Proyek Lintas Generasi Microsoft

Microsoft nampaknya sedang mengerjakan kampanye lintas generasi. Pada akhir pekan ini di konferensi nasional American Academy of Pediatric (AAP) di San Fransisco. Microsoft menyelenggarakan acara ini dalam rangka untuk memberikan pendidikan kepada para dokter anak ini tentang bagaimana cara menjawab pertanyaan orang tua tentang keselamatan anaknya di dunia maya. Adrienne Hall, Direktur dari Trustworthy Computing, mengatakan kepada News.com bahwa lebih dari 750 orang dokter anak mengambil bagian dalam menjawab 10 pertanyaan kuis mengenai anak dan Internet untuk kemudian memperoleh secara cuma-cuma copy Vista.

Para psikolog ini mendapat banyak sekali pertanyaan dari para orang tua mengenai keamanan dalam mempergunakan Internet. Seperti yang diketahui bersama kekhawatiran tentang penyalahgunaan Internet bagi anak kecil dewasa ini meningkat. Hal ini menunjukkan mulai tingginya tingkat kesadaran para orang tua mengenai penggunaan Internet.

Kampanye ini tentu saja sangat membantu Microsoft dalam mempromosikan fitur ‘Parental Control’-nya yang terdapat pada Windows Vista. Sekaitar 18 bulan yang lalu, Microsoft dengan AAP telah membuat sebuah peraturan mengenai pengaturan batas usia dalam pemakaian Internet untuk anak. Peraturan itu pulalah yang kemudian diadopsi ke dalam pengaturan ‘Parental Lock’ oleh Microsoft melalui Windows Vista.
Selain itu pada hari Minggu yang lalu, Microsoft juga menyatakan telah bekerjasama dengan kota Miami untuk menyediakan pelatihan komputer gratis di seluruh kota. Dalam kerjasamanya dengan pihak Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft juga telah memberikan paket yang mudah digunakan oleh orang tua, seperti printer, PC dan notebook.

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Menganalisa Situs Web dengan Web Log

Kadangkala kita melupakan web log yang sebenarnya merupakan petunjuk bagi kita mengenai eksistensi sebuah web. Web log sendiri sebenarnya sudah disediakan oleh layanan server-server. Adapun web log sendiri di dalamnya berisi berbagai informasi berharga yang memantau perkembangan situs-situs web.

Web Log

Web log merupakan sarana yang mencatat pengunjung yang mendatangi situs web. Data yang dicatat sangat beragam dan berguna, mulai dari alamat situs (URL) hingga informasi browser dan sistem operasi apa yang dipakai. Setiap web log mencatat sebuah informasi mengenai setiap pengunjung website dan mengumpulkannya setiap hari untuk kemudian disajikan baik dalam bentuk laporan, grafik, gambar, dan sebagainya. Sedangkan untuk kuantitas data, sangatlah tidak mungkin untuk menganalisis efektifitasnya tanpa mempergunakan software Web Log Analyse.

Web Log Analisys Software

Ada banyak sekali aplikasi web log. Salah satunya, yang bersifat bebas dan gratis adalah AWStats. Versi terbarunya dirilis pada bulan Juli yang lalu, diiklankan mendukung domain-domain baru level atas, seperti .jobs dan .mobi. AWStats ini dapat dipergunakan dengan memakai dua macam server paling terkenal, yaitu Apache ataupun IIS.

Banyak jasa layanan web hosting yang menyertakan AWStats sebagai aplikasi cuma-cuma yang dapat diakses langsung dari masing-masing web site. Kalaupun web hosting yang Anda pakai belum menyediakan fasilitas AWStats, maka Anda dapat mendownloadnya secara cuma-cuma dan menginstalnya pada komputer Anda. Jangan lupa juga untuk mendownload file web log ke server Anda. Selain itu juga jangan lupa mengintall Perl, karena AWStats dibuat dengan menggunakan bahasa pemrograman ini. Untuk versi gratis dari Windows disediakan ActivePerl Standart Distribution dari Active State.

Menganalisa Web Log

AWStats sendiri akan menampilkan barisan data informasi mengenai website traffic laporan kunjungan dari bulan ke bulan berikutnya, seperti banyaknya pengunjung, halaman yang dikunjungi, bandwith yang dipergunakan, juga bagaimana cara mereka terhubung dengan situs Anda, apakah terhubung secara langsung dengan mengetikkan alamat situs pada browser, ataukah melalui bookmark, atau arahan dari situs pencarian (Web Search). Biasanya data-data ini didukung pula oleh diagram atau chart yang menggambarkan data tersebut sehingga akan lebih mudah dipahami.

Untuk sebuah situs, cara termudah untuk meningkatkan kunjungan adalah dengan menambahkan garmbar-gambar yang menarik dan relevan pada sebuah situs web. Untuk sebuah situs web e-commerce, banyaknya pengunjung atau visitor adalah kunci yang menentukan kesuksesannya. Cara lain untuk meningkatkan jumlah pengunjung adalah dengan Global Search Engine. Banyak pemgunjung yang biasanya dijaring dari arahan situs-situs pencarian ini, karena jika pengunjung tidak tahu alamat situs yang berkaitan dengan informasi yang mereka cari, maka mereka akan mencari melalui Global Search Engine tersebut. Adapun beberapa contoh situs pencarian yang terkenal antara lain adalah Google dan Yahoo.

