Category Archives: General

Forex Trading: Is It Worth It?

Investors have naturally heard of the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq 500.  Perhaps they are familiar with index funds, the intricacies of IRA rollovers and a host of other investment strategies.  However, when it comes to Forex trading, many people are not as aware of the possibilities of this sort of investment – or that the investment strategies that served one well in the past might need to change.

First, a quick explanation of Forex market.  The foreign exchange market is actually the largest market in the world if one goes by trading volume.  The market specifically focuses on the buying and selling of currencies, bringing a whole new meaning to the term “money market.”  Trading is primarily conducted using a financial institution, though a few insurance companies also specialize in Forex trading.  Despite being the largest trading market in the world, very little is known about Forex trading by the average investor.  So naturally, the question arises:  is it worth it?  The answer, invariably, is yes.

One of the main reasons Forex trading is worth it is because of the high liquidity rate.  Investors are, after all, dealing with currency.  Trading happens by changing one form of currency for another.  Unlike other stock exchanges or investment products, there is no limit to which you can sell currency and no such thing as “insider trading.”  The market does not have commissions, unlike other brokerage firms, and trading can take place 24 hours a day except on weekends. That means for savvy investors, you are not limited to the standard working hours of typical exchanges.

Even better, while you might imagine all the currencies in the world leading to too much research and not enough time to accomplish it all, that actually isn’t true for Forex trading.  95% of all trades are actually made up of only a few currencies, and the ones most investors are familiar with are the primary investment tools.  If an investor is at all familiar with the British pound, American dollar or the Euro, that covers a good bit of what combinations and liquidity is available in Forex trading.

Forex trading also means that you get to take advantage of leverage.  A simplified way to understand this is to realize that leveraging your position means you can put down a smaller sum, but invest as though you were playing with a larger amount of money.  Obviously this comes with its drawbacks.  The payout, however, can be enormous!

Can small exhibitors succeed at large trade shows?

It seems that every year more trade shows are added to the calendar, each one bigger than before. The trend for large exhibitions in giant, cavernous venues appears unstoppable. And that’s fine if you’re a big corporate player, familiar with competing for attention on such a big stage. But what if you are a newbie in the business, still finding your feet in the cut throat world of commerce? How on earth do small businesses get themselves noticed at big corporate trade events? Well, it’s not easy, but it is possible. Here’s how the exhibiting minnows make a big splash at large trade shows…

Money spent wisely goes much further

The first bit of good news is that it doesn’t really all come down to budget. The big exhibitors all have their fancy display stands with fully interactive this and totally intuitive that, they have amazing lighting design, their brand and message is crystal clear and it all looks very professional. They throw a lot of money at their display stands but to be honest, the same results can be achieved on far smaller budgets. As long as you know what the key elements to a successful trade show stand are, you too, no matter how small, can play up there with the big boys.

Focus on a clear brand message, don’t over-clutter the stand, aim for a natural flow through the display, restrict to one or two colours, use clear, crisp graphics that instantly tell the right story. Small can be beautiful and with some investment in professional bespoke display stands there’s no reason you can’t achieve impressive results on a fraction of the budget. Necessity is the mother of invention and tight budgets can inspire more creative solutions, so focus on fabulous display stands such as RAL Display that pitch your product perfectly.

Make your small size an asset

Being small in a world of big operators makes you unique. Viewing your small size as a positive is very important and if you choose to highlight it as such, you’d be surprised at the results. For instance, exhibition venues often have smaller, less popular stands that they need to fill – sometimes they are in awkward spaces, sometimes they are right next to big stands, but if you play your cards right it could be possible to secure lower prices on great pitches simply due to your more delicate proportions. When it comes down to it, they are selling floor space and if you have a small footprint, then make the most of it.

Being small makes you more approachable to show goers. Work on the welcoming and warm aspect of a small stand and you’ll have people flocking in to see what you’ve got. Smaller stands can afford to be more daring with their displays, a maverick streak and a strong original identity will certainly make you stand out amongst the more staid regulars. Make the stand a happy and jolly place to visit and it will become known as the party stand – you’ll find a steady stream of visitors dropping by to check out what exactly you’re offering. And once you get them on the stand, floor them with your charm, energy and enthusiasm for your product. A true passion for what you are promoting is one of the most seductive selling techniques on the planet.

