Tips to Find the Best Calling Rates and Buy Calling Cards Online

These days, long distance charges are very competitive. Every month, we receive many flyers of long distance service and often watch such advertisements on TV. Even home phone and cell phone company can provide their 'cheap' long distance package also. But the latter is more expensive.

There are so many choices for long distance calling. Then, how to compare and find the best rate with good quality? Internet is a good way. Some websites sell many calling cards together and provide price comparison. Why not use their technology to make it simple? Just go to such a calling card online store, like http://www.eecalling.com. Then begin your price comparing tour.

First, select the country you will call from, and then select the country you will call to. I.e., you will like to call Canada from USA. Then select USA as the 'from' country and Canada as the 'to' country.

Second, click 'search' button. You will see the result page that show all available calling card by price increasing. The top one is the best rate calling card. I.e., the best rate calling from USA to Canada is 0.9 cent/minute. You can change it to call to a cell phone whose rate is different. For special destination city, the rate may be lower. They will indicate you on the top if it is available.

Third, you can compare now. Besides rates, you also need to consider the terms or other charges. Some cards have maintenance fee or connection fee. You had better know it clearly before purchase. Otherwise, you will find minute reducing. Regarding these terms and surcharges, I will introduce them details in the other articles. Please read it later. After comparing, you may have a decision which card is right for you.

Last, buy online. Click the 'buy or refill' button beside the card you want to buy. Then following the instruction to open an account and select the payment method. An instant PIN# will send to your email immediately after your purchasing. If you had purchased a calling card and want to buy the same card again, just refill it.

That is all. You can enjoy your long distance talking now.

The Blue Tooth Headset - History

Did you know that the Blue Tooth Headset was named after a Norwegian king?

King Harald Bluetooth got his name from the color of his teeth, caused by his dietary habits. He was totally convinced that when he united Sweden and Denmark during his reign (910 to 985 AD), he would bring all the people together.

More than a century later, Ericsson Mobile Communications came up with an idea. Why not try to link mobile phones and all their accessories together with a new technology? And guess what? They named it after the Norwegian king. Nokia, Toshiba, IBM and Intel joined in 1998 Ericsson in forming a special interest group to develop this technology. Their goal was to allow all electronic devices to communicate. They kept the name Bluetooth, and the technological advances led the communications world to where it is today, and will still be important in the technology of tomorrow.

A blue tooth headset for cell phones, a wireless blue tooth headset for listening to music and movies. It is today a very common sight. Blue tooth headsets are also used with computers, often with the Voice over Internet Protocol, commonly known as VoIP. This enables the user to make calls through the headset, like if it was a wireless telephone.

The research done by the early special interest group made it possible to create laptop computers, cell phones and telephones with integrated blue tooth technology. Technology that enabled communication with other devices. And as a direct result of this research, we got the blue tooth headset.

Drop Us A Fax - A Fascimile

Fax or to call it its full name, facsimile is an easy way of sending printed pages over the phone line it’s actually quite old technology. When you send a fax the recipient will receive the fax almost instantly (or their fax machine will anyway!).

It does cost money to send a fax, however it is much cheaper than an equivalent phone call. Modern day fax machines are equipped with 56Kbps modems, and so transmission of documents is very quick. You can send several letter size pages in under a minute, you try transmitting the same amount of information over the phone, it’s nigh on impossible.

Fax also prevents confusion, when talking on the phone people can misunderstand what you are saying and get the wrong end of the stick. By sending a fax the person has a written copy of what you said to them in front of them which has a time and date printed at the top. This really helps avoid arguments over when you actually told someone to do something.

If you wanted to send documents before fax was around then you had to use the postal service, post is obviously a lot slower than using a fax machine. Post does however have its advantages, the original document can be sent, and so there are no problems with unreadable documents.

The disadvantage of a using a fax is that many people do not check their fax machine on a daily basis, so even though the machine has the fax the person you want to read it hasn’t even seen it. Also you could have the problem of an over efficient receptionist throwing away important faxes before you get chance to read them. With a phone call you can make sure the person knows what you want to tell them.

Fax does have several modern day alternatives, the most popular being email. It is completely free to send an email, compared to a fax which does cost a small amount of money. Email is also instant, but the main disadvantage of email is that it’s difficult to send already printed documents by it. To send a printed document you would have to scan the document and send it as an image attachment, which is very time consuming. Also I have the problem of some of my emails occasionally disappearing into cyberspace without a trace!

Fax is the most efficient and best way of sending printed documents to someone. It is very useful in business. Fax will never become obsolete, in fact people are making many improvements to it, it is now possible to send faxes over the internet, and modern day fax machines have the capability of sending in colour.

Various Options To Make Long Distance Call For A Free Or Very Low Cost

Long distance phone calls used to be expensive. Remember the time when you spend up to ten cents or more a minute? Initially, the competition was not fierce and phone companies were making lots of profit from long distance calls. Soon, more competitors flood the marketing, forcing the price to reduce. Phone companies began to come out with unique packages and offers to get you to become their customer. Things have changed a lot since then, and many long distance call companies have folded. This is because the world of long distance calls has changed. It is now a service that you can get for free or very low cost.

