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When I was new to the DSLR world, I basically just used my Canon EOS1000D as a point-and-click camera. My DSLR had pre-set settings that made it easier to take pictures without having to worry about ISO, shutter speed, and other terms that were alien to me. But then, I started feeling guilty about decimating my savings and not putting it in full use. So I started to tinker with the camera, and lo and behold! I learned to really love it. If you have a DSLR that you’re just beginning to use, here are some tips to fully enjoy the gadget.

5. Experiment.
The key to being at home with your DSLR is to experiment with it. Read the manual. Tinker with every setting and option that you have. Do not worry; most DSLR cameras out now have a simple one-button option to restore your settings to default or original.

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Time for a Cleanup!

Are the keys on your keyboard having a hard time going back up, or is it momentarily stuck? Are you leaving fingerprints on the dust off your monitor? Or perhaps your Wii remote has this noticeable film of dust?

Then it’s time to get Dirt Devil’s new KWIK vacuum cleaner. We rarely feature household appliances in this space, but this one is a wet dream come true.

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Nothing on earth could probably interest one more than sex. In cyberspace, it is perhaps the keyword that tops the most searched list in every search engine, at any given day.

I’ve come across a study, done more than 10 years ago, that says the Internet is the great equalizer in a lot of aspects, even when it comes to things non-erotic. On the Internet, one can define his or her own persona, especially since the anonymity the net provides can create an environment where a conservative librarian can become a leather-bound sex vixen. For the user, this sort of thing leads to some kind of self awareness that further emboldens him or her to take part in a cerebral discourse that would otherwise be left unexplored in the real world.

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When I was growing up, there were games that were played by girls, and games that were reserved for boys. You are going to be ostracized if your gang sees you playing with girls, even if you play the driver in their pretend house.

In the 80s and 90s, education theorists sounded the alarm that learning patterns between girls and boys differ significantly: girls were more proficient in English and Art, while boys were more into Mathematics and Science. The differences in learning patterns were said to be the reason why girls shy away from mathematics in school, and eventually prevented them from pursuing math and science intensive college courses like engineering.

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Recent years have seen the rise of broadband, the capability of connecting to the Internet at connection speeds of more than 200 kilobits per second, or 1.5 megabits per second (depending on who you ask, the required speeds for broadband vary).

Apart from the faster connections, however, the advent of broadband did away with the tedious task of calling your ISP, waiting for an open line, and logging in before you could surf. Now, you only have to power on your computer and you’re instantly connected. And it has been met with widespread, and even increasing, acceptance. By February 2004, 48 million American homes already had broadband connection at home, representing around 24% of American adults, and signifying a 60% increase in adoption rates from a year earlier. You can only imagine what the adoption rates are currently at.

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To say that the Internet has changed the way we live our lives is an understatement. The Internet has brought people together, removing conventional boundaries like space and culture. People can now interact with somebody from halfway across the globe with a touch of a single button. And that change has encompassed every aspect of life, from personal and social interactions, to the way we communicate, and ultimately the way we do business.

The Internet’s impact on retail markets is a good example of the change as far as business is concerned. Traditional markets are limited by time and space, where merchants and traders could only sell to people who are physically in their stores and pay for it on location. When the Internet first came, the few and far more progressive retailers took their products to the Web by showcasing it in an online catalog. Order fulfillment and payment remained inside the store premises. And then e-tailers like books giant Amazon came along and led the way for e-commerce. With the advancements in technology and security, more and more brick and mortars launched their own Web sites that enabled them to sell 24 hours a day, to anyone in the planet.

The first retailers to take business to the Internet soon found themselves with a marketing tool that augmented their sales. Their Web sites became a branch that was open all night, and could take orders that they can fulfill anytime they want. It was a new marketplace for them, and one that provided unlimited possibilities. Consumers, on the other hand, benefited from the sudden influx of information. They are now able to compare products, services, prices, specifications, even "sample" the products online. Not to mention being free from the hassles of looking for a parking lot in stores. The added convenience derived through online shopping boosted Internet sales year after year. This is a market that topped more than $25 billion in sales just for December 2008 alone, and that’s during a recession and a downtrend.

The Internet is constantly evolving and along with this evolution comes the changes that are currently being seen in e-tailing. More and more companies are now seeing their e-commerce operations as not just sales and marketing tool, but part of their market development and are weaved into business strategies. The e-tailers realized that to be on top of today’s e-tail industry, one should offer the best service, the most information, and more hassle-free and complete online shopping experience. They had to strengthen communication mediums and distribution channels. In short, offer new products or services, significant improvement over existing ones, target new customers, and implement certain strategies relevant to their markets.

