Software | I Can Technology

Filing Bankruptcy: What’s at Risk?

February 5, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

The phone calls never seem to stop. Creditors want the money you owe them, but you don’t have it. You’re overextended, and there seems to be no other way out except through bankruptcy. It’s time to weigh your options.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws offer filers the potential to wipe their slate clean and start fresh. You pay all the debt that you can, the rest is wiped away, and, within a few months, you can take a deep breath and realize you’re debt free. It sounds like the perfect scenario, but first make sure you understand all that filing for bankruptcy entails. In order to pay off as much of your debt as possible, Chapter 7 bankruptcy requires that you liquidate your assets. Sure, you realize you will have to liquidate some of your bigger items, such as your car and your home. However, you may even need to liquidate something as simple as a domain name.

A popular domain name can be worth a lot of money, and that’s money that might go toward your creditors. It doesn’t matter if you registered a domain name that was already popular or if you built your website from the ground up. If it’s worth cash, you could stand to lose it.

However, thanks to bankruptcy laws, you do have options. For instance, if the website is your source of income, you will be allowed to keep your domain so you can maintain an income. On the other hand, if you decide to liquidate it, you may be further on your way to being debt free.

Seek advice from a reputable bankruptcy attorney before you make your final decision. It’s possible your domain name is worth a lot, or it could be worth nothing at all. It’s best to know what’s in store before you file for bankruptcy so you can prepare for your new debt-free future.

Filed Under: General, Software Tagged With: Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Title 11 United States Code, Domain name, Liquidation

Things You Need to Know About Fonts

January 29, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Fonts are the texts you use on computers. As unique as your handwriting is, so are the fonts. Not only do many have alpha-numeric values to them, many fonts exist that are dingbats using images that can almost be used as a one color clip art. Whether you are designing a school newsletter or a small business logo, there are some things you need to know about the fonts you are using.

Which Fonts can you Use?

That depends on the user licensing agreement. Generally, most programs that include fonts include those for personal use only. A commercial license is often an additional purchase; however, some of their fonts are already free for commercial use. You have to research the font specifically, and not all fonts have that information available.

If you go to a website and purchase fonts or download free fonts, the license should stipulate its use. You will be amazed at how many fonts are available for free for commercial use.

Where can you Find Free Fonts?

For commercial use, always read the license agreement as information can change and font creators can change their mind, but Larabie Fonts (found at My Fonts http://www.myfonts.com) offers quite a few for free. Blue Vinyl fonts offers more a buy one get one free deal, and Vic Fieger offers his old fonts for free and has quite a few for purchase.

For personal and commercial use, DaFont (http://www.dafont.com) offers many fonts available for free use, mainly personal use, but there’s a lot of commercial free uses on there as well. They also provide links to the font creator’s website when available.

Where can you Find Font License Information?

Generally, the license is downloaded with the font as a “read me” file. If not, many font creators also provide their information on their websites. If you can’t find the license information, consider contacting the creator and requesting permission if possible.

Filed Under: General, Software Tagged With: Font, Font family (HTML), Graphics, Website

Web Analytics

January 25, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A brick and mortar store generally tries to figure out their customers so they can better reach them and sell. They spend quite a bit of money on demographics and a lot of time planning target markets and advertising campaigns. The web is no different except for one thing: You can easily get more accurate information about your customers just because they are already logged on. The fact that they are on the computer answers a slew of questions you could ask customers walking into your store if you thought they’d take the time to answer them.

Better yet, you don’t have to design a system to ask customers to answer questions in creating an account followed by data base sorting unless you want more information than analytics can provide. For basic information, you can simply use Web Analytics to give you the information you need to know about customer behavior on your site. Web Analytics comes in a variety of forms. You can purchase Web Analytic services through companies such as Coremetrics, which is recommended for larger websites with bigger budgets, or you can use a free analytics tool such as GoogleAnalytics. If you are looking for something more in the middle, website statistics services might be a better approach such as OneStat and 3DStats.