The cheapest option available for long distance call nowadays is through internet. Using free services like Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger or Skype, you can now call your friends in any country as long as they download the free application too. The downside of such service of course is the need to have a computer and sometimes, the quality of the voice is not very good.

If you prefer to speak through the traditional telephone way, companies like Vonage and Time Warner Cable offer digital phone that comes into your home via your cable Internet connection. You can use your existing phone and keep your phone number. This type of service is cheap. Domestic calls are free. International calls are charged at a very reasonable price. For example, Time Warner cable offers long distance phone calls from the United States to Australia for ten cents a minute.

Another option available is monthly subscription. For example, Verizon offers unlimited long distance phone calls for just $20 a month. For those who make regular long distance call, this is definitely a real bargain. Such package offer is also good for those who do not have cable internet in their area.

One popular option that many people like to use is buying a long distance calling card. For $10, you can make hours of long distance call, depending on which country you call to. When buying a calling card, pay special attention to the initial charge per call. Some cards may advertise that you can make an hour long call for just 60 cents. But if you make several short calls, there may be a one time charge and these charges can easily build up and deplete the card value. If using a calling card, the idea is to make less calls but you can speak as long as you like.

If you have a cell phone that come with free nights and weekends call, you can take advantage of your contracts that give you free long distance phone calls during these special hours.

Manage Your Time Effectively By Using A Virtual Switchboard

If you run a small business it is likely that you wear several hats by necessity and this makes it all the more important to manage your time effectively. It is also important to build a reputation for always doing what you say you will do. Being reliable is the easiest way to ensure customers give you more business. It’s just so much easier to use someone you know will do the job rather than someone who has to be chased.

One of the areas that should be immediately addressed is how you manage incoming phone calls since you can save valuable time by not allowing work to be interrupted it is all too easy to allow them to disrupt what you are doing. How many times have you answered the phone in the middle of doing something else then, when the call ends, forget to finish the previous job? This endangers your reliability and can easily lose you business. So it’s important to manage incoming phone calls effectively otherwise you run the risk that they will mismanage you.

You can save valuable time by not allowing work to be interrupted. A good way to manage phone calls is to allocate specific time slots when you will make return calls. Perhaps one hour in the morning and another in the afternoon. Callers won’t mind waiting for your return call if they know you are reliable about so doing.

You can safely avoid answering every phone call by offering callers the ability to leave a voicemail message. Your greeting shouldn’t just request callers to leave a message. Be more specific by asking callers to leave their name, phone number and what it is they want. This enables you to prepare your answer to their query. Otherwise you’ll find yourself responding to a caller to ask what they want then having to call them back again with the answer.

It’s amazing how often people will call simultaneously, especially as your business becomes busier. If you only have one incoming line this can be a problem. However, it can easily be solved by using a virtual switchboard service that, in the UK at least, is often available free of charge.

A virtual switchboard is never engaged even if you only have one incoming line. Every caller will be answered and, if you are not answering calls right away, will invite them to leave a message. Most virtual switchboards will email the message to you as a voice file, which has much more clarity than an old fashioned answering machine. Many will even email you the phone numbers of callers who hang up without leaving a message.

Of course, it goes without saying that you should always answer calls in a professional way by announcing the name of your business. This can be difficult for home workers with only one phone line unable to distinguish between business and private calls. But it is easily solved by another function of most virtual switchboards called a whisper. When you answer a call from the virtual switchboard, the whisper feature will announce that it is a business call and invite you to accept it by pressing a key on your handset. This way you can either ignore the call and send it to voicemail or answer it straight away in the name of your business.

With modern technology every business however small can handle calls effectively and in a way that enables the business owner to make the most of every valuable minute.

Office Phones Giving You Problems?

With so much new technology, including Voice over IP (VOIP), coming to the office today, small business owners and managers are increasingly challenged to maintain their systems. They face the ordeal of making multiple vendors with overlapping responsibilities accountable for systems that must work together.

Poor customer service from a vendor can result in an entire office being off-line or unable to receive normal call volume for hours, or even days. Few companies really specialize in providing prompt, personal solutions in this market.

Large companies hire technical specialists as permanent employees to maintain their telecom equipment and carrier services. Small and medium sized companies most likely look to their network administrator, office manager or other administrative person to maintain their telecommunications equipment and service. When telecom issues arise, both large and small companies often rely upon outside vendors and carriers to solve these problems as quickly as possible.

Carriers are notorious for their weak customer service, relying on multi-level auto-attendants and remote call centers to minimize their cost in responding to customer questions and service issues. Small carriers and resellers often do not have qualified staff to provide good customer service. Typically very strong in their customer acquisition process – sales – carriers, especially, are very weak in after-sales customer service.

Business customers may be unaware of this weakness in their carrier’s customer service process until they lose their telephone or data connection completely or have a serious intermittent service issue. Loss of service is a rude wake-up call that makes everyone suddenly appreciate the trade-off made in selecting the lowest cost provider or vendor.

