Most electronic hobbyist did not know how to make printed circuit board for their small circuits. In this article I will tell you how to make a printed circuit board easily. For making printed circuit board (PCB) for small circuits you need clad board, ferric chloride (FeCl2), OHP marker pen, ect.
First of all prepare the layout of the circuit using any PCB schematic drawing software (e.g.- Dip Trace, Express PCB, Eagle, Pspice,ect). Print the layout on an ordinary paper.
After preparing the layout, cut the clad board according to the size of your layout. Transform the layout to the clad board. This can be done by several methods. One method is by drawing the circuit layout exactly on clad board using an OHP marker. This is the simplest method for small circuits. For this, draw the circuit layout on clad board using carbon paper and pencil. Draw the layout using an OHP marker above the sketch layout. Ensure that hole positions are at right positions.
Second method is by using an electric iron (toner transformation method). For this you need the mirror image of the circuit layout. Then print this mirror image using a laser printer(set the toner deposit to high i.e. Image will look dark). Place the image on the surface of clad board upside down. Heat the electric iron and place the iron on the paper having image which is now on the surface of the clad board. Keep the iron for some seconds. Do not heat excessively. Then the toners on the image get transferred to the clad board. After this put the clad board along with the sticky paper on hot water and kept for a long time. The paper becomes lousy. Now remove the paper from the clad board carefully. Do not remove the sticked toner. Now you will get the layout on the clad board. The next step is the process of removing copper which are not covered by the layout.
For etching process we need ferric chloride (Fe Cl2) solution. About 100 ml of tap water should be heated to 85 degree celcious and 30-50 grams of ferric chloride added to it. The mixture should be thoroughly stirred, and a few drops of hydrochloric acid (HCl) may be added optionally to speed up the process.
The board with its copper side facing upwards, should be placed in a flat bottomed plastic tray and the aqueous solution of ferric chloride poured in. The etching process will take25-60 minutes to complete, depending upon the size of the PCB. After etching the board should be clearly visible. If not allow it to stand in the solution for some more time. The paint (toner, OHP marking) should be removed with the help of alcohol or petrol. The etching solution may be preserved for later use until its color turns green.
After the etching is complete, holes of suitable diameter should be drilled using a power or hand drill. 1mm bit should be used for IC holes, 1.25mm for resistors and 105mm for diodes, 3mm or 5mm for mounting nuts and 8mm for potentiometers, switches, ect.
Now the PCB should be scrubbled clean until a shiny finish is obtained. The PCB may be tin-plated using an ordinary 35W soldering rod along with solder core.
[Via - HOW TO MAKE A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD]
HOW TO MAKE A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD
Protect sensitive mobile data with encryption
As PDAs are so easy to lose or to steal it is vitally important to encrypt sensitive data users carry on their Pocket PCs or smartphones. With SecuBox data is protected and transparently encrypted using industry class AES 256 bit encryption algorithm.
What is SecuBox
SecuBox is a data protection and encryption program that turns your PDA or smartphone into a highly secure device. It does not change the way you normally work with data on your device. You create an encrypted storage that looks like a normal storage card to you - only that all information your write there is automatically encrypted. When you finish work with your sensitive Pocket documents, you unmount the encrypted storage card and all these files are completely inaccessible without a password. Even if you loose your device, you can be sure that no data will get into wrong hands - as it is protected with unbreakable AES 256 bit encryption.
Steps to secure your mobile data:
1. Download and install SecuBox from http://www.aikosolutions.com/download/ (Select either Windows executable or direct device installation cab)
2. Install it on your Windows PDA or smartphone
3. Tap Create to Create your first virtual encrypted storage card on your PDA/ smartphone
4. Enter password that will protect your data - this has to be a minimum 8 character password.
5. Your new encrypted storage looks and feels like another Windows Mobile storage card, only that the data you write there is transparently encrypted
6. Once you have written all files to this secure location, unmount the storage
7. Now you can be sure no data will get into the wrong hands - even if your device is lost or stolen
Note:
SecuBox is a more secure and more convenient and reliable alternative to Windows Mobile 6.0 encryption. It ensures users will get access to the encrypted files even if the device is hard-reset. With its encryption key backup feature users will be able to get legitimate access to the encrypted storage cards even after Pocket PC device malfunction and partial data corruption.
Compatibility:
SecuBox for Pocket PC: Windows Mobile 6.0/5.0, Pocket PC 2000/2002, Windows Mobile 2002/2003/2003SE/2005, Windows CE 3.0/4.0/4.1/4.2/5.0/5.2
SecuBox for Smartphone: Windows Mobile 6 Standard, 5.0 Smartphone, 2003 SE Smartphone, 2003 Smartphone, Smartphone 2002
[Via - Protect sensitive mobile data with encryption]
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International Profit Associates IPA-IBA is a U.S. leader in business development and management consulting services for small and medium-size companies. IPA-IBA is one of the fastest growing management consulting companies. It is widely held that it is one of the only management consulting firm in the world that delivers such a broad array of professional services to the small and medium-size business marketplace.
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IT Support
IT support that is the need of the day now. We are seeing a stage where everything is going technical even the exams and ticket bookings are going technical. Every big or small company wants to outperform their competitors on the technological front. Take the case of the banking sector where everything is now technical and every other bank wants to provide the best of the online support to their customers. Customers are also in search of a technically sound company. But have you ever imagined what happens when any one of the machines do not perform in the desired manner and whom should you be contacting when such a scenario occurs.We at It Bug strive to remove those bugs or problems that you may ever face. A flexible and scalable support service provided via blocks of pre-purchased 60 minute support 'credits' that customers can utilise using telephone, remote and email support. Our unique USP is our immediate support staff that is working round the clock to help you get rid of the technical glitches. There are no monthly fees or setup costs involved when you are with us and you can also benefit from the cost saving though call charges to the engineers. Get a quote today and save pounds towards technology.
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The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years
We're living in the golden age of the gadget. Don't believe it? Check your pockets. Odds are you're carrying a portable music player, an electronic organizer, a keychain-size storage device, a digital camera, or a cell phone that combines some or all of these functions. And you'd probably be hard-pressed to live without them.
At PC World, we'd be lost without these things. We don't merely test and write about digital gear, we live and breathe the stuff. In honor of this raging gizmo infatuation, we polled our editors and asked them to name the top 50 gadgets of the last 50 years. The rules? The devices had to be relatively small (no cars or big-screen TVs, for example), and we considered only those items whose digital descendants are covered in PC World (cameras, yes; blenders, no). We rated each gadget on its usefulness, design, degree of innovation, and influence on subsequent gadgets, as well as the ineffable quality we called the "cool factor." Then we tallied the results.
After a lot of Web surfing, spreadsheet wrangling, and some near fistfights, we emerged with the following list. Some items in our Top 50 are innovative devices that appeared briefly and then were quickly consigned to museums and future appearances on eBay, but whose influence spread widely. Others are products we use every day--or wish we could.
So join us as we visit with the ghosts of gadgets past and present.
