Perhaps you have heard about the next new version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista? The Vista operating system has many promises to one great, stable and dynamic operating system. Not only will this operating system have the .Net framework built into the core of the operating system it will also feature some other key communications, user interface and security breakthroughs.
For instance Vista will utilize the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which will greatly increase the aesthetic value of each application. Perhaps you may be familiar with a website developed with Flash animation software. Now picture the same type of functionality and aesthetics however instead of being restricted to a website format having the freedom to develop the interface so it is a true Windows application. Further, this WPF will allow for much easier and faster deployments of these applications through the use of “one click deployment” technology. If you are familiar with the updater application block and the BITS service then you are already familiar with innovation. However, instead of being some cumbersome application block you will be able to easily deploy these applications with just a few clicks from your development environment.
Secondly the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) will provide a secure and reliable messaging platform which will allow for a new era in the creativity of application developers. This WCF will bring in a new time when true service oriented applications will become commonplace. This will make it much easier to connect businesses to each other and their customers. The in built security mechanisms will make for a much more secure platform as well. Since this operating system is built around the .Net framework Code Access Security will be much easier to enforce and maintain. Code access security is when the author of the program can specify exactly what the program is allowed to do based upon the role of the user who is accessing the software. This will allow for a much finer grained security mechanism which will make software much more trustworthy by the end user.
Another feature of Vista is called SuperFetch. SuperFetch seems to be a caching mechanism for frequently used files so that the end user experiences fast response times and is not hindered by the background tasks that the operating system is performing. This will greatly speed up and perhaps cause less system crashes thereby making the OS much more stable.
One other great feature of Vista is its use of the sidebar and gadgets. Gadgets are small programs that either you or someone else has created that performs some frequently used task such as viewing the latest weather or traffic information from your desktop. Now this might seem to be a small feature but I am sure the general public will eat this feature up and it is one place where some new innovative software inventions might take place. It might even make managing your life that much easier.
Perhaps the best feature of Vista is its new ability to easily search through and organize your files for later retrieval. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to search my own hard drive for a file that I knew I created but could not remember where I stored it.
Let’s face it Windows XP and Windows 2000 are by now old fashioned. The public needs a new operating system simply because the other’s are beginning to show their age. It is time for an upgrade.

You use Ctrl+Alt+Del to see what’s running on your PC, to close crashed programs and processes, and to check performance. You probably avoid a few processes whose names mean nothing to you, but they’re essential to Windows. svchost.exe sure likes to appear all the time and multiple times at that. What’s taskmgr.exe? Oh yeah, it’s the window you’re looking at right now. ctfmon? Is he related to Pokemon? navapsvc.exe? Navy? Napa Valley? Navel? NOTA (none of the above).
This is not a comprehensive list as that would take days. It has the standard processes as well as process names from popular applications. If you want to know about a process, the best place to go is… ProcessLibrary.com. Just like adware and spyware, there are bad processes that come to life thanks to the bad guys like Trojans and viruses. The site has a list of the top five security threats, so watch out for those processes.
acrotray.exe - Acrobat Assistant that is used when printing documents to a PDF. The process should not be removed while converting documents to PDF.
ADService.exe - Active Disk Service is a component of the Iomega zip drive.
AppServices.exe - Also for the Iomega zip drive.
ccEvtMrg.exe - Associated with Symantec’s Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.
ccSetMgr.exe - Also associated with Symantec’s Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.
csrss.exe - System process that is the main executable for the Microsoft Client / Server Runtim Server Subsystem. It should not be shut down.
ctfmon.exe - non-essential system process. If you’re using only English as the language, then it is not needed. However, it’s recommended to leave it alone.
explorer.exe - This must always be running in the background. It’s a user interface process that runs the windows graphical shell for the desktop, task bar, and Start menu.
iexplore.exe - Internet Explorer browser. But why are you using it unless it’s for a site that doesn’t work in any other browser? Use Firefox instead.
lsass.exe - Local Security Authority Service is a Windows security-related system process for handling local security and login policies.