Telecom equipment vendors may leave customers in a similar predicament. In order to capture new business, a vendor must be very competitive in pricing equipment. As compared to selling, post-sale service is another challenge altogether.

Some equipment vendors may be technically competent but not have a customer service orientation or friendly personality. You may discover when calling on your vendor, that they are non-responsive to your “emergency” and not especially good at dealing with customers on routine issues either.

For the vendor’s customer service person, it often takes finesse, or at least careful listening and gentle questioning, to respond appropriately to a customer with telecom issues.

How to choose a vendor?

In the first place, you should make it part of your decision criteria for purchasing equipment, a conscious decision to hire a mature, service-focused vendor. Choose carefully. It requires a savvy customer who understands these issues to assure a wise choice of vendor.

When purchasing new equipment, most people focus on the feature set and initial cost. They may assume the after-sales customer support is everything that the sales executive claims it to be.

Based on experience, we know that a sales person will always claim to have outstanding or excellent customer service. Whether the company actually has in place the organization, training, technology and culture to really meet customer expectations for after-sales service is irrelevant to most telecom sales people. Their mission is to close the sale.

The Solution

How do you minimize problems with your office phones? Be selective in your choice of vendor. You are not just purchasing equipment. You are looking for a vendor with an outstanding reputation for service. You are hiring a vendor to install and maintain your telecom system. That’s right; consider your purchase to be a hiring decision.

If you work at it, you can find vendors out there, who offer outstanding technical support with a highly professional approach to customer service - before and after the sale.

Help is Available

Most everyone knows the frustration of dealing with telecom carriers and vendors. A good equipment vendor should work to alleviate this frustration by helping to solve customer telecom problems – both hardware and carrier related. In this way customers really benefit from the vendor expertise and experience, and feel “cared for” in a more personal way.

Telecom customer service should be a pleasurable experience!

Africa And The Global Media Imbalance

The developing world, Africa in particular has always argued against the imbalances and injustices in the coverage of their affairs by the western media. Such coverage is not only paternalistic but most times grossly unfair, and serves only to sustain the imperialistic interests of the developed world.

Such imbalanced, negative and biased reporting is bound to continue because of the concentration of global media networks and resources in the west.

It is indeed sad that 26 years after the UNESCO sponsored McBride Commission and Report, the recommendations are yet to be fully implemented; the most significant of which is the suggestion for ‘the progressive implementation of national and international measures that will foster the setting up of a new world information and communication order’.

If anything, the information divide between the developed and developing countries has widened even further especially in this digital age which is being driven by globalization and technology. Africa and the rest of the developing world have found themselves again lagging behind the west.

However, a little goodwill and responsibility on the part of the western media is really needed at this time to prevent the continued psychological scares and damages, leading sometimes to feelings of inferiority complex on the part of the African as a result of continued sensationalisation and criminalization of everything African.

Not all Africans are criminals, rapists and savages. Also, there are many good things about Africa. Not all Africans live in slums; neither do they all scavenge rubbish heaps for food. Africa has also produced intellectuals and academics that can stand their own in the western world. Agreed the continent still faces peculiar challenges, but so does the rest of the developed world.

A situation where little efforts on the part of African governments and their people to take control of their destiny are either unreported, misreported, under-reported or acknowledged with cynicism by the western media is unacceptable, and does not indicate respect for the continent, neither does it reflect the ideals of partnership, a concept that Western leaders have been touting lately.

But why do the western media still thrive on a culture of negative and biased reporting of Africa and her people?

It could be as a result of the need to improve ratings, which can only be achieved by satisfying the mundane voyeuristic tastes and expectations of the western media audience, whose colonial views of Africa as the backward and dark continent must be reinforced and sustained.

Also, it could be as a result of the immoral culture and acceptance by the western media that ‘bad news sells’, and hence news about hunger in Sudan depicting dying children, or about savagery in Rwanda must be sought and reported by all means, even if at the sacrifice and expense of the developmental needs of the African, as well as their national interests.

Again, the McBride Report was published at a time when global media concentration was in the hands of national governments and their agencies, the understanding must have been that these governments would prevail on the media networks through directed policies to encourage a new world information and communication order. Because the report is advisory in nature and relied on goodwill from the stakeholders without any legislative powers to enforce sanctions, it had remained merely what it is – a report and doesn’t seem to have made much impact, despite the efforts by Africans to set up the Pan African News Agency (PANA), billed as the voice of Africa to the world and representing the African perspective, not much could be said to have been achieved and it has been business as usual ever since.

Finally, the greater concentration of global media networks in the west, i.e. CNN, BBC, FOX, Reuters, AFP etc, coupled with the availability of material and human resources have meant that western media are able to come up first with the news, as against African media networks such as NTA, SABC, PANA, NAN, AIT etc who are still bogged by dearth of resources, and therefore can not cope in the global news race, thus limiting their chances of covering the African continent positively. It is such that Africans have had to rely on the western media for news coverage of events happenings right under their noses, or in their back yards. The western media are able to deploy resources even to the remotest regions, they can afford to since they have both the resources and personnel. Not the same can be said of African media networks.

