What Is the APK File Extension About?

What Is the APK File Extension About?

Most of us Android phone users keep installing and trying different applications and games from the Google Play store on a regular basis. These applications are installed automatically and just appear on our phones when we click the install button. However, there is another way to install applications and games, and even live wallpaper on your phone without using an application store like Google Play. That's where APK or Android application package files come into play.

Anyone who has used an Android phone and likes to install lots of applications and games will likely have heard or read about APK files. The APK file extension is a special file format that works much like a standard EXE or executable file does on a Windows computer. It is an executable program file that installs an application on your Android smartphone.

These files are very easy to use but you first need to set up your phone to install applications from third-party sources. There's an option for that in your phone's settings, usually found in the security or applications settings sections. Once you check that, you only need to copy an APK file to your memory card, and you're good to go.

However, the tricky part is finding a reliable source for these files. You can not just download files with the APK file extension from any website. Quite a few websites that do not run proper antivirus checks and verify the application files uploaded there. Some of these can easily be viruses or other malware designed to give someone else access to your phone's features like the camera, microphone, your picture gallery and contacts lists, breaching your privacy. As long as you download APK files from reliable sources though, you should not have any problems.

Most of the time, you'll find discontinued applications or live wallpapers like Flappy Bird online in the form of APK files that other users of the app have uploaded to websites. They are a very good source of custom applications as well that users made for their own use. Those simple, small, and mostly ad free applications are great to add some new features to your phone such as a flashlight or an RSS reader. However, one should be very careful about what file we download and from where because not everyone can make good quality applications and some can even mess up the phone if run on an incompatible device.

Benefits of a Farmer's Market to Farmers and Consumers

Benefits of a Farmer's Market to Farmers and Consumers

A farmer's market is usually a physical retail market, where the farmers sell their produce directly to consumers. A typical market of the farmers will comprise of booths, stands or tables, either indoors or outdoors. The farmers usually sell vegetables, grains, fruits, meats, cereals, spices and also occasional foods and beverages. In some markets, farmers also sell locally unavailable imported goods and delicacies, along with crafts and personal goods. This market of the farmers adds value both to the farmers and to the community. This market exists on a global level but reflects the local cultures and economies. The size of this market can vary between just a few stalls to areas that can cover several city blocks.

Benefits of Farmer's Market to Farmers

The major benefit that accrues to farmers from this market is higher profits, compared to the sale of their produce to wholesalers, large grocery firms or food processors. When the farmers sell directly to consumers, they need

• Lesser transportation
• Lesser time in storage
• Lesser requirement of refrigeration
• Lesser handling

Further, when they sell in an organized outdoor or indoor farmer's market, the costs related to land, buildings and other expenses like lighting or air conditioning are also drastically reduced or completely eliminated. Further, the farmers can always augment their profits from this direct selling by offering the excess produce to canneries or other food processing companies. Moreover, consumers also perceive that they are getting better quality products and fresh products compared to what they get from grocers, which allows farmers to retain the cost saving of intermediaries to themselves. Additionally, selling directly to consumers is an easy and uncomplicated process, while selling to large conglomerates may be complex requiring contracts and bank payments.

Benefits of Farmer's Market to Consumers and Communities

The major benefits that consumers and communities obtain from a farmer's market are

• This market helps in improving and maintaining critical social ties that link the rural communities with urban populations.

• Traffic to farmer's market generates and improvements traffic to other nearby businesses.

• When consumers buy at this market, they automatically begin to notice the ongoing activities and surrounding area, resulting in a higher social awareness.

• When outlets get created for local products, the market offers uniqueness and distinctiveness, increases pride of the farmers and also encourages the consumers to return frequently or regularly.

• The lower transportation and storage facilities reduce energy costs, transport pollution, infrastructure costs and land required for storage.

Thus, a farmer's market is beneficial both for farmers and the communities.

The Car Rental Industry

The Car Rental Industry

Market Overview

The car rental industry is a multi-billion dollar sector of the US economy. The US segment of the industry averages about $ 18.5 billion in revenue a year. Today, there are approximately 1.9 million rental vehicles that service the US segment of the market. In addition, there are many rental agencies along the industry leaders that subdivide the total revenue, sometimes Dollar Thrifty, Budget and Vanguard. Unlike other mature service industries, the rental car industry is highly consolidated which naturally puts potential new comers at a cost-disadvantage since since they face high input costs with reduced probability of economies of scale. Moreover, most of the profit is generated by a few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis. For the fiscal year of 2004, Enterprise generated $ 7.4 billion in total revenue. Hertz came in second position with about $ 5.2 billion and Avis with $ 2.97 in revenue.