Depending on which route you go, most web analytics can tell you who visited your site, where they are from, what pages they visited and what links they clicked, how they got to your site, how long they spent on your site, and where they left your site. Many also provide this information specifically as well as general statistics such as total visitors from the United States or most popular pages on your site.

This tool helps web site owners see what is and what isn’t working, develop their marketing and website planning, and improve their Search Engine Optimization.

Filed Under: Software Tagged With: Web analytics

‘Hire’ a Registry Cleaner to do Your Dirty Work

January 24, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

In the seemingly never ending battle against malware, some software tools are an important part of the fight. Registry cleaners are one such item. These cleaners do the work that it would be impractical for you to do manually – they search nearly countless files, looking for, and finding redundancies and unwanted items. Once these are removed, hard drive space is freed, which can have an immediate effect on your computer’s operating speed. A registry cleaner might have your computer responding to commands at the speed it offered when new! By simultaneously optimizing your machine, a cleaner will have you saving time like the effective multitasker that you are. Additionally, with the space that is freed up, you can often install business critical applications.

Have you ever noticed that you’ve bumped into long-since erased files, often many months or even years later, on your machine? In the digital world, what was once created is not always so easily destroyed. This being the case, PC Tools Registry Software is a great way to scan your computer for files that you wish were permanently gone, whether they’re sensitive documents or just space hogging video containing emails that colleagues have sent you. If you’re like most people, you want something deleted when you’ve answered all the prompts inquiring if you’re sure this is what you want to happen. After all those prompts, you still don’t get a complete delete!

Not only will a cleaner get things handled for you, it will also clear off your viewing history. That’s an essential feature to have when your boss just might sit at your desk after hours to use your machine. There’s no reason they need to see that you checked in with your social media connection while on the clock. All of that, and you’ll get a system-wide backup just in case your computer was to crash. Okay, when your computer crashes! Let malware be a thing of the past.

Filed Under: Internet, Software, Website Tagged With: Malware, Microsoft Windows, Registry cleaner, Shareware, Spyware, Utilities, Windows, Windows Registry

Free Online Design Tools

January 3, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

The internet offers quite a bit of free art to use in design, but not all art is free. Always look for licensing agreements to see if it is available for commercial and personal use.

Images in Public Domain

Photographs and images available in public domain are the safest option to go with images. Anything created by the government or where copyright has expired is in public domain. Keep in mind different countries have different laws for copyright expiration. A great website to find images in public domain is WikiMedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page).

Fonts

Not only can you find some free fonts to use for your letters, but you can also find some free of dingbat images to use as a one color clip art or to color for clip art. Dafont (http://www.dafont.com) offers free fonts.

Photoshop Brushes

If you use Adobe Photoshop, you can also download free brushes to use in your designs employing a simple click to insert images onto your canvas. My Photoshop Brushes (http://myphotoshopbrushes.com/brushes) also offers patterns, gradients, and shapes.

Clip-Art

Many websites offer clip-art free for personal use, and some offer commercial free clip-art, and most offer links to websites of links for free clip art. Sometimes the easiest way to get clip art of quality to stretch to large files is through a dingbat font; however, some of the sites with clip-art can be useful in design. Hassle Free Clip-art (http://www.hasslefreeclipart.com/) offers a decent selection “with no strings attached.”

Tutorials

Do you see an effect being used as a trend in graphic design, like the sunburst, and have a sudden urge to play with or use the effect? You can experiment in your software at trying to create the effect, but Photoshop and Illustrator tutorials are all over the web to make neat effects like the sunburst or different techniques with inking artwork.

Filed Under: Internet, Software Tagged With: DaFont, Graphic design, Public domain, WikiMedia Commons

Making Your Online Business Successful

November 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Just like retail store owners have to think about how well their commercial spaces attract customers and encourage them to purchase products, online business owners need to think about how their websites attract traffic and convert visitors into buyers. Unfortunately, you can’t just look at a web page and decide that it has the right merits to attract customers. Aesthetics play their role in an online business’s success, but business owners need concrete information that will help them succeed.

During the early days of ecommerce, fledgling websites had to make guesses about the types of designs and services would encourage visitors to spend money. Today, though, online business owners have a wealth of opportunities to learn about what does and does not work.

