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Splendid Sushil brings home a bronze medal

2008-08-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Sushil Kumar won for India a most unexpected bronze medal in the 66kg category freestyle wrestling competition in the Olympics on Wednesday.

After his initial-round loss to Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine, no one would have given the 25-year-old Delhi westler a chance to pluck a bronze out of a tough field.

The Delhi man did that in the space of 70 minutes, in the repechage round, scoring three victories that had the small band of Indians in delirium.
Second wrestling medal

It was indeed a bolt from the blue, a welcome one at that, for the disheartened Indian contingent that was still coming to terms with Akhil Kumar’s defeat.

Before anyone in the Indian camp could realise what was going on Sushil, had pulled a bronze out of nowhere. It was the second medal for India in this Games, following the gold by shooter Abhinav Bindra in the air rifle event, and it was also the second ever medal in wrestling for the country, behind K.D. Jadhav’s 1952 bronze. It was also the first time since Helsinki that India was winning more than a medal from one Olympics, the country having also won the hockey gold then.

For independent India, this was the sixth individual medal. Tennis ace Leander Paes (1996), weightlifter Karnam Malleswari (2000) and double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004) had won the other medals, following the one by Jadhav.

It was commendable fare from Sushil, especially the bout he won for the bronze, when he beat the semifinalist, Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhtan 3-1 on points.

Sushil took a 2-1 lead in the first round after the Kazakh had won the first point.

Into the second round, the Kazakh won a point, but in the third round, Sushil revealed steely nerves to gather the crucial point.

In technical terms, Sushil countered the third period to clinch with a scissors kick and ankle pick to defeat the Kazakh.

The Indian supporters jumped for joy and like a true disciple, Sushil walked straight to the former Asian Games gold medallist, Mahabali Satpal, his ‘guru’ who was cheering him from the stands, to seek blessings. Satpal, quite proud of his ward, showered kisses on the lad in appreciation.

Sushil’s joy was complete when the legendary pole-vaulter, six-time World champion Sergey Bubka, who set 35 world records in his illustrious career, presented the medals.

“Every one of those three bouts were tough. I was actually fighting every 15 minutes. I was tired. My opponents were also tired. But, I was confident of winning a medal, through the repechage. We had very good preparation. Maybe, you were not that sure,” said Sushil, as he interacted with the media, after the medals ceremony.

“If we get support like the athletes of leading counries like the U.S., Belarus and Russia, we can also get gold medals. There is no dearth of talent in the country,” said Sushil.

The Asian championship silver medallist who had ended 14th in the Athens Games in the 60-kg class and taken seventh place in the last World championship at Baku, Azerbaijan, said that he could not fight that well in the first bout of the day, against the eventual silver medallist Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine. The gold went to Turkey’s Ramazan Sahin.
Going all out

“Once I lost that first bout, I knew that I would be out if I lost a match. I was very keen, and decided that I would keep fighting till the end,” said Sushil, who had lost to the same wrestler in the World championship.

In the repechage that allows early losers a chance to go for a medal, Sushil first beat Albert Batyrov of Belarus 8-4 on technical points and 3-1 on points; he then defeated Doug Schwab of the U.S. 7-4 on technical points and 3-1 on points; before downing Leonid Spiridonov decisively in the match for the medal.

It was such a boost to the Indian camp that one of the boxers, went on to ensure another medal, by winning his quarterfinals in the middleweight class.

Sushil Kumar wins bronze medal for india

2008-08-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

Date of Birth : May 26 1983
Weight : 66 kg / 145 lbs
Height : 163cm / 5′4″
Gender : Male
Residence : New Delhi (India)
Birth Place : Delhi (India)
Sport Speciality: Wrestling
Event(s): Men’s Freestyle 66 kg

Sushil Kumar freestyle wrestling in India is in its second Olympic medal when they defeated the anti-Kazak.

Earlier, Sushil Kumar lost to Ukrainian Andriy Stadnik at least 3-8 points after they linked to technical points.

While the fate of the attraction is a deputy Sushil in the first round, which gave him direct at the beginning of the quarter-finals, Standnik to beat 2007 the world. Schwab 5 in the round of 16 American dog to move forward.

