March 10th, 2010 by
Once you are contacted by a sales representative from Microsoft, and your information has been verified to be accurate, you will receive a token that will allow you access to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online FREE 30-day trial. During the next 30 days, you will experience Microsoft’s solution via their Online option. You may hear references to Online specifically in their videos, however, the experience and functionality are essentially the same as their On-Premise or Partner Hosted solution. Toward the end of your trial, you will be notified by email of your option to continue to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online by enrolling in a 12-month subscription. All data and previously stored data will roll over into your subscription. If you do not convert your trial to a subscription, your user access and your data will no longer be available at the end of your trial period. Request Free!
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Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online FREE 30-day Trial
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March 1st, 2010 by
Connected government agencies collect, store and retrieve information electronically. Paper is largely eliminated—and what remains is quickly digitized and indexed. Internal workflows are streamlined and automated, ensuring that proper procedures are followed and that timelines are met. Citizens and businesses interact with connected government agencies electronically, via secure portals. Connected government agencies safely and appropriately share information among departments and with other agencies. And they use information dashboards to give managers better insight into internal operations and to give citizens better visibility into government effectiveness. Request Free!
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US Federal Roadmap to Effective eGovernment
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February 24th, 2010 by engineering magazines
Many people love the freedom of riding a motorcycle as well as the economical value it offers, especially now with fuel costs at an all time high. However, some people just aren’t comfortable operating a motorcycle. A great alternative is to choose an electric scooter. They are also very economically as well as easy to operate. This is a great option for riding around town. I know many parents who compromise purchasing their teenager a scooter rather than an actual motorcycle. Scooters also cost less than a motorcycle.
Safety is still a necessity while operating an electric scooter. It is important that you wear a helmet as well as long sleeved shirts and pants to prevent road rash. You also need to follow the rules of the road. Too many people have the misconception that a scooter can be operated like a bicycle rather than a motor vehicle on the road. In many states you have to obtain a motorcycle license to legally operate one on the street. Children must be the legal age to drive one as determined by their state regulations.
Electric scooters are frequently referred to as mopeds as well. They are very environmentally friendly so you don’t have to worry about pollution issues. Many of the features on these scooters are similar to those of a motorcycle including the seat, brakes, tires, and turn signals. While scooters are definitely easier to learn to ride, they won’t offer you the same speed as a motorcycle. Don’t expect to get on one and take off like the wind. You also won’t want to ride them on the highway or interstate as they just aren’t designed for that type of speed or travel.
Depending on the type of electric scooter you purchase, you can anticipate spending from $200 to $1,000. The prices are very reasonable, so that your time finding one that fits you perfectly. There are many styles and colors available from a variety of manufacturers. Many women love operating a scooter as opposed to a motorcycle because of the weight difference.
You will also find scooters that feature a stand up or a sit down design. The younger kids definitely seem to favor the stand up type but it certainly isn’t going to be comfortable when you are on it for a length of time. You also won’t have the storage space if you need to carry anything with you.
Most electric scooters require very little maintenence, further adding to your transportation savings. In most cases you will be able to do the basic maintenance and even repairs on your own. You may be wondering how fuel efficient an electric scooter is. While the specific savings will vary by model, many of them can get 60 miles per gallon of fuel.
Since electric scooters don’t take up much space and they are light weight, may college kids prefer to use one instead of a car. They can even ride it around campus and secure it on the bike rack. Most of them can get up to 30 MPH so a quick trip to town or the grocery store is even possible with one.
Electric scooters have continued to grow in popularity in areas where the fuel is high and the weather is nice most of the year. Consumers are looking for an economical means of transportation and they have found in with electric scooters. You can find a great deal of information about them on the internet as well as motorcycle and electric stores.
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February 22nd, 2010 by
This application brief demonstrates how small to mid-sized retailers are automating store processes from the loading dock to the cash register with the new Motorola MT2000 Series. Request Free!
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Motorola MT2000 Application Brief
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February 2nd, 2010 by
For IT departments looking to bring their AIX environments up to the next step in data protection, IBM’s PowerHA (HACMP) connects multiple servers to shared storage via clustering. This offers automatic recovery of applications and system resources if a failure occurs with the primary server. But clustering only makes the server resilient, not the data storage. That is where real-time replication of the data store is essential. Learn all about how AIX data replication works and how it benefits HACMP clusters. Request Free!