Cara termudah lainnya untuk menganalisa situs web Anda adalah dengan cara pemakaian counter (penghitung pengunjung) dan jasa analisa dari situs layanan web analis. Jika Anda ingin mengetahui analisa perkembangan web site Anda, maka hal pertama yang harus dilakukan adalah membuat titik awal pembanding yang dapat diperoleh dari data awal web log, atau counter Anda. Setelah itu Anda hanya perlu memperbandingkannya dengan bulan-bulan berikutnya. Dengan begitu akan mudah dipantau sejauh mana pesatnya perkembangan situs web Anda.(dna)

Sumber: Computing.co.uk

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Aplikasi Internet untuk Orang Buta

Orang yang mengalami kebutaan pada matanya, ketika akan menggunakan computer pada umumnya dibantu dengan software screen-reader. Namun untuk membeli software screen-reader biayanya cukup mahal, sekitar lebih dari USD 1.000, sehingga terkadang mereka tidak bisa duduk seperti orang biasa di perpustakaan atau di warung Internet (warnet). Kini, sebuah program dengan dasar Web terbaru akan membantu para orang buta untuk mengubah situasi tersebut.

Program yang ada di web tersebut bernama WebAnywhere. WebAnywhere dikembangkan oleh mahasiswa lulusan ilmu computer dari University of Washington, Jeffrey Bigham. Tidak seperti software lain yang harus diinstal di PC, WebAnywhere adalah sebuah aplikasi Internet yang dapat membuat Web dapat diakses oleh orang yang buta.
Bigham berharap bahwa orang yang buta akan dapat mengecek waktu keberangkatan pesawat di computer Airport, merencanakan naik bis dengan rute yang diinginkan melalui computer di perpusatakaan, atau mengetik email dengan cepat lewat Internet. Untuk mendapatkan WebAnywhere, orang yang buta harus mengaturnya untuk online, yang mugkin akan bertabrakan dengan computer yang tidak siap untuk memberikan feedback verbal kembali. Namun, Bigham menemukan dalam penelitiannya, bahwa WebAnywhere, yang khusus digunakan oleh orang buta tersebut, akan tahu trik keyboard dan kapan harus bertanya untuk bantuan.

Sekali WebAnywhere online lewat Internet, orang yang buta dapat surfing menggunakan browser WebAnywhere, yang dapat dihubungkan ke halaman web dan kemudian menyuarakan isi artikel dalam halaman tersebut dengan keras, selama computer memiliki speaker atau headphone. Program WebAnywhere juga dapat melompati bagian judul, tab, chart atau membaca halaman dari atas hingga ke bawah.

Lindsay Yazzolino, mahasiswi buta berusia 19 tahun dari Universitas Brown, yang bekerja part time di University of Washington, mengungkapkan bahwa WebAnywhere merupakan improvisasi besar dari total kekurangan akses public selama ini. Yazzolino, sangat senang dengan fitur yang dimiliki WebAnywhere dan beberapa keystroke navigasi halaman di dalamnya, terutama karena program WebAnywhere tersebut gratis digunakan.

Bigham mengharapkan orang lain dapat membuat improvisasi dengan program WebAnywhere, dengan membuatnya sebagai open source yang akan mengundang orang-orang yang suka bermain-main dengan kode dan terbuka untuk programmer dari mana saja. Richard Ladner, professor di fakultas ilmu computer University of Washington, menginginkan ada search engine komersial yang mau mengadopsi modul WebAnywhere, dan suatu saat nanti Ladner berharap, orang buta juga dapat mendisain halaman web mereka sendiri. (h_n)

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Kursus Online Membuat Web

Perusahaan pencipta browser Opera, Opera Software ASA, Rabu (09/07) lalu, telah merilis rencana pembelajaran online yang gratis untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan siswa dan professional pengembang web yang berkunjung ke situs mereka (http://www.opera.com/wsc/), untuk membuat standard website.

Opera Software ASA mewujudkan rencana tersebut dalam usaha untuk melakukan pendidikan dalam pembuatan web standard dan training dalam sekolah sekunder, college, universitas dan bisnis. Untuk itu, Opera telah membuat kurikulum Standard Web online, yang menyediakan detail informasi dan pelajaran mengenai desain web serta pengembangannya menggunakan coding program standard. Menurut Thomas Ford, manager komunikasi Opera Software ASA yang berlokasi di Oslo, mengungkapkan bahwa kurikulum atau rencana pembelajaran online tersebut sejauh ini memiliki 23 artikel, dengan lebih dari 30 pengunjung unik datang setiap harinya.

“Kurikulum ini dapat digunakan untuk standard mengajar desain web, karena selama ini kami melihat banyak material yang ada sudah kadaluarsa atau kurang lengkap. Oleh karena itu, kami ingin sesuatu yang mudah untuk dipahami.”, kata Ford. Siapa saja dapat menggunakan material kelas web desain iini secara gratis selama mereka tidak menjual kembali material tersebut.

Menurut Opera, artikel dalam kurikulum online standard web ditulis oleh pengembang web yang telah berpengalaman dan juga ahlinya, termasuk Christian Heilmann dan Mark Norman "Norm" Francis dari Yahoo Inc., Peter-Paul Koch dari Quirksmode.org, Jonathan Lane, Linda Goin, Paul Haine, Roger Johansson dari 456bereastreet, dan Jen Hanen. Opera Software ASA mengharapkan, dengan adanya artikel mereka, maka dapat membuat komunitas baru yang akan membantu promosi dari kurikulum online ini.