1. Sony Walkman TPS-L2 (1979)
Portable music players are so cheap and ubiquitous today that it's hard to remember when they were luxury items, widely coveted and often stolen. But when the blue and silver Walkman debuted in 1979, no one had ever seen anything quite like it. The $200 player virtually invented the concept of "personal electronics."
The first Walkman (also branded as the Stowaway, the Soundabout, and the Freestyle before the current name stuck) featured a cassette player and the world's first lightweight headphones. Apparently fearful that consumers would consider the Walkman too antisocial, Sony built the first units with two headphone jacks so you could share music with a friend. The company later dropped this feature. Now, more than 25 years and some 330 million units later, nobody wonders why you're walking down the street with headphones on. Learn more in Sony's history of the Walkman.
[Via - PCWorld] Make Money Online
Financial Gadgets
It is more of a mechanical version of 20 questions game where the gadget takes up the role of the guesser, thus eliminating the role of its human counterpart.
It has close resemblance to human brain and has numerous neurons connected via synaptic connections. Interestingly, the gadget is now available online and needless to mention, are currently favorites of internet users.
Online gadgets, in other words widgets, currently rule the online world. With their unique feature of installing them in bogs and personal websites, they serve a lot of purpose of visitors.
Researches show, that a good number of internet populations have developed the habit of using debt calculators to handle their finances. Whether it is footing credit card bill or paying off home loan, debt calculators are easy to use devices that can really help you avoid thousands of complex calculations. Their unique feature helps you calculate figures like (Annual Percentage Rate) APR, Debt-Income ratio, interest amount within a fraction of second.
These are only a few names from the vast ocean of online gadgets. Their usage and purpose differ widely and should be applied keeping in mind individual requirements and preferences.
Mobile Phones with Free Gifts
Education Course
The online driver education course meets all the guidelines regulated in the new Joshua's Law. This allows parents to enroll their kids into this class where their child can take the classroom section of this course in the comforts of their own home. A great advantage to this is that the teen can work at their own pace which enables them to fully understand all the subjects. Once the student finishes this course online, they will then receive a certificate of completion, which they can show their local DDS office. This will prove that they have passed the online course.
By allowing kids to take a state approved driver education course online, a parent can be fully involved in the entire process of their child learning how to drive. Parents are still required to spend a minimum amount of hours in the passenger seat as their child is behind the wheel driving a car. For more information on this matter, visit the Driver Education Online website.
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The latest in gadgets
Few computer gamers are as successful as pro-gaming champ Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel but now they have the chance to use the same hardware he does.
At Cebit Creative was showing off the mouse designed by Mr Wendel, who regularly makes more than $100,000 a year as a pro-gamer, just for the hard-core fans who want to follow in his mouse steps.
Not for the faint-hearted, the Creative Fatal1ty 2020 mouse has a 6.4 megapixel sensor in its base to pick up the smallest twitch. It can work on any surface and handle up to 20G of acceleration for those intense firefights when it is important to strafe and move.
The mouse also comes with a five different weights so gamers can tune it to get the balance for themselves just right.
The USB connector for the 2020 mouse is gold plated and it has zero-oxygen copper wiring to ensure every pull of the virtual trigger is relayed swiftly back to the PC.
FUTURE PRODUCTSAs well as being a showcase for gadgets that are about to go into the shops, Cebit is also a show that looks to the long-term future.
Japanese hi-tech company NEC used Cebit to show off some conceptual ideas for what products of the future might look like.
Under the umbrella term of Resonantware the products aim to investigate how technology might evolve.
NEC showed an idea it called Sala that integrates a radio tag into an item of jewellery, such as a wedding ring - associated with an important event.
When the ring, earring or brooch is placed near a display device that can read the tag it calls up the images, movies or sounds the owner has associated with it.
It also showed off a concept see-through mobile phone called Flask which is powered by a fuel cell. Like many disposable cigarette lighters, the transparent sides of the phone let users see when they need a refill.
TOSHIBA LAPTOPLaptop veteran Toshiba has become the first computer maker to ship a portable computer with a HD-DVD drive onboard.
Unveiled at Cebit and likely to go on sale in Europe first, the Qosmio G30 is due to be on shop shelves in April and is aimed at consumers with deep pockets, as the price for the machine is likely to be well in excess of £2000.
Under the hood it has a 2GHz dual core processor, two 120 GB hard drives and digital and analogue TV tuner.
It has a 17-inch display that can cope with the high-definition images on HD-DVD discs. The HD-DVD standard is one of two, the other is Blu-Ray, that are aiming to replace DVDs.
To help show high resolution images the Qosmio G30 uses the GeForce 7600 graphics card made by Nvidia.
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Dell's Linux hardware support plans good news for desktop Linux
In a blog entry today, Dell has revealed new technical details that provide insight into the company's Ubuntu Linux preinstallation plans. Dell will offer a default Ubuntu installation on select systems that it says will have "the most mature and stable Linux driver support."
Open-source drivers will be used wherever possible, but proprietary drivers will still be used for certain wireless cards and other components for which no open drivers are available. Dell also plans to host a wiki that will provide extensive technical information describing the factory install process and the drivers used for Dell hardware.
The most exciting part of Dell's announcement today is a new plan to collaborate with vendors to "improve the maturity and stability" of Linux drivers for components in Dell systems on which Ubuntu will not be supported. This will enable Dell to expand the scope of its Linux offerings and improve the viability of Linux on the desktop. This extremely welcome news represents a huge win for the entire open-source software community and reflects Dell's willingness to fully commit to Linux and consumer choice. This is exactly what I called for when Dell first announced its Linux initiative, and it is arguably far more advantageous to individual Linux users than the availability of preinstallation.
Dell does not plan to include "support for proprietary audio or video codecs that are not already distributed with Ubuntu 7.04," but Dell is considering changing that in the future. It is likely that Dell is trying to get its Linux initiative up and running as soon as possible, and providing proprietary codec support out of the starting gate just isn't feasible within the scope of their launch timeline. My guess is that Dell is communicating with Fluendo, which has considerable expertise in developing and distributing legal Linux ports of proprietary codecs. The absence of proprietary codec support in the initial offering isn't a deal-killer since Ubuntu 7.04 has a codec manager that makes it trivially easy to automatically download and install unlicensed codecs as they are needed.
It seems like Dell's Linux strategy is relatively well-defined. Although I still doubt that there is broad demand for this kind of Linux preinstallation from hardcore Linux enthusiasts and regular home users, Dell's commitment to improving hardware compatibility could earn the company the loyalty of Linux users and evangelists. Those who wish to receive notification of Dell's Ubuntu Linux launch can subscribe to the company's low-traffic Linux announcement mailing list.
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[Via - Ars technica - the art of technology]
Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service
LAS VEGAS -- While it would seem that the growth of smartphones, with their bigger screens and faster processors, would be good news for mobile gaming, handsets like the iPhone are in fact hurting the mobile game industry in the short term, one expert said Sunday.
