Charities Gaining from Online Tech Revolution

Project: Raise Your Voice is an Orange County based charity spreading the word about the worldwide dangers of HIV/AIDS. The charity itself, publicized by The Project Media Group, consists of a magazine, benefit events, annual mission trips to the war-torn countries of Africa and South America, and several other awareness spreading divisions dedicated to improving living conditions worldwide. But not to negate the relevance of the charity’s name, broad informational outreach must be attained if the cause of these individuals is ever to reach their ultimate aspirations.

Enter the world of technology we inhabit today. Personal contact communication is becoming obsolete and replaced by the immediacy of the digital data stream…and for good reason. The sheer amount of information at our fingertips is awe-inspiring whenever we grab a mouse and access the Internet. Though some corporations pay their outside sources thousands to ensure their visibility online, Internet searches are becoming more and more relevant to each personal inquiry made. As Yellow Pages and community bulletin boards enter antique shops, online publication is becoming an issue of growing importance. It is through this channel that charities such as Project: Raise Your Voice will make their name heard.

There are several avenues of exposure that come with little or no price tag on the Internet today. One such avenue is the social network known worldwide as Myspace. Myspace.com offers its members a place to create a free “website” of sorts that can be used to keep in touch with friends, and more recently, to act as free advertising in a corporate world in constant search of the “hip” marketing angle. For the young coordinators of Project: Raise Your Voice, this website has become one of its greatest public relations assets. Acting as the charity’s sole online presence at this time, Myspace has allowed thousands of users worldwide to gain knowledge about the actions and missions of this group.

Those enthroned in the world of non-profit business know, however, that public exposure is merely one ingredient needed for success. The reality of the situation is that non-profits and charities like the one mentioned above require substantial financial backing in order to perform at their peak potential. Yet again, the web has provided these groups with another set of solutions. Global payment service PayPal and non-profit powerhouse Benevolink.com are two perfect examples: showing how the newly aware public can make their donations without hardship.

Taking only a small percentage for the use of their financial services, PayPal is becoming more and more popular among those looking for avenues for charitable donation. By embedding a small piece of code into a homepage, web surfers can make one simple click and immediately be choosing their donation amount: instantaneously arriving in the bank account of the chosen organization. Similarly, Benevolink.com provides a way for patrons to donate a percentage of online purchase payments to the non-profit of their choice. Partnered with nearly every major e-commerce outlet on the web today, this service has provided a way for people to give charitably without hassle or additional cost.

These simple examples illustrate just how important the Internet is becoming to non-profits in the 21st century. Providing ways to reach out to their communities and ways for their communities to give back, the Internet has become an invaluable tool in bringing mission statements to reality. Joining forces on several levels, charities and the World Wide Web are quickly becoming a prevailing pair. It can be said with some certainty that non-profits and charities such as Project: Raise Your Voice will be putting the Internet to good use now and in the near future in order to ensure their success on the global playing field.

Audio Books Online You Can Read While You Listen

Perhaps there is nothing so relaxing like reading your favorite title with a bottle of beer to give you company. Your mind cries out for revenge as you read Shakespeare’s Othello or is mellowed out as you turn the pages of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of the Grass. But alas, the murderous rat race and the bursting everyday schedule have permanently prevented such simple luxuries. You just do not have the time to read any more. ‘Is there any other alternative to reading a book’, you ask yourself. Well, why not someone else reading it for you? All you have to do is listen. Great, isn’t it? Audio books online are in these days.

Although audio books online have come to stay for quite sometime now, few people have come to grips with it, fewer still indulge in such simple opulence. Thousands of websites beckon you for free audio book online, comprising fiction, non-fiction, classics and more. Even if you are bound to a very strict schedule, there is nothing to prevent you from listening to an audio book online and enjoying every bit of it sans the hassles of going through it page by page.

As the literary works are downloaded to your computer, you may listen to their content at the privacy of your home without any hindrance. No need to visit the local library or browse the archives to find your favorite title. No late fees levied for any delay in returning the book.

But what happens if you are always on the move. Those who are traveling sales persons or departmental heads, perpetually on the road, visiting clients and distributors. For them the answer is simple. As these online audio books can be easily downloaded to the computer, you may burn them onto a CD, take them along and listen while you are driving. No problem at all. Your car CD player will then literally read out choice fragments of Vladimir Nobokov’s Lolita as you press the accelerator down to the floor of the vehicle.