Navapsvc.exe, nvsrvc32.exe, and navapw32.exe - These are Symantec’s North AnvtiVirus processes. They or whatever virus program you use should run all the time.
realsched.exe - RealNetworks Scheduler is not an essential process. It checks for updates for RealNetworks products. It can be safely disabled.
rundll32.exe - A system process that executes DLLs and loads their libraries.
savscan.exe - Nortons AntiVirus process. Keep it.
services.exe - An essential process that manages the starting and stopping of services including the those in boot up and shut down. Do not terminate it.
smss.exe - Session Manager SubSystem is a system process that is a central part of the Windows operating system. If you try to kill it, it will be difficult… hence, the importance of leaving it be.
spoolsv.exe - Microsoft printer spooler service handles local printer processes. It’s a system file.
svchost.exe x 6 - You may have more than six appearances of this process or less. It’s there multiple times to handle processes executed from DLLs. Leave it there.
System - This is a file that stores information related to local hardware settings in the registry under ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE’. Kill it and kiss your PC’s stability bye bye.
System Idele Process - calculates the amount of CPU currently in use by applications. This won’t go away no matter how hard you try. Don’t try it, OK?
taskmgr.exe - Appears when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del.
wdfmgr.exe - Windows Driver Foundation Manager is part of Windows media player 10 and newer. Better not to stop the process.
winlogon.exe - Handles the login and logout processes. It’s essential.
winword.exe - The great Carnac says, “You’re running Microsoft Word.”Don’t panic if you see something you have on the “bad guy” list. svchost.exe is important, but some are good guys and some are bad guys. Do your research before deleting anything. For instance, I have admin.exe, which has been reported as a bad guy. However, it is the admin process for one of my programs. When I closed the program, admin.exe also went away.

With so many computer users online in the current day and age, it is inevitable that PC problems will be encountered by mostof them from time to time.
A lot of these problems are easily avoided, but that’s easy to say for someone with technical knowledge and experience, and not so easy for a huge number of users who just want their machines to run as reliably and hassle free as possible.
A great number of people do not even know where to begin when it comes to keeping their PC running as sweetly as the day it was first plugged in, and over a period of time they start to notice the length of time it takes to boot up in the mornings, and that it seems reluctant to carry out tasks that once upon a time it simply sailed through. By the time they start to notice this degradation in performance, the workings of their machine have beome horribly clogged with internet and software “garbage” that the machine has been accumulating every day for months on end.
There are a variety of reasons for this, but this article aims to deal with just one of them - the Windows Registry - so long an area excluded to all but the techno geeks among us, with dire warnings of the dangers of editing your registry!
This was fair, because an inexperienced user running rampant with their delete key in the registry minefield would certainly spell danger for the unfortunate copy of Windows on their machine. Nowadays, things have become a lot easier….
It is quite simple now for people to look after their Windows Registry and this is fortunate indeed, because with high speed internet connections allowing people to download and install a whole host of applications and files, it does not take long for the registry to become horribly clogged with extraneous bits and pieces, all of which will slowly but surely degrade performance of your operating system.
If you don’t like the idea of delving around and trying to understand the workings of this mysterious area of Windows, there are plenty of affordable software solutions on the market today - see the foot of this article for a couple of suggestions. Many will offer free trial periods, and will demonstrate in an easy to understand format, just how bad things have become! If you haven’t checked your registry in a while, or maybe even never, you should serioulsy consider doing so. You will probably be very happy with the results of a thorough clean up, all at the push of a button and without risking the ruination of your valuable Windows operating system.
Just like anti virus, anti spyware/adware programs, a good registry leaner should be high on your shopping list. When I’ve shown people the results of a registry scan after just one week of internet use, they are extremely surprised by the large number of conflicts thrown up - often into the hundreds! In conclusion, keep your registry clean, and if your other system maintenance tasks are kept up to date, you and your PC will be far happier in your partnership for a long time to come.

Take back control over your windows computer!
Part 1: un-install programs, update Windows, defragment hard drivesThis is the first of many more articles to come. I will show you step by step how you can take back control over your windows computer. Just follow my instructions and soon you will be using your computer to work or play again instead of spending hours trying to just keep it running. Best of all, I won’t try to sell you anything. I will show you ways to do many things on your computer for free. As with most instructions, please read the whole thing before doing anything.
Lets start with a little house cleaning. Close all programs on your computer. Click on the “START” button in the bottom left corner, select “Settings”, then “Control Panel”. A new window should have opened up. Double click on “Add/Remove Programs”. This will show you most of the programs installed on your computer. Go through the list and if you find any that you installed, but no longer need or use, just un-install them. This will free up disk space. Some un-install programs will ask you to restart your computer. When you are done go ahead and restart again. Windows loves to be restarted. Be careful that you do not un-install programs you are still using and also do not un-install any Windows updates. Basically, if you don’t know what it is, don’t touch it!