All these just prove that the customer is the king.

(The ESPN website was internally hacked last year. The hacker inserted a hidden code to the website. When launched, the code will over-ride the website’s design with several unicorn and rainbow images.)

We have lost counting the number of active websites today, at least those that matters. Because we are not maybe on the alert that as the number of websites grew, so do the casualties. We are talking about the casualties of hacking.

It is clear to us now that hackers do have the capabilities to infiltrate, to deface, or tear down websites. The White House, the CIA, NASA, NATO, Yahoo, eBay, and The New York Times, to name a few, have fallen prey to hacking. The web servers of even the mighty organizations and businesses of the world are vulnerable. Apparently, there are no guarantees to having a hacker-proof website.

You see, we cannot completely find fault with the way the CIA handles its security, as far as websites are concerned. They knew better. It is not so much that website owners were slack or careless. We’re sure, one way or the other, the likes of NASA and NATO have taken some mandatory measures to protect their websites. But, seemingly, hackers get in the way. Hackers are up to the challenge like they are thrilled of the game.

Leave the hackers to their schemes. Let’s take a deeper understanding of the word “vulnerability.” Perhaps our websites are such a delight to them. Is your website a hacker’s delight? Or, what makes your website potentially ‘attackable’?

These are some of the potential risks inherent in most websites:

•Hackers can find exposures in the web server or by exploiting bugs in CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts. It is best not to post nude pictures or items that might alter information on which the public relies, such as prices.

•As much as possible, you should not put anything proprietary on the web server, such as internal accounting information. Web systems containing internal data should be segregated on separate servers – a far distance from the hackers.

•Internet services, such as telnet – which gives users remote control over the computer – can open up avenues of attack. It is recommended to use the Web server only for Web services.

•If your website needs to be updated frequently it will require access from the inside by the system administrator. That access, via telnet or another service, constitutes a potential point for a hacker to reach the Web server. This is where firewalls come in handy.

•Websites with no intrusion detection system (IDS) are vulnerable. Many pieces of IDS software have this built-in update capability to detect the newest "attack signatures" – or methods of invading Web sites – used by hackers.

The interactive technology is so upon us; so all over us. And everybody loves the action. But feeling the real thrill are those among us betting on the ‘business-to-consumer’ or ‘business-to-business’ transaction concepts and raring to go the online way. Good thinking. But getting the most out of the dot-com magic is another story.

Strategy, strategy, strategies…seem overwrought, but we are sharing just the same: “Five Internet Dot-Com Guides and Strategies.” We actually like the “footing” part because it charges us to get a good grip of what the web has to offer. Because just when we think we are completely in the web of things…these five guides poke on us.

Posed wistfully as questions — and then the bottom-lines:

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The path leading toward profitable growth online is, apparently, thick with mosses of false impressions – others would call them “dangerous half-truths.” With a “Yes, but…” approach, let us count the ways that might prove to be our own undoings (according to management and strategy experts):

The “First-Mover Advantage”
In Internet business, first-mover status is a shaky ground on which to rests strategy. There is called ‘the limits of preemption’ where later entrants can persuade buyers to switch by offering better products and services. If the market is insufficiently ordered, the first entrant may be too early. When “launchers” try either to expressly manipulate the standard or monopolize, potential users likely will resist getting trapped.

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You’re probably tickled pink about your childhood crush having just “poked” you. Maybe you’re losing sleep over a fight with a Paris Hilton wannabe, or wanting to drink more human blood. Or you might be spending time writing something for a worthwhile cause you feel passionate about. Or you’re keeping up with what’s happening in the life of a college friend you haven’t seen for years. All these, because of a five-year-old.

Yup, Facebook has just turned five.

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Devotees and critics alike are one in saying that the Internet is the ultimate tool of autonomy; from the same autonomy stems the good and the bad, the favorable and the detrimental, and that autonomy is sometimes, if not most of the times, abused and social injury is the result.

Precisely that is the problem: social injury, or damage to society, to put it more bluntly. To call it ‘oppressing’ makes things rather sensational — in what context? Tormenting, coercing or keeping things down as in ‘limiting’? Which brings us to the whole point: “How is the Internet treating our kids?” “Is Internet oppressing our children?” Welcome to the loop; the great debate.

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“Pet Peeve” is a noun defined by Merriam-Webster as

a frequent subject of complaint

The IPhone has many top-notch things, but it has been the subject of many complaints. Although the 3G version of the IPhone has been released late last year, it still created several quips from most of its users (like myself).