Level of Integration

The rental car industry faces a completely different environment than it did five years ago. According to Business Travel News, vehicles are being rented until they have accrued 20,000 to 30,000 miles until they are relegated to the used car industry whereas the turn-around mileage was 12,000 to 15,000 miles five years ago. Because of slow industry growth and narrow profit margin, there is no imminent threat to backward integration within the industry. In fact, among the industry players only Hertz is vertically integrated through Ford.

Scope of Competition

There are many factors that shape the competitive landscape of the car rental industry. Competition comes from two main sources through the chain. On the vacation consumer's end of the spectrum, competition is fierce not only because the market is arranged and well guarded by industry leader Enterprise, but competitors operate at a cost disadvantage along with smaller market shares since Enterprise has established a network of dealers over 90 percent the leisure segment. On the corporate segment, on the other hand, competition is very strong at the airports since that segment is under tight supervision by Hertz. Because the industry underwent a massive economic downfall in recent years, it has upgraded the scale of competition within most of the companies that survived. Competitively speaking, the rental car industry is a war-zone as most rental agencies including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the major players engaged in a battle of the fittest.

Growth

Over the past five years, most firms have been working towards enhancing their fleet sizes and increasing the level of profitability. Enterprise currently the company with the largest fleet in the US has added 75,000 vehicles to its fleet since 2002 which help increase its number of facilities to 170 at the airports. Hertz, on the other hand, has added 25,000 vehicles and expanded its international presence in 150 counties as opposed to 140 in 2002. In addition, Avis has increased its fleet from 210,000 in 2002 to 220,000 despite recent economic adversities. Over the years following the economic downturn, although most companies throughout the industry were struggling, Enterprise among the industry leaders had been growing steadily. For example, annual sales reached $ 6.3 in 2001, $ 6.5 in 2002, $ 6.9 in 2003 and $ 7.4 billion in 2004 which translates into a growth rate of 7.2 percent a year for the past four years. Since 2002, the industry has started to regain its feet in the sector as overall sales grow from $ 17.9 billion to $ 18.2 billion in 2003. According to industry analysts, the better days of the rental car industry have yet to come. Over the course of the next several years, the industry is expected to experience accelerated growth valued at $ 20.89 billion each year following 2008 "which equates to a CAGR of 2.7% [increase] in the 2003-2008 period."

Distribution

Over the past few years the rental car industry has made a great deal of progress to facilitate it distribution processes. Today, there are approximately 19,000 rental locations yielding about 1.9 million rental cars in the US. Because of the increasingly abundant number of car rental locations in the US, strategic and tactical approaches are taken into account in order to insure proper distribution throughout the industry. Distribution takes place within two interrelated segments. On the corporate market, the cars are distributed to airports and hotel surroundings. On the leisure segment, on the other hand, cars are distributed to agency owned facilities that are conveniently located within most major roads and metropolitan areas.

In the past, managers of rental car companies used to rely on gut-feelings or intuitive guesses to make decisions about how many cars to have in a particular fleet or the utilization level and performance standards of keeping certain cars in one fleet. With that methodology, it was very difficult to maintain a level of balance that would satisfy consumer demand and the desired level of profitability. The distribution process is fairly simple through the industry. To begin with, managers must determine the number of cars that must be on inventory on a daily basis. Because a very noticeable problem arises when too many or not enough cars are available, most car rental companies including Hertz, Enterprise and Avis, use a "pool" which is a group of independent rental facilities that share a fleet of vehicles. the pools in place, rental locations operate more efficiently since since they reduce the risk of low inventory if not eliminate rental car shortages.

Market Segmentation

Most companies throughout the chain make a profit based on the type of cars that are rented. The rental cars are categorized into economy, compact, intermediate, premium and luxury. Among the five categories, the economy sector yields the most profit. For instance, the economy segment by itself is responsible for 37.7 percent of the total market revenue in 2004. In addition, the compact segment accounted for 32.3 percent of overall revenue. The rest of the other categories covers the remaining 30 percent for the US segment.