After a clean restart, we will now make sure your computer has the latest updates installed. Click on “START”, then on “Windows Update”. If you do not have Windows Update in the START menu, open Internet Explorer, then click on Tools, then on Windows Update. Follow instructions on the Microsoft Update website and install all available critical updates for your computer. Restart when prompted to do so. Also, select to automatically check for updates. But do not select to automatically download and install them. You always want to be asked before downloading and installing updates! This can take a long time and just let your computer do it’s thing. You can do something else in the meantime. Restart when you are done.
Now that your computer is updated and we’ve also done a little house cleaning, it is time to de-fragment the hard drive. Windows is not very efficient in where it puts stuff on your hard drive. After a while it gets fragmented. But Windows includes a tool to clean that up. You should do this at least once a week if you use your computer on a daily basis. Double-click the “My Computer” icon on the desktop. A new window will open and show you all hard drive, CR ROM drives and other storage devices connected to your computer. In most cases your main hard drive will be labeled the “C:” drive. If it has any other letter, that’s OK too. Right-click on it, then select “Properties”. Another window will open. At the bottom to the right click on “disk cleanup”, then select all check boxes. If you have off-line web pages, do not select them. If you don’t know what they are, you probably have not used that feature and can select it. Then click on “OK” and on “Yes” in the confirmation box. Once this is cleaned up, click on the Tool tab and then on “Defragment now”. In the new window, click on Defragment again and let the computer defragment the hard drive. Depending on the size of your hard drive, this can take several hours, especially if it’s the first time you do this. Just let it run until it is done. Repeat these steps for all other hard drives you have on your computer.
That’s all. You have now deleted un-needed programs, updated Windows and de-fragmented your hard drive. Restart your computer and your computer will be more secure and run better than before. Check back for more articles on how to take back control over your computer.

When I observe most colleagues and friends working on their PC’s they mostly use the mouse as they are unaware of the powerful Windows keyboard shortcuts that will make their lives so much easier. Some people might be aware of the keyboard shortcuts, but they are used to be working mostly with the mouse and old habits are hard to let go.
In this article I will take things step by step so you can learn the keyboard shortcuts that are required to navigate your way around the Windows operating system.
Let’s assume your machine is starting up and due to a faulty mouse or some other related problem your system cannot be accessed with the mouse. A user that is not using keyboard shortcuts on a regular basis will be completely lost. Ok it’s relatively cheap to replace the mouse, but what if you had to quickly perform a task that cannot wait until a new mouse is acquired or the problem is fixed?
Navigating the Start Menu in Windows XPI will firstly explain how to launch an application without the use of the mouse and instead use keyboard shortcuts. Immediately after system startup if you are required to log in, type out your password and press the Enter key. Once the system have fully initialized you will be presented with the Windows Desktop. As an example we will launch Notepad. Follow the steps exactly as explained below: Press Ctrl and Esc to show the Start menu or press the Windows Logo key. Now press the Up Arrow until you can see the selection rectangle moving upwards in the Start menu. Once the selection rectangle enters the Start menu press the Left Arrow to move to the left section of the Start menu. Then press the Down Arrow until “All Programs” is selected. Press the Right Arrow to expand the “All Programs” menu. Press the Down Arrow until “Accessories” is selected. Press the Right Arrow to expand the accessories menu. Now press the Down Arrow until the Notepad menu item is selected and the press Enter. This will cause the Notepad application to launch.
Armed with this basic keyboard shortcut knowledge you will be able to launch any application without the use of the mouse.
Moving Around the DesktopFrequently users place icons on the desktop to quickly access some application, files or folders they regularly use. What now if the mouse packs up and you have to get to that file? Here is how to make use of the Windows keyboard shortcuts to get that done:Depending on the current situation different steps might be required so keep in mind that you do not have to do all the steps.