Selain kursus online yag gratis, browser Opera juga dapat didownload gratis dalam situs Opera. Menurut vendor analisis statistic web, OneStat.com, terdapat sekitar 0,55% user yang menggunakan broser Opera, dengan hasil 83,27% untuk IE, 13,76% untuk Firefox, dan 2,18% untuk Safari. (h_n)

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Telepon Murah Bahkan Gratis Menggunakan Skype versi 4.0

Skype, pembuat teknologi telepon murah bahkan gratis telah meluncurkan skype versi 4.0. Pemimpin web komunikasi Skype memulai pengujian kepada masyarakat umum pada hari Rabu pada software terbaru untuk membuat percakapan telepon menjadi murah atau gratis.

Tes versi 4.0 memperbolehkan para pemakai untuk menempatkan foto yang lebih besar dari versi sebelumnya, untuk mendorong pemanggil untuk lihat dan dilihat.

Skype 4.0 juga menyertakan corak untuk para pemakai yang mengerti tentang teknis yang dideteksi oleh setting komputer, ketersediaan bandwidh dan koneksi audio atau devices video untuk membuat menjadi lebih mudah.

Skype megizinkan pemakai untuk berkomunikasi dengan dunia internasional, di kebanyakan negara biayanya gratis dan menghubungi dari komputer sky-equipped atau telepon ke landlines atau menelepon pada tingkat tarif yang murah. Skype mendapatkan penghasilan sebesar $382 juta pada tahun 2007 dan Wall Street analis mengharapkan puncaknya pada tahun 2008 ini sebesar $500 juta.

Selama usia tahun ke-5 pelayanan Skype telah terhitung 309 juta pemakai mulai dari akhir Maret, dan 12 juta para pemakai bersama pada jam sibuk setiap hari. Para pemakainya dapat mengirimkan dari komputernya pesan cepat dan pesan teks ke telepon, berbagi data besar atau bercakap-cakap via telepon video.

"Para pemakai Skype sedang berkomunikasi di banyak gaya berbeda, sering pada waktu yang sama," yang dikatakan Josh Silverman, veteran eBay eksekutif dimana sebagai President Skype pada tahun ini.

"Kita pikir ini adalah waktunya untuk perangkat lunak untuk turut serta," seperti yang dikatakan oleh Silverman." Sekarang video sungguh membawa semua gaya komunikasi itu." lanjutnya.

Pertumbuhan ketenaran video-call itu telah berlangsung, di samping fakta bahwa versi Skype perangkat lunak yang ada membuat fitur video susah untuk ditemukan. Para pemakai harus memulai dengan panggilan kepada seorang teman, kemudian tekan tombol find untuk menambahkan video untuk panggilan.

Michael Bartlett, Direktur Skype produk manajemen untuk Windows, berkata Skype insinyur sudah merancang teknologi kompresi data yang memungkinkan percakapan suara dengan kualitas yang kaya, bandwith percakapan yang diperlukan minimum 2 kb/s dan untuk video 6kb/s.

Versi 4.0 mengambil keuntungan dari kecepatan rata-rata lebih cepat sekarang dapat mencapai kecepatan 256 kb/s atau lebih baik, ia berkata. Untuk full screen video calls skyp 90 kb/s idealnya, ia menambahkan.

Skype akan memposting artikel lebih lanjut di dalam webnya, para pemakai windows diharapkan menguji Skype versi 4.0 di webnya.

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Raih Posisi 10 Besar Pertama Search Engine dengan SEO

SEO atau kepanjangan Search Engine Optimization merupakan ilmu untuk mengoptimasi website/blog kita agar dicrawl atau diindex oleh robot/spider. Sekitar 80% pengguna internet di dunia memanfaatkan Search Engine (bahasa kita: mesin pencari) yang sampai saat ini masih gratis. Sisanya orang tahu informasi dari situs berita, iklan, blog pribadi maupun perusahaan dan lain-lain. Lalu, bagaimana langkah-langkahnya? Hm… ini yang sulit. Lebih tepatnya sulit-sulit gampang. Sulit kalau belum paham, mudah kalau sudah paham dan menerapkan. Anda musti paham apa itu Optimasi OnPage dan Optimasi OffPage.

Pertama, Optimasi OnPage. Itu berarti web Anda di optimasi dari pagenya/halaman. Prinsip dasarnya begini:

Judul Halaman, itu berarti judul halaman Anda harus ditulis dengan keyword incaran Anda. Penempatan judul halaman berada di setelah Head (), sebelum body () di header website Anda.

Nama Domain/tempat file/nama file, ini berarti nama domain yang Anda pakai harus sesuai dengan keyword yang Anda tuju. Misalnya: http://www.kerajinan-murah.com, http://www.palapa.web.id/kerajinan-murah.html, , http://www.palapa.web.id/toko/kerajinan-murah.html, dsb.

Meta Tags, untuk penempatan meta tags ini biasanya diletakkan setelah Title (. Penulisannya harus hati-hati, jangan sampai ada pengulangan kata-kata. Misalnya mau mengincar keyword “kerajinan murah″ jangan sampai diulang jadi: kerajinan murah, murah kerajinan, ke rajinan murah….dst. Ini malah bisa dianggap SPAM oleh Search Engine.