Historical Levels of Profitability

The overall profitability of the car rental industry has been shrinking in recent years. Over the past five years, the industry has been struggling just like the rest of the travel industry. In fact, between the years 2001 and 2003 the US market has experienced a moderate reduction in the level of profitability. Specifically, revenue fell from $ 19.4 billion in 2000 to $ 18.2 billion in 2001. Subsequently, the overall industry revenue eroded further to $ 17.9 billion in 2002; an amount that is minimal higher than $ 17.7 billion which is the overall revenue for the year 1999. In 2003, the industry experienced a barely noticeable increase which earned profit to $ 18.2 billion. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, some of the smaller players that were highly dependent on the airline industry have done a great deal of strategy realignments as a way of preparing their companies to cope with economic economic adversities that may surround the industry . For the year 2004, on the other hand, the economic situation of most firms have gradually improved through the industry since most rental agencies have returned far greater profits relative to the anterior years. For instance, Enterprise realized revenues of $ 7.4 billion; Hertz returned revenues of $ 5.2 billion and Avis with $ 2.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal year of 2004. According to industry analysts, the rental car industry is expected to experience steady growth of 2.6 percent in revenue over the next several years which translates into an increase in profit.

Competitive Rivalry Among Sellers

There are many factors that drive competition within the car rental industry. Over the past few years, broadening fleet sizes and increasing profitability has been the focus of most companies within the car rental industry. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the leaders have been growing both in sales and fleet sizes. In addition, competition intensifies as firms are constantly trying to improve their current conditions and offer more to consumers. Enterprise has almost doubled its fleet size since 1993 to approximately 600,000 cars today. Because the industry operates on such narrow profit margins, price competition is not a factor; however, most companies are actively involved in creating values ​​and providing a range of amenities from technological gadgets to even free rental to satisfy customers. Hertz, for example, integrates its Never-Lost GPS system within its cars. Enterprise, on the other hand, uses sophisticated yield management software to manage its fleets.

Finally, Avis uses its OnStar and Skynet system to better serve the consumer base and offers free weekend rental if a customer rents a car for five consecutive days Moreover, the consumer base of the rental car industry has relatively low to no switching cost. Conversely, rental agencies face high fixed operating costs including property rental, insurance and maintenance. Consequently, rental agencies are sensitively pricing there rental cars just to recover operating costs and adequately meet their customers demands. Furthermore, because the industry experienced slow growth in recent years due to economic stagnation that resulted in a massive decline in both corporate travel and the leisure sector, most companies including the industry leaders are aggressively trying to reposition their firms by gradually lessening the dependency level on the airline industry and regaining their footing in the leisure competitive arena.

The Potential Entry of new Competitors

Entering the car rental industry puts new comers at a serious disadvantage. Over the past few years following the economic downturn of 2001, most major rental companies have started increasing their market shares in the vacation sector of the industry as a way of insuring stability and lowering the level of dependency between the airline and the car rental industry. While this trend has engended long term success for the existing firms, it has heightened the competitive landscape for new comers. Because of the severity of competition, existing firms such as Enterprise, Hertz and Avis carefully monitor their competitive radars to expect Sharpe retaliatory strikes against new entrants. Another barrier to entry is created because of the saturation level of the industry.

For example, Enterprise has taken the first mover advantage with its 6000 facilities by saturating the leisure segment thereby placing not only high restrictions on the most common distribution channels, but also high resource requirements for new firms. Today, Enterprise has a rental location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population. Because of the network of dealers Enterprise has established around the nation, it has become reliably stable, more recession proof and most importantly, less reliant on the airline industry compared to its competitors. Hertz, on the other hand, is utilizing the full spectrum of its 7200 stores to secure its position in the marketplace. Basically, the emergence of most of the industry leaders into the leisure market not only drives rivalry, but also it varies directly with the level of complexity of entering the car rental industry.