Apple's iPhone is a capable phone that holds promise for the future of gaming, said Travis Boatman, vice president of worldwide studios for Electronic Arts' mobile division, speaking during a panel session at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "But it's a replacement for someone who had a Razr before. They still want their content but there's no distribution platform in place so there's a negative impact on the industry," he said.
Because Apple so far hasn't allowed iPhone users to download just anything, iPhone users may be giving up games that they played on a phone they previously owned, he said. "These devices are capable and powerful," he said. "They'll be great in the long term but it will take some time as people adapt to devices."
The problem of transferring games to new phones has actually plagued the mobile gaming industry since its inception. When users upgrade to a new phone, they most often can't bring a game that they bought for their old phone along with them.
Mobile virtual network operator Helio is one of the few operators that has taken steps to solve that problem. Because most of the phones that Helio sells have similar specifications, games usually will work on a new phone a customer might buy. Helio stores the games for users on its servers and users can re-download games to a new phone, said Leo Jun, senior manager of games for Helio.
That's a more difficult situation for other operators that sell a much wider variety of phones, each with differing capabilities that may not support all games. It's not realistic to expect that a game publisher make their games re-downloadable to people who upgrade their phones, said Boatman. He compares it to the game console market. "If you bought a PlayStation 2 and you buy an Xbox '790' four years later, do you think EA games is going to redevelop that game and not charge you for it?" he said. "It's not inexpensive."
But other even more basic problems also plague the mobile game industry, which has had stagnant growth. The percentage of mobile phone users who have ever bought a mobile game increased from 10 percent in 2005 to just 12 percent in 2007, said Michael Cai, an analyst with Parks Associates. One reason for that very slow growth is that there are simply too many games and often no good way for end users to trial games before buying them, the experts said.
Helio users can try out a game for a week for US$0.99. "It emphasizes the importance of quality content," Jun said. Helio expects that the service will encourage developers to release fewer but more quality games.
But in most cases, end users only have the option of choosing games based on their titles. Unlike five years ago, most mobile users now know that they can play games. But they clearly aren't buying games in volume, perhaps because many of them may already feel burned after taking a chance and buying a game only to find that it's low-quality, said Jun. Many may be unlikely to try again. "The preconception is that mobile games aren't that good," said Jun.
Still, the panelists were confident that mobile gaming will pick up in the future. Because smartphone use is growing, users are also becoming more accustomed to the idea of downloading software to their phones. "Google is training people to install Gmail and maps to their phones," noted Matthew Bellows, general manager and vice president of marketing for Floodgate Entertainment, a game developer. "That could be a game changer from the consumer expectation standpoint."
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77% don't want to pay for iPod touch update
17 January 2008 9:54 GMT - Following Steve Jobs' announcement at Macworld2008 that the iPod touch would be getting five new applications - but at the cost of $20 to current owners - we asked the Pocket-lint readers if they thought folks should shell out for updates.
It seems Apple's new policy is not popular with our readership. When asked, "Do you think iPod owners should have to pay $20 for software updates?" a whopping 77% said no and just 23% said yes.
The five new applications for the iPod touch are Stocks, Mail, Notes, Maps and Weather. These applications included on the iPhone, and anyone buying a new iPod touch from now on will get them for free.
This had led to Apple again being criticised - again - for penalising early adopters for being quick to purchase new products. It also sets a worrying precedent for the future.
What's being called the "January Software Upgrade", suggesting others to follow in the year to come, to the annoyance of over three quarters of the Pocket-lint readers, costs UK customers £12.99.
One iPod touch owner is not taking Apple's new policy lying down and has created an online petition to protest the charges.
Stating that "I think that Apple is doing a really nasty thing charging for the apps. Why do iPhone users not have to pay anything but iPod touch users have to?" the e-petition has collected nearly 3000 signatures so far.
What do you think? Are you happy to pay for firmware improvements if they bring new features or do you think they should be free? Is Apple getting greedy? Have your say on our "Chat" forums...
Macworld2008: iPod touch gets new software
15 January 2008 17:40 GMT - Apple has announced that it will be adding five new applications to the iPod touch, including Stocks, Mail, Notes, Maps and Weather as found on the Apple iPhone.
However rather than offering it for free as is normally the case, the company has said it will be charging customers of the iPod touch $20, or £13 in the UK, to upgrade the software.
The news is likely to annoy customers, as the same software is available to Apple iPhone customers for free.
The move means however that Apple iPod touch users will be able to get Stocks, Mail, Notes, Maps and Weather information using the wireless connectivity of the device.
The software update will be available from today.
Macworld2008: iPhone firmware goes 1.1.3
15 January 2008 17:38 GMT - During his keynote speech at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco for the opening of Macworld2008, Steve Jobs revealed that four million iPhones have been sold to date.
This figure is particularly significant as the date of Steve Jobs' speech - the 15th January - is the 200th day since the iPhone has been on sale, meaning that 20,000 iPhones have been sold each day the device has been on sale.
Jobs revealed that in the first quarter of the iPhone being on sale, it achieved a market share of 19.5%, putting it in second place.
On the subject of the iPhone, Jobs moved on to talk about the new features that the latest iPhone update will bring.
The new functionality that firmware update 1.1.3 will offer iPhone owners will include improved mapping that can find a user's location, customisable homescreens and the ability to SMS multiple people at once.
Other improvements include more language support in video, lyrics support in audio and webclips.
The improvements to mapping come in via cellphone signal triangulating, as the iPhone obviously does not contain a GPS chip.
Jobs rounded up the iPhone section of his speech with the statement that this update is "available today as a free software update for every iPhone".
[Via - Pocket-Lint, Gadgets News and Reviews]
Palm-Top Program To Offer Binding E-Signatures
With a new program from PenOp, a digital signature software developer, palm-top organizer owners can sign their names on the screens of their organizers and transmit those signatures over the Internet as legally binding approval on electronic documents.
PenOp's PocketSign is reportedly the first electronic handwritten signature capture program for palm-top computing devices. By making the organizers a mobile signing pad for transacting legally binding electronic business, the company says, e-commerce can become more portable and expand to areas where computers are less common.
3Com's operating system works on several palm-top organizers, including Palm Computing's handheld devices and IBM's (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM WorkPad.
To promote the new software and its strategic partner 3Com, PenOp is offering licensed users of 3Com's Palm OS 3.0 operating system free copies of the signature program for personal use. The offer is good through October 31st.
"Many organizations are still designing paper into the e-business environment," PenOp CEO Howard Schechter said. With PocketSign, he added, "secure, end-to-end digital transactions [are] now a reality."
How It Works
When a user is ready to sign an electronic document, PocketSign enables the palm-top device to read the pen as electronic stylus rather than just points of contact. The PenOp program provides evidence of the actual signing event, including an audit trail with the date, time, signer's name, the document contents and the signer's intent. If the content of the signed document is altered in any way, the signature is automatically invalidated.
Users must have a host computer or a Web site running on Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0 to use the PocketSign program. In addition, the palm-top device must use the Palm OS 3.0 operating system and have a Palm HotSync Cradle or HotSync cable connection.
While the program works with at least four different lines of palm-top organizers, it does not support the Pilot and PalmPilot organizers.
