The rapid development of the World Wide Web in recent years has led to an explosive growth of information on the Internet. Our contemporary lifestyle would be unimaginable without access to such a super-abundant cornucopia of valuable information and web surfing has now become an everyday occupation for even the most diverse sections of society.
This rapid expansion of web resources raises some new issues for all of us. How could you possibly remember; after a long search, the address of that crucial web page? How will you be able to return to the page without repeating a tedious web search through hundreds and thousands of pages?
The answer is obvious, you need a program that will allow you to easily create and manage a database of web resources. Of course, this database must be quick, intuitive and convenient to use.
One way to resolve this problem is to use your web browser’s bookmarks feature. Bookmarks are a popular term for the lists of web page links stored in web browsers, although they are called ‘Favorites’ in Internet Explorer. These web browser bookmark systems have some severe limitations. For example, each bookmark list will only be compatible with a specific web browser. If you use several different web browsers you will have to manage the bookmark system in each one. Web browser bookmark lists may become cumbersome to use when your bookmark list grows beyond a few items. Important features missing from web browser bookmark systems include:
- Powerful search functions;
- Synchronization of bookmarks between different computers;
- Detection and automatic deletion of duplicate bookmarks;
- Checks for availability of bookmarked web pages.
Specialist programs and web services that store and organize bookmarks are now available and they offer a comprehensive solution to these problems. They are called bookmark managers or bookmark organizers (in this article both terms have the same meaning). The difference between online (web-based) bookmark managers and standalone bookmark managers is in the location of the stored bookmark database and in the way that the database is accessed. Web services called ‘online bookmark managers’ store the user’s bookmarks on their remote servers and their bookmarks may be accessed from any browser. A standalone bookmark organizer is simply a program which runs on your local computer. It stores the bookmark database on a hard disk and allows access through its own built-in interface.
Here are some examples of web-based bookmark managers:
iKeepBookmarks.com - http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com
LinkaGoGo - http://www.linkagogo.com
Murl - http://murl.com
You can find more links to online bookmark managers here:
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Web_Applications/Bookmark_Managers/
Bookmark management software can be found here:
Link Commander - http://www.resortlabs.com/bookmark-manager/linkcommander.php
Linkman - http://www.outertech.com/index.php?_charisma_page=product&id=5
Powermarks - http://www.kaylon.com/power.html
Any software catalog will contain plenty of links to bookmark managers. For example: http://www.snapfiles.com/shareware/misctools/swurlorg.html
Offline and online bookmark managers each have relative advantages and disadvantages due to their differing methods of database storage and access.
An online bookmark manager does not depend on any particular computer. If you have an Internet connection you can access your bookmarks from any computer in the world. You don’t need to synchronize the bookmarks on your home/work PC or notebook because they will all access the same bookmarks database. With an online bookmark manager you can access your bookmarks even when you are in an Internet cafe! Another advantage is that most of them are free. They will cost you time, though, because you access your bookmarks via an Internet connection. More importantly, most of the web interfaces are not as convenient as software based bookmark managers and don’t have so many useful features. For example, they can’t search for and delete duplicate database items. Here are some of the other potential disadvantages of using online bookmark managers:
1) You risk losing all your bookmarks if, for some reason, the web service closes down.
2) There is a danger of unauthorized access to your private bookmarks because your bookmark manager server may not be secure against hackers.
The advantages and disadvantages of offline bookmark managers are almost exactly opposite to those of online bookmark managers and will be discussed next.
Any offline bookmark manager is tied to the computer on which it is installed. It stores your bookmarks in a database (which usually has its own proprietary format) that is located on one of the hard drives. To use your bookmarks on several computers you will need to install the program on each computer and find a way to synchronize the bookmark databases. Most of the currently available bookmark organizers do have a database synchronization feature. Also, there are now devices with high data transfer speeds (e.g. flash drives) that can store an independent bookmark database and allow it to be shared between several computers.
Another disadvantage of bookmark manager software is the price. There are some free programs out there, but they don’t have a great number of features and technical support is often weak or unavailable. The programs that require payment are inexpensive, though, usually costing from $20 to $40. The user licenses of such programs will normally allow you to install the programs on all of your computers.
In my opinion, the disadvantages of standalone bookmark managers are minimal compared to their advantages. The location of both the program and database on the same computer guarantees you fast access to your bookmarks and high security from hacker attacks. The convenience of the program interface and the number of useful features are limited only by the power of the computer and the skills of developers.
So, how should you organize your bookmarks? Should you use an online or offline bookmark manager? I don’t think there is a definite answer. It all depends on your preferences and working habits. If mobility is your priority, if you travel often and wish to access your bookmarks no matter where you are and from any computer, then you should consider an online bookmark manager. If speed, ease of use, security and functionality is most important to you then an offline bookmark manager might be a better choice.
About the author:
Andrew Nemets is co-founder and CEO of Resort Labs - www.resortlabs.com, the software development company specializing in developing human to computer interaction systems, user interface improvements and routine tasks automation software.
If you have an interest in playing PC games that were made at least in the past couple of years, you’ve probably seen the serious video demands these games now have. It’s not only that you need a fast system that can handle all of the information in today’s games, but you need a major performance video card to handle computer game video too.
For some weird reason, the video demands of these games have far surpassed everything else. If you’re even looking at the idea of playing today’s PC games, you probably have no interest in turning down the resolution and graphics quality in the game so you can play it on an okay system. If you want to play these games the way they were intended, you’ll need some serious computer game video processing power.