Isi halaman, header tags. Search Engine senang dengan header tags untuk judul halaman H1 dan H2 untuk subjudul.
Tebal, miring, dan garis bawah; katanya lagi sih bisa juga mempengaruhi SERP.

Content original, nah, yang ini yang sulit. Bagi sebagian orang, termasuk saya yang tak bisa menulis banyak karena waktu terbatas, bisanya menggunakan jurus yang bisa ditendang (dibanned) Search Engine: copy paste. Hehehe… So, sebisa mungkin, buatlah artikel sebanyak-banyaknya dan seasli-aslinya. Kalau perlu merangkum juga tak masalah. Yang penting jangan sampai copy paste tanpa ada editan, apalagi tanpa mencantumkan sumbernya. Ini jelas-jelas melanggar etika berinternet. Jangan mengaku-ngaku kalau itu tulisan buatan Anda sendiri.

Link yang berhubungan. Ini biasa disebut link exchange atau barter link. Misalnya, web saya tentang ’kerajinan murah’ dan blog si Yanto tentang keyword ’kerajinan’, maka kami berdua bisa bertukar link. Tapi jangan sampai kebanyakan, nanti malah dianggap spam. Maximal 25 link di satu page/halaman web.

Footer halaman, yaitu link yang mengarah ke halaman web kita yang berada di paling bawah situs web kita. Ini juga sangat mempengaruhi (pengalaman pribadi). So, kalau mau bertukar link (link exchange) utamakan di bagian footer saja.

Lalu bentuk optimasi yang lain adalah Optimasi OffPage. Maksudnya adalah mengoptimasi link web Anda di situs lain. Mudahnya begini, ketika link Anda terpasang di sebuah situs yang ramai pengunjung, apakah lantas mempengaruhi trafik ke situs Anda? Tentu saja iya. Situs Anda akan ramai pengunjung. Dan Search Engine akan senang kepada situs yang ramai dikunjungi orang. Anda dapat memasang link website Anda di direktori-direktori web, iklan baris gratis yang ramai pengunjung, website autopinger, dan lain sebagainya. Coba Anda kunjungi blog saya (www.arhan.web.id), di sana terdapat daftar iklan baris gratis, direktori web dan tips-tips lainya.

Oleh : Irham Farid Hidayat
Content Contest 2008 © beritaNET.com

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Pemanfaatan Energi Ombak Sebagai Pembangkit Tenaga Listrik

Untuk bisa melangsungkan hidupnya, manusia harus berusaha memanfaatkan sumber daya hayati yang ada di bumi ini dengan sebaik-baiknya. Akan tetapi penggunaan tersebut haruslah mempunyai tujuan yang positif yang nantinya tidak akan membahayakan manusia itu sendiri.

Kenyataanya, Indonesia memiliki garis pantai terpanjang kedua setelah Norwegia. Sayangnya potensi energi pantai yang ada belum banyak dimanfaatkan. Masalah yang terjadi dalam kebutuhan manusia adalah kesenjangan antara kebutuhan hidup serta persediaan energi. Seperti saat ini kebutuhan akan minyak semakin turun, dikhawatirkan 5 tahun mendatang kebutuhan akan energi akan habis, lalu bagaimana dengan nasib anak cucu kita nanti? Oleh karena itu perlu adanya pemanfaatan energi sumber daya hayati yang perlu dikembangkan saat ini.

Sumber daya hayati yang ada di planet bumi ini salah satunya adalah lautan. Selain mendominasi wilayah di bumi ini, laut juga mempunyai banyak potensi pangan (beranekaragam spesies ikan dan tanaman laut) dan potensi sebagai sumber energi. Energi yang ada di laut ada 3 macam, yaitu: energi ombak, energi pasang surut dan energi panas laut.

Salah satu energi di laut tersebut adalah energi ombak. Sebenarnya ombak merupakan sumber energi yang cukup besar. Ombak merupakan gerakan air laut yang turun-naik atau bergulung-gulung. Energi ombak adalah energi alternatif yang dibangkitkan melalui efek gerakan tekanan udara akibat fluktuasi pergerakan gelombang.

Energi ombak dapat digunakan sebagai pembangkit tenaga listrik, seperti saat ini telah didirikan sebuah Pembangkit Listrik Bertenaga Ombak (PLTO) di Yogyakarta, yaitu model Oscillating Water Column. Tujuan didirikannya PLTO ini adalah untuk memberikan model sumber energi alternatif yang ketersediaan sumbernya cukup melimpah di wilayah perairan pantai Indonesia. Model ini menunjukan tingkat efisiensi energi yang dihasilkan dan parameter-parameter minimal hiroosenografi yang layak, baik itu secara teknis maupun ekonomis untuk melakukan konversi energi.