Africans may also be guilty of helping to perpetuate this neo-colonialism, western journalists and writers and their chauvinistic views are culled, easily celebrated and given media spaces in African media channels, not minding that the situation reversed becomes like the proverbial camel passing through the eye of the needle for African writers and journalists to be published in the western media, with the exception of a few African writers and journalists who maintain the western status quo, unwilling to rock the boat.

Few incidents reported recently in the United Kingdom (UK) media drives home this point. The Tony Blair government has been embroiled in a battle for political survival since their battering at the last local government elections in May 2006.

The Blair government is looking for sacrificial lambs every where to make up for the government’s ineptitude in certain areas, and also to satisfy the interests of the media. It appears that they have zeroed in on Africans and other immigrants in the UK. The British media have now successfully created the impression in the minds of the ever increasing nationalistic UK citizens, that immigrants are evil and criminal. Matters were also not helped by the fact that over a thousand dangerous criminals were mistakenly released, some of whom allegedly were supposed to be deported but weren’t as a result of a Home Office error.

Newspapers such as the Evening Standard went to town recently with a screaming headline announcing that 5 Nigerian illegal immigrants were caught working in the home office. A further analysis actually showed that the immigrants in question worked as cleaners under contract by another firm.

Such biased headlines actually undermine the importance of immigrants in most western economies. Considering the low wages paid to workers in the cleaning and related sectors, it remains to be seen if citizens of these countries would agree to work such menial jobs at the ludicrous wages the immigrants are paid for their services.

It appears Nigeria now represents everything evil in eyes of the western media as they are quick to give front page coverage with screaming headlines to matters concerning the country. Take the case of Dr Richard Akinrolabu, a senior house officer at St Richard's Hospital, Chichester who was accused by his lover and colleague of attempting to carry out illegal abortion procedures on her. The doctor was named and shamed in front page headlines which were written along the lines of ‘Nigerian Doctor …’ His accuser, the white woman did not suffer the same fate. In the end, the case was thrown out but not after the huge embarrassment to the doctor and his fellow country men. You would expect the media to also accord the not-guilty verdict the same headlines and coverage but they did not.

Another example of western media misreporting of Africa and Africans could be seen in the case of Guy Koma, who mistakenly became an interview guest on the BBC News 24 programme. Due to a scheduling mix-up, Mr Koma who had gone to the BBC centre for a job interview was mistaken for the scheduled guest (Guy Kewney) but still managed to ‘talk’ his way through the session although he had no clue of the interview theme. The UK media revelled in the story because of its human interest angle but wrongly identified Mr Koma as a taxi driver. Not that there is anything wrong with being a taxi driver but the media’s judgment could only have been influenced by their age-old prejudices as to the type of jobs African immigrants do. It has since been confirmed that Mr Koma was actually attending a job interview in the IT department of BBC at the time of the mix-up. There were no follow-up reports on whether he got the job, not that Mr Koma would mind anyway because he has since signed a lucrative movie deal with an American production company over the incident, and is billed to play himself in the movie.

African governments and Africans with resources should aim to build their own media networks to combat the imbalances in the global media landscape, while also eploiting the existing channels in the developed countries where many of them presently reside to tell their stories.

Michael Peel's Africa

Perhaps Africa’s and indeed Nigeria’s biggest enemy with regards to negative and biased reporting is Michael Peel, I have indeed tried to contain myself and to be patient with this voyeur cum journalist but I can not hold myself anymore. Not after his last damning report and one-sided take on fraud and scams purportedly emanating out of Nigeria which he claims costs the United Kingdom billions annually.

As we say in Nigeria, enough is enough. How long should we stand by and watch this fellow dehumanise Africans and indeed Nigerians with his negative take on the African continent? This past week, most of the United Kingdom newspapers have been awash with Mr Peel’s story, conversations on tubes and buses and in offices have been ignited once again with the story of Nigerians and their financial invention – the 419 scam. But this is not all that Nigerians are good at; unfortunately it is the only one that Michael Peel chose to tell the world.

For people like me who speak the English language flavoured with a thick Nigerian accent, and who bear flag-waving African names, there is no escaping the scorn, ‘sympathies’ and jeers. As the West African correspondent of the Financial Times Newspaper, Michael Peel has never found anything good and positive in the whole sub-region worth reporting, his reports are usually couched in cynicism, threads of decay, death and backwardness knit them together, just like the news reports of his fellow western media journalists stationed in Africa whose only mandate is to report the bad and ugly. For Michael Peel and his associates, there is nothing good coming out of Africa; Africa is still a dark continent and its people savages and criminals.

I often wonder, when they go to bed at night, do they calmly shut their eyes with the satisfaction that they have done their best through their many warped and negative reports to improve the lives of the Africans whom they constantly denigrate, or does the thought that they may be contributing to Africa’s backwardness linger somewhere on their minds?

As an associate fellow of Chatham House, does Michael Peel not realise that the documents he authors and which are endorsed by Chatham House in a way influences policies including the decisions taken by governments and global investors concerning Africa, and that such parochial take on issues is at cross purposes with Africa, and indeed Nigeria’s march towards national re-birth, and its current drive to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs)?