Press the Windows Logo key and M simultaneously to minimize all Windows. Press Ctrl and Esc simultaneously and then press Esc again. (Only required under certain conditions so you might only need to perform this step if you do not get the desired results from the step below). Press the Tab key and release it. Keep on pressing and releasing it until you see a “focus rectangle” surrounding one of the icons on the desktop. If there are a lot of icons on the desktop you might need to look carefully if any receives the focus indicated by the focus rectangle. Also occasionally use the arrow keys to see if you can move between different icons if it is difficult to notice the icon with the focus rectangle. Normally the focus will move between the Windows Taskbar and the last icon that had the focus (being selected) on the desktop when the Tab key is pressed. Once you got the “focus rectangle” on any icon on the desktop it is just a matter of moving to the icon of your choice using the arrow keys. When the required icon got the focus or is selected press the Enter key to open the file, folder or launch a program.
Working with WindowsOur next step in this Windows keyboard shortcuts article is to manipulate windows in the context of minimizing, maximizing, moving and closing them. To minimize the currently active window press Alt and Spacebar. The Control Menu for the window will appear. Now press N to minimize the window. To maximize or get a window to its restored state when it is minimized to the Windows Taskbar hold down Alt and then press and release the Tab key until the desired window is selected. When the window of choice is selected also release the Alt key which will ensure that the window will either be maximized or restored depending on its previous state. If you want to maximize a window from its restored state press Alt and Spacebar. After the Control Menu appears press X to maximize the window. To restore an maximized window press Alt and Spacebar. When the Control Menu appear press R to get the window from its maximized to restored state. To move a window press Alt and Spacebar. When the Control Menu appear press M. Now use the arrow keys to move the window to the desired location and press the Enter key to round of this operation. When you want to re-size a window press Alt and Spacebar. When the Control Menu appear press S. Now press the arrow keys depending on which side you want to size the window from. Right will take you to the right edge of the window for sizing and the Down arrow will take you to the bottom right corner for sizing purposes. When pressing the left key first you will be taking to the window left border to carry out sizing from that side. Once you have selected your sizing location by pressing the left or right arrows and up or down arrows do the sizing by using any of the arrow keys. When finished press Enter to complete this operation. Pressing the Esc key will leave the original size of the window intact. To close the currently active window press Alt and F4 or press Alt and Spacebar, then press C.
General Use Windows Keyboard ShortcutsTake note that the WINDOWS key is the Windows Logo key on the keyboard.
ALT+TABDisplay list of open programs and switch to next program.
(Press TAB again to advance to the following program).
ALT+SHIFT+TABDisplay list of open programs and switch to previous program.
(Press TAB again to select the pervious program).
WINDOWS or CTRL+ESCDisplays the Windows Start Menu.
WINDOWS+EOpen My Computer.
WINDOWS+DToggle between Show Desktop and Show Open Windows.
WINDOWS+MMinimize All Windows.
F2Rename selected folder, file or shortcut.
CTRL+NCreate a New document for the active application.
CTRL+ODisplay the Open dialog box of the active application.
CTRL+SSave the current document of the active application.
CTRL+PPrint the current document of the active application.
CTRL+ASelect All content of the current document.
CTRL+XCut the selected text or object.
CTRL+CCopy the selected text or object.
CTRL+VPaste contents of clipboard into active document.
CTRL+ZUndo the last operation.
CTRL+YRedo the last Undo operation.
CTRL+BMake selected text bold or remove bold formatting.
CTRL+UUnderline the selected text or remove underline.
CTRL+IMake selected text italic or remove italic formatting.
CTRL+FDisplays the Find dialog box.
CTRL+HDisplays the Replace dialog box.

IT department automation in an enterprise.
Recommended: for the heads of enterprises, IT departments, system administratorsThis article will tell you:How to quickly install Windows on all computers of an enterprise.
How to quickly upgrade software on all enterprise computers without losing any data.
How to automate all kinds of routine processes in an enterprise.
How to increase the productivity of system administrators in an enterprise.
Any company faces the problem of timely software update on all computers as well as the problem of the quick recovery and configuration of an employee’s working environment. To solve this problem we offer our product: Almeza MultiSet.
A company before using MultiSet:The software is installed/configured manually with the employee working with this computer being idle at this time.
Databases are updated, computers are configured, software is set up - all that is also done manually and requires the administrator to be present at every computer.
Every remote office requires system administrators to be employedThe IT staff has to be arranged to be on duty 24 hours a day.
Expenses on business trips made by technical specialists are necessary.
You get the following benefits after you deploy MultiSet in your company:You will need only 1 administrator at any point on the network to update any amount of software on any number of computers. Note that the time needed to update software on all computers will be approximately equal to the time needed for one computer!