Oleh: Iftitah Nafika
Penulis adalah mahasiswa jurusan biologi FMIPA Universitas Negeri Malang (UM)

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Content Artikel Gratis Untuk Blog

Saat ini content artikel sebuah blog merupakan andalan para pemilik blog untuk mendapatkan pengunjung situs sebanyak-banyaknya. Namun untuk secara rutin menulis untuk blog anda, tentu tidak mudah untuk dijaga konsistensinya. Untunglah saat ini ada teknologi mail to blog atau blogging from mail. Yang telah diketahui memiliki fasilitas ini adalah blogger.com dan multiply.com. Lihat demonya di alamat URL http:/ /berita-berita-berita.blogspot.com , http://berita-b log.blogspot.com dan http://ber itanet.multiply.com/journal . Situs-situs tersebut adalah situs yang diperbaharui melalui mekanisme mail to blog yang ada di penyedia jasa blog tersebut masing-masing. Mungkin di penyedia jasa blog lain juga disediakan namun dengan istilah berbeda. Pada kedua situs tersebut, masing-masing akan diperbaharui contentnya bila ada post pesan baru di milis/newsletter beritanet.com secara otomatis (auto publish option diset aktif di kedua blog tersebut). Setiap pesan milis akan diforward dan diupdate ke kedua blog tersebut. Guna mendapatkan berita dari milis beritanet.com, cukup dengan berlangganan newsletter www.beritanet.com, gratis. Yang digunakan saat mendaftarkan adalah alamat mail to blog yang diberikan oleh penyedia jasa blog anda. Contoh: usernameku. kodeku@blogger.com , atau kodeku@use rnameku.multiply.com. Silahkan anda cari situs langganan newsletter atau mailing list yang gratis dan gunakan alamat email mail to blog anda. Jangan lupa sesuaikan tema blog anda dengan tema newsletter yang hendak anda langgani. Dengan menggunakan fasilitas mail to blog maka blog kita akan ter-update setiap waktu secara otomatis dan gratis.(/roy)

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Discounts and Cash Back Savings When You Shop

A weak dollar means higher prices for gas and electric, food staples such as rice, wheat, and dairy products like milk and eggs. This has been the case over the last year as we observed on a daily basis how prices have increased substantially, leaving many to speculate how to affordably prepare for their next shopping day.
Now, for the first time consumers have an ally against rising prices. A new company, MyWorldPLUS offers a discount membership that saves people money at over 175,000 retailers worldwide plus online shopping that allows people to earn up to 10% cash back at over 600 online brand name stores.
Their members use a special Discount Card to save hundreds of dollars every month on things that they are already purchasing, including amusement, meals and travel.
The company requires a recurring membership fee which is minuscule to the tremendous monthly benefits to be derived from participating in their discount program. As a member, you can start saving money immediately upon joining MyWorldPLUS. In fact you can save many times over your monthly fee every month, simply by taking advantage of their special offers.
Also, the Discount Card offers savings all over the world, and you can even save money on casual dining while you're on a vacation at your favorite destination.
If you have ever purchased something online, for example clothing, electronics, or even a gift basket, then with the MyWorldPLUS membership, you will have the ability to earn cash every time you make a purchase at any one of the over 600 online stores.
The company uses a unique personalized link to track all of your online purchases and pay you Cash Back shopping rewards. Isn’t that great? Now you can save every time you shop.
This is an amazing way that its members earn extra income from the comfort of their home. By joining MyWorldPLUS, you will have full access to thousands of dollars worth of everyday savings and discounts at over 175,000 stores all over the world.
Learn how to use their discount rewards products to maximize your savings every month, and how to utilize the marketing tools to share the MyWorldPLUS opportunity with others. For more information click http://inet.MyWorldPower.com.

from: articlesbase.com

A Millionaire Guides Of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is something that many webmasters know how to do. They know what it is about, and what it takes to be successful. However, if you are new to the webmaster world, you may just be wondering how you can get into affiliate marketing and making an income on the side for yourself. Doing so is not that complicated, and we have created this guide to get you started.

First of all, lets cover just exactly what affiliate marketing is. Affiliate marketing is when you sell or get leads for someone else's service or product. You are going to find that there are so many people that do this. When a company needs some help making sales, and they allow people to sign up as affiliates, they are willing to pay a commission or a flat rate per lead or sale. Depending on the company, this percentage or flat rate will vary.

Affiliate marketing can be used to make a decent income several ways. You can use a website, a blog, newsletter, email, ads etc. The list goes on and on. However, the most popular form of affiliate marketing is done with a website. When you choose the market that you want to promote, be sure that you choose one that you are some what familiar with.

This way you can become an expert on the topic, and everyone will know that you are the king of that market. Once that is done, it is time for a URL. There are many places that you can get your own domain from. Once you have decided where you will purchase that from, choose a URL that has the topic you are selling in the URL for the best results. For example, if you are wanting to market cat food, you wont use a URL that has dog in it. Make sure that everything is all relevant.

Now that you have your market and your URL chosen, you will want to determine the hosting that you will use for your website. You need dependable hosting for the best results. A hosting company that has more up time than down time is best because during the down time, your website will not be accessible. So, get some recommendations from others that have tried a few and use the best that you can find. It is worth it to pay for good hosting.

Once that is done, you are ready to get your affiliate links and website set up so that you can market the most effectively. Determine the amount of money that you want to make, and set up an outline of how you are going to make it. There are so many ways that you can get a website out there to be seen, and you will want to make the best decisions. So, finding out the best ways for you to do this is that is cost effective is a good start.

Learning SEO which is also known as search engine optimization is a great idea. Using SEO to get your site higher in the search engine rankings with keywords will pay off in the end. You can learn it yourself, or you can pay someone to do this part for you. It is up to you. However, you should know that learning and using SEO yourself is time consuming. Hiring an SEO guru might be better for you.

Write articles about the market that you are promoting from your website and submit them to all of the article directories. When you include a back link to the site that you are optimizing that will help you as well with the search engines.