Web analytic software, for instance, gives business owners the ability to see what types of activity take place on their websites. If customers frequently move their cursors to a certain part of the screen, then you know they are attracted to an element in that area. If paying customers largely enter the site by searching for a specific keyword phrase, then you know to focus on that area. You might also find, though, that certain keywords increase traffic without increases sales. In this case, you will want to divert your attention to strategies that work better.

You don’t even have to spend a lot of money on the information you need to operate an online business successfully. Google Analytics, for instance, has a free basic version that gives you access to plenty of info. If you decide to take advantage of other options, then you might choose to spend a little money on enhanced services. Otherwise, you can just use the software to help you build a highly functioning website that will grow your business by reaching new customers.

Filed Under: Domain Names, Software Tagged With: Business, Customer, Google Analytics, online business, Small business, Web Design and Development, Web page, Website

The Founder’s Page: Internet Business

October 28, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

: Image by TaranRampersad via Flickr

The virtual world is one of infinite strangers and their just as infinite needs. Anonymity allows for expression without censorship and ideas that may be exchanged without fear. The distinctions of humanity blur and all that remains is the assurance that there is no reprimand to be found. The Internet is blessedly secretive.

Your business, however, cannot be.

While it is understandable that you avoid offering any precious information (such as your name, address and telephone number), such avoidance can cause complications for potential clients – they will wish to be familiar with the one they are purchasing from. The thrill of unknown identities does not extend to dollars. When money is traded for wares, there must be a sense of trust. This cannot be established, however, with blank pages and refusals to share revelations about yourself. You must instead offer a Founder’s Page.

Explained simply, a Founder’s Page is a separate piece of content. Unlike the rest of your site – which is dedicated to your specific services – this stands as an introduction to the world. It should include relevant facts about you, such as: experience, education, previous businesses, interests and any certifications you’ve earned. You do not have to list private truths but a name is still highly recommended. You want to be recognized, not forgotten.

A Founder’s Page is essential for any growing business. The Internet is soaked to entrepreneurs and their attempts to succeed. You cannot become a stranger among the many. You must instead seek to develop a brand – yourself. And crafting this page is the easiest way to accomplish this.

An online business is more than the generation of profit. It is instead the representation of you to the masses. You must therefore be certain that this representation is an inclusive one; and choosing to offer a Founder’s Page ensures this.

Greet the world. Define your site. Lose the dreaded anonymity.

Filed Under: Computers, Domain Names, Internet, Software Tagged With: Business, Facebook, HTTP Secure, People, Small business, Twitter, Web page, World Wide Web

CPU Utilities That Are Free

July 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

The computer software market is flooded with applications and utilities that cost money. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Here are some computer utilities that offer quality products for free.

Antivirus software is the first and most prominent in this topic. Past years represented the clogged market of paid antivirus software, where users were increasingly pushed towards paying money for a quality program.

In recent years, this isn’t the case. A quick stop to a freeware website reveals a number of respectable antivirus programs. Free antivirus software today offers a high level of protection, where users can choose from several quality freeware programs.

In computer security, firewalls are also in this market. You also don’t need to pay for firewalls and other important parts of your computer’s security, making freeware choices and excellent complement to a solid antivirus choice.

If you are looking for an alternative to popular paid security programs, take care in choosing those that are respected. You are advised to read reviews from users and computer websites that have identified some of the top choices in this market. Keeping this in mind, it is quite easy to choose from a number of free programs.

Other computer utilities account for free options in software. System optimizers, diagnostics, and other computer utilities are now much more powerful than in recent years. If you are working on a budget and cannot afford some of these top choices, consider freeware alternatives.

Carefully identify what you need in terms of software. Obviously, the prime area is in regards to computer security utilities. However, account for other areas that are important in your computer, such as backup programs and others.

With a careful approach, you can easily take advantage of these freeware options without sacrificing their effectiveness. Do your research and enjoy the benefits of powerful and effective freeware utilities.

Filed Under: Software Tagged With: Anti-Virus, Computer security, Freeware