The Threat of Substitute

There are many substitutes available for the car rental industry. From a technological standpoint, renting a car to go the distance for a meeting is a less attractive alternative as opposed to video conferencing, virtual teams and collaboration software with which a company can immediately setup a meeting with its employees from anywhere around the world at a cheaper cost. In addition, there are other alternatives including taking a cab which is a satisfactory substitute relative to quality and switching cost, but it may not be as attractively priced as a rental car for the course of a day or more. While public transportation is the most cost efficient of the alternatives, it is more expensive in terms of the process and time it takes to reach one's destination. Finally, because flying offers convenience, speed and performance, it is a very enticing substitution; however, it is an unattractive alternative in terms of price relative to renting a car. On the business segment, car rental agencies have more protection against substitutes since many companies have implemented travel policies that establish the parameters of when renting a car or using a substitution is the best course of action.

According to Tracy Esch, an Advantage director of marketing operations, her company rents cars up to a 200-mile trip before considering an alternative. Basically, the threat of substitute is reasonably low in the car rental industry since the effects the substitution products have do not pose a significant threat of profit erosion through the industry.

The Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Supplier power is low in the car rental industry. Because of the availability of substitutes and the level of competition, suppliers do not have a great deal of influence in the terms and conditions of supplying the rental cars. Because the rental cars are usually purchased in bulk, rental car agents have significant influence over the terms of the sale since they possess the ability to play one supplier against another to lower the sales price. Another factor that reduces supplier power is the absence of switching cost. That is, buyers are not affected from purchasing from one supplier over another and most importantly, changing to different supplier's products is strictly noticeable and does not affect consumer's rental choices.

The Bargaining Power of Buyers

While the leisure sector has little or no power, the business segment possesses a significant amount of influence in the car rental industry. An interesting trend that is currently underway through the industry is forcing car rental companies to adapt to the needs of corporate travelers. This trend significantly reduces supplier power or the rental firms' power and increases corporate buyer power since the business segment is excruciatingly price sensitive, well informed about the industry's price structure, purchase in larger quantities and they use the internet to force lower prices. Vacation buyers, on the other hand, have less influence over the rental terms. Because vacationers are usually less price sensitive, purchase in lesser amounts or purchase more infrequently, they have weak bargaining power.

Five Forces

Today the car rental industry is facing a completely different environment than it did five years ago. Competitively speaking, the revolution of the five forces around the car rental industry exports some strong economic pressure that has significantly tarnished the competitive attractiveness of the industry. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, many companies went under nominal Budget and the Vanguard Group because their business infrastructure succumbed to the untenability of the competitive environment. Today, very few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis return a slightly above-average revenue compared to the rest of the industry. Realistically speaking, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry because of the level of competition, the barriers to entry and the competitive pressure from the substitution firms.

Strategic Group Mapping

As a moderately concentrated sector, there is a clear hierarchy in the car rental industry. From an economic standpoint, disparities exist from a number of dimensions including revenue, fleet size and the market size each firm holds in the market place. For instance, Enterprise dominates the industry with a fleet size of approximately 600,000 vehicles along with its market size and its level of profitability. Hertz comes in second position with its number of market shares and fleet volume. In addition, Avis ranks third on the map. Avis is one of the companies that is having issues recovering its revenue margins from prior to the economic downturn. For instance, in 2000 Avis returned revenues of approximately $ 4.23 billion. Over the course of the next several years following 2000, the revenue of Avis has been significantly lower than that of 2000. As a way of reducing uncertainty most companies are gradually lessening the level of dependency on the airline industry and emerging the leisure market. This trend may not be in the best interest of Hertz since its business strategy is intricately linked to the airports.

Key Success Factors

There are many key success factors that drive profitability through the car rental industry. Capacity utilization is one of the factors that determinates success in the industry. Because rental firms experience loss of revenue when there are either too few or too many cars sitting in their lots, it is of paramount importance to efficiently manage the fleets. This success factor represents a big strength for the industry since it lowers if not completely eliminates the possibly running short on rental cars. Efficient distribution is another factor that keeps the industry profitable. Despite the positive relationship between fleet sizes and the level of profitability, firms are constantly growing their fleet sizes because of the competitive forces that surround the industry. In addition, convenience is one of the critical attributes by which consumers select rental firms. That is, car rental consumers are more prone to renting cars from firms that have convenient rental and drop off locations. Another key success factor that is common among competitive firms is the integration of technology in their business processes. Through technology, for instance, the car rental companies create ways to meet consumer demand by making renting a car a very agreeable ordinal by adding the convenience of online rental amongst other alternatives. Furthermore, firms have integrated navigation systems along with roadside assistance to offer customers the piece of mind when renting cars.