About PenOp
PenOp has provided a variety of Signature Series software applications to businesses and government agencies to reduce the paper required for transactions, to seal contracts, open new accounts and sign receipts without paper. PenOp products are in use in more than 30 countries. The company also designs software for office networks and the Internet for security transaction, document management and workflow applications.
The programs can also be integrated, using plug-ins, with common office programs such as Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat, or users can buy programs with PenOp already integrated into the applications. Companies such as JetForm, DOCUMENTUM, FileNET, UWI.com and Staffware offer such applications.
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Have iPod, Will Secretly Bootleg
When Apple introduced the iPod, the company was aware that people might use it to rip off music from the Net or friends' machines. Each new iPod, in fact, is emblazoned with a sticker that warns, "Don't Steal Music."
But it is unlikely that Apple imagined people would walk into computer stores, plug their iPod into display computers and use it to copy software off the hard drives.
This is exactly the scenario recently witnessed by Kevin Webb at a Dallas CompUSA store.
Webb, a computer consultant from Dallas, was browsing his local CompUSA when he saw a young man walk toward him listening to an iPod. Webb recognized the iPod's distinctive ear buds.
The teenager stopped at a nearby display Macintosh, pulled the iPod from his pocket and plugged it into the machine with a FireWire cable. Intrigued, Webb peeped over the kid's shoulder to see him copying Microsoft's new Office for OS X suite, which retails for $500.
When the iPod is plugged into a Macintosh, its icon automatically pops up on the desktop. To copy software, all the kid had to do was drag and drop files onto the iPod's icon. Office for MacOS X is about 200 MB; it copies to the iPod's hard drive in less than a minute.
"Watching him, it dawned on me that this was something that was very easy to do," Webb said. "In the Mac world it's pretty easy to plug in and copy things. It's a lot easier than stealing the box."
Webb watched the teenager copy a couple of other applications. He left the kid to find a CompUSA employee. "I went over and told a CompUSA guy, but he looked at me like I was clueless," Webb said.
Unsure whether the kid was a thief or an out-of-uniform employee, Webb watched as he left the store. "I thought there's no point in getting any more involved in this imbroglio," Webb said. "Besides, this is Texas. You never know what he might have been carrying."
CompUSA representatives didn't respond to requests for comment. Neither did Apple officials.
The iPod is perfect for virtual shoplifting. It is designed as a digital music player, but its roomy 5-GB hard drive can be used as portable storage for all kinds of files, even the Macintosh operating system. In fact, it can operate as an external drive, booting up a machine and running applications.
The iPod's FireWire interface -- one of its most important but undersold features -- allows huge files to be copied in seconds. The iPod doesn't even have to leave the user's pocket.
And while the iPod has a built-in anti-piracy mechanism that prevents music files from being copied from one computer to another, it has no such protections for software.
Ironically, Microsoft has pioneered an easy-to-use installation scheme on the Mac that makes its Mac software relatively easy to pilfer. The company is known for its sometimes heavy-handed, anti-piracy mechanisms in such products as Windows XP.
When installing Office, users simply drag and drop the Office folder to their hard drive. Everything is included, including a self-repair mechanism that replaces critical files in the system folder.
By contrast, a lot of software on the Windows platform relies on a bunch of system files that are only installed during an installation process. Simply copying an application from one machine to another will not work.
Plus, getting a copy of the software application is only half the battle: most software won't work without a registration number. Usable serial numbers, however, are readily available on Usenet, IRC, Hotline and applications like Hacks and Cracks.
"This is the first we have heard of this form of piracy," said Erik Ryan, a Microsoft product manager. "And while this is a possibility, people should be reminded that this is considered theft."
While the iPod may be ideal for a software-stealing spree, there are a number of other devices on the market that could also be used by virtual shoplifters. As well as any external FireWire drive, there are now a number of tiny key-chain drives that plug into computers' USB ports, like M-Systems' DiskOnKey and Trek2000's ThumbDrive.
Most key-chain drives work with both Macs and PCs. Some are available with up to one gigabyte of storage space. However, most USB ports are a lot slower than FireWire, requiring the virtual shoplifter to hang around while the ill-gotten gains are transferring.
CompUSA and other computer stores could take a few simple steps to prevent software from being copied, said Mac expert Dave Horrigan, who writes a syndicated Macintosh column.
Any Mac can easily be configured to allow changes only by administrators, he said. Also, a system profile tool logs all peripheral equipment, but it must be running to log an iPod. For Macs running OS X, a locked dummy file in an application's package will protect the entire file from being copied without a password.
But Horrigan didn't think the iPod presents a serious piracy threat to Microsoft, and doubted the company would take special measures to prevent in-store copying.
"If Microsoft puts in protection it almost always screws up and causes problems for them or their legit users," he said.
Dennis Lloyd, publisher of iPod fan site iPodlounge, also said this is the first time he'd heard of an iPod put to such use.
"I can see how easy it would be to do," he said. "It's a shame someone has stooped this low to bring bad press to the insanely great iPod."
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Continental Corporation
Continental Lowers Costs, Improves Security, and Achieves 99.9 Percent Server Reliability.
Continental AG had out-of-date and disparate client-server infrastructure that needed groupwide standardization. This involved providing more than 80 sites worldwide with a total of 24,000 new workstations and portable computers, installing new server computers, and setting up modern operating systems and applications. Continental first tested a Linux solution, but the company decided instead on a platform based on Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 Enterprise Edition and Windows® XP Professional because of the opportunity to lower costs and improve security. The new system architecture has considerably reduced IT costs at Continental AG. With Active Directory® as a groupwide directory service, the corporate network can now be centrally administered.
Headquartered in Hanover, Germany, Continental AG is one of the world’s largest automobile suppliers, specializing in the manufacturing of passenger car and commercial vehicle tires using brake and drive technology as well as rubber and plastics technology. About 80,000 employees work at more than 100 Continental AG sites. The company reports a consolidated group profit of 13.8 billion euros (U.S.$17.7 billion) and operating revenue of 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion).
Continental AG is considered a technology leader both in its industry and on the stock market. The IT landscape that had historically grown up within the company was anything but standard. “Our disparate infrastructure was antiquated. Distributed responsibilities and different processes interfered with getting a groupwide perspective on costs, processes, and applications,” says Tobias Rölz, Manager of the Distributed Environment project at Continental AG. “In addition, it wasn’t possible at the time to have continuous and automated patch management because individual applications and support services had been implemented only at certain sites.”
Continental's management realized the company had to develop an IT infrastructure capable of supporting a dynamic business with evolving commercial strategies. Paul Schwefer emphasizes the key challenge, advising, “We needed rock-solid reliability, and we weren’t getting it from our existing infrastructure,” he says. “We needed an IT infrastructure and architecture that would provide the flexibility to build an efficient global operation and support our ongoing strategy of growth through acquisition.”
In the context of his project, Rölz was responsible for setting up a new, standardized architecture. “Our goal was to equip the group’s 24,000 workstations with the best possible technology and the highest degree of security at the lowest possible expense,” Rölz explains. The new platform had to be designed in a way that would let in-house IT experts or outside service providers administer it depending on need and cost.