Affiliate marketing is not anything that you can make money with over night. You need to be able to build up and keep adding to your website daily or weekly, and keep it going. You can do it, just don't give up.

from: articlesbase.com

The Basics Of A Commercial Mortgage - get money from trade

A commercial mortgage is a mortgage for a building that will be used for business. Commercial mortgages are like a residential mortgage, but can differ in a few ways. Commercial mortgages are a little riskier than a residential mortgage. They are not for someones home, but rather for business use, usually a start up business which in and of itself produces a risk to the lender.

Commercial mortgages require the same steps as a residential mortgage. However, with a commercial mortgage if the business has an established line of credit separate form the individual business owner, then the businesses credit is used to secure the loan.

Commercial mortgages can have a fixed or variable interest rate. A fixed rate will stay at the same percentage for the life of the loan. A variable rate will change as interest rates change. With a fixed rate the benefit is that a person will always know the cost of their mortgage payment, however, a variable loan allows a person to take advantage when rates drop, immediately.

Fixed rate mortgages though can be refinanced when rates drop and therefore the rate will be fixed at that lower rate. The choice can be difficult and should be discussed with the lender to ensure the best one is chosen for the circumstances of the business.

When applying for a commercial loan a business owner should make sure they have all of their financial information prepared and documentation ready for when they meet with the lender. If it is a start up business then they will need their personal financial records. They will also need a comprehensive business plan including business finances.

If the business is already established and has its own line of credit then the business owner will only need to provide the businesses financial information. It is best to be prepared with income taxes from the last two years for both the business and business owner.

Commercial mortgages are pretty much a lot like residential mortgages. The basics of the mortgage terms are the same. The main difference is the documentation used. When applying for a commercial mortgage a business owner needs to ensure they are well prepared to offer the documentation to prove their business is going to do well or has been doing well.


from: articlesbase.com

Mortgages, Tips to Getting the Best Deal

The credit crunch has bought good and bad news for home buyers. The good news is that house prices are sliding, bringing homes within the reach of first-time buyers. The bad news is that mortgage loan conditions have tightened up so much that only those with the largest deposits and the cleanest of credit records stand a good chance of getting exactly the loan they need.

In fact despite no change in base rate since the 0.25% cut in April, fixed-rate, tracker and discounted rate mortgage costs have been rising - not for existing customers but for those looking to arrange a new mortgage or a remortgage. Inflation fears, thanks in large part to the soaring oil price, have sent money market interest rates, on which many of these mortgage deals are based, sharply higher.

Getting the best mortgage deal

If you are not a first-time buyer and are thinking of moving, you probably have some equity in your property from past years' rise in prices. So, unless you bought your current home very recently, you should still be able to move your mortgage without difficulty. While you may get less for the sale of your present home than you might have done last year, you will also be paying less for your new house.

Unless you are trading down a long way to release equity, the general fall in prices should mean that things will even out in the end. You might even find yourself paying less stamp duty if the fall in prices brings the cost of your new home below one of the tax thresholds.

Hard times for new borrowers

The prospects for new borrowers are not so rosy - and this applies to first-time buyers, existing borrowers whose current deals are coming to an end and anyone needing to move house whose current deal is not "portable", so they will need to take out a new loan.

Over the past few years, fixed-rate mortgages have been all the rage, because even with the arrangement fees that they attract they have worked out cheaper for borrowers. People who opted for short-term fixed rate deals felt they could easily find a new, and maybe even cheaper, rate when their first deal came to an end. Indeed, some people found it tempting to cash in existing mortgage deals and suffer an early repayment penalty because it could be cheaper to remortgage at a lower rate.

Mortgage arrangement fees are higher

To make matters worse, fees are also jumping. According to recent research, the number of fixed mortgages with high fees has rocketed by as much as 1,368% in the past 18 months, as lenders get tough on customers looking for the best deals.

Some 323 fixed mortgages - 34% of the total fixed rate mortgage market - charged application fees of £750 or more. This compares with September 2006 - before the credit crunch hit the UK - when only 22 fixed mortgage deals charged that much.

Average application fees on fixed mortgages have risen by 66% over the same period, from £517.19 in September 2006 to £860.25 now. The highest fee on record 18 months ago was £1,499 on Halifax's two-year fixed mortgage for homeowners with a 25% deposit or more.

But now the Halifax charges a fee of £3,999 on a three-year fixed deal for its existing customers who have homes worth between £500,000 and £2 million.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have shown that, ironically, fixed-rate mortgage deals grew in popularity in April, with the proportion of borrowers taking out a fixed-rate mortgage up 5% to 59%, compared with 54% in March, the largest proportion since last December.

Go for a longer fix

However, anyone taking out a two-year fixed rate mortgage could be tying themselves in, not just to a deal with high fees, but to the prospect of paying out all over again in just two years' time. Darren Cook of analysts Moneyfacts, said: "With fears of base rate increases, swap at over 6.3% and rising, and lenders continuing to price more for risk, it is likely that mortgage rates will continue to follow suit. Under these uncertain times, many borrowers are looking to fix their mortgage payments and a five-year deal could become a preferred option rather than the popular two years.

"The current average rates for a two-year fixed deal stands at 6.68%, which equates to a monthly repayment of £1,029.75 on a £150k repayment mortgage. In comparison, the average five-year fixed stands at 6.66%, with a monthly repayment of £1,027.86.

"There is little difference between the initial monthly repayments of these two deals and, in my view, we have now seen the end of loss leading product pricing within the two-year market.