Chase the deals

Trade shows are the ultimate networking environment so you need to have your schmoozing head on at all times. Have business cards and contact details at the ready and gather as much information from leads as you possibly can. Major trade shows will have all sorts of people checking you out, from multinational retail giants to smaller independent outfits – it’s often difficult to tell them apart, so treat them all with equal care, attention and blast them with the positive plus points of your product. After the show is over follow up all sales leads as soon as possible. Never let the trail go cold – prospective clients should be able to remember you as soon as you call. The longer you leave it to chase up a lead, the less interested you look and the less appealing you are to any customer.

Small exhibitors can succeed at large trade shows if they focus on keeping it simple and direct. You may have to work harder initially to grab attention, but once you get visitors to stop by your stand you’ll be in a position to work your sales pitch to the max. With a stunning looking expo stand and the right attitude small trade show exhibitors can expect big results.

Fun App for Children

If you have kids just like I do, you know that children like to play all day long (of course provided that they aren’t tired or hungry). I have one toddler and another baby on the way, which makes me very happy and excited, because I know that my older one is almost big enough to play this game that can be found here: http://www.littleclever.com/101-animal-puzzles-for-kids/.

Even though you have to pay $1.99 for https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/101-animal-puzzles-for-kids/id909018119, it is nothing compared to how much fun your little one is going to have while playing. It is a real steal as the app provides hours of entertainment for all kids between 2 and 5 years old.

I hope that you are going to enjoy reading about https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.littleclever.toddlerpuzzles just as I enjoyed reading about the puzzle games presented there. Tell me what you think about the app because I am ready to listen what your impressions are.

How to Order Semi-Rigid Cables and Accessories

Shopping for semi-rigid cables and other types of electrical components can leave you scratching your head. Even if you know what you want and need for your project, you might find that some stores only offer products to those with a vendor’s license or a license to purchase products at wholesale prices. Other companies require that you make a much larger order than you can afford. Before you throw in the towel and forget about your project, find how you can easily order those cables and accessories.

Look for a Minimum Order

When you only need a few feet of cable for your project, ordering a large spool is a cost you don’t want to face. While you can always leave that spool in your garage or office, the chances are good that you won’t need any additional cable for years. A good store will offer a much smaller size order. These shops give you the option of ordering as little as five to 25 feet of different cable.

Ordering Online

When shopping online, you mainly want to look at the security of the site. The best online stores use encryption software that keeps all your information confidential. Some of the worst sites store your information and leave that info susceptible to hackers. A good site will also let you make an account and store personal information in that account, which makes it easy to place new orders later. Visit Amawave to find out more about ordering cables and components online.

Grease and Oil

We all eat all kinds of oils in our everyday diet, which is good for our bodies as they require a healthy intake of fat in order to operate at maximum capacity. I know that I feel so much better when I add more oil to my diet and make sure that I consume enough of it.

Oils are those substances that one can find not only in food, but also in many other places that require some lubrication. This is why food grade lubricants are commonly used by many industries out there such as the hydraulics industry that even heavily relies on food grade grease to make many of its components and parts completely operational. I could give you a lot of examples here, but it would be probably best if you took your time to find them yourself as they can be found in all sort of places all over the Internet.

One thing that matters for various industries is the fact that the oils they use need to be quality oils such as this food grade oil for example. This thing with this type of oil is that it is so good that it can even be consumed. This is one of the reasons so many industries out there don’t want to resort to mediocre oils, but prefer to use something that is high quality and something that will fulfill their role perfectly. Only that type of oils can be used successfully in the hydraulics industry and only they can ensure that the hydraulics equipment I am talking about here works flawlessly.

I could write a lot more on the topic of oils, but I guess the length of this post is going to be my limitation when it comes to that. I just want you to know that there is a lot more to oil then you might expect and it is good to be aware of that.

Importance of Minimalist WordPress Themes

Minimalism has with time become one of the most popular concepts in web designing. Keeping it simple, but not plain, has and continues to inspire Thousands of WordPress Themes.

Before we jump onto why you should consider a Minimalist WordPress Theme for your website, let us get familiar with what exactly is a Minimalist WordPress theme.

The Simplest definition of Minimalist WordPress theme is just a theme that keeps it simple. These themes use no colorful graphics or complex widgets, but rather a smooth design concept that is neat as well as inviting.

Therefore, a Minimalist WordPress theme will to that effect be a theme designed with simplicity at its core. The coder goes the extra mile to shed off unnecessary design elements that do not really add value to the functionality of the theme.

Here are some of the reasons why Minimalist WordPress themes are very important.

Enhancing the User Experience

The effect that a WordPress theme has on its users, determines on whether your website will be a hit or a flop.

You can invest thousands of dollars in creating great content for your website, but this may end up as a waste if your theme ruins the user experience. This is where Minimalist WordPress themes come in.