Solution
IT experts at Continental AG first tested the options of a Linux platform. Supported by Sun, Continental had also evaluated StarOffice. According to Rölz, however, using a Linux/open-source solution would have necessitated an “unmanageable migration expense,” especially because individual Microsoft Office documents and solutions would not have been convertible. Moreover, a series of important applications that run exclusively on Microsoft software would have made it necessary to run virtualization software on a Citrix application server in the background of any new Linux platform.
Standardized Microsoft Infrastructure
With an eye on the tight time frame—the project had to be globally completed within one year—Continental ultimately decided in favor of Microsoft. The future security of the Microsoft solution and the opportunity to lower costs over the long term were also factors in the decision.
Continental chose a uniform client-server infrastructure based on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system (for its server computers) and the Windows® XP Professional operating system (for workstations and portable computers). The company decided to equip each client computer with Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003.
Quick Project Implementation
From February 2004 to June 2005, Microsoft Services supported Continental AG with an Enterprise Strategy Consultant, who drove project management, technical design, and quality assurance. The objective was to set up an architecture that would guarantee the secure operation of all processes—regardless of whether they had been operated previously under Microsoft Windows NT® or Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems.
IT specialists at Continental AG and experts from service provider EDS started with the actual implementation immediately after they had completed a thorough data backup at the head office in Hanover and at a plant in Vahrenwald. They first migrated the server computers to avoid from the outset any system conflicts in rights administration and network logons during the subsequent client migration. Converting the workstations to Windows XP Professional went quickly. By the end of 2004, more than a third of all personal computers at Continental had already been converted and integrated into the uniform Microsoft server environment.
Benefits
By migrating its client-server infrastructure to Microsoft software, Continental AG has cut IT operating costs. Thanks to the Active Directory service, employees can log on groupwide and work in their usual IT environments. The solution also improves asset management. “Microsoft’s standardized infrastructure has markedly improved administration, enhanced security, and thus considerably lowered costs in the area of terminals,” says Paul Schwefer, Chief Information Officer, Continental AG.
Infrastructure Reliability of 99.9 Percent
One of the most important reasons that Continental has been able to make such improvements in its overall performance and management is the increased reliability it has gained with its Windows Server-based solution. The company has experienced 99.9 percent reliability in its distributed environment since the deployment.
Considerable Cost Savings
“Using the standardized Microsoft infrastructure, we can lower operating costs in the area of terminals considerably,” Rölz calculates. The Active Directory® service in Windows Server 2003 contributes to lower costs with its use of group guidelines that the administrators can use to centrally determine security and access settings for the workstations. “This tool is included in the functionality of Windows Server 2003. To get comparable functionality for a Linux/open-source solution we would have had to acquire an additional program first,” Rölz says.
Centralized IT Administration
The Active Directory service ensures that all users can have their computers administered and maintained centrally with their individual links and properties. Employees can easily log on to any workstation and work with their personal files and programs and with all company resources accessible to them from there.
Easier Conversion and Specialized Support
The Microsoft solution presented fewer conversion problems than Linux and hardly any expense to train users. “We were especially concerned about Microsoft Excel macros and Microsoft Access databases that had been developed over the years by many employees at different sites and that over time had evolved into important tools without anyone’s noticing,” reports Dr. Bernd Thomas, Manager of Corporate IT Infrastructure at Continental AG.
According to Thomas, Microsoft also offered an interesting licensing model with fast and specific support both specialized for migration and tailored to each individual situation. Rölz says, “Microsoft’s support played a major role in the success of our conversion.”
Automated Client Management and Improved Security
IT administration and operation have become easier and more flexible, reducing dependency on a service provider. In addition, the security level has increased overall. This is because the new IT landscape makes improved system management and update management possible.
Within 72 hours of release, new virus definitions and software updates can be set up on 24,000 total workstations—including prior intensive tests. In the same way, Continental gains full transparency over the hardware and software used, thanks to its new architecture, thereby setting up modern and comprehensive licensing and asset management. “We are now on par with the best-practice standard in the automobile industry,” says Rölz with satisfaction. “This means modern standard software at low cost, fast support processes at top quality, and comprehensive security coverage.”
Thanks to the uniform architecture, software distribution now runs like clockwork. “Employees can call in the morning, and have the software they need on their PC or laptop by the afternoon,” reports Rölz. The groupwide setup of Acrobat Reader and an SAP update went without problems as well. In addition to considerably lowering operating costs, the project has paved the way for innovations in Continental projects for years to come.
[Via:- Case Study - Continental Corporation]
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Editors' retrospective -- Linux Devices in 2007
As 2007 winds to a close, the editors of LinuxDevices.com have assembled a retrospective aimed at highlighting major trends and events in the world of embedded Linux. Of the approximately 1,200 stories we published this year, these were the most important, in our opinion.
(Click for larger view of `cal 2007`)
For embedded Linux, 2007 was shaped by a handful of mega-trends. We've identified the following trends to be among the year's most visible, if not important:
* Mobile Internet tablets took off, fueled by Nokia's N800 and N810 models, as well as Intel's Mobile Internet Device (MID) project. The Gnome project launched a mobile and embedded initiative, Ubuntu launched a device version of its Linux distribution, and processor vendor ARM even got in on the action, hiring Movial to port lots of desktop Linux applications to its processors, with an eye on the Internet tablet market.
* The mobile browser wars began in earnest, with commercial vendors like Opera, Access, and OpenWave taking a backseat to open source browser projects. The Mozilla Foundation launched a mobile strategy and later revealed specifics. A startup called Pleyo launched a dual-licensed Origyn browser based on Webkit. Device software and tools specialist Trolltech also began integrating Webkit with Qt, and even appointed a browser author as VP of engineering.
* As the "post-PC" world shifts attention from desktops and laptops to new form factors such as mobile Internet tablets, x86 processor vendors took notice. Intel started using 45nm process technology in some mobile chips, and was rumored to be producing a Pentium M-based SoC. Via down-clocked its embedded Eden model to 500MHz for a 1-Watt ULV model. AMD added lots of parts to its embedded roadmap in 2007, and also managed to launch some parts with integrated graphics, following its acquisition of ATI.
* In 2007, handset vendor Motorola shipped its first Linux handset for the U.S. market. The MotoRizr E6 is based on a highly integrated chipset, and was later renamed MotoRokr Z6. Later in the year, Motorola launched the Razr2 V8, the first use of Linux in its "iconic" Razr line. Despite these design wins, Motorola struggles financially, and CEO Ed Zander eventually resigns (while retaining his board presidency).
* Linux continued to convince market analysts of its large potential as a mobile phone OS, partially in response to the formation in 2007 of two large industry groups aimed at promoting and standardizing mobile phone Linux. These included:
o LiMo, founded by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics, and Vodafone, and led by an ex-Symbian VP
o Open Handset Alliance (OHA), founded by Google and dozens of large companies around Google's Linux- and Java-based Android stack, which we reviewed here from a developer's perspective.