Industry Attractiveness

There are many factors that affect the attractiveness of the car rental industry. Because the industry is moderately concentrated, it puts new market entrants at a disadvantage. That is, its low concentration represents a natural barrier to entering the industry as it allows existing firm to expect sharp retaliations against new entrants. Because of the risks associated with entering the industry among other factors, it is not a very attractive sector of the marketplace. From a competitive standpoint, the leisure market is 90 percent planned because of the active efforts of Enterprise to dominate this sector of the market. On the other hand, the airport terminals are heavily guarded by Hertz. Realistically speaking, entry in the industry offers low profitability relative to the costs and risks associated. For most consumers, the main determining factors of choosing one company over another are price and convenience. Because of this reason, rental firms are very circumspect about setting their rates and that generally force even the industry major players in the position of offering more to the consumers for less just to remain competitive. Hertz, for example, offers wireless internet to its customers just to add more convenience to their travel plans. Avis on the other hand, offers free weekend specials if a customer returns a car for five consecutive weekdays. Based on the impact of the five forces, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry to potential new market entrants.

Conclusion

The rental car industry is in a state of recovery. Although it may seem like the industry is performing well financially, it is nonetheless gradually regaining its footing relative to its actual economic position within the last five years. As a way of insuring profitability, including seeking market shares and stability, most companies throughout the chain have a common goal that deals with lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and moving towards the leisure segment. This state of motion has engendered some fiercely competition among industry competitors as they attempted to defend their market shares. From a futuristic perspective, the better days of the car rental industry have yet to come. As the level of profitability increases, I believe that most of the industry leaders including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis will be bounded by the economic and competitive barriers of mobility of their strategic groups and new comers will have a better chance of infiltrating and realizing success in the car rental industry.

Sources

"Passenger Car Rental." Encyclopedia of Global Industries. Dec. 2004. Gale group. 02 Feb 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/servlet/BCRC .

"Car & Truck Rental." Hoover's AB & D Company. Jan. 2005. Hoovers. 04 Feb 2005. http://premium.hoovers.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/subscribe/ind/factsheet.xhtm . "

Rental car foes war on each other's turf. "The Associated Press. Fall 2004. The Inquirer. 08 March 2005. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/11/biz_rentalcars111.html .

"United States - Car Rental." Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/sessions?products=BNI .

"A synthesis of tactical fleet planning models for the car rental industry." IIE Transactions. Sept. 2003. Gale. 12 March 2005. [http://www.fleet-central.com/arn/01stat3.cfm].

"Corporate travel plans moving to Web." Crain's Chicago Business. Apr. 2001. ProQuest. 12 March 2005. http://www.proquest.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Tracy Esch." "Car rental market leaders make rebound." Business Travel News. May 2002. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Avis Equips Rental Car with Satcomms 1999." Newsbytes News Network. Oct. 1999. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Car Rental In the United States." Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004. Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Global - Car Rental." Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004. Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Corporate and Travel Trends." Travel Trade Gazette. Nov. 2003. ProQuest. 14 March 2005. http://www.proquest.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Car rental market leaders make rebound." Business Travel News. May. 2002. Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Car rental market leaders make rebound." Business Travel News. May. 2002. Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu .

"Ovation Travel." Wall Street Transcript. May. 2002. LexisNexis. 14 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis .

"Avis Offers New Deal for Free Weekends." Newswire. Feb. 2004. LexisNexis. 15 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis .

Financial Wisdom - What it Means and Why You Need It

Financial Wisdom - What it Means and Why You Need It

Anybody can claim to be adept at business, but not everyone carries with them the financial wisdom to maintain success consistently. Financial sensitivity is not something that can be bought via an online diploma or any Internet planning program. It is gained through experience or, if not hands on, through lessons gathered from those who have gone through the works, bruises and all, and come out triumphant. Being a successful business owner online is often obtained by listening to the stories of the right people.

Understanding The Rules Of Life

From the moment we were brought into this world, we were forced to deal with the rules of life. These included learned responses such as feeding through our mothers breasts or breathing through our noses. As we grow, the general elements of daily living gained increasing importance, such as relations, communication, work and money. For the most part, whether we admit it or not, finances play a huge role in making sure we get to enjoy certain good things in life. It is via financial wisdom that the proper use of money is built, so that we do not lose control of spending and end up working only to pay bills. Such is the rule of life: either you learn to cope or you inevitably sink.