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The Benefits of AIX Data Replication in HACMP Clusters
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January 27th, 2010 by engineering magazines

Have you heard stories about legendary online entrepreneurs who hit it big after getting a #1 rank in several popular search engines? You probably wondered what it would take for you to achieve that elusive #1 spot in the search engine result pages (SERPs). Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in ensuring that your business gets the best possible search engine ranking, which can lead to increased sales for your online company.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization is the process of modifying web page content and meta-information to improve the search engine ranking of the page. Meta-information includes certain HTML tags (title, heading, emphasized text, keyword and description meta-tags), as well as the internal (links between pages on the same site) and external (links between pages on different sites) link structure of a web site.
Impact of High Search Engine Rank on Sales
Internet market research estimates that between 70% and 90% of online shoppers use search engines to find a specific product or service. Let’s examine factors that influence sales to see how effective search engine optimization can boost your revenues.
Three metrics are required to forecast online sales: the average ticket, the conversion rate, and the amount of web site traffic:
The average ticket is the amount of money spent by a customer on a typical transaction. Computer and electronics stores have high average tickets (hundreds or thousands of dollars), while bookstores have low average tickets (tens of dollars).
Web Site traffic is measured by the number of site visitors, typically expressed as the number of page views per month.
Conversion rate is the number of sales divided by the number of page views per month, expressed as a percentage.
Let’s look at an example. The Ultimate Taupe Widget (UTW) store has an average ticket of $25, a conversion rate of 2%, and gets 5,000 page views per month. The estimated monthly sales are $2,500 ($25 average ticket * 0.02 conversion rate expressed as a decimal * 5,000 page views per month). Achieving a high search engine rank will increase the number of page views, and therefore increase sales. In this example, if traffic doubles to 10,000 page views a month, UTW’s monthly sales should (approximately) double as well (to $5,000).
Keep in mind that a high search engine rank will produce a measurable increase in traffic only if there is significant marketplace interest in taupe widgets and your web site appears in the first thirty search engine results.
However, search engine optimization is not going to produce measurable results if there is very little demand for taupe widgets. The #1 spot in search engine result pages is not particularly impressive if only two people search for “taupe widgets” each month. Role of Keywords in Search Engine Optimization
Keywords are words or phrases users provide to search engines to locate information. Search engines examine page content to determine whether a specific page is relevant for a particular search word or phrase. Thus, effective keyword selection is one of the cornerstones of search engine optimization.
Each keyword is characterized by supply (number of search engine result pages) and demand (number of searches). The easiest way to improve search engine rank is to select keywords that have favorable supply-demand characteristics; that is, ones with a relatively high demand and a relatively low supply. It is much more difficult to improve the search engine position of a page on a high supply, competitive keyword.
Good keywords must be relevant to your product line, as well as your line of business. A #1 rank for “navy widgets” is worthless if you sell taupe widgets exclusively. A potential customer will find your page, quickly discover that you don’t sell any navy widgets, and promptly go elsewhere. In effect, the conversion rate for irrelevant search engine hits is very close to zero.
Using Keywords Effectively
Choosing a set of target keywords is the first step in search engine optimization. The second step is using them in the body, title, headings, and meta-tags of a page.
Include the target keywords in the text of the page. Don’t overdo it, though — the keywords should fit smoothly into the surrounding text. Search engines use several techniques to detect excessive keyword density, or too many keywords stuffed into very little supporting text, and will reduce the rank accordingly. A page has too many keywords if they interfere with the general flow of the text on a page and appear to be glaringly out of place
The title tag should contain information that describes the page. Unless you operate a multi-national conglomerate that is already a household name, your company’s name is not a descriptive title. Most search engines use the title tag as the first line of your listing in the search engine result pages. Strive to make your title tag say “click me” to a prospective customer. “Superior taupe widgets – 50% off every day” is a good page title, while “Ultimate Taupe Widgets, Inc.” is not.
Incorporate keywords into the headings on the page, as well as into emphasized sections (bold or large text). Even though search engines are de-emphasizing descriptive meta-tags, include keywords in them nevertheless. The description meta-tag should have an accurate description of your page, and the keywords meta-tag should contain a set of keywords (separated by commas) that list key concepts mentioned on the page.
Understanding the basics of search engine optimization is an important first step in creating an optimized, well-positioned web site.
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