Other parts of the game, like sound and hard drive space aren’t really a concern anymore because most people’s hard drives are getting bigger, (or they run the game off a DVD) and most PC sound cards seem to be all about on the same level. It seems the average is 5.1 channels anyway.
But the problem starts when you go look at the types of cards out there to choose from, the kind of card that you can even get comes down to how your PC was built from the beginning.
PCI express is the new standard for PC video, but many hardware authorities are still saying that there aren’t really any games or programs out there that use the super data transfer speeds that it has.
Of course, in time, this will change, so it really comes down to a short/long-term investment question: Do you want a machine that will tear up the high-end games for years to come, or upwards of the next year and a half? If you want to go with the former, you’ll have to pay out a little. Also, if you want a PCI express card, you had to have either started with a motherboard with this kind of socket on it, or you have to look at swapping out your board.
Most people for now are still going to fit into the AGP 8X category. AGP has been used for years up until fairly recently, when systems all started coming with PCI express instead. You should make sure you get your hands on at least a good AGP 8X video card with lots of video memory (256 megs) and you won’t know the difference.
The big feuding video card brands have been ATI and nVidia for some time now, although nVidia is now basically leasing out their GeForce chipsets to other manufacturers, like Chaintech. For a while, it’s really been a toss-up as to which brand is better, the cheap level cards are going to all be the same across brands. According to recent reviews, however, ATI’s newest top-level Radeon X800 series card is supposed to be better than nVidia’s most recently released high-end card.
But rather than deal with the hassle of matching up video card socket types and worrying if what you’ve got will stay current, you might want to just go with one of the high-end system builders out there. Alienware is one of the most widely known ones; their systems are some of the fastest and most powerful on the market. Having your system already put together is one advantage, but Alienware tests different motherboard and video card combinations to find the optimal configuration for gaming.
By paying a little careful attention to brand names, video memory, price, and how they all fit together with your unique needs, you can get a system that can handle some serious computer game video for any game you throw its way.
Phil Moyers, owner of Build-Your-Own-Computer-Plan.com shows computer novices how to save a ton of money by putting together fast, high performance PC’s of their own with handpicked, quality parts. Learn more about meeting computer game video demands.
A popular motif in jewelry, even among city dwellers, is horses. Horse jewelry is enigmatic and evokes a sense of strength as well as of mystery. Now one would have to ask: why horses? Why care about an animal rarely seen in the city anyway?
Horses symbolize freedom, and pride in freedom. Wild horses come with the connotation of spiritual and emotional independence. Have you ever seen or read “The Horse Whisperer” or “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”? Perhaps the snow-white horse named Shadowfax in the “Lord of the Rings” movies has evoked a sense of unbridled freedom in you? And yet, Hollywood has not even begun to touch on the importance of horses in ancient cultures. Far from being mere beasts of burden, horses were also trusted friends. Native Americans paid great respect to the horses they have domesticated, for they were useful in hunting and traveling.
Wearing horse jewelry is a celebration of independence, a rallying cry to break free from the bonds of society and be graceful, proud and natural.
It is a popular belief that the wild horse chooses its tamer. Alexander the Great’s horse, the celebrated Bucephalus, was known to be the wildest horse in his day: king of horses, unconquered by conquerors. And yet when the young Alexander cautiously approached him, Bucephalus calmed down and allowed the teenaged monarch to climb on his back. Together the two conquered cities, leveled fortresses, and built an empire — kindred untrammeled spirits faithful to each other until the end.
A driven, successful, hard-to-get professional woman may appreciate a gift of horse jewelry — in celebration of her strong, free-spirited nature. A young carefree lad may also benefit from horse jewelry, as an expression of virility and natural strength.
Horse jewelry comes in a variety of forms — from pendants to hairclips, brooches to bracelets, anything that catches attention! The flashier the better, or the more muted the more desirable, for people who gravitate to horses.
Sam Serio is an Internet Marketer, musician and a writer on the subject of jewelry and gemstones. For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of “How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off.” This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at www.morninglightjewelry.com.
The Spaniard rider for the Caisse d’Epargne team: Alejandro Valverde has won La Flche Wallonne. At the end of the race at Le Mur de Huy, Valverde left behind his compatriot from the Euskaltel-Euskadi team Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez who finished second. Karsten Kroon and his teammate Frank Schleck from the Team CSC finished third and fourth. T- Mobile’s rider Patrik Sinkewitz ended the run in the fifth place.
Two riders left the group early in the cycling race: Frédéric Finot from Franaise des Jeux and Ag2R’s José Luis Arrieta but around 80 Km to go the pack reached them. Conditions for the race were fine but the hard wind didn’t let some of the riders get ahead from the group.
The next important gap took place when Phonak’s Alexandre Moss and Rabobank’s Oscar Freire gained some distance from the other riders when they were at 63 Km from the end but they got caught by a group of almost 30 competitors on the penultimate climb of the day: Cte de Ahin with 12 km to go.
The circuit consisted of 202 Km from Charleroi to Huy and at the end, riders climb the Mur de Huy. The Flche Wallonne is traditionally one of the most open of the spring classics, where as 2005 champion Danilo Di Luca says: “you need the power to explode in that grueling final ascent to the finish.”
The group of riders climbs the Huy three times during the race, including the summit finish. While stragglers have time to rejoin the leaders after the first two ascents, it is power what it takes at the end and that’s what Valverde proved when winning the race.
About the Author:
Julie Smith is one of the most recognized copy writers on Sports Betting and currently writes for Instant Action Sports. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.