Where has the journalistic objectivity he learnt in journalism school gone to? In telling his readers how much the United Kingdom loses annually to fraud emanating from Nigeria, he conveniently ignored the fact that his fellow citizens (the ‘innocent’ victims) are also co-perpetrators in the crime, and that their ‘misfortune’ only came about because of their greed and immoral inclination to rape Africa and rob it of its resources. A disposition that dates centuries and continues to be witnessed in Africa’s many mines and oil wells.

So who is smiling last now? The poor Africans that he so much detests and derides constantly, subjecting them to constant ridicule in the western media, and elevating them to favourite dinner table topics, and ballroom party conversations in Westminster through his negative reports, or is it the greedy white men and women who planned to reap where they did not sow and got done in the process?

Maybe Michael Peel should take a cue from John Simpson, BBC’s former Africa correspondent and world affairs editor who reports Africa just like a partner in Africa’s progress and development should; praising and critiquing it when necessary while at the same time savouring, celebrating and immersing himself in the culture of the people; their food, music, art, and lifestyle. In one of Mr Simpson’s many introspective essays published sometime in 2000, in an edition of High Life, the British Airways in-flight magazine; John Simpson wrote what I consider to be one of the most beautiful articles about Nigeria ever written by a non-Nigerian. In the said article, he bared his soul while declaring his love for a country that he said was probably one of the best countries in the world to live in despite the odds and challenges. Surely there are things Mr Simpson must have seen or experienced to have made him arrive at such a conclusion. Such an endorsement coming from a widely travelled man and writer obviously beats the many battering at the keyboards of the Michael Peels of this world who may have overstayed their welcome, and should now be thinking of packing their bags and leaving the beautiful continent; the land of the great rivers and the rising sun.

I guess it is only Michael Peel that can produce the statistical formula he used to arrive at the alleged amount of money the United Kingdom loses annually to Nigerian fraudsters, if his billion pounds calculations were true, would there have still been a need for Nigeria and the rest of Africa to be asking for debt cancellation? Would such gigantic proceeds of crime not have been visible on the ground? Would all the roads and pavements in Nigeria not be tarred and paved with gold, and would the economy of the United Kingdom not have seriously felt the impact of such illegal capital flights moving out of the economy to Nigeria?

Michael Peel should please get another vocation and leave Nigeria and Nigerians alone. Scare mongering is hardly what the world needs at this stage, particularly the United Kingdom which currently grapples with a myriad of issues including large scale corporate fraud (post – Enron, Andersen, WorldCom, Tyco etc), organized crime, poverty, anti-social behaviours, teenage pregnancy, threat of terrorism and rising unemployment etc. If he is so much concerned, he should be trawling the studios of the BBC, ITV, Channels 4 and 5 as well as Sky exhorting his people and advising them not to give away their ‘billions of pounds’ to Nigerians.

Africans and their governments share part of the blame for not fighting their own battles themselves. They have repeatedly failed to invest in their own media systems and infrastructures with which to tell their own stories. It may be along this line though that the Nigerian government-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) recently started broadcasting internationally. Worthy of note also is the reported plans by Nigeria’s News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to begin a 24-hour transmission from January 2007, just like other global news wires. These are all positive moves which if sustained in the longer term would give Nigeria a voice on the global arena, in addition to the little efforts of privately owned terrestrial channels such as Africa Independent Television (AIT), Bright Entertainment Network (BEN) Television, and OBE etc.

The attempt by Mr Peel to palm off his guestimates as research in order to support his position and those of his paymasters is indeed appalling; if only he was sincere, a casual probe would have told him that most of the scam emails do not originate from Nigeria, agreed some unscrupulous Nigerians may have popularised the scams but other citizens of the world including citizens of the United Kingdom have since perfected it. Mr Peel can not argue for sure that the daily ‘Euro Millions Prize Monies’ and such similar scam emails which bombard our email boxes daily all originate from Nigeria, or does he not watch the BBC Watchdog programme? How many Nigerians have been featured in that programme? Are the usual suspects not his fellow countrymen and women who get caught in the act while attempting to fleece other law abiding citizens including pensioners of their hard earned money?

The age-old reliance by African countries on western media such as the BBC, Financial Times, CNN, VOA etc for information has not really done Africa much good. The time has come for Africa and Africans to start telling their own stories, and to commit Michael Peel and his co-travellers who feast on Africa’s misfortunes, and are always quick to condemn, judge, blame and criminalise the good people of Africa with their myopic reports to the rubbish bins of history.

Sony Ericsson W850i: Ecstatic Musical Bonanza

Enter the pulsating world of music and feel the heavenly bliss with the Sony Ericsson W850i. Actually, the Sony Ericsson W850i is a slider Walkman music phone, which can give you those soothing moments with some pulsating music. You can download your favourite tracks anytime-anywhere, as you want. Give the desired look to your Sony Ericsson W850i and browse to get latest information about songs and thrilling beats. Experience the power of 3G and see the face of the person to whom you are talking. Shoot and share all those digital images with the Sony Ericsson W850i. If that is not enough, then enjoy quick and effective Internet connectivity and share all your data by using USB, Bluetooth, GPRS and Infra-Red—the world at your fingertips.