In the quarter, Stadnik, a former World Cup winner and 2006 World Cup bronze medallist, played outside India. Stadnik as, quarterfinalist in the 2007 World Championship finals gone, all those lost, it came through the repechage, who will decide the winning two bronze medals.

In the first round repechage, Sushil and his Belarussian Schwab, to take the winner Albert Batyrov. Sushil will need to win a third bout after that to get himself a bronze.Schwab was fifth in the last world championships, where Sushil seventh.

Up to the last coming from Turkey in the second half of the class wrestler Ramzan Shahin, won the gold medal in 2007 World Championships in addition to the use of the first completed in 2008 the European area.

Abhinav Bindra : First gold medal for India

2008-08-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

India celebrated its first ever individual Olympic gold medallist Monday, offering the shooter the accolades of a nation desperate for Olympic glory, lots of cash and a free lifetime pass to ride the railways.

Abhinav Bindra won gold in the 10-meter air rifle, ending decades of Olympic misery for India, the world's second most populous nation and a perennial underachiever at the games.

Television news channels were giddy in their coverage, showing footage of Bindra receiving his medal and the raising of the Indian flag on a continuos loop, interrupted only by interviews with his parents from their home in northern India.

"He's done the country proud, he's done us proud and himself proud," Bindra's mother Babli told the CNN-IBN news channel, noting that he was now probably the country's most eligible bachelor.

Praise poured in from India's president and prime minister who hailed his "golden performance." It seemed almost everyone wanted to be associated with him.

India's Madhya Pradesh state announced a prize of 500,000 rupees (US$11,900) for Bindra, while the state of Maharashtra awarded him 1 million rupees (US$23,800) -- even though he is not a resident of either. The impoverished state of Bihar said it would name a stadium after him.
Not to be outdone, his home state of Punjab awarded him 10 million rupees (US$238,000).

Meanwhile India's charismatic Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced that Bindra would get a gold pass to go along with his gold medal -- letting him and a companion ride the railways (in the first class, air conditioned compartments) free for the rest of his life.

"Bindra's remarkable achievement will inspire other Indian athletes to perform excellently in the remaining parts of the Olympics," Prasad said.

Bindra's gold medal ended a long drought for India which has never won an individual event before and last won a team gold at the 1980 Moscow Games in men's field hockey, a sport in which it once dominated but did not even qualify for at Beijing.

It's a sporting record that has long been regarded as an embarrassment for India, with its huge population of some 1.1 billion people.

In Athens, India won just one silver, while China, the only other country with a billion-plus population, won 63 medals -- 32 of which were gold. Bindra's father described the win as vindication.

"On the podium the Chinese man was crying, while today India is laughing," said his father A. S. Singh, referring to second place Chinese shooter Zhu Qinan.
Much of the reason for India's past failures is that with the country mired in poverty for much of the previous century, it had very little resources to devote to sport. And what there was went to the national obsession -- the non-Olympic sport of cricket.

Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi, who had warned the country not to expect many medals in Beijing, said he hoped the gold will inspire Indians beyond cricket.

"It's a great day in the history of Indian sports. Finally, we got an individual gold," Kalmadi told reporters in Beijing.

"Cricket rules the roost in India, but now the youngsters have a role model who plays some other sport. It augurs well for us," he said.

Perhaps, indicating the change, India's powerful cricket board announced that it to was giving Bindra a cash prize of 2.5 million rupees (US$60,000).

Payday loan

2008-08-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

A payday loan (also called a paycheck advance or payday advance) is a small, short-term loan that is intended to cover a borrower's expenses until his or her next payday. Typical loans are between $100 and $500 and are due in two weeks, with interest rates of up to 400% APR. On a two-week loan, fees average $15 for each $100 lent. The loans are also sometimes referred to as cash advances, though that term can also refer to cash provided against a prearranged line of credit such as a credit card.

Legislation regarding payday loans varies widely between different countries and, within the USA, between different states. Some jurisdictions impose strict usury limits, limiting the APR that any lender, including payday lenders, can charge; some outlaw payday lending entirely; and some have very few restrictions on payday lenders.

Statistics compiled by the Center for Responsible Lending show that the majority of the industry's profit comes from repeat borrowers who are unable to repay loans on the due date and instead repeatedly renew their loans, paying fees each time. The payday lending industry disputes these contentions.