Another great advantage that audio books online offer is that they are reusable. In fact, you could listen to them as many times as you prefer, alone or in company of others, in the privacy of your home or while traveling in your car, any place any time of the day or night. No wonder more and more people are opting for audio books online. Websites are vying with each other to get the lion’s share of the profit earned from the sale of audio books online.

In some cases, nominal yearly membership fees are also charged by some websites, depending on the type of audio books you need. You may be overwhelmed by the extent of the availability of audio books online and the variety that is available. All for the benefit of the reading (or should I say, ‘read-listening’) public. The day is not very when audio books online may enter the hall of fame for escalating the world literacy.

New LANsurveyor from Neon Software - Network Management Software Maps, Monitors & Manages Easily and Inexpensively

Proven Network and Desktop Management Software Now Available for Windows

Neon Software Introduces LANsurveyor - Powerful Yet Easy to Use Network Management Software

LAFAYETTE, CA April 28, 2003 - Neon Software, Inc. announced today the immediate availability of LANsurveyor, version 7.1. The first release for Windows, LANsurveyor 7.1 helps network administrators and IT Managers visualize their networks, solve network problems and protect their networks from software audit risks.


Designed for small-to-mid-sized organizations and workgroups in large organizations, LANsurveyor documents, protects, manages and maintains networks. Macintosh network administrators and IT managers have used LANsurveyor for ten years because of its ease of use, excellent reporting, remote administration and monitoring.

"I use LANsurveyor because my network has over 4500 devices and I needed to be able to quickly and easily pinpoint the physical location of network problems," said Jeffrey Blank, Senior Network Engineer at Allegany County Public Schools. "No other product came close to automatically creating such a complete map, especially at this price point."

"LANsurveyor is unique because it provides four essential functions in a single, easy to use, and cost-effective application," said Craig Isaacs, president of Neon Software. "Only LANsurveyor delivers automatic network maps, asset management, and network monitoring along with remote administration and software distribution for small- to medium-sized organizations."

LANsurveyor is easy to install and operate. Unlike some solutions that can be expensive and require extensive training or a team of consultants to master and install, LANsurveyor installs quickly and easily scales to meet customer requirements.

LANsurveyor is comprised of two software components: the LANsurveyor application and Neon Responder clients. The application is installed on the administrator's PC, and Neon Responders are installed on the managed Windows or Macintosh computers. The components provide the following features:

Automatic Network Maps
The network map charts all IP-based network hardware, including desktops, servers, printers, hubs, switches, and routers. LANsurveyor scans a given IP address range and finds nodes using industry standard identification and discovery methods (ping/ICMP and SNMP) as well as specialized network requests for LANsurveyor's Neon Responder client software and Timbuktu and Retrospect clients.

Once network nodes are discovered, LANsurveyor compiles the information into a cohesive, easy to view network map with lines representing network connectivity and each node represented with an icon.

Asset Management
LANsurveyor allows administrators to create reports that include more than 100 different pieces of information. Backup Profiler, Software Inventory, and Software Meter are included as standard reports, and custom reports can be created for any combination of nodes and report fields. All reports can be exported to and viewed in Excel with a single click of the mouse.

Network Monitor
Any network node displayed on the map can be monitored with a LANsurveyor Poll List. LANsurveyor periodically sends network data and waits for a response and not only verifies that map objects are responsive but also provides statistics on how quickly the object responds. In addition, LANsurveyor alerts can send notification if map objects become unresponsive or become responsive again.

Remote Administration and Distribution
Administrators can remotely manage computers running the Neon Responder. There are ten management options available through the Manage Wizard, including shutdown/restart, send file/folder, store notes, send message, change password, quit process, and launch application.

About Neon Software
Neon Software has focused on creating easy to use and cost-effective network management solutions since 1989. In addition to LANsurveyor, Neon Software publishes CyberGauge and NetMinder Ethernet. CyberGauge uses SNMP to monitor and chart bandwidth in real-time and produce daily, weekly, and monthly Quality of Service (QoS) and billing reports. NetMinder Ethernet captures and decodes packet data as it moves through the network, quickly pinpointing security issues and network problems.

Network Management Software Expands Uses for Legacy Devices

Ottawa, IL December 17 2003--The convergence of the Internet and traditional factory floor devices has created a resurgence in the application of serial ports. To give users total control of company-wide serial networks, B&B Electronics has introduced the Q4 Smart Switch network management and visualization software.

