Try Using SMS to Market to Customers

The key to any successful business is its customers, after all without customers no business can survive. If your company is struggling to attract new, or maintain existing customers, you are probably in tricky financial times, with high stress levels and low motivation, which starts compounding the problems. The answer is simple, keep your customers happy and they will return, and typically, bring their stakeholders.

There are many ways to keep customers happy, some are short term solutions - a quick fix, but some can build strong, prosperous bonds that benefit both parties for years. The easiest way to stay in your customers’ minds is simply communication. Staying in contact with clients, even occasional contact with one time only clients, demonstrates your company is not just selling a product to as many people as possible without a second thought. Additionally it creates a more approachable view of your company and services, as well as hopefully reminding them of successful previous transactions with a view to possible future transactions.

Every business, big or small, communicates with customers in different ways, flyers, emails, letters etc. however few businesses are as technologically up to date as their customers. Text messaging has been around for many years, but really only took off in the last decade, however it is probably not one of the first communication method that springs to mind. SMS messaging is a perfect platform for communicating with customers, it is quick, cheap and can spread the word to as many willing customers as you can get!

The advantages of SMS communication is clear, for instance imagine you bought a product you really enjoy, be it a gadget, service, piece of art or whatever and you then received a text to let you know the next version is now available from the same shop. It would definitely leave a good impression in my mind and a call to action to get the new product.

If you’re customers did agree to receive promotional text messages just from your company but then unfortunately decided they would not like to receive further messages, they can easily opt out without feeling pressured or hassled.

Many business, no matter how technically advanced their products or services are, could benefit by communicating with customers via SMS. It is a polite and effective way of providing that extra bit of customer service that is a proven winning formula to successful businesses!
John Mce is an SMS expert writing on behalf of PageOne. Find out more about SMS customer communication to see how it could improve your business. PageOne offer complete SMS packages, for any business wanting to send bulk SMS.

Free Disk Space

Getting rid of these applications can also get back all important disk space. If you’ve deleted all you can and you’re still tight for space the alternative is to archive all your documents to CD or DVD. You might have documents that you want to keep and you can but there’s no need to keep them on you computer unless you use them everyday. Save them to a disc and store them somewhere dry and safe. This way you’ll clear space off the hard drive but not loose your files.

The other way to increase you hard disk space is to dump all the rubbish you might have collected over the years. Simply emptying wastebasket can reclaim a surprising amount of space. Also many PCs are sold with a dizzying amount of free or evaluation software that you might never have used or have no use for.

How to increase virtual Memory?

How to increase virtual Memory on My computer? I like to make fan videos On my computer, but i don't think i have enough virtual memory, and brother one day increase the memory so i was wondering how could i do it.

Usually running out of virtual memory means that you are running too many applications at the same time for your system or one of them is attempting to use too much memory. Increasing virtual memory is one way of compensating for lack of RAM. However, it's optimum should be set at 1.5 times the amount of RAM on your computer. Virtual memory can be increased, but it comes with a risk if you increase it too much as it can eventually lead to hard drive damage.
To increase VM on Windows XP (should be in similar locations for other versions) look in Control Panel: System, Advanced, Performance Settings, Advanced, Virtual Memory.

You can see if your computer can handle more RAM at http://www.crucial.com/index.asp
It's important to note that everything takes RAM. Not only security products (such as active anti-spyware, anti-virus and firewall) eat up memory but your operating system, active browser windows, running applications (such as Word, Gaming, Messenger, Photoshop, etc) and malware all compete for system resources. The presence of Malware (viruses, spyware, etc) will particularly eat up your system resources so you may want to run your resident security products such as antispyware and antivirus applications to ensure that your system is clean.
http://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070814090113AAhu5qd

SPEED: How To Increase Computer Speed

Speed is the name of the game in computers. I get requests almost daily from clients who want me to increase memory or some other upgrade to speed up their system . Interestingly, when clients watch me work on their “slow” system , I’m often asked “How did you do that so fast”? It's important to realize that how you use your pc is very key to how well your pc works.
Well, I’m going to clue you in to a few secret rules of system performance . At first you may not like the answer, but if you trust me and follow through you’ll be stunned at how “fast” your old system can go. Follow these rules, break a few bad habits and your personal productivity and enjoyment will increase.