The Sony Ericsson W850i is available in two enticing colours, precious black and golden white. To make the navigation easier, the Sony Ericsson W850i comes with dedicated keys and stylish keypad, which gives quick access to all the menus. It has a big 2'' inch colour screen, which enables you to view images, video clips and other important applications. The Sony Ericsson W850i offers music for all, as you can dance to your favourite tunes or soothe your mind with some classic tracks. You can download more than 1000 songs, as it comes with 1GB memory stick. Moreover, you can also tune in to its radio to get enough music.

The Sony Ericsson W850i is not about music only, as it does come with other exciting features to tempt you. It is loaded with 2.0 mega-pixel camera and 4x digital zoom, which enables you to get those fine pictures. There is another camera, which is specifically fitted for video calling. As, the Sony Ericsson W850i supports 3G technology, you are sure to get swift connectivity. Browse the Internet, share all your files by using Bluetooth and stay connected effectively with tri-band network. The Sony Ericsson W850i is equipped with all the essential features, besides, being the powerhouse of music.

Press Release Photos - Advice For The Novice

Many times, editors have to reject press releases because the accompanying photos, so essential to the story, cannot be used. If you are working on a tight budget, here are some tips to increase your chances of getting your press release photos into print.

First, send in good quality prints. Editors are often amazed that small companies, clubs and associations are willing to spend hundreds if not thousands on good editorial copy but spoil it all by including unfocused, grainy and badly posed photos with their press release.

Second, make things easy for the editor by putting the caption with the photo. In smaller publications the photo and copy might be handled by the same person, but in bigger newspapers and magazines your photo is very likely to be scanned together with many other pictures. So ensure you put the caption together with the photo and have the caption on the editorial copy as well to prevent mistakes when captions are retyped.

Third, do not write the caption by pressing on the back of the photo with a sharp point. The impression might show through on the photo and cause its rejection. Type out the caption on paper and stick it onto the back of the photo.

Fourth, in a check presentation photo, please do not leave a lot of empty space in the middle by having the presenter and recipient at opposite ends of the mock check. Give the photo editor some leeway to crop the photo to size.

Fifth, if identifying people in a photo do not forget to include "left to right" or "right to left" when listing out the names. The editor might be unfamiliar with the personalities and would not expect to spend time matching the names to the gender of people in the photo to figure out the order.

Sixth, if a name is spelled differently (for example, Smyth instead of Smith) do add "follow copy" or "sic" after the name to show that it is actually spelled that way and not a 'typo'.

Seventh, if you are sending in a photo of your graduating class to an educational supplement, do not just send in one photo of the whole class. Do include close up photos of some individuals, with the accompanying stories, because the class photo might not be published due to space constraints.

Eighth, try not to send "firing squad" photos of the winning sports team or whatever group you want to publicise. Get the team photographed hoisting the trophy or cheering their win, or with team members admiring each other's medals.

Lastly, if sending in photos by e-mail, do zip the files and send them in the publication's preferred file format if possible.

What are Call Detail Records and Why are They Invaluable to Your Business?

Whether using a legacy PBX (public branch exchange) system or a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system, most telephone networks generate call detail records (CDR). Usually these come at the end of the call, but with modern developments, this data is now available during the call. Information generated by Call Detail Records includes time, date, call duration, number dialed, caller ID information, extension, line/trunk location, cost, call completion status and more.

Knowing this data can be invaluable to a business providing insight into phone use, employees, sales and traffic trends, and so much more.

Call records produced by the PBX are transmitted via serial port to a buffer, where they are temporarily stored until retrieved by call accounting software. Since they provide a reliable method of safely transferring information to call accounting or telemanagement systems, call record buffers have long been broadly accepted as the preferred storage device as a safeguard against cases of delayed call collection or communication failure.

The greatest benefit of CDR is perhaps in telecom expense management. Call detail records, both local and long distance, can be used for usage verification, billing reconciliation, network management and to monitor telephone usage to determine volume of phone usage, as well as abuse of your company's telephone system. CDR's are an asset in managing long distance telephone costs and aid in the planning for future telecommunications needs.

Identifying seasonal call traffic can be invaluable for staffing purposes, marketing efforts, and the records themselves can be beneficial in call verification if a caller is harassing staff over some dispute.

Once you have a call accounting system in place, review all the CDR's for accuracy. Those records can then be used to verify costs and usage; resolve discrepancies with vendors; disconnect unused service; terminate leases on unused equipment; deter or detect toll fraud of long distance services; and negotiate the most cost-effective call routing.

By choosing a secure call accounting system, CDRs can be collected for processing at a centralized corporate site for any sized network from both legacy and VoIP phone systems in real-time.

CDR collection can be accomplished via the corporate LAN or over the Internet using encryption technology. Encrypted CDR collection via IP enables real-time processing of call data enterprise wide.

How Much Should You Pay For Reverse Cell Phone Lookup?