It is possible to quickly change the configuration on multiple or separate computers throughout the entire network. Note that the administrator has to be physically present at one computer only.
It is possible to quickly and safely reinstall WindowsXP without losing any current data!
It is possible to create a master disk for the standard automatic installation of a set of software on any number of computers.
It is possible to automatically install Windows together with drivers, service packs, any types of tools and applications.
It is possible to quickly update databases, configuration files on client computers.
Using MultiSet dramatically increases the effectiveness of using the office hours of the IT administration department.
Why particularly MultiSet?
Reliability. MultiSet reliably runs on any type of Windows operating system.
Quickness. Due to its innovational algorithm, MultiSet performs its functions fast, exactly and, which is most important, reliably.
Trustworthiness.. Among our clients there are banks, government organizations, customer support services, large corporations, which proves the actual usefulness of MultiSet in practice.
Flexible pricing policy. We offer a very flexible pricing policy that allows you to cover a large number of computers at minimum cost.
Low system requirements. MultiSet has minimum system requirement for its work. MultiSet supports the following operating systems: Windows Vista/XP/2003/2000 (32-bit) and Windows Vista/XP/2003 (64-bit).
SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESSSmall organizations often do not have enough funds to employ an administrator and it often happens that regular employees have to update and configure software.
MultiSet will allow you to reduce expenses on calling administrators for every client computer, save a lot of time for everyone and therefore provide more time for employees to spend on their direct duties.
Download Free 30-day Trial:http://www.almeza.com/download/multiset.exeWeb:http://www.almeza.com

Microsoft is due to release its new Vista operating system either toward the end of this year or at the beginning of next year. Will this new operating system be as successful as Microsoft’s other offerings? Microsoft’s own greed could end Windows reign as the leading desktop operating system. To fight piracy, Microsoft first introduced activation with its with Windows XP. Activation was supposed to insure that one copy of XP can only be used on one PC. Hackers easily created versions of Windows that avoided activation. Then in the fall of 2004, Microsoft introduced “Windows Genuine Advantage.” This program was created to allow Microsoft to check individual PCs to see if they are running a genuine XP or a pirated XP version. At first it was voluntary. Then last summer, Microsoft made it mandatory in order to download any free Microsoft software. Now its even become necessary to get XP security patches. If your PC fails the test and you have a counterfeit installation disk that appears genuine (including the holographic emblem similar to the one on real copies of Windows), Microsoft will send you a genuine disk for free in exchange for the fake disk. Otherwise, to make your Windows genuine you need to either buy a genuine Windows XP or take advantage of whatever offer Microsoft cares to give you.
With the advent of the “Windows Genuine Advantage” campaign, Microsoft has become a personification of a typical, greedy “Corporate Alien.” As Linux distributions get better and better, Microsoft has to be careful how it deals with its users. They seem to think that their software is so good, that people would rather pay than switch.
Microsoft licensing always stipulated that, to be legal, you had to buy a license for the Windows or DOS operating system for every PC you own. But from the early DOS days up to Windows 2000, someone would buy one operating system and pass it around to family, friends, and neighbors. So that one Windows 98 Second Edition wound up on ten or more PCs.
Linux, on the other hand, allows you to legally install it on every computer you own. So putting Linux on ten or more PCs is not only legal but desirable as a form of advertising for the operating system. But Windows users have been doing the same thing all these years. They’ve been advertising Windows by passing it around. It wasn’t legal, nor condoned by Microsoft, but Windows piracy was a form of advertising that actually helped promote Windows and insure its growth. As you can see, all this rampant piracy didn’t prevent Microsoft’s Chairman Bill Gates from becoming one of the richest men in the world.
There’s another thing to consider, when you think of operating system piracy. If you’re a corporation with thousands of computers, you get a special deal on Windows licensing. If you’re a big PC maker like Hewlett-Packard, you get a discount on OEM versions of Windows. But if you’re a small computer store and you build five clone PCs per month, you’d have to pay the typical single user price for genuine Windows. (For XP that’s about one hundred dollars for the Home Edition and one hundred fifty dollars for the Professional Edition.) It’s hard for a small individual to get started and compete with the big boys, and pirating the operating system can be a means of leveling the playing field. Such piracy can be considered as really being a “discount for the Working Class.”There are several Linux distributions that are just as good or even better than anything Microsoft has to offer. But people will still cling to Windows because they don’t really want to learn anything new and switching to Linux would require a small learning curve. Microsoft has probably already made deals with PC vendors to install its Vista on practically every major PC brand in the US as soon as it comes out. To be fair to everyone, all PC’s should come without an operating system. When someone orders the PC they would order the operating system as well and the store would then install it. Imagine if people were given the choice: “Fedora Core 4 Linux: free” or “Windows Vista Professional: $200.00.” I wonder if they would still choose Windows?