The slowest moving part of your system system isn’t your system .With some exceptions, most system components move at a rate of performance that is almost inconceivable to humans. If your system was a car, you’d be able to travel faster than most airplanes. If your car could travel as fast as an airplane, could you drive it that fast? Not on todays roads! Your system will move only as fast as you can move it. The fastest and easiest way to increase your computers performance is to increase your operating performance . In most cases, the computer can easily keep up. Doubling your performance is easier than you think.

Mice are slow.This may be a bitter pill to take, but your mouse is slowing you down, holding you back and keeping you from excelling. He’s not your friend. While mice are necessary for some things most Windows functions can be done completely rodent-free.

The secret to speed is in the keys.I have a question for you - how long does it take to get to Tucson? Why does it take that long? The answer is - because you have to travel. How long would it take if you didn’t have to travel? That’s right, almost no time at all. When you use your mouse, it has to travel across your screen. That takes time and effort. Most things can be done by tapping 1 or 2 keys on the computer keyboard - and that is FAST.

Here’s an example - to open Solitaire with the mouse, you have to move around the screen and click [Start] then Programs, Accessories, Games, Solitaire. That takes time. CTRL+ESC Activates the Start Button Then just tap the first letter of each menu item in order. For solitaire tap P, A, G, S. Viola! Want to close any windows program? Instead of mousing over to that “X” in the corner, try holding down the ALT key (next to CTRL) and tapping the F4 key. ALT+F4 closes almost every computer program - including Windows!

Keyboard shortcuts take a little time to learn, but the improvement in speed is well worth it. Learn the computer keys and take control!
http://www.azcomputerdoctor.com/increase-computer-speed.htm

Internet Security Basics 101

Niall Roche

The explosive growth of the Internet has meant that thousands of people are today experiencing the joys of being online for the first time. With growth there always comes pain. Be it your growing pains as a child or the growth and development of this part of our culture called the Internet.

Firstly we need to quickly explain what the Internet is and where it came from. The Internet is the offspring of a military project called Arpanet. Arpanet was designed to provide reliable communication during global nuclear war. A vast network of interconnected computers was set up all over the world to allow the various branches of US and NATO forces to communicate with each other.

Nuclear war never came (thankfully) and the world was left with a massive network of computers all connected together with nothing to do. Colleges and universities started to use these computers for sharing research internationally. From there it grew and spread outside colleges to local homes and businesses. The World Wide Web was born and its father was a guy called Tim Berners Lee.

When you're connected to the Internet you're sharing a vast network with hundreds of millions of other users. This shared network provides resources that 15 years ago were never thought possible. Unfortunately when something is shared its open to abuse. On the Internet this abuse comes from hackers and virus creators. Their sole intent is to cause chaos and/or harm to your computer system and millions of other computer systems all over the world.

How do you combat this? You need an Internet security system. This might sound complicated but your Internet security system will be quite straigtforward being comprised of just 2 - 3 Internet security products. We'll look at each of these products in more detail now:

AntiVirus Software The first and most critical element of your Internet security system is antivirus software. If you don't have up-to-date antivirus software on your PC you're asking for trouble. 300 new viruses appear each month and if you're not constantly protecting your system against this threat your computer will become infected with at least one virus - it's only a matter of time.

Antivirus software scans your PC for signatures of a virus. A virus signature is the unique part of that virus. It can be a a file name, how the virus behaves or the size of the virus file itself. Good antivirus software will find viruses that haven't yet infected your PC and eliminate the ones that have.

Antivirus software can only protect your computer from viruses trying to infect it via email, CD-Rom, floppy disk, Word documents or other types of computer files. Antivirus software alone will not keep your computer 100% safe. You also need to use firewall software.

Firewall Software The use of firewall software by home computer users is a relatively new occurence. All Internet connections are a two way process. Data must be sent and received by your computer. This data is sent through something called ports. These are not physical things rather aspects of the way your computer communicates online.

Firewall software watches these ports to make sure that only safe communication is happening between your computer and other computers online. If it sees something dangerous happening it blocks that port on your computer to make sure your computer stays safe from the person who is trying to hack into your system.