The Q4 software, together with its companion Buffered Smart Switch, model 232BSS4, manages communication of serial devices, including baud rates, handshake requirements, device names and documentation management. Each serial device is assigned a Virtual COM Port within Windows XP, 2000 or NT. Software programs will communicate to the device as if each has its own hard-wired connection. The Q4 software allows users to create a network of independent serial devices without any custom programming.

The companion 232BSS4 hardware works as a serial port concentrator. By cascading 232BSS4 units, as many as 64 independent serial devices can be connected back to a single serial port on the host PC.

"The Q4 software answers a question we get almost every day about how to simplify the connection of many serial devices," says Pete Fitzpatrick, technical support manager. "Q4 and the 232BSS4 can connect dozens of devices to connect to a single port without the customer having to make software changes."

The Q4 software allows existing Windows application software to communicate to its target serial device as well as providing an integrated center for communications management. Powerful graphical visualization software provides the user a command center of communications. This centralized application allows ports to be configured and tested as well as managing third party documentation for the serial devices.

Other features include:

-Graphical device mapping wizard
-Support of data rates from 1200 to 115.2Kbps
-Compatible with Windows 2000 and XP
-Hardware data buffers and local handshake control insure no data loss

New Critical Information Management Tool (CIMT) for Network Security

Today NetRAT Software Launches Unique New Critical Information Management Tool (CIMT) for Network Security, Discovery and Management

NetRAT Software announces NetRAT Discovery, a unique Critical Information Management Tool that will allow users to discover and manage various protocols based networks in a way not possible before. It will allow users to create and maintain a "Critical Information Management Policy." It will discover and protect critical shared files on networks. Additionally, it provides a very robust-user friendly graphic reporting capability that allows Network Administrators and Network Security to monitor critical shared files and object changes within a network. "DOD and Federal Government agencies will benefit greatly from our technology in their pursuit to tighten up network security, but the commercial market can find huge benefits as well", said Keith Rayle, President of NetRAT Software.

Chevin Give Away Wide Area Network Monitoring Software

A software module that monitors network performance is being made available free by UK-based network management specialist Chevin. Arguably, the most expensive part of any network is the Wide Area Network, and yet many Network Managers continue to pay for these services in blissful ignorance of whether they are getting value for money. Now they can start to gain an insight for free.

The powerful WAN Reporter trial module is one of many available with Chevin's flagship TeVISTA network management suite. It is available now for free download from

Chevin's WAN Reporter is a straightforward and easy to use software module that is designed to monitor and manage your central site router and links to remote sites - with the full version of the product there is no limit to how many sites and connections can be monitored. Best of all, the software has been developed with all manufacturers products in mind, so any flavour of router, switch or bridge can be monitored in exactly the same way, greatly simplifying the management of any typical, multi-vendor network.
According to Koby Amedume, Vice President of Marketing at Chevin, "For many organisations the biggest cost within the network is the cost of bandwidth - year after year. Network Managers should ask themselves - How do I monitor WAN usage? Am I paying for unused or wasted bandwidth? Could I reduce expenditure without compromising user performance? If I could re-allocate some of my bandwidth budget to improving other parts of the network, would I improve performance?"
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Working with Chevin's flagship product, TeVISTA, the WAN reporter module provides statistics for each port on a switch including percentage utilisation, packets per second, data volumes, error information including collisions and discards, and total uptime including counts for broadcast and multicast traffic. Other modules within TeVISTA allow the network manager to go to the next step, which is to understand who and what is actually using the bandwidth, although WAN Reporter is a good first step for those who have no WAN monitoring tools at present.

Ever wish there was a way to keep

Ever wish there was a way to keep a disgruntled employee from destroying records or messing with files or NC programs? This is a scary time for an employer or manager - not knowing how an employee will react to an unfortunate situation like cutbacks or downsizing. Manufacturing companies today are having the screws put to them due to a suppressed market that has been long and difficult. Unfortunately, sometimes-good employees have to be let go. If not, the business will fold. It's a tough decision to make but one that many companies have had to face recently. Even more unfortunate, emotions sometimes run high and these employees feel they should make a "statement" about their unfortunate situation.

