtain its information or fetch the information from elsewhere within the computer. To help with the speed of the process of fetching, the CPU has a pre-fetch area to make the information available more quickly.

Once the information has been fetched, it has to be decoded. Part of the decoding process of the CPU is to decide which circuits are appropriate to use for executing the instructions. Once that decision has been made, the CPU begins to execute the instructions. The part of the CPU where the actual execution of instructions takes place is called the Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU). The ALU includes groups of transistors, known as logic gates, which are organized to carry out basic mathematical and logical operations. Logic gates are grouped into electrical circuits that execute the CPU's instructions such as "add" two numbers or "compare" two numbers.The final step of the CPU is to store the information.

This final step takes place after the ALU completes its calculations. The results of the calculations are stored on a chip that has an area called a register. Registers can be accessed more quickly than any other kind of memory but are only for temporary holding (storage) of information.

The CPU also has a clock within it to keep the timing of all of the flow of information and processes of the computer. This clock is vital to the synchronization of all of the processes of the computer. This CPU clock controls all of the operations on its chip. The processes of the CPU can also be interrupted by an external interrupt controller chip which is part of the chipset. The chipset contains a small database of interrupt vector (numerical table). When an interrupt signal comes onto the chip, the CPU saves what it is doing and goes to the interrupt vector to find the address of the instruction that the interrupt is telling it to execute instead. Once it is finished with the interrupt, it goes back to what it was doing. The CPU finds what it was doing in a register called a stack. If interrupts were not possible, the CPU would have to complete one task before it could start another causing the speed to be greatly reduced.

Now that the CPU has found the operating system, loaded it into memory, the operating system takes over and the computer is now ready to be used by its owner. The user can now check email, play a game, or do whatever they wanted to do when they started the computer.

How To Upgrade Your PC

Before you upgrade your PC hardware its best to search all options and ask for advice. Only after this you can go and buy a new component. Its also useful to check if you really need an upgrade.

Do not upgrade your very old PC because it would cost a lot of money. Its cheaper to buy a new computer in such cases because they are easier to upgrade later.upgrading the hard drive:

The majority of people do not really need to upgrade their hard disk, unless they use it for playing a lot of music, movies, and games. A 20 GB hard drive is sufficient to keep new office and internet applications, and all your files and data.

A medium sized hard drive would be around 40 GB and the maximum would be around 60 80 GB.
Before upgrading your hard disk its best to do a complete disk checkup including disk scan, defragmentation, etc. If you happen to be an average user and need more storage you can add an additional drive to the existing one. Before an upgrade, be sure to back up your files.

Upgrading the RAM:

RAM or Random Access Memory is the short-term memory of the PC. It keeps data that is being worked on now and may or may not be transferred to the hard drive that represents the long-term memory of the computer.

Current processors can perform an enormous number of operations per second. The hard drive, on the other hand, is significantly slower to handle so much information. This is where a high-speed RAM memory comes in. RAM needs a power supply to keep data. Once the power is turned off the data is lost.

Almost all PCs have 64 MB RAM and often 128 MB. If you want to run newer applications on your PC then you must upgrade to 128/256 MB RAM.

A lot of people who upgrade from 98 to Win 2000 discover that their computers lock up very often. This is because they don't have enough RAM.

CPU upgrade:

If you choose this upgrade, you will have faster execution of instructions but it leaves the RAM and hard drive capacity unchanged.

This sis the most cost effective upgrade and can increase the efficiency of your computerconsiderably. Seek a professional help before you take a decision.

Motherboard:

Upgrading motherboard is not such a good proposition unless you replace the CPU and the RAM as well to achieve greater performance levels. You upgrade the motherboard either because the current one doesnt support a faster CPU or the CPU requires a different socket. It could be very expensive. Think about buying a new PC.

Ports:

Ports are sockets at the back of your computer where you plug in external devices. Older PCs work on parallel ports. If you need to work a lot on peripherals such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, CD burners, and scanners then you need to upgrade to USB and Firewire ports if you are not using them already.

Both tend to be cheaper than the parallel and SCSI devices they replace. Always make sure that there are no compatibility problems with other devices in your PC when you plan to upgrade any hardware on your machine.