With a Minimalist WordPress theme, you get rid of all the annoying elements and focus on what is truly important, i.e. the content. A Minimalist WordPress theme is great at doing exactly that and this could lead to a boost in audience engagement as well as earning you more clicks to your Ads.

Need for Speed

Webmasters often give Keywords the priority whenever the Search Engine Optimization topic pops up. What most fail to consider is the importance of speed in determining how your website ranks on the Google or any other Search Engine.

These themes have the native advantage of speed. Since most resource intensive elements such as widgets are absent in this theme, much of the bandwidth is dedicated to loading up the content.

Speed has an effect on your website’s bounce rate as well as the ease of navigation. Minimalist theme gives the two the priority and thus you not only boost your Search Engine Referrals but also give some sort of incentive to your audience to visit one more webpage before hitting the close button.

Timelessness

Even though web design is a perpetual endeavor, it is important that you settle for a design that is timeless and will survive the test of time. One of the most appealing aspects of Minimalist WordPress Themes is that they are not tied down to the past, present, or future trends.

Just like a Gray Scale Photo filter, a Minimalist WordPress Theme installed today will still look clean and neat three or four years in the future. This is unlike other theme styles which lose their luster in a matter of months and the colorful graphics that can become irritating to repeat visitors.

Digital technology

Sports media has been revolutionized by advancements in digital technology as broadcasting has now reached beyond only cable or satellite TV. The Internet has become a popular platform for delivering games and events directly to fans all over the world. It is now expected that every professional sports club has its own website that provides a wealth of resources for fans. Taken to another level, websites of sports teams must be compatible with mobile devices in order to reach smartphone and tablet users.

Mobile technology plays a major role in modern sports media that reaches an audience beyond just TV channel subscribers. Smartphone users download apps to receive the latest scores, highlights and more of particular players or teams. To save money on precious mobile data, sports fans subscribe to social media outlets to receive such information. For example, most professional sports clubs or events have their own social media profile. Live updates of scores are posted on such social network channels. Regardless of where they are, smartphone users can stay updated on their favorite players and teams without burning up mobile data plans.

Traditional sports channels expand their customer base by creating virtual channels that are available online. Recordings and live streaming of games are usually available on Internet-based sports subscriptions. Members also get exclusive access to interviews, behind the scenes and much more. Some online sports channels are complimentary plans that are available for free to subscribers of TV sports packages. In an age of smart TV technology, sports channels understand the importance of seamlessly syncing traditional broadcasting with Internet-based content.

Social media is also a powerful platform for athletes, managers and coaches to connect directly with fans. Official profile pages of such sports figures are created and authenticated by the affiliated clubs, organizations or events. It is common for athletes to set the record straight using social media. Sports superstars often personally release certain information about injuries, contracts, training and other issues relevant to their sports career. Athletes also use social media to discredit or acknowledge certain rumors that are circulating online and in traditional media.

Some athletes are too busy to use social media on a daily basis. Managers and PR staff might take over responsibilities for officially managing social network pages of high-profile players. Similarly, some high-level executives of sports channels also use social media to make official public statements. A CEO such as Jed Drake and other executives are examples of sports media moguls who use social media on a regular basis.

Radio is another popular platform for sports media that has yet to fade away. Modern digital and satellite radio channels deliver live sports scores, interviews, play-by-play commentary and more. Radio sports broadcasting is typically available for a monthly subscription that includes hundreds of channels like music, politics, adult talk shows and more. Digital radio is also available in app format for mobile devices. Smartphone users can listen to live game commentary without having to spend excessive data when using the Internet in some cases.

Is your WAN Management a gamble?

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Being able to see what traffic is traversing your WAN in real time and historically is absolutely critical to understanding your network and subsequently, troubleshooting network issues. Especially when it pertains to issues with bandwidth utilisation or issues affecting application usage.

Have you asked your telecoms provider for this information, but still only get very basic percentage utilisation information, with no detail around top talkers and application growth?

Attend one of our free Webinars to hear how Aurora365 can affordably provide detailed WAN traffic information, allowing the following:

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  • Complete real time traffic monitoring across all users and applications
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Key Success Factors of a Data Centre Relocation

Data Centre Relocation (DCR), Data Center Migration (DCM), Data Migration, and Data Centre Consolidation (DCC) are essentially the same thing, and represent the logical or physical relocation of IT services and infrastructure from one hosting location to another. The nature of this relocation varies, as it may involve no movement of physical infrastructure, or comprise loading everything into a truck and moving it to the new premises, or anything in between.