* The GPLv3 shipped, with little apparent impact other than many lawyers and developers working to learn GPLv2 vs. GPLv3 differences. And, late in the year, the GPL was tested in court several times, with quick results.
* Several mass-market computers shipped with Linux, instead of the typical Microsoft-supplied consumer OS. These included the $200 Walmart PC, the managed Zonbu Zonbook, and the Asus EEE PC, as well as the kid-oriented XO OLPC device.
* Lots of cool Linux-powered devices arrived in time for the holidays
But these are just a few of the highlights. For a more in-depth look back at the year that was, we invite you to peruse the pages below. They highlight what we consider to be the top 200 or so stories, culled from about 1,200 for the year. Enjoy . . . !
[Via - Linux Devices in 2007]
New drivers for XP, Vista and Linux
Nvidia releases new drivers for XP, Vista and Linux.
For two days this week, Nvidia has released new versions of their ForceWare driver packages. They released the new 169.21 series for Windows XP on Wednesday, and yesterday they released the 169.25 series for Windows Vista, both 32-bit and 64-bit varieties. It's a bit interesting that they just happened to release their new drivers the same day that ATI makes a new Catalyst package available.
These are the same drivers that were available as non-WHQL, so they aren't bringing any new features to the table. They do have 3-way SLI support and support for all the current GeForce cards including the newer 8800 GTS series.
They also have made a new driver package for Linux available for download. Unlike the Windows package this one adds quite a bit of new features. Rendering bugs of various sorts have been fixed, modesetting on the newest GeForce cards has been added, stability fixes and much more has been included. It's quite a laundry list of updates, but we've come to expect that from Nvidia – they have done extremely well in the Linux driver department.
[Via - TechSpot.com]
Next-generation Linux-based Ming handsets
Motorola said to be targeting 2Q08 for next-generation Linux-based Ming handsets.
Motorola plans to launch its next-generation Linux-based "Ming" handsets in the second quarter of 2008, with the hand input intelligence handsets to be available in both high-end and entry-level versions, according to market sources. Previously, the Ming was released only in a high-end version.
While Motorola's R&D center in Beijing will continue to handle the development of the high-end version of the new Ming handsets, the US vendor will outsource the production of the new entry-level Ming handsets to the Taiwan-based Inventec Group, according to the sources, who also noted that the new Ming handsets will continue to support the 2.5G standard.
Motorola on December 17 launched its high-end 3.5G RAZR V9 in Taiwan, and the company plans to introduce in Taiwan a Symbian-based ROKR Z8, Windows Mobile-based Q9 and three entry-level models, including the W360 and W213, before the end of this year, according to Bill Chen, general manager of of mobile device business at Motorola Taiwan.
Handsets supporting the 3G standard will account for 50% of all handsets sold in Taiwan in 2008, Chen projected.
[Via - DigiTimes Telecom ]
Red Hat delays release of Linux software
Red Hat Global Desktop Linux will not be available until September, product manager Gerry Riveros told Reuters in an e-mail.
The product includes Linux operating system software and other compatible programs for desktop and laptop personal computers.
It is a niche market for Red Hat, which makes money servicing software it develops for server computers.
Red Hat had said in May it was working with Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on the desktop software, which it said would have features comparable to Windows, include a wide range of programs and would be sold with a one-year subscription to security updates.
Red Hat Global Desktop Linux is targeted for sale in developing countries where government agencies and small businesses cannot afford to pay for Microsoft's Windows operating system. Its primary competitor will be Ubuntu Linux, a free version of the operating system.
The new Red Hat product is being delayed so the company can investigate adding technology to permit users to view a wide range of video formats on their computers, including DVDs and streaming media, Riveros said.
He couldn't be reached to elaborate on his three-sentence email, which was in response to an inquiry from Reuters.
Officials with Intel familiar with the project couldn't be reached for comment.
In May, Red Hat said its partnership with Intel was based on the chipmaker's relationship with computer makers around the world.
China's Linux desktop market booms - Hardware
The Chinese government's antipiracy movement has had an effect. After the central government published two regulations last year to force its departments and local governments to stop using pirated software, the government has increased its spending on low-cost Linux desktop software. Last year, the antipiracy movement focused mainly on senior province and city governments, but this year it filtered into the junior village and town governments as well -- areas that previously relied on pirated software. Currently, the government is responsible for purchasing accounts for more than one quarter of China's Linux desktop software market, and the homegrown Red Flag Linux leads the government market.
Industry users, such as hotels, lottery sellers, and telecommunications companies, also increased spending on Linux desktop software this year. According to CCW Research, online business in China's hotel industry will have increased more than 30% this year, causing hotels to buy more computers and software to establish or improve their Internet order systems. The low-cost Linux desktop software has earned big market share here.
Emerging markets also add momentum to the Linux desktop market. For example, the estimated 6 million computers that will be sold in China's rural areas in 2007 and 2008 provide a big stage for Linux desktop software.
Hardware vendors have also begun to promote Linux desktop software in the Chinese market. In 2007, computer makers such as Dell and Lenovo preinstalled Linux desktop operating systems in their computers for Chinese buyers. Dell has begun to sell some of its computers with Novell's SUSE Linux in China.
Dark side of the growth
Despite its rapid growth, China's Linux desktop software industry faces some problems. Piracy is still an issue. Using pirated Windows can be easier and cheaper than using a Linux desktop OS. Zhen Zhongyuan, vice president of Red Flag, says that China's Linux desktop market would increase as a "geometric series" every time piracy decreases 1%.
The high uninstall rate of the Linux desktop OS also diminishes actual growth. According to CCW Research, 31.9% of Chinese users uninstall their Linux desktop OS after buying a computer with it included. Some computer retailers themselves uninstall it and install pirated Windows instead if buyers ask for it. Retailers and personal users are more inclined to uninstall it than industry users, who seldom uninstall it because their industry software runs on it.
Additionally, the low-cost advantage of Linux desktop software is diminishing. Microsoft has taken a more flexible pricing tack in the Chinese market, offering increasingly better discounts for Chinese computer producers. An anonymous executive of a Chinese computer producer says that his company considered using the Linux desktop OS at the beginning of this year, but eventually went with Windows because Microsoft didn't charge much more than the service fee of Linux companies. He suggested this could be looked at as a victory for Linux, as it had forced Microsoft to lower its price.
Despite a few problems, the future of China's Linux desktop industry remains bright. Once the country can settle its problems, the Linux desktop industry is expected to continue its fast increase in China.
Chen Nan Yang is a Chinese freelance journalist and former IT director in the Chinese government.
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Search Engine Optimization for Corporate Websites.
There are several things that can be done that will make a corporate website more search engine friendly�and making sure that the search engines like your website will help it get indexed properly. It will also increase the number of targeted visitors to the site, increasing it's overall ROI. Most corporate websites use high-end web designers who charge a lot of money. If that sounds like your website, then you know that your corporate website is a major investment. By paying attention to the little details that make a big difference when it comes to search engine rankings, you'll be able to allow your site to 'earn its keep' so to speak, and it might even become a part of your full-time sales staff.