An easier way to understand a firewall would be to picture your computer as an apartment complex. At the front door of this complex there is a security guard. Every person who enters the complex must pass this security guard. If the security guard recognizes the person entering as a resident he allows them to pass without saying anything. If, however, the person entering the complex is unknown to him then he will stop that person and ask for identification. If they have no business being at the apartment complex he escorts them from the building.
If you are not currently using firewall software your computer will get hacked into - that's a guarantee.

PopUP Blocker You can get a good popup blocker at no cost. An easy way to do this is to install either the Google or Yahoo toolbar. Both of these come with popup blockers built in. Popups are not necessarily dangerous but are a nuisance and using either of these toolbars will make your life that bit easier.

A simple rule for practicing online security is: "If in doubt then don't". If you don't recognize the file, the email address, the website or if your gut feeling says "no" then don't click that button.
About the author:This article was submitted courtesy of the Spyware & Malware Guide. This site is dedicated to spyware removal and just generally helping users keep their PCs spyware free.

How to Increase Your Computer Speed Fast

by: Gio Mangano

I'm sure you've come across tons of articles and even suggestions from some of your friends on how to get your computer to work faster. Its really not that hard to increase your internet speed. I'm going to make it real simple for you and you don't need to be a computer geek to make this work. The first thing you need to remember is to never, and I mean absolutely never download programs especially free software without reading the fine print. Most free computer software will bombard your computer with spyware which will eventually bring your internet speed to a screeching halt! If your computer is already infected with spyware you can download the leading spyware remover called ad-aware which will scan your computer and remove spyware and tracking cookies from your computer.

Another way of making your computer and internet connection faster is by clicking on start, then run and typing in msconfig. Go to start tab and remove any program except your antivirus software and any other program which you must have start when windows starts. This tip will increase your computer start up time dramatically!

Step number 3, and I do this almost on a daily basis is to clean up your internet cache. Go to your control panel which you can access from your start button and click on internet options. Go to temporary internet files and clear your history. I would recommend that you also set internet history to a maximum of 2 days. Next step is to delete your temporary internet files including offline content. Last step is to delete cookies. Be careful though because deleting your cookies will also delete useful information from your computer.

You can read a how to on cookies here www.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm.
These steps are the basics you can take which will speed up your internet connection immediately. I would also recommend doing a virus check on your computer on a weekly basis. If you don't have antivirus software, get it! You'll be happy you did. Just one virus can wreak havoc on your computer! Make sure you test your internet speed whether its broadband or dial-up, before and after you take these simple steps so you can compare if these steps you've taken have worked. Taking these basic steps will make you a happy surfer and will restore your faith in the World wide web!

About the author:Gio Mangano is the owner of http://www.bandwidtht1.comwhich offers Instant quotes on T1 Line and business DSL. Gio Mangano also publishes a blog on computer tips and tricks and improving your internet speed at http://bandwidthspeedtest.blogspot.com

Computer Accessories We All Want For Our New Computer!

by: Bonnie Archer

Printers A computer accessory we all need. From inexpensive ink jets to monochrome and color lasers, different printers are designed to do different jobs with your computer. You will have a few choices to make when getting your new printer: price, speed, and print quality are the main ones. Ink jet printers and digital cameras are changing how we print photographs. Load your printer up with special photo inks and paper and ink jet/bubble jet printers have become one of the best options for transforming a digital image into a photograph! For speed and razor sharp text the monochrome laser printers are fantastic.

Scanner This computer accessory is for input into your computer. Graphic designers will use a scanner often to input pictures etc. If you don't have a digital camera a scanner is the only other way to get pictures into your computer to email, manipulate, add to cards, etc.
Speakers These are computer accessories that most computers come equipped with. But some people like 'game players' want to upgrade for surround sound. You will find many different versions and brands.

Keyboard and Mouse These are also computer accessories that usually come with a computer system. Although most people will have to purchase new ones during the life of their computer. This is because they do not last as long as the computer system itself. Of course, it is dependent on how much you use them, how rough you are on them, and how clean you keep them.


About the author:Word count 258
Bonnie Archer is a successful author and webmaster of A1-Computers http://www.a1-computers.net