Due to the extremely short-term nature of payday loans, the difference between APR and effective annual rate (EAR) can be substantial, because EAR takes compounding into account. For a $15 charge on a $100 2-week payday loan, the APR is 26 × 15% = 390% but the EAR is 1.1526 - 1 × 100% = 3686%. Careful reporting of whether EAR or APR is quoted is necessary to make meaningful comparisons.

Retail lending

Borrowers visit a payday lending store and secure a small cash loan, usually in the range of $100 to $500, with payment in full due at the borrower's next paycheck (usually a two week term). Finance charges on payday loans are typically in the range of 15 to 30 per cent of the amount for the two-week period, which translates to rates ranging from 390 percent to 780 percent when expressed as an annual percentage rate (APR) The borrower writes a postdated check to the lender in the full amount of the loan plus fees. On the maturity date, the borrower is expected to return to the store to repay the loan in person. If the borrower doesn't repay the loan in person, the lender may process the check traditionally or through electronic withdrawal from the borrower's checking account.

If the account is short on funds to cover the check, the borrower may now face a bounced check fee from their bank in addition to the costs of the loan, and the loan may incur additional fees and/or an increased interest rate as a result of the failure to pay. For customers who cannot pay back the loan when due, members of the national trade association are required to offer an extended payment plan at no additional cost. In states like Washington, extended payment plans are required by state law.

Payday lenders require the borrower to bring one or more recent pay stubs to prove that they have a steady source of income. They are also required to provide recent bank statements.Individual companies and franchises have their own underwriting criteria.

Equity Line Of Credit

2008-08-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

Morgan Stanley Equity Line Of Credit Articles

A Home Equity Line of Credit mostly called as HELOC and articulated as HEE-lock is a credit facility offered by the lender. The lender allows the borrower to take as much loan from him but under certain grounds. The borrower must keep in mind the fixed term in which he has to repay back the amount he took and he has to keep his house as a guarantee for that particular period.

These loans are occasionally helpful to aid in investment needed for important house maintenance, medical bills or university education. Most Home Equity Line of Credit need fine to brilliant credit track record which includes credit card bills, repaid loans, and other debts in the past in order to use as a guiding line to lend the loan. It also requires satisfactory precondition that loan will be paid back and is based on combined loan-to-value ratios.

Home equity loans are of two kinds, closed end and open end. The closed and the open end home equity loans are generally stated to as second mortgages since they are safe contrary to the worth of the property, just like a conventional mortgage. Home equity loans and Home Equity Line of Credit generally mature sooner than first mortgages. In some states, it is at times feasible to reduce home equity loan interest on one's personal income taxes.

Closed-end home equity loans generally have fixed value and can be reduced by making payments in installments at an interval usually up to 15 years. The greatest sum of money that can be borrowed is decided by several factors involving credit track record, earnings, and the assessed worth of the security. The open end is a rotating credit loan, also termed as a home equity line of credit (HELOC).

In home equity line of credit the borrower may select when and how frequently he needs to borrow contrary to the equity in the property. Typically, the interest rate is based on the lowest lending rate i.e. interest on loans together with a difference between loan and collateral values.

The cause behind the popularity of home equity line of credit is the greater elasticity which is not available in many other loans basically in the terms of lending as well as borrowing on the specified period fixed by the borrower. The added advantage is that the security that lies beneath the home equity line of credit (HELOC) is the home. It simply indicates that if the borrower is unable to pay back the loan or fulfill loan necessities then it may lead to Removal of right to redeem mortgage.

Third World Countries Usage Of Cellular Telephone Systems Increases Over Wired Land Line Service

Most importantly, third world nations are implementing only cellular telephone systems because they have better access to them when needed. For example, distance is a major issue. For instance, the use of long telephone lines may be used if wired-based telephone systems were install. Also, cellular systems’ comes in handy for many individual.

For example, if an individual were to obtain news from a source that is unknown or doesn’t have any communication services, a wireless cellular system can transfer the signals thru a radio and transported back to the individual. Furthermore, cellular systems can prevent danger zones for third world nations. For example, under dangerous weather conditions, the use of the power lines for telephone system maybe in jeopardy of getting on fire. On the other hand, there is no use of any power lines, if a cellular telephone system was used.