The idea of moving a data centre, with all possible risks of hardware issues and loss of data, can be a rather trying moment for many web hosting companies. Besides the logistical considerations one has to account for in the physical relocation process, you must also reduce the risk of service interruption to ensure normal running of your operations.

For a successful DCR, and the associated transportation of IT infrastructure, you can trust Sunspeed Transport Services to get the job done. Sunspeed has years of experience in the industry, backed with their own polished processes and procedures to ensure that their client’s physical and technological investments are in safe hands throughout the moving process.

The following are some key success factors for relocating a data centre to a new facility:

Project planning and logistics

A data centre is a complex entity, and its relocation will impact your business users and customers, as well as your staff, partners, and vendors. So, a proper migration endeavour should push for the involvement of all stakeholders. You should not underestimate the number of servers the new premises will have to accommodate, or the amount of time it will take, the hardware required, and the skills needed to complete the job, when it comes to migration and consolidation. This is particularly important when assessing account application dependencies. Since there is no single software that can see all interdependencies, knowledge has to be gathered from all personnel managing the applications.

Checking power requirements 

Data centres built for modern equipment have a typical square foot wattage of between 150 and 300 watts, so you should find out whether the new facility has adequate electrical power. IT professionals often underestimate power requirements and costs, especially in cases where the facilities management pays the bills. A recent survey revealed that 68 percent of IT managers are not accountable for power costs pertaining to their data centre’s infrastructure. So, it is essential that IT and facilities staff communicate about their respective issues, as per their areas of expertise, in order to avoid any problems that may result in data centre migration and consolidation upheaval.

Upgrading infrastructure during the migration 

Generally, any changes undertaken during a migration increase risks and complicate the project. So, it is important that hosting companies address issues relating to standards, licensing, and the underling architecture, before consolidating their facilities. This is particularly important whereby a move or consolidation is aimed at drive server virtualization. While virtualization is a worthwhile project, it is very involving, and attempting to implement it during a migration would mean tackling two challenging tasks at the same time, which increases the likelihood of disaster. In short, you should try to limit any changes to a minimal during the move, unless they will make it easier to reinstall new gear in the new premises.

While the mentioned factors are critical for a successful data centre relocation, one other thing to consider is that there is no substitute for experience. A migration will probably happen one in the career of many IT professionals, so companies generally have no on-hand expertise. Unfortunately, IT knowledge is not enough to oversee a data centre relocation successfully, so you need professionals like Sunspeed to make the entire process successful.

PAC Web Hosting Summer VPS Hosting Offer

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) offers many advantages to the mobile business of today, but there are many considerations to bear in mind when choosing your hosting provider.

The first is the physical location of the servers. All communication with the server will have to go over the internet, and even a small reduction in the quality of the signal will lead to significant slowdown for you as a user. For this reason look for UK VPS hosting as a priority as hosting in other countries has the biggest slowdown on response speeds. For example a UK VPS hosting provider may have a ping (response time) of 30ms, a European VPS hosting provider 36ms, a USA VPS hosting provider 140ms and an Indian VPS hosting provider 200ms. Since every single character typed and mouse click needs to be transmitted to the VPS, even a small increase in the ping to Europe can present a noticeable degradation in performance compared to a UK VPS hosting provider, and the much larger increases in response time for the USA and rest of the world mean that while costs may be cheaper they represent a false economy, and the performance of the VPS will be significantly negatively impacted.

With that in mind, there is still a wide range of UK VPS hosting providers to choose from, and while there may be small increases in responsiveness to be gained by choosing one geographically closer to your main location generally your considerations at this point become the server technology available and the cost. Not all servers are created equal, so it is important to check the servers being used by the VPS provider to ensure that they meet the requirements for your business, and bear in mind that if your load demands are relatively low an old server will still be able to meet your needs without any degradation of service, while if you have high load demands the capacity and capability of the server will become a more dominant feature.

Once price becomes the deciding factor, check for any seasonal offers or similar relating to your chosen UK VPS hosting providers. For example, PAC Web Hosting (www.pacwebhosting.co.uk/offers) currently has a summer VPS hosting offer of 25% off your monthly payments for the next 6 months, or 15% off annual hosting, on top of their normal discounts for paying annually (currently 12 months for the price of 11). Seasonal special offers can make a big difference in the affordability of your chosen servers, and move a server that better suits your requirements into your affordable price bracket. Knowing your favourite UK VPS hosting providers previous offers can help you make a decision on the length of time you want to agree to a contract for so you are in a position to take advantage of any offers which they repeat in future years, to let you get the UK VPS hosting solution that best suits your needs at a price that doesn’t break the bank.