Data Recovery: Beginners Tips

Right now you probably in a lot of mental pain, and all youre concerned about is recovering your data as quickly as possible - so well refrain from comments on the wisdom of regular back ups. The time for preventative measures has gone - the issue at hand is data recovery.First - a simple tip could save you a lot of money. Take out your rolodex and get hold of your tech-savvy friends. If youre in luck, theyll offer to help, and if youre really lucky, they might even have some disk recovery software.If youre out of luck, then get out your wallet or purse out now because this is going to cost you. Also, be prepared for a lot of time being wasted - data recovery can take a long time.The first thing to establish is what exactly is wrong with your hard disk:* Either your computer wont boot up, or* Your computer boots up OK but you cant see one of your other drives.Lets see if we can eliminate the worst scenario. Listen closely to your hard drive - is it making any sort of weird noise, such as scratching, scraping, ticking etc?If so, then your drive is physically damaged and the only hope that you have is to take it to a data recovery service where experts might be able to get your data off for you. These services are expensive and time consuming - so you need to make a judgement call as to the value of data on the disk:If its only your saved game data or downloaded music files you would like back, youre probably better off kicking yourself for not backing up, and accepting the data loss.If, on the other hand, its a book or other type of information product that youve been working on for years, then send it to a data recovery service for an evaluation and quote - it usually costs nothing.If your hard disk sounds OK, then you stand a decent chance of recovering data yourself.First youll need to download some software to help you out.Unfortunately, the better software utilities are not free, but the good news is that many allow you to try them out to see if they can access the data. There are some freeware products available but generally speaking these are not easy to use - no user interface little documentation, or they are not very effective.Your next steps will be based on how your hard drives were setup:* If you only have a single hard drive that has not been partitioned or split into different logical drives, youll probably need to attach the hard drive to another computer that has enough space to store all your data. This can be quite technical so if you dont have the skills please get a computer savvy friend to help out.Another option is to purchase an external USB hard drive case. You can then simply slot the hard drive into the case and plug it into another PC using a USB port.* If you have a multiple drive setup and your computer boots up fine, then it will merely be a case of getting the downloaded software to read the files and then copy them to another drive - provided you have a drive with enough space on it. If not, youll need to attach the hard drive to another machine with enough spare capacity.* The scenario where you have a multiple drive setup, where the problem drive is the one that contains your operating system files is more tricky.

Data Recovery: The Importance Of Testing Disaster Recovery Plans

A saturated number of companies are relying too much on the data recovery plans that they have. They falsely think that their data recovery measures are working just fine when in fact, no one knows for sure just how they work or how they are implemented. The issue is not about the data recovery itself. The trouble lies in the reality that no single person is tasked to take action in the event of data loss and thus no proper plan is set up to be followed through.Testing data recovery plans is considered risky by many since it usually involves simulating complete system failure, a scenario no one wants to get too acquainted with. Loss of data as a result of a minor glitch in data recovery could very well lead to a substantial amount of data mining work.Its really quite sad that for many businesses, disaster recovery is a measure that only garners attention after some major catastrophe, like computer viruses, terrorist attacks, or natural calamities.The September 11 attack on the World Trade Center made a great impact on the data recovery industry. Subsequently, several large companies looked on to data mining and data recovery as a worthy investment for their money.'Initially and quite rightly, there was a gut reaction from many organizations to take a serious look at their disaster recovery plans, but investment has now levelled off as these plans have reached a more acceptable level', Bill Pepper, head of security risk management at Computer Sciences Corporation said. Data recovery software Veritas outlines in their recent survey that about 97 % of respondents affirmed that system outages are their biggest problem but only 72 % have recovery plans, which they never even tested. This serious deficit in maintaining truly effective plans could expose the careers of many. A lot of company board members are already in trouble because of this failure to keep their data recovery plans in top condition.Head of business continuity at LogicaCMG, Jeanette ONeil explained that a process has been placed at board level to ensure that the board has the legal burden of assessing companies for any data recovery risks. This process would be executed via the Turnbull Report, which also contains the Code of Conduct and Ethics on Corporate Governance.To seal success in this venture, the people responsible made it so that the board would be committing a breach in its legal obligations if they fail in providing a detailed understanding of the risks and potential losses involved with the plans used, and miss coming up with a solution for business continuity.And yet, despite all these measures taken and even with todays technology, no program or software for data recovery could ever be considered fool-proof. Disaster recovery boards are only there to keep data loss and damage at a minimum.