Home Page
The home page of the corporate site (www.yourcompanyname.com), is the most important page on the site. When visitors come to www.yourcompanyname.com it shouldn't redirect to any other web page; after all, that's your home page. And since most other websites link to your home page (www.yourcompanyname.com) rather than www.yourcompanyname.com/anotherpage.html, then you should take advantage of that; don't use any redirects on your home page.
Your home page's title tag should include your company name. If your brand is "well known" then typically the title tag of the home page should only include your company name. However, if your company is not a "household name" or "well-known" brand, then including your company's industry or keywords reflecting what your company does should be included in your title tag on the home page. Of course, whether or not you choose to include any keywords along with your company name is up to you�only you can make that decision. The meta description tag is often used in search engine listings and in other highly visible places like in search results and in website directory listings. Having a well-written meta description tag that contains a statement about what your company does along with your most important keyword phrases and your company name is a must. The meta keywords tag is optional, although it won't hurt to include one that includes a few keyword phrases that describe what your company does; it's also a good place to put keywords that won't fit into your meta description tag. It's important not to go overboard with it, though. A few targeted keyword phrases should be sufficient. Keyword research tools are tools that will tell you how many people search per day for keywords related to your business or your company's products; these can be helpful when writing title tags and meta tags and when crafting your website's copy.
When visitors come to the home page, they should easily find the name of your company, what your company does, and what products or services it provides. Adding text to your home page is imperative, as search engines don't read graphics�they need text to be able to determine what your web pages are about. A small paragraph or two about your company should be sufficient, although more text is always better�adding links within that text directly to the company's most important products is also a good idea. Other elements that should be included on the corporate website's home page include links to the company's most important products and services, links to the company's contact information, links to the company's management team, and the headlines of the company's latest news or press releases. Keep in mind that the company's home page should link to the most important content on the site.
Product or Services Pages
Using keyword research tools, you should be able to identify one or two important phrases that describe each product or service that your company offers. The title tags of product pages should include those phrases along with the company name. It's best to include the keyword phrase(s), the name of the product, and then your company name in the title tag (in that order). The keyword phrase should appear first in the title tag since it's the most important. Keep in mind that title tags are also what appears in the search results, so including the keyword phrase (typically what someone searched for) along with the product name and the company name will help entice the visitor to click on the link in the search results and visit your corporate website's product page.
Each product or services page must be unique. We've already discussed the title tag and how that should include keywords that describe the product as well as the product name and the company name. Those words should also be included in the meta description tag and meta keywords tag, which also must uniquely describe the particular product or service. Do not duplicate meta tags across several product pages; it's imperative that each one be unique or the search engines might not include those product pages in their search engine indices.
Each product or services page should contain at least several paragraphs of text; using the keywords (based on prior keyword research) is good practice, although you don't want to "overuse them" in the copy. Keep in mind that although the text on products and services pages can also appear in product brochures and other sales literature, it's important that it only appear once on the internet (on your product page). The search engines do not like duplicate content, as duplicate content can draw penalties from the search engines. Links to related products or services that the company offers will keep visitors on your site as well as help the search engine crawlers find all the pages; you might consider adding a "breadcrumb trail" as a part of the navigation, as well.
Product or services pages can help bring in sales leads for your company. When potential customers are looking for a product or service the company sells, they typically turn to search engines. When they find your product or services page listed in the search engines, the visitor will come directly to your product or service page. They'll typically take a few seconds to glance at what you have to offer; it's at that time when you need to give them some sort of "action" to take. For example, if your company's product or services are very expensive you might consider allowing your visitors to download an Adobe Acrobat PDF version of your product brochure. Including a link in a prominent place on your product page will give them some sort of "action" to take. It's also a good practice to ask them to fill out an online form with their contact information before they actually download the PDF file. Capturing their contact information will allow you to collect online sales leads, and allow your sales staff to follow up with prospective customers. If you do not include an "action" for your website visitors to take on your product pages, you're losing out on potential sales leads. Furthermore, most web analytics tools allow you to track how those prospects heard about you and what they searched for at which search engine. Even though your sales process might be lengthy, it's possible to track specific sales to keywords that the client searched for to find you. This can lead to increased marketing awareness and allow you to focus your marketing efforts in areas that are most profitable for your company.
Company News and Events
Many corporate websites include press releases, company news, and events (like trade shows) on their site. I mentioned earlier that it's often useful to include the headlines of press releases and news on the company's home page and links directly to pages on the site where that news is located. There should be a separate section on the site for press releases, as well as a separate page for events or trade shows that the company is attending.
Each press release should have its own page, and the title of the press release should be included in the title tag and the meta tags of that page. Press releases should include links to the products and services the company sells as well as a link to the company's home page. Most often these are included in the "About CompanyName" section of the press release, and it's a good practice to include direct links to the product pages on the site in that "about the company" section.
Whenever a press release is issued it should first be added to the website; then it should be sent out to the press or to the newswires. It's important for it to be included first on the website as that's the first place it will appear, insuring that the company is the author and originator of it; any other copies of the press release that appear on other websites will essentially be regarded as duplicates. This is key since it will help the press release be indexed first for that information, which will help that press release's page get ranked quicker in the search engines for the information contained in the press release. Whenever a company announces news, people turn to the internet and search for that news; it's best that the company's own press release about that news show up first in the search engines rather than any other 'copies' of that press release that might show up in the media.
Oftentimes people search at the search engines for trade shows they're going to attend. By including separate web pages about each trade show the company is going to attend or exhibit at, there's a good chance that people searching for that trade show in the search engines will see the page on the corporate website mentioning the fact that the company is attending; this can lead to company and brand awareness as well as potential sales leads. If someone is searching for the trade show then they're interested in that particular industry; so those types of visitors to your corporate site are extremely targeted and valuable.
Links to the Corporate Website
Many corporate websites already perform well when it comes garnering links from other websites. Links are important because they're the currency when it comes to the search engines�the more links a website has from other websites the more popular or influential that website is when it comes to search engine rankings and overall traffic. Keep in mind that links are valuable, so making sure you get a link whenever possible will help. Websites that contain links that are extremely valuable are often overlooked; these include websites of trade associations or trade groups the company belongs to, as well as industry trade magazines (they often will link to your products and services pages and list your white papers). It's also valuable for companies to be listed in industry portals and industry directories, as well as www.dmoz.org, the Yahoo! Directory, Business.com, and Best of the Web (www.botw.org). Best of the Web also has a blog directory, so if your company has a corporate blog it can be included there, as well. Corporate blogs can be a good source of additional content for your corporate website, as well as a place that will naturally get links from other websites.
Other Considerations
Corporate websites can often be seen as an industry leader if it includes additional valuable content. For example, including a dictionary or glossary of terms is helpful. Including articles by your company's industry experts can also lead to increased credibility (those articles can also be syndicated for use on other websites on the internet that will bring even more targeted visitors to your company's website). Keep in mind that white papers are also valuable, and there are many websites that will list your company's white papers at no charge.