There are several advantages. They include increasing capacity, which allows individuals to have better access to cellular systems. There are hundreds if not thousands of people living in these third world countries. Perhaps, a bigger and larger system can store more information and provide quality service. Also, there is reduced power usage, which saves the usage of energy power. Furthermore, there is a better coverage for access, which can be obtained at all different locations.

On the other hand, there are disadvantages. Firstly there are interruptions and privacy issues. Many of the unassociated third parties may intervene with service. This will worsen the quality of the service and companies will lose its customers. Next, there is the cost. With these high tech cellular systems, it may take a large sum of money to build. Finally, time is another concern. The long timing to test a well-built system is a struggle. Customers may or may not want to wait for the completion of the system. Again, weather conditions, is hazardous to a cellular system. Even a slight earthquake or thunderstorm can damage the system.

Currently, more and more cellular systems are used around the world. From cell phones to pagers, each device we use allows us to message one another. This is a great change to our technological advances.

Jet aircraft

2008-08-09T01:48:00.000-07:00

A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes -- as high as 10,000 to 15,000 meters, about 33,000 to 49,000 feet (14,900 m). At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller powered aircraft achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower altitudes.

Two engineers, Frank Whittle in the United Kingdom and Hans von Ohain in Germany, developed the concept independently during the late 1930s, although credit for the first turbojet is given to Whittle.

Although the concept had already been discussed as early as August 1928 by Frank Whittle at Flying School, Wittering, Hans von Ohain wrote In February 1936 to Ernst Heinkel , telling him of the design and its possibilities. It can be argued that A. A. Griffith who published a paper in July 1926 on compressors and turbines, which he had been studying at the RAE, also deserves priority credit, perhaps more than either Frank Whittle or Hans von Ohain.

Private Jets

Jets.com can locate a wide variety of aircraft from Light, Mid-Size, or Large Jets to accommodate virtually any customer trip request. Please note that the jet information listed is an approximation as jet configurations can vary, and jet speed and range are affected by weather, number of passengers, runway length, baggage, etc

Asbestos

2008-08-09T01:45:00.000-07:00

Asbestos is a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals. The word "asbestos" is derived from a Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the "miracle mineral" because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to withstand heat. Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century due to its resistance to heat, electricity and chemical damage, its sound absorption and tensile strength. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. Asbestos is used in brake shoes and gaskets for its heat resistance, and in the past was used on electric oven and hotplate wiring for its electrical insulation at elevated temperature, and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties, tensile strength, flexibility, and resistance to chemicals.

This "miracle material" is now known to be highly toxic. The inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses, including mesothelioma and asbestosis. Since the mid 1980s, many uses of asbestos have been banned in many countries.

Asbestos is the name given to a number of naturally occurring, fibrous silicate minerals mined for their useful properties such as thermal insulation, chemical and thermal stability, and high tensile strength. Asbestos is commonly used as an acoustic insulator, and in thermal insulation, fire proofing and other building materials. Many products in use today contain asbestos.

Asbestos is made up of microscopic bundles of fibers that may become airborne when asbestos- containing materials are damaged or disturbed. When these fibers get into the air they may be inhaled into the lungs, where they can cause significant health problems.

Asbestos is well recognized as a health hazard and is highly regulated. An estimated 1.3 million employees in the construction and general industry face significant asbestos exposure on the job. Heaviest exposures occur in the construction industry, particularly during the removal of asbestos during renovation or demolition. Employees are also likely to be exposed during the manufacture of asbestos products (such as textiles, friction products, insulation, and other building materials) and during automotive brake and clutch repair work.

Bextra

2008-08-09T01:43:00.000-07:00

Bextra was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2005.