Today, the typical manufacturing company cannot afford to have an IT department watching over all their PCs, and other computing equipment, including their machine tool(s). Yes, their machines. Each of these machines has a computer inside that is completely vulnerable to attack - especially if the machine is connected to the company network. Besides attacks from the outside, inside attacks cause companies to lose productivity and money all the time. Removing one decimal point somewhere in an important revenue-generating program could cause many thousands of dollars damage to that machine tool and tooling - damage that cannot be repaired in many cases.

So what's a CNC machining company to do? You can't afford to staff more people or hire consultants to secure your network - after all that are why you had to lay someone off. Times are tough and the company is struggling to survive.

Help Is On the Way

Soon, security will be built-in to the PC on any motherboard. This will allow someone in IT, which can be anyone, to give someone access, or deny access to any PC in the company (whether on a desk or built-in to a machine control). So if you suspect there may be problems, access can be turned off ahead of time over a network connection. With the the right software, it will be easy. Okay so you've heard that before, but it really will be easy.

Security Gets Attention

In the year 2003, the number one word used in search engines last year was "embedded". Embedded refers to software loaded onto a small computer chip. For 2004, this will have a huge impact on security for companies looking to protect their data from viruses or attacks (from people outside, or inside, the company).

Some computing "Gorillas" have been getting together since the late 1990s (remember those days?) and formed a group to collaborate on ideas and come up with a solution. Some of these companies include AMD, Intel, Microsoft, Verisign, Wave Systems and many more. These products are finally hitting the shelves. Intel recently announced its new security-specific motherboard for PCs, the Intel D865GRH motherboard.

This motherboard has what's called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) soldered onto the board. This TPM chip is a piece of hardware that will actually act as a "vault" for your PC, or the files or NC-programs stored on the PC. The files can be encrypted when they are saved, with the key to unlock the file, stored in the TPM. A matching "key" can be assigned to any user. For example, XYZ Corp. would have a key assigned to the owner, the manager and the NC-Programmer. At any time, the owner can take that key away, or give it to someone else. Beautiful, isn't it?

This "key" will allow the NC-programmer access to only the things he accesses: CAD CAM Software programs, NC-programs, Posts, Secured E-mail like Outlook, Internal Company Data (that only he needs to see), etc. For an administrative person, they would not have a key to the CAD CAM Software, or Posts, since this does not concern them. Their "keys" would allow them to have access to accounting software, employee records, etc. With the proper management software, the assigning of keys for new/old employees will be a simple drag-and-drop operation and managing everyone's access will be easy, so any owner or manager can act as the IT person in this regard.

By the end of 2004, this TPM-enabled motherboard will have plenty of company. The Trusted Computing Group (which came up with the idea) anticipates many more PC makers to jump on board in the first-half of the year, as well as many other motherboard manufacturers. Currently, this technology is available on select HP and IBM computers: HP 530d desktop series and IBM Thinkpad notebooks. Your company may already have some of these PC in the building. By the end of 2004, the group anticipates to see a majority of computing equipment in support of the specification so "Trusted Computing" is gaining traction, which is good for us all. It will make security more affordable to the smaller company, or single user.

So What Happens If I Lose My "Keys"?

No problem. This isn't like your car keys where you find yourself borrowing a coat-hanger from the dry-cleaner shop nearby. There are software companies that are making solutions available to prevent this from being a problem. One company, Wave Systems, which in August announced the availability of their Embassy Trust Suite software, will allow you to recover those keys if you lose them, or get a new computer and need to transfer everything from one PC to another. This software encrypts files and manages them easily so your worries of losing a key and never being able to get access to a file again are over.

What's more is that their software allows you to work with this security system across multiple brands of computers. So it doesn't matter if you bought one from Gateway and another from HP, or Dell. All of them will be able to work together as though they were meant to be.

So What about My Machine Tool?

Well, let's face it, the machine tool industry is always a little behind, but that doesn't stop you from calling them up and requesting they provide built-in security using the new motherboard design. More and more machine tools are being networked. As they are "plugged-in" to the company network, any virus that infects the company computer system can infect the machine tools. A hacker can delete key NC-programs or destroy CAM files or posts. If enough manufacturing managers and owners send emails and letters to these machine OEMs, the problem will be addressed more quickly, and the machine tools will be just another "secure PC" on the network. Once enough requests are made, the machine OEM will have no choice but to respond to the demand for more security, and contact the control manufacturers to "embed" security in the control. Don't let your machine tools be unsecured, secure them in the vault and protect your company from outside (or inside) attack.