Listed below are the most common “annoyances” the “Jesus Phone” had and have (unless you install some 3rd party applications; which most of them are still on its beta stage):

5. Why can’t I delete a single number from the call log? Nokia’s low-end models can do it, why not Apple’s kickass phone? Not that I’m hiding anything (Hi Baby!).

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Previously, I told you about the benefits of Twitter as a source of information and as a means of propagating it. Twitter would work best if you have good quality contacts. Friends, associates, business contacts are the best set of followers.

This kind of audience is ready and interested. To start with, always put in your real name in your Twitter profile, just as you would in Facebook and MySpace. And always fill out your profiles, so people can easily find you and know who you are. After you set up your Twitter profile, then it’s time to pay it forward: follow people you know, or whose content interests you. Always introduce yourself to them, tell them what you do and what interests you. Think of it as networking on Twitter. If they check your profile and find out more about you, they might follow you back.

Like RSS feeds, you can promote your blog or Web site via Twitter. All you have to do is to type in the updates. Unlike RSS feeds, however, Twitter allows for more interaction, giving you the opportunity to field more feedback to your site changes or blog posts in real time.

If you are always on the go, you can give your followers important updates throughout the day using your mobile. Note that updates should be substantial and has meat in it. A lot of your followers would probably turn you off if you twit “still stuck in traffic…” every five minutes or so.

If you’re a powerblogger, you can let a third party service handle the updates for you. Sign up for twitterfeed, an update service that reads your blog’s RSS and feeds them to Twitter automatically, thereby saving you the time and effort of having to do the updates yourself. This is especially helpful if you maintain a lot of blogs, and you want to automate each one.

Remember that your Twitter account should speak about you or your business. While you may have a lot to say about the world, or about yourself, be sure to moderate your postings. Posting too much would cause your followers to abandon you, or not read your twits, posting nothing is just as bad. Further, be careful of what you post on Twitter. Twitter posts are basically archived by Google (another benefit of having Twitter is that you get inbound links so your site could rank higher in Google) so even if you have deleted your particularly embarrassing twit, it can still be found on Google search.

Lastly, learn to play it by ear. And of course, HAVE FUN!

Please read another interesting article about Twitter here: Don’t Ignore Twitter!

Twitting…

If you guys have been ignoring Twitter, you probably haven’t realized its power. You have probably tried it at one point, and decided that you really didn’t care if a friend is having lunch with Bill Gates, or taking a piss. Really, who’d want to be THAT updated?

But as with all things high-tech, people have always used technology for mundane things. Even great technologies have their asinine yet practical application. While most people use Facebook to play Fashion Wars or solicit sympathy for a dead toenail, a lot of businesses have found suppliers and customers on the site. Some people use it to connect with long-lost friends and keep up with them.

Twitter, I found out, has great potentials. I was recently out with a couple of friends and went to see a movie with them. Tina, a movie buff, mentioned something about a movie shot in India that won a lot of BAFTAs and nominated for a number of Oscars. For the life of her, Tina couldn’t remember the movie’s title.

I haven’t heard of the movie, while the other two were as clueless as I was. It bothered Tina to no end, so she kept on tapping and doing all those insanely Tina-things to let us know she’s bothered. Mon finally surrendered and whipped out his laptop. I thought he was going to Google for movie, India, BAFTA and Oscar, but he went to Twitter instead. In the box, he twitted: “What’s that new movie that was shot in India and is nominated for the Oscars?”

In a matter of seconds, and right before our eyes, Mon’s followers came up with the answer: Slumdog Millionaire. With it came the names of the producers, the director, the cast, the movie’s official Web site, synopsis, even the Oscar categories it was nominated in. As in SECONDS.

Until then, I didn’t really think much about Twitter. I thought it was just another Internet fad that featured a cross between social networking and RSS. I did not realize its potential power both as a source of information and as a means of propagating it.

The possibilities are endless. Looking for a recipe? Twit it. Want a recommendation for a hot date? Twit it. Wanting to know how much to budget for that new restaurant that just opened last week? Twit it. Want to launch your business or advertise your service? Twit… You get the idea.

Read another interesting Twitter article here: Getting the most out of Twitter

Can we regulate the Internet? For years, many experts have come from both sides of the fence. The arguments for and against the possibility of Internet regulation ran the gamut of reasons and explanations: from technological to ethical aspects.

First let us present the moral aspect of the question. Internet regulation will curb pedophilia, porn, violence, tutorials on how to make bombs and ways to commit suicide or murder. This is what proponents say. The Internet has evolved such that anything and everything is easily accessible and immediately available to those who look for it. Even to children. Hence, it should be censored. People against regulation have postulated that the free nature of the Internet became the way it is now: progressive, innovative, and responsive to the times. Regulating it would curtail all that these represent.

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