When including information about your company's executives, each executive should have his or her own web page on the site. The title tag should include the executive's name, as well as the company name. The meta description and meta keywords tag should also include this information as well. Giving each executive their own web page on the site is valuable, as there are people who search at search engines for executives' names or the company name and their job title.
Many companies typically own more than one domain name. It's important that the corporate website have one main domain name�all others must be redirected to the main domain name using what is referred to as a "301 Permanent Redirect". If you allow your company to have more than one domain name that brings up the same content, you're asking for a possible de-ranking or de-listing in the search engines because of "duplicate content". The search engines do not like to index duplicate web pages or duplicate websites.
Have you ever searched at a search engine for your company name? Most likely your corporate website will be listed first. But, what is listed second, third, or even eighth in the search results? Are all those other websites that mention your company positive? Are some of them negative? By adding an "in the news" section to your corporate website and linking out to positive articles and other websites that offer valuable information about your company, you will increase the chance that those positive references to your company will show up higher in the search results than the negative ones.
By making a few changes to your corporate website that don't sacrifice its quality and good looks, you can make your corporate website pay for itself by turning it into a serious lead generation tool. Not only will your corporate website be found at the top of the search results, it will be seen as an industry leader and start to "show up everywhere" for your company's most important keyword phrases, the phrases related to your products and services. And not only will the corporate website be found more often in the search engines, it will increase your company's brand awareness.
Discuss this article in the Small Business Ideas forum.
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Search Engine Optimization for Ecommerce Sites.
Optimizing an ecommerce site isn't that different than optimizing any other type of web site. In order for a page to rank well in the organic search results, the page needs a few things: a good title tag that includes the keywords you're targeting (typically the product name), good content on the page that includes the appropriate keywords, and links from other web pages to that web page. And in order for the page to remain in the search engines' indexes, the page cannot be a duplicate of any other page on the internet.
Search Engine Friendly
What does it mean when I say that your site is search engine friendly? I'm referring to a web site that can be easily crawled by the search engines without being restricted by cookies, redirects, session IDs, and long URLs with lots of parameters in them. To find out if your site is already search engine friendly, go to Google and perform site:www.yourdomain.com search. If you know you have 100 product pages on your web site and Google is showing all of them, great. But if Google doesn't appear to be indexing all of your product pages then there's a reason�and most of the time there are issues with the site that can be fixed.
If you have a shopping cart on your web site then you're most likely using a shopping cart that can be changed to be more search engine friendly. Many popular carts like OSCommerce, Miva, X-cart, and Monster Commerce, are already search engine friendly or include some plugin or additional features that can make it more search engine friendly. You'll need to figure out which shopping cart you're site is using and see if you're using the latest SEO-related plugins or add-ons.
The URLs of your site should not include variables, parameters, or session IDs. If you have question marks in your URLs and/or if you have page URLs that change every time they're visited, then that needs to change. You should be able to pick out one product page on your site, visit that URL directly, and that page should come up�and it shouldn't change or give an error or "not found" message. Like I mentioned earlier, many of the common shopping carts include plugins or "add-ons" that will make the required changes. If you're not using these plugins or "add-ons" then you might consider installing them or moving to another shopping cart.
One of the most common search engine "unfriendly" issues I see when I start to analyze a web site is a redirect from a web site's real home page to another page on the web site. The real home page of your site is www.domain.com. It's not www.domain.com/somepage.html. The mistake or "problem" is when a visitor goes to www.domain.com and it redirects to another URL. There should never be a redirect�your home page is your home page. In fact, all web server software has some way of "telling it" which page is the default home page for the site. So, even if your shopping cart software doesn't use index.html (the most common default home page) it's possible to change your default home page to whatever it needs to be�and you could even change it to mycleverflashyhomepage.html. In any case, when you go type in www.yourdomain.com it shouldn't redirect to anything else. Why? Your real home page (www.yourdomain.com) is your most powerful page, especially because more people link to your real home page and not your "other" home page (e.g., www.yourdomain.com/homepage.html). And if you never allow anyone (or any search engine) to get to your real home page, then you're literally shooting yourself in the foot�you're not taking full advantage of the "power" of your real home page, the one that has all the links going to it. (And, if you're wondering, web pages that have more links from other web pages are more "powerful" when it comes to search engine rankings. We'll talk more about links to pages later.)
Duplicate Content
One reason why product pages on ecommerce sites appear in the search engine indexes and then disappear is because they're duplicates. You may not think your product pages are duplicates of one another, but the search engines (mainly Google) often does. By using a unique title tag, meta description and meta keywords tag on every page of your site, you'll have a better chance of those pages not being considered duplicates. Furthermore, if you include unique product descriptions (not the generic ones provided by the manufacturer of products), as well as other unique elements on every page, your pages won't be duplicates of other pages. It's important to note that when Google compares one web page (as a whole) to another web page (as a whole) and if the majority percentage of those pages contain the same content, then those pages will be duplicates. Google will keep the first page they find and "throw out" all the other duplicate pages they find. Generally speaking, I like to use the figure of 25 percent�a page must be at least 25 percent different than any other web page on the internet in order to be considered a unique page.
If you're selling products that your competitors are also selling, then your product pages need to be different than their product pages. In many cases, the generic product descriptions of items are provided by the manufacturer�so it's too easy to use the description that is provided. However, if you used the same product description that every other online store that sold that product used, your product page wouldn't stand out. It might even be considered a duplicate page if the majority of the content on the page is the product description. So, you must include other additional information on the page�try rewriting the product description or, if you do not have the time or manpower to do that, add a product review, links to related products (links to product pages with other colors, sizes, similar features), or perhaps a testimonial about the product.
Having a unique domain name is important�I prefer to host an online store on a separate web hosting account rather than using an online store such as the Yahoo! Online Store. I often advise retailers to stay away from the canned online stores mainly due to the fact that you'll have more control over your site and your store in general, especially if you want to customize it and/or add additional content to your website such as a blog or other static informational html pages. Keep in mind that it's important to choose one domain name and stick to it. If you own more than one domain name or use an online store that includes a subdomain as its address, then all other domain names you own should redirect to your main site using a 301 Permanent Redirect. Additionally, if you remove a product from your site then it's good practice to redirect that page to another similar product page using a 301 Permanent Redirect.
Product Pages and Search Engine Rankings
Let's say, for example, that your ecommerce site is selling the exact same product as your competitors. When it comes down to the actual organic search engine rankings, the product page that has more on-topic links and a better optimized title tag tends to rank higher. So, it's important that your title tag contain the search term or product name that someone will search for�and your product page must have links from other pages on your site (ideally from other related products) and from other web sites. Since your home page is typically your most powerful page, it's important to feature your most important products on your home page so that those product pages will have a link from the home page. Adding a �related products' type of navigation on your product pages will help the visitors stay on your site (in case they want to another size, color, or product with similar price or features), as well as help your product pages get more internal links. Keep in mind that you can also control the actual link text of the links in that area as well, so you might want to use link text that is similar or the