"With the short and medium term economic outlook not looking too promising, homeowners are less likely to move home due to falling property values and banks lowering the maximum loan to values available. There is now new scope for a borrower to possibly take a more prudent approach, to look past previously popular two-year deals and look for longer term stability."

Beware of tracker mortgages?

It seems like only yesterday that mortgage experts were telling everyone to go for tracker loans. Fixed rates were going up, but the Bank of England base rate - to which most trackers are linked - seemed likely to fall.

The experts are changing their minds, or maybe the pessimists have louder voices, as economists are now warning that the Bank of England base rate may need to increase to keep inflation under control. Opting for a tracker loan could be a bit of a gamble until the outlook for base rates seems more certain.

Bigger deposits attract the best mortgage deals

In its report the CML warned that lenders need not only to pass their own higher borrowing costs on to borrowers, but they also need to protect themselves in case house prices fall further. Therefore some lenders have been putting up the cost of mortgages for borrowers who can put down only a small deposit.

According to Moneyextra.com's most recent monthly review of the mortgage market, the average loan-to-value (LTV) being considered by first-time buyers in May was just under 82%. However, many lenders are routinely restricting borrowers to loans of no more than 75% of the value of the property they want to purchase, while some will only offer their "best" rates on 60% LTVs. There are now none of the plentiful 100% loan deals that were on offer at the start of the year.

Robin Amlôt, senior editor of Moneyextra.com, said: "First-time buyers are being pushed out of what's left of the housing market - being asked for deposits that could run to several tens of thousands of pounds."

The CML said that new buyers put down an average of 13% during the month, the highest figure since November 2004 and up from 11% in March.


from: articlesbase.com

How To Save Money By Knowing More About A Mortgage Company

Before you decide on which mortgage company to provide your home loan, you need to know more about the inner workings and how they operate. This will enable you to know more about who you are dealing with, what loan packages they can offer, and the general terms of those packages. With some good basic information, you will be able to better understand what you can get, and if there are any issues that are not clear to you, you will be able to ask the right questions, all of which will enable you to decide if the loan is suitable for you.

Minimum Requirements of Mortgage Loans

It is important to note that the lender will stipulate minimum requirements on the funds used for mortgage loans, and in turn, the mortgage company is obliged to use follow these requirements.

The key lenders are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. If the mortgage company is using these sources for the funds, then their requirements apply to the company's loans. The FHA and VA insure loans also specify the requirements on loans they insure. If a mortgage company is using these programs, then they must comply with the specifications for these programs.

Federal and state laws have certain mortgage requirements too. The mortgage loan company is a middle-man and they are obliged to ensure that requirements in all directions of loan sources are met.

How is the percentage rate calculated? It is computed by adding some charges that the borrower has to pay back as a yield to the investor and is shown in the form of an increased interest rate.

Within the specifications of regulation Z on refinancing and second mortgage loans, there is a three-day waiting time after the loan closing before the money can be disbursed. This is called the borrower's "right of recision", and the borrower can change his mind and decide not to go through with the home loan deal. This is meant to give the borrower time to know the true annual percentage of the mortgage loan. In some situations, the home buyer may feel that things have been misrepresented to him. However, mortgage companies do not have such a right and they are obliged to conform to the loan agreement.

Buying a Commitment

Buying "forward commitments" on money to use for mortgage loans is what allows a mortgage company to stay in business. These commitments are purchased for a specific length of time. Sources for this money vary, and subject to the commitment, the mortgage company is obliged to fulfill the prerequisites of the lending source with respect to the movements in the interest rates. The mortgage company may be required to deliver the loans to fill the commitment at the stated yield, even if the prevailing market rate is below that yield. Another option is a commitment that may alter to the present market rate.

Originating the Loan

The process of taking the mortgage loan application from the borrower, processing all papers and documents in order to obtain, and subsequently closing the loan is what is called "originating the loan." A fee is charged by a mortgage company for this "originating," although this fee generally covers only the cost involved. The origination fee is not a big money-making aspect of the mortgage loan business. The FHA and VA set the maximum amount that can be charged for the origination fee. If the mortgage loan money is sourced from a state or county bond, the maximum origination fee will most likely be predetermined.

Knowing how the mortgage companies operate is important because it will help you know who you are dealing with, and most importantly, decide what is best for you.


from: articlesbase.com

Home Financing Tips for Home Buyers

Interest rate is one of the most important considerations for a home mortgage loan. Recent trends indicate show that interest rates not only have increased slightly, but will continue to increase over the years.

When it comes time to buy your home, it's only natural to be a little concerned about interest rates and whether the rates will increase before a home loan closes. Fortunately, there are some steps prospective home owners can take to prevent your home interest rate from skyrocketing and keep your monthly payment from becoming a shock situation.

When you first make an offer on a home, the mortgage loan officer will ask whether you'd like to "lock in" your interest rate. There are lots of options for locking in the interest rate, and the whole premise can seem a bit confusing. What exactly does lock in mean, how much will it cost you and what how long should you lock in?

A rate lock is an agreement you make with the lender to keep the interest rate fixed over a period of time while you loan documentation is processed. Standard lock in periods are 30, 45, 60, or more days. When you lock in an interest rate, you are paying a fee to guarantee the interest rate. The longer period of time you lock into, the higher the fee.

Buyers experience anxiety when they try to figure out if they should lock in, and for how long. There's no way to guarantee what will happen with interest rates, either short term or long term. In general, when interest rates have been increasing, instead of staying flat or decreasing, it's better to lock in.