The manufacturer of Bextra has announced the voluntary withdrawal of the drug from the U.S. market. This withdrawal is due to safety concerns of an increased risk of cardiovascular events (including heart attack and stroke) in patients taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Bextra is a "COX-2" selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and safety concerns of an increased risk of rare but serious skin reactions in patients taking Bextra.
Do not take Bextra without first talking to your doctor if you have experienced asthma, hives, or an allergic reaction after taking a sulfa-based medication such as sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra, Gantanol, and others) or sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin); aspirin; or another NSAID such as celecoxib (Celebrex), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin, and others), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Anaprox), ketoprofen (Orudis KT, Orudis, Oruvail), diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam), diflunisal (Dolobid), etodolac (Lodine, Lodine XL), fenoprofen (Nalfon), flurbiprofen (Ansaid), indomethacin (Indocin), ketorolac (Toradol), meloxicam (Mobic), nabumetone (Relafen), oxaprozin (Daypro), piroxicam (Feldene), sulindac (Clinoril), or tolmetin (Tolectin). You may experience a similar reaction to Bextra. Notify your doctor immediately if you develop abdominal pain, tenderness, or discomfort; nausea; bloody vomit; bloody, black, or tarry stools; unexplained weight gain; swelling or water retention; fatigue or lethargy; a skin rash; itching; yellowing of the skin or eyes;"flu-like" symptoms; or unusual bruising or bleeding. These symptoms could be early signs of dangerous side effects. Serious skin reactions have occurred in patients taking Bextra. These reactions tend to occur within the first two weeks of treatment, but may occur at any time during treatment. Stop taking Bextra and contact your doctor immediately if you develop a skin rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; swelling of the lips, tongue or face; or other symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Bextra was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2005.

Bextra is in a class of drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Bextra works by reducing substances in the body that cause inflammation, pain, and fever.

Bextra is used to reduce pain, inflammation, and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis and adult rheumatoid arthritis. Bextra is also used to treat painful menstruation.

Bextra may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking Bextra?

The manufacturer of Bextra has announced the voluntary withdrawal of the drug from the U.S. market. This withdrawal is due to safety concerns of an increased risk of cardiovascular events (including heart attack and stroke) in patients taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Bextra is a "COX-2" selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and safety concerns of an increased risk of rare but serious skin reactions in patients taking Bextra.
Do not take Bextra without first talking to your doctor if you have experienced asthma, hives, or an allergic reaction after taking a sulfa-based medication such as sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra, Gantanol, and others) or sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin); aspirin; or another NSAID such as celecoxib (Celebrex), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin, and others), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Anaprox), ketoprofen (Orudis KT, Orudis, Oruvail), diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam), diflunisal (Dolobid), etodolac (Lodine, Lodine XL), fenoprofen (Nalfon), flurbiprofen (Ansaid), indomethacin (Indocin), ketorolac (Toradol), meloxicam (Mobic), nabumetone (Relafen), oxaprozin (Daypro), piroxicam (Feldene), sulindac (Clinoril), or tolmetin (Tolectin). You may experience a similar reaction to Bextra.

Bextra should not be used for the treatment of pain after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). The use of Bextra in such patients has led to an increased incidence of cardiovascular events, deep surgical infections and wound complications. Talk to your doctor before taking Bextra if you are being treated for pain associated with CABG.

Before taking Bextra, tell your doctor if you

*

smoke;
*

drink alcohol;
*

have an ulcer or bleeding in the stomach;
* have liver disease;
* have kidney disease;
*

have asthma;
*

have congestive heart failure;
*

have fluid retention;
*

have heart disease;
*

have high blood pressure;
*

have a coagulation (bleeding) disorder or are taking an anticoagulant (blood thinner) such as warfarin (Coumadin); or
*

are taking a steroid medicine such as prednisone (Deltasone and others), methylprednisolone (Medrol and others), prednisolone (Prelone, Pediapred, and others), and others.

Life Insurance – some facts

2008-08-09T01:34:00.000-07:00

The fact is, term plans are still not sold by insurance agents. That leaves it up to each one of us to seek protection. There are several commonly held misconceptions and myths about life insurance. Unfortunately, some get mistaken for facts. Let’s see which is which. Most people believe life insurance is good savings vehicle.
That is true only if an insured’s idea of good returns is 4% to 7%. Most people expect higher returns, then insurance may not be a right choice. A better option would be the Public Provident Fund (PPF), which gives 8% returns, tax free.
And that rate is fixed (unless, of course, the government decides to change it). If an investor’s priority is safety then he can consider alternatives like RBI bonds, National Savings Certificates (NSC), Kisan Vikas Patra, bank fixed deposits, all of which guarantee returns. Even post-tax (depending on the tax slab you fall into), they will still yield higher returns. Yet, for many people, insurance is the main saving. What makes this choice even more baffling is the myth of safety.
There is nothing safe or guaranteed about returns on an insurance plan—it depends on the performance of