Microsoft could actually make Windows the operating system for the next hundred years. All they have to do is make Vista free when it comes out. Just like Linux, the free version would have no support or warranty. They don’t even have to make it open source (reveal its internal code); just make it free. They could still make money by creating a highly secure, highly tweaked, fully supported corporate version of Vista and sell it to big companies that can afford it. This is what Linux companies like Redhat and Novell do. If Vista was free, pirates would stop making money, Microsoft would save millions by eliminating the “Orwellian” tracking needed to determine if Windows is genuine, and Linux would no longer be much of a threat. Unfortunately corporate aliens tend not to see any further than the dollar sign. Microsoft will probably stick to the “Windows Genuine Advantage” program and try to thwart all attempts at hacking. Even though hackers will be able to circumvent any code that Microsoft comes up with, they will eventually get annoyed playing games with the giant Corporate Alien. Then pirated copies of Vista will become hard to get. This will end the advertising benefits derived from unchecked piracy that Microsoft enjoyed in years past. Windows Vista will start to lose market share and in 10 years a major Linux distribution will be the leading desktop operating system. If Linux triumphs, Microsoft Office, will also be replaced by Open Office, and the Microsoft stranglehold on PC software will finally be broken.
If you like Microsoft and want to keep it in power, encourage it to freely give away its Vista operating system. At least, suggest that they drop the annoying “Windows Genuine Advantage” program.
If you want to hasten Microsoft’s downfall. Don’t hack, pirate or buy Windows, especially its new incarnation, Vista. Learn how to work with your favorite distribution of Linux. You can download Linux distributions for free. Even with broadband this can take a long time. You can buy any Linux distributions for almost the cost it takes to make the disks at osdisc.com.When you buy your next computer make sure genuine Linux is loaded as your operating system. The more Linux gets established, the more everyone will be creating bigger and better software for it. In no time at all you will be getting the “Linux Genuine Advantage.”

Easy Web VideoOn a multitude of levels with its ease of use Easy Web Video has taken the hassle, anxiety, time, and even space requirements out of putting your videos on-line. The idea of the product is to first shrink the size of the file without sacrificing the quality. If you have uploaded videos before you find out quickly even with a broadband connection and fast computer the completion process isn’t breaking any speed records. Easy Web Video decreases the size of the file by 90 percent. The upload time is much quicker to the user and if it is for your own website, the total storage needed per video is significantly less than using a typical format such as MPEG.
Click here for risk free information: http://1234dcba.1236659.hop.clickbank.net/Not only can you view a video demo of the product before purchase but if you don’t have a website Easy Web Video will let you use their website for storing your files. They even offer an eight week money back guarantee with the purchase. Once the software is installed you can even customize the look of the buttons such as the play and fast forward. The latest version has the ability to cue to a specific spot on the video. For instance if you want to go right to the one minute mark, it is right at your fingertips.
Sometimes Easy Web Video will offer a bonus for the purchase. During September they included a separate program to edit video without needed extensive knowledge.
Seeing is believing!
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You just received an invite from your software company for the “Annual Client Software User Meeting”. Which of the following will you do?

• Jump for joy and immediately begin making arrangements to attend! You have been waiting for this great opportunity all year long and the excitement generated can hardly be contained!
• Put the invitation aside. If you have nothing better to do you may go, or you may send someone else from your company that might benefit.
• Toss it into the “circular file” without opening it. “Those things are a complete waste of time”. What could you possibly gain by attending? You throw it out every year.

There are many different perspectives when it comes to a client software user meeting. Some viewpoints are based upon favorable or non-favorable experiences at past meetings. Others are opinions based upon how “the individual thinks the meeting will be”. Last, you have a group that doesn’t think there is any value in going to a “software meeting” because they are not “technical people”.