When we use new technologies and services, very often we worry about their cost. It has become sort of a law that each new service is very expensive, and some of us just refuse to use it until the cost goes down.

The same thing can be said of almost any new service involving cell phones, which naturally includes reverse cell phone lookup service. Reverse cell phone lookup enables us to look up just about any cell phone or regular number and discover who owns it.

So how much should you as a consumer pay for such a service?

Well if you do not need reverse cell phone lookup then naturally you should pay $0. But remember that the cost of anything that is for sale is not determined by its real value but rather on how much are people willing to pay for it.

However, try and compare reverse cell phone lookup with its much older sister, the standard directory assistance service. Today a call to the directory assistance is so low cost that we do not even notice it on our monthly phone bills. It was not always so, as little as 15 years ago such a call would be much more expensive.

However, with the reduction in prices, these days very few of us bothers using the old phone books anymore (I buy them each year just because of Yellow pages). Directory service is cheap (just a few cents per call), fast and saves you from the sometimes long and difficult phone book search. In addition, the internet phone number search is free and also very fast. So compared with these two services how much should we pay for reverse cell phone lookup?

The answer to these questions is that usually obtaining the information you need by using the cell phone number should be free or at least very cheap. Nevertheless, sometimes just as with regular phone number request, you can experience difficulties finding it. Many cell phone numbers just as well as regular landline phones are unlisted.

There is no way that you can just lookup these numbers and get the info you need. Pay service however, can in some cases discover the unlisted numbers for by using reverse cell phone lookup. Consider them your own private detective, only much cheaper. In most cases, this will require deep investigation, and that costs money. Anything not easily obtainable costs money.

In most cases, it is not worth it to track down the caller, unless you believe that an owner of that phone can be in some kind of a danger. You should report threatening and similar kind of calls to your local authorities, they have other, much better ways to track down these kinds of calls.

So finally, if you are a regular phone user, low cost or even free reverse cell phone lookup can provide useful information. Especially if you are a parent and you want to know who is calling your kid. For just a few bucks, you can check it up and keep your family safe.

Develop The Habit Of Winning Keynote Speeches

I love football. And because I love football, (hey, I'm a guy!) I like using quotes from one of my favorite coaches of all time, legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. His influence he left in the NFL is incredible and he is one of the most quoted people in the world. The legacy he left in the NFL was so great, that the superbowl winner is given the Lombardi trophy.

After one of the coldest games ever played, the Green Bay Packers won the NFL title game in terrible conditions in what was known as the Ice Bowl. At game time, it was -10 degrees and dropping. None the less, the Packers won the game and their third straight NFL title. When coach Lombardi was asked why his teams were so successful, he grinned and said that "Winning is a habit! Unfortunately so is losing. To be a successful team you must develop the habits of winning through proper preparation and practice."

And so it is with us. We must prepare and practice correctly if we are to give our best keynote speech to our intended audience. Most of the time we will face those conditions that will be most unfavorable to us. And when we do, we will be ready for them and come out winners. I waited for over 6 hours under very difficult circumstances to interview the great Tony Robbins. When he was ready, I interviewed him and it was one of the most incredible experiences I have had!

Knowing you are developing the winning habits will take you a long way while becoming an expert in your speaking career!

Since 1998, Rey Ybarra has been producing Internet Radio, Radio, Television and Internet Television programming. He is an outstanding speaker, Radio, Television and Internet Television Talk show host and producer who has produced over 250 radio and Television programs and has given over 700 interviews covering a wide variety and range of topics. He has spoken to organizations including The United Chamber of Commerce, The Health Freedom Expo, The Xerox Corporation, Bally’s Fitness and The Anco Corporation to name a few.

Predictive Dialers and Other Vital Tools to Increase Your Telemarketing Profits

Telemarketing has changed a great deal over the past few years. With innovative technologies being released such as Spitfire predictive dialers and other call center software and products, your telemarketing team can now be more productive than ever. Computerized telemarketing tools and the recent integration between the Internet and telephone systems enable your telemarketers to spend less time dialing and more time actually giving their presentation to potential customers.

Below are some unique telemarketing services and products that have revolutionized the way telemarketers conduct their businesses.

Predictive Dialers

A predictive dialer was developed to dial phone numbers automatically and then monitor calls and the types of answers it receives when dialing. It then connects telemarketing agents to the call once it recognizes that a real person is on the line. Predictive dialers are used in many call centers today, and have helped thousands of telemarketers maximize their efforts and waste less time dialing non-responsive numbers.

How It Works

With a hosted predictive dialer system, you'll only need a computer, Internet connection, and a telephone line for each telemarketing agent. With a Spitfire Predictive Dialer, for example, you'll receive outbound and inbound dialing capabilities, and can integrate the system with your T1 or analog lines without having a separate database server. Other features include query-based dialing, and time zone sensitivity. You'll also have the capability to run multiple campaigns simultaneously, alternate number dialing, and monitor and record calls. This setup is an easy-to-use system and requires minimal effort to get started.

This amazing CRM (customer relationship management) software drastically reduces the number of answering machines, voice mails, busy signals and hang-ups that your telemarketers may encounter during the workday.