Financial freedom does not mean simply waiting for the billions to arrive monthly and not having to work for anything. There is nothing so laudable about the absence of hard work and persistence to earn a living. There is a greater sense of satisfaction and personal pride out of knowing that every cent that turns up in your bank account is something that you labored over, regardless of the degree.

This is what financial freedom is all about - having the financial wisdom to comprehend the comings and goings of money and where each penny should be allocated and why. With wisdom, there is no such thing as throwing caution to the wind. This is only counterproductive to any form of success and defeats the purpose of using sensibilities to grow ones wealth. Remember, effective wealth creation is born out of effective planning, which naturally results from proper decision making, responsible spending, and, of course, financial wisdom.

Growing ones wealth is not something that is done out of mimicking other peoples experiences and strategies. While there is a general formula to taking care of ones business and finances, when it comes to maintaining the inflow, the methods become unique. This is because every individual has his own personality and a method recommended out of a community becomes truly effective when incorporated with ones own orientation and actual experiences.

A community is the best place to start, no doubt. It is where you can generate suggestions on how to implement your ideas, but it is by no means the be-all and end-all. What a community can do is provide you with enough basic know-how and the right motivation to build a path that will lead you to your own financial success - so that once you get it, you can actually claim it as your brainchild. This is not something you get out of a formal education.

On the whole, what financial freedom really brings to the table is the right attitude when it comes to creating and handling your wealth. Not all aspiring entrepreneurs have this trait within them and if you're on your way to seeking your own business smart strategies, congratulations on your upcoming success!

Why You Should Consider Upgrading Your Computer Hard Drive

Why You Should Consider Upgrading Your Computer Hard Drive

Upgrading your hard drive is something that takes a little thought and preparation, if you have had your computer a while and built up an army of music, movies and personal stuff then you may be related to upgrade your hard drive in fear of losing all your data. This being said you can rest assured that you can easily copy all of your details across quickly and easily, keep in mind though you will need to keep following the points in mind.

• Do you have an operating system disc to re-install your operating system?
• Do you have all your hardware drivers, or can you get them?
• Have you made a complete backup of all your personal files in case something goes wrong?

If you can answer yes to the above then you can easily upgrade or replace your hard drive yourself saving you time and money.

There are 3 main reasons you may want to change your hard drive: -

• Not enough room on your current drive
• Your current drive has become noisy when running
• You have multiple errors on the drive causing it to run slow.

Another reason is the speed of your drive, many people are now upgrading from a 5400RPM drive to a faster 7200RPM drive simply to speed up the read / write time of the drive.

The steps involved in changing over your hard drive are quite straight forward.

1. Ensure you have all your documents and everything you wish to keep on disc of other type of media that is separate to the PC, flash drive, external hard drive etc are perfect for this.
2. Next turn off the power and remove the power lead.
3. Remove the case of the base unit and locate the hard drive.
4. Remove the Data Cable and power supply from the rear of the drive
5. Remove the securing screws and extract the hard drive from the case.
6. Install the new hard drive in the reverse order of the above.

Once you have your computer put back together you will need to start up your computer making sure you have your operating disc to hand, start up your computer and enter your BIOS and ensure your computer is set to boot from the CD Rom drive as the first device.

Insert your Operating disc in to the drive and exit the bios so your computer starts to boot.

Follow the onscreen instructions to install your operating system, once this has completed take the time to install any service packs and security updates available for your computer. Once you have completed this you can start installing your device drivers and lastly all your personal files.

Note even if you are unsure if you have an operating system, or how to boot from the CD drive then consult a professional to do the job for you! If you are familiar with installing operating systems and so on then you can easily tackle this upgrade.

How to Get Away From Business Debt

How to Get Away From Business Debt

If you are a business owner who is confronted with business debt, perhaps it's about time that you consider business debt consolidation. What is business debt consolidation? Is it the same as personal debt consolidation? How can it help you recover from debt?

Business Debt Consolidation

Business debt consolidation is meant to provide help for businesses stuck in huge debts. The concept is similar to personal debt consolidation, except that consolidation companies deal with entrepreneurs, businesses and enterprises. Instead of negotiating with creditors on your own, you may hire a service to do this on your behalf.