Why do people go to these meetings anyway? What is the profile of these “user meeting attendees”? Are they a “technical bunch” that enjoys talking about “software stuff”? Who really can benefit from a software client user meeting? To find out answers to all of the above, it’s best to attend the next software client user meeting that you are invited to. Each software firm runs its own meeting and has its own style and focus for a user meeting. The common thread is that all software firms run these meetings in order to educate the users of their software. What varies is the style in which the education takes place.
The meeting agenda should provide you with good insight as to what to expect. Typically, software firms gear these meetings at owners/managers of their client companies. The goal is to educate the “top brass” so that appropriate decisions can be made at the top relating to the software used. This also means that the sessions will not be as technical as you might expect.
The goal of every software firm is to produce software that the users will benefit by using long-term. A software solution purchased today can quickly become irrelevant tomorrow. The world changes and software must change too. In order to service the needs of the client, it is important the software firm have some dialogue with its clients. This is important throughout the year, but can be especially meaningful at a client user meeting. A client user meeting takes people away from their busy day to day activities, and allows for thought and discussion amongst people who have a common goal. Though no one really has time for these meetings, it is an investment that the client and the software firm will make. It has been proven that clients that take advantage of the opportunity, always do better with the software.
Your typical client user meeting will offer a blend of a few of the following components:

• new product introduction
• existing product enhancements
• education on how to use current products
• speakers offering insight on general business issues such as marketing, industry topics of interest, and management/financial
• roundtable discussions among users
• workshops
• food and good company.

“Hobnobbing” with other folk who use the same software can be extremely valuable. Information sharing, networking and building relationships with others users can offer great insight and improve the way you work with the software. A software user meeting allows you to work with the software firm at a different level. You’re giving advice and in a sense becoming part of the development team. This allows you to protect your investment by getting more of what you need and want. Your industry changes and you have to explain to the software firm what you want so that they can give it to you in the form of new products and enhancements.
Most meetings offer learning sessions to improve your use of the features that you have. Users walk away from meetings almost in disbelief that they have some wonderful features that they didn’t realize they had. More than likely it was covered in training, but with so much to absorb, who can remember all of the tools and whistles and bells that are built into a comprehensive and extensive software suite. It’s a great opportunity to meet the voice over the phone that services you. It’s also exciting to be one of the first to see new enhancements that will soon be released. It’s possible you will have learned about some dynamic new ways that your firm can be using the software to increase sales and marketing, service clients and employees better or expand your business. People always walk away from a client meeting richer than when they came.So, the next time you receive an invitation to a client software user meeting, what are you going to do with it?

‘Spyware’ is a form of advertising software that is covertly installed on a person’s personal computer without their knowledge or consent.
Some advertising software today is installed with the consent of the computer owner as a form of payment for the use of a website or program, and these forms of marketing software are usually termed ‘adware’. The difference between spyware and adware is knowledge and consent of the user. Because spyware is added without consent, and often can lead to a number of damaging effects to a computer, spyware removal is a popular subject for computer users today.
The first step in spyware removal is of course determining that you indeed have spyware installed on your computer. Chances are, you do. In a study conducted by America Online and the National Cyber-Security Alliance in 2004, it was estimated that 80% of computer users across the world have some form of spyware installed on their computer, and 90% of these users are not aware of it.
Some common signs that your computer maybe infected with spyware are ‘pop-up’ advertisements that occur frequently, and sometimes even when you are not on the web. These ads can be extremely annoying to be sure, but spyware can have even more sinister effects to your computer. For instance, it can considerably slow your computer down, add hard to remove toolbars to your browser, change your home page without your knowledge, and cause lock-ups or crashes, resulting in lost data. The good news is there are a number of spyware removal programs available that will scan your computer to detect spyware elements. If it is determined that your computer is infected with spyware, some of these programs are able to remove the infection. Many spyware removal programs are available free of charge, though they must be updated regularly. Some programs will allow you to scan your computer for free, but will then ask for payment in order to clean the detected spyware. Personally, I’m a little skeptical of these programs, and stick to the ones that are entirely free of cost. Some good examples include SpyBot, and AdAware. These spyware removal programs are usually able to get most spyware off your computer. To increase your chances, it is best to run two or even three different programs. You may encounter occasional spyware programs that are especially malicious and will require more complicated measures to remove. Instructions on how to remove these more devious spyware programs are often available in technical forums across the internet, and most stores that offer computer repair are also able to clean spyware as well as viruses.