Auto Dialers

Auto dialers were available prior to predictive dialers. These can dial telephone numbers automatically for your call center agents, but do not use algorithms such as the predictive dialer to connect the agent to only successful calls. The auto dialer is a handy tool if you have a limited budget but want to automate your telemarketing efforts.

Monitoring Systems

A monitoring system enables you to monitor calls for testing, training, motivation and assistance. You can ensure better quality service by keeping an "ear" on your telemarketers during their training.

Amplifiers

Amplifiers are great for ensuring good sound quality for each telephone call. With an amplifier, you can control the volume and enable muting. With some amplifiers, you can switch from your telephone to your computer easily.

Headsets

With headsets, your telemarketers can have free hands to write, type or do anything else while talking with potential clients. This prevents dropping of the receiver or the need to hold the receiver in an odd position while trying to write or type the client's information. There are many types of headsets including voice tubes, in the ear, over the ear, noise canceling, wireless, and convertible.

These are just a few of the basic tools every telemarketer should have to be successful. In today's ever-changing marketplace, you have to stay ahead of the game with innovative call center software and products like predictive dialers to be a success. Telemarketing is still a great way to contact potential customers once you have all the tools you need.

Change Talk: How to Make Change in Your Relationship

Have you had it? Are you tired of the same routine that is increasingly stressful and less fun? Have you talked about making a change but another month passes and nothing changed at all? Here is how you can make some big changes that will put back the time, fun and intimacy in your strained relationship. These ten tips on Change-Talk will help transform your warring partner into a willing and involved team player.

1. The I Statement. If you start out with “You” we have already lost! Say, “I want…” You must decide what is most important to you, right now. Focus on only one subject. The quickest way to become ineffective is to dilute your message. If you ask for multiple things all at once, you are definitely not going to get them, and then you start a pattern of failure. Your partner stops paying attention. Spreading your demands all over the map renders you powerless and ineffective. The important thing is that you establish a pattern of getting what you want and especially getting what you need. Say, “I want a change in the quality of our relationship.” Who can argue with that!

2. Make an Appointment.

Next, agree on a quiet time early in the day when you and your partner are able to talk uninterrupted for at least an hour. This is a time to discuss and listen, maybe with a third party, like a counselor, trusted friend or family member. The third person, acting as a mediator, can help keep it more of a discussion and less of a fight.

3. It’s Your Fault. As you each discuss the problem, somebody’s feelings may get hurt. The more frightened the dog, the more likely it will bite you, so be prepared to get nipped. Exploring the un-chartered waters of your relationship is scary and threatening. Cut your partner some slack and be compassionate, even while he or she is acting ridiculous.

4. It’s All My Fault. Avoid letting one person take on all the blame for a current situation or the discussion will mire down in self-pity and guilt-inducing wailing. If you are willing to split the blame then you can move forward and the discussion will progress.

5. Anger and Tears.

Loud “barking” may occur. As you or your partner get close to revealing dark, hidden, secret fears and insecurities, you may defensively lose your temper. This is when that third party can divert and calm things down. Fear changes to anger very quickly. Try to stay focused on talking to your frightened Beloved’s inner child and just ignore the obnoxious, angry, foot-stomping façade that is hurling accusations.

6. Stroke and be patient.

As you take turns freaking out, also take turns steadying each other. Give reassurances that you believe in them, love them, respect them and want them so that they can get control of their runaway emotions. Only then can you get back to talking about the subject that you want to discuss. This is where most couples give up and never allow their partner to work through their terrifying anxiety about making a change. Their idea of change may include a fear that the relationship might get worse, rather than better. This stubbornness may be misdirected love for you, and although annoying, is also sweet. Remember that it takes great courage to make changes in what you care about the most.

7. Let it rest. After the hour of emotional bombing of each other, reason and logic now have an opportunity to surface. Watch for that brief moment when your partner sees it from your side. When that happens, both of you take a break and let the ideas cook and rise like yeast bread. If you touch it too soon it will collapse! Agree to a second time to talk more and leave it alone, or you will have to start from scratch all over again.

8. No cheating. Couples can approach huge conflict and change by allowing Change-Talk to run its bumpy course without trying to skip or shorten the steps. Once the ideas have been fully stated, listened to, emotionally reacted to and then pondered on alone and undisturbed, a satisfying resolution is just around the bend.

9. Know your Matchline Gap. The key is to understand that you and your partner have different capacities to give and receive in the relationship called the Matchline Gap. When the Gap is large, people must work harder to keep a relationship balanced. If you are more capable in the relationship, then the responsibility for establishing and maintaining that balance is mostly up to you. Everyone deserves love and happiness.

10. List your relationships’ priorities. There are your needs and your partner’s needs. Your relationship, a third and separate entity, has needs too! Both of you must nurture your relationship. Even a great relationship will die if ignored - just like a like a lovely flower. Ask yourself if you are starving your relationship of time, energy, resources and laughter. Give your partner a chance to catch up to wherever you are with Change-Talk and then commit to goals and restructuring that will allow you, your partner and your relationship to thrive.