The Surprising Items Found At Some Online Stores

Following any such online search, the shopper does not head home hungry and exhausted. After an online search, a shopper typically sits at home. Some of the items available in online stores cater to the needs of a home-bound shopper. A facial cream might be greatly desired by an online shopper. Such a shopper might feel shy about exposing his or her face to public view. Such a shopper might want to purchase the chemicals used in an Obagi blue peel. Those chemicals are designed to treat facial skin. Other online skin-care products can aid the healing of a body part far from the face. A product called "Spa" found at an online store, contains tiny beads. By applying those beads to the feet, one can obtain smoother and softer feet. Not all health care products sold over the Internet promise a treatment for the skin. The Global Healing Center offers a product called "Oxy-Powder". The makers of that Powder have promised that it can assist with the cleansing of the colon. Clearly, the items on the Internet can clean one's body on both the inside and the outside. Yet not all of the chemicals sold in online stores come packaged in a health-care product. Some of the chemicals sold online are purchased as part of a business to business transaction. ChemaZone company, for example, offers online access to chemicals intended for laboratory use. They are chemicals that can aid the efforts of agrochemists, biochemists, biologists, chemists, medicinal chemists, researchers, scientists, and experts in life sciences and the pharmaceutical industryBusinesses that rely on the Internet want online access to stores that sell their needed products. That fact leads to the appearance online of some strange items. Printers, for example purchase a great many items from online stores. Since printers must often check the pH of their ink and paper, they purchase pH papers from online stores. A store with sweet-smelling soaps can be found by conducting an online search. In addition, the online shopper can purchase many different types of jewelry with just a tap on his or her "mouse". Loops, charms and birthstone jewelry can all be found in one or more of the pictures in an online store. An ailing online shopper might want to buy a home diagnostic test. A depressed shopper has the ability to seek out an online "cure" for his or her depression. That cure might be some type of sex toy, or it might be some exciting piece of sports memorabilia.

Purchase rare chemicals at Kevin Dark's new online shop

Searching for a Legitimate Internet Home Business

A general search for an Internet home business opportunity from a major search engine yielded 11,800,000 possible results. Indeed an overwhelming number of results to sort through!The sad fact is that many of these so called Internet home opportunity vendors represent an opportunity for one person and this of course is, you guessed it, themselves. While you certainly can find a legitimate and promising business opportunity on the Web, just how do you tell the real from the pretend? Below are the most commonly asked questions about the legitimacy of business opportunities, and their answers. The first question, which should certainly be asked, is where you can get the company pre sale document of disclosure. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that a business offering a franchise or business opportunity must provide prospective buyers with this document.The FTC does not insist that the firms keep these documents available to the public. This makes them less than easy to find. 13 states in the USA do keep the franchise papers on file. 26 states require that anyone having a business opportunity to sell must file a disclosure statement. These files are available to anyone who wishes to look at them if an appointment is made to review them or make copies right there at the office where they are stored. In California franchise documents are available online. What savvy potential Internet home business opportunity buyers want to know is where they can find out if complaints have been filed about the company, and the dirty details of those complaints. They also, logically, want to know if the complaints have been resolved. The unfortunate answer, is there is not a good database, either through a state or federal agency, local municipality or private organization. Lovely, huh?The FTC and the Better Business Bureau keep track of complaints but it is quite easy to change business names and locations once complaints stack up and go start up again some place else. Once in a while you will see stories, just like this, on the evening news.The best protection is the FTC franchise rule that requires that firms provide potential buyers with the names, addresses and phone numbers of ten other buyers of this Internet home business opportunity. These must be the ten closest to you. This is a good rule.It is important, for your own investigation into the authenticity and soundness of this internet home business opportunity, that you call these business people and inquire about the firm they bought. What is also important is that you visit each business location, even if at their home.Doing the above will reveal a lot. Fraudulent business opportunity sellers frequently line up friends and family to handle calls about their bogus business success. Under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act any person who makes a request is entitled to all information on the potential Internet home business opportunity that the FTC currently has on file. Another good resource is the Business Franchise Guide, often found in law libraries. This discloses guidelines of each individual state and the U.S. federal government on franchisors and business opportunity vendors. Naturally, every state will be, at least, a little different.


James M. Lowe writes original articles about http://usercash.com/go/1/9429/http://www.contenttomarket.com/">home business issues.