Lock in fees are calculated as a percentage of the house sales price. These fees are called "points". One point is one percent of the purchase price of the home. As an example, a lender may charge a quarter or half-point to lock in an interest rate for 30 days (actual fees will vary).

If you've worked with a mortgage broker prior to finding a home, chances are you are either prequalified or preapproved. When you let the mortgage company do the work before hand, the loan will probably close faster. Your agent or broker can give you an estimate on the amount of time you'll need to close, and help you determine how long to lock the loan in for.

There's no reason to feel anxiety about the interest process in home financing. Interest rates are still quite low, and simply by locking into your interest rate you can keep guarantee that the loan will close with the interest rate you want.


from: articlesbase.com

Get to Know Fha Advantage in Mortgage Loans

Going for a mortgage loan, do not forget to do a brainstorming session. Mortgage loan can be short term or long term. Its interest rate may be fixed or variable or a combination of both. Loans may be offered under schemes. These schemes may be offered by bank or Federal Housing Administration or some agency backed securities. Most probably you will find this entire process mind boggling and preferred way will be to take help of some agency. Professionals from the agency will help you in

• Creating a financial plan for your house payment

• Find out your credit score

• Reviewing your outstanding debts

Based upon your credit history and requirements, professional will find a solution for you. Do not forget to check the FHA option. FHA insured loans are good for first time buyers and have many plus points over conventional mortgage loans.

The FHA or Federal Housing Administration came into existence in 1934. Whole objective of this administrative unit was to help families of lower income and middle income segment of the society. So that their dream of having a small place called sweet home is realized. Job of the agency is twofold on the one hand it provides protection to borrowers from devilish mortgage lenders, on the other hand it takes care of mortgage lenders from defaulters.

Agency acts like an insurance agency and is not a provider of lending services. Agency insures the loans that borrower can obtain from lender. The lender has to be one from the list of approved lenders by the agency.

When you borrow a loan that is insured by FHA, you have many advantages

• Lenders will be comfortable in reducing mortgage rates of these loans.

• Small down payment

• Small origination fees

• zero penalties for prepayment

• mortgage insurance

• Financial assistance at the time of closing.

Down payment on this type of loans is normally 3 percent and these loans are available as fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgage loans.

How do you qualify for FHA insured loans, check you eligibility yourself or take some professional help. Some of the criteria that will make you eligible for such loans are

• Credit history of the prospective borrower should be good.

• Borrower should have a source of stable income.

Under certain schemes, you may be eligible for FHA insured mortgaged loans even if you have poor credit rating. Take professional help to find out in detail to know better Fha mortgage rates.

Under certain conditions, FHA may offer mortgage loans under some rehabilitation projects. To find out more about these schemes visit their website or take professional help.

In this age of internet, do not forget to cross check your quotes from different service providers in the field of mortgage and loans. Post your queries online and satisfy your doubts before taking the final decision.

from: articlesbase.com

Mortgage Refinance : Pros and Cons

Mortgage refinance is mechanism that allows a person to exchange his or her present debt obligations with the new set of debt obligations. Mostly refinance will result from lowering of interest burden or extension of term of maturity of the mortgage. Home refinancing is the most common type of refinance in the mortgage services.
Why would one like to refinance? Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of the Mortgage refinance.

Advantages

It has been found out that there are many reasons for mortgage refinance, which include

• Lowering the interest burden
• Extension of repayment time
• Paying off debt
• Reduction of risk

By refinancing the mortgage at lower interest rate will help the borrower in lowering his monthly burden and substantial savings. If the borrower wish to change his financial priorities, extension in the payment schedule may prove helpful. This can be achieved by refinancing at an extended period.

Refinance may help you pay off your other debts. In the personal financial planning it may be necessary to pay off high interest debt like those of credit cards. Refinance may help you out of the situation.

Refinance may save you from volatile financial crises where interest rates fluctuate and may play havoc with the borrower’s financial planning. An example will be refinance from variable interest rate option to fixed interest rate.
Some time refinance option allows a person to have extra cash for investment opportunities.

Disadvantages

Refinancing also involves risks, before you exercise refinance option evaluate various penalty clauses against the benefits of refinancing.
Most of the fixes rate mortgages invoke a penalty clause on the early payment of the loan.
There will be a transaction fee for refinance, as soon as one takes the refinancing route.
Weigh the benefits of refinancing against the penalty and transaction fee. Learn Refinance Rates at your best knowledge from experts. If they sound good proposition only then take the refinancing step.

Points

Another important concept one must under stand is the concept of points. Points or premium is the percentage of total loan amount, which a person will have to pay upfront to the lender when he goes for refinance. Usually one point is equivalent to 1% of the total loan amount. This means if your refinance option asks for 2 points then you will have to pay 2% of the total loan amount as upfront money. Most lenders provide many different combinations of points and interest rates, exercise caution while choosing these combinations. As a rule one getslower interest rate by paying more points.

Types

There are two broad categories of refinance namely No-closing coast and Cash-out. No-closing coast refinance has very low upfront costs. It is beneficial in cases of refinance where current rate of interest and prevailing market rate differ up to 1.5%. Cash out case is owner can refinance with a larger loan and can keep the amount in difference.

Understand these concepts and take professional services for refinancing your mortgage loan, but do not forget to evaluate pros and cons.

from: articlesbase.com