There are a number of methods that a company may recommend. They may try to arrange for a debt settlement so that your actual debts can be reduced to as much as 50% or more from its original value or seek a new and easier repayment term that is suited for your situation. They may also negotiate with your creditors to waive some of the fees in your account.

Recover from Business Debts through Consolidation

With the help of a consolidation company, a debt management plan can be executed. Nevertheless, businesses must be cautious when choosing a consolidation company. Not all companies that offer consolidation are for real. Some may be just scams while others may take advantage of your vulnerable situation.

How can you tell if a consolidation company is legitimate and legal? One way to find out is to check from the Better Business Bureau. Has there been any complaint against the company in the past and present? If so, how did the company deal with these complaints? Have these issues been resolved?

You'll want to do an extensive research with each prospective debt consolidation company in the market. How long has the company been in the industry? What do clients- both past and present - have to say about the consolidation company's services? Were they really able to help these businesses get out of debt?

Another thing to remember about acquiring a service is that it will affect your credit status. Nevertheless, debt consolidation is just the first step towards recovery. Once you've enrolled in a program, take your payment obligations seriously. Submit your payments as scheduled and remember that can't afford to miss or delay with your payments this time. After a few months, you should be able to see some progress in your debt situation. With continuous support from your debt consolidation company, you should be able to get out of your business debts soon. Afterwards, strive to build up your business credit by being wise and punctual borrower.

Don't forget to pay attention to your business management as well. Being stuck in debt and the need to consolidate your business debts is a clear sign that something isn't right about the management of your finances. Aside from helping you consolidate your debts, your consolidation company should also guide you in the correct way of utilizing your business finances and you can stay away from debts permanently.

Computer Support: A Comparative Study

Computer Support: A Comparative Study

Computers are electronic devices, which can store and process large volumes of data, with great speed and accuracy. All of us are pretty well acquainted with this definition of computer. But many do not know that this definition tends to vary with the passage of time. It may sound a little bit bizarre, but a defect analysis will show that it is true.

A computer is a delicate and sophisticated electronic device, which needs regular care and maintenance in order to perform as per the above definition. 'Speed' and 'accuracy' are the prime virtues of a computer. But a computer tends to lose its prime virtues if its share of care and maintenance is neglected by the owner. But it is difficult for an amateur user to maintain and upkeep his / her computer on his / her own, as they require technical knowledge. Therefore, it is advisable that such an user should avail computer support service.

Importance of Computer Support

Most users are not aware of the importance of computer support . They treat it as an extra financial burden, which comes with the huge cost of buying a computer. Moreover, the warranty period served by the brand owners, gives them a false sense of security, due to which they do not bother to avail any sort of the same. But it is indeed more than just a necessity. It deals with, and resolves a lot of issues related to computers and its peripherals. Its versatile range of services include speeding up slow PCs, healing computers from virus and spyware threats, solving problems related to sending emails or attaching files with emails, issues with configuring internet setup, MS Office Support, XP Installation, Windows Vista Upgrade, Windows Vista Installation, Printer and Scanner issues, Parental Control, Data Backup, Wi-Fi Support, Windows 7 Support, and many more.

Types of Computer Support

In general, there are two types of computer support which users mostly avail, namely-Onsite Support and Remote Support / Online Support. For those who are not acquainted with these two terms, Onsite Support is the conventional support which is provided to the customer by the service provider, by physically paying a visit to the house of the same. Whereas, in case of Remote Support / Online Support , the service provider obtains to share the customer's computer via the internet, and all the cases of the latter are resolved through the same medium.

Advantages of Onsite Support

> Customer gets to converse with, and explain the problem to, the technician face to face.
> The technician also gets to resolve the issue more conveniently as he / she physically pays a visit to the customer's house.

Disadvantages of Onsite Support

> It is highly time consuming, as the customer needs to fix a date which is convenient to both the customer and the technician.
> As the technician pays a visit to the customer's house, the cost of servicing increases.

Advantages of Remote Support

> Customer gets instant solutions to all kind of technical problems. It also saves lots of valuable time.
> Services available 24X7
> Much cheaper than Onsite Support

Disadvantages of Remote Support

> Customer does not get to converse with the technician face to face. As a result, the customer may not be able to explain the problem properly.

Therefore, it may be concluded that if you are looking for instant, economic solutions, go for remote support. If money or time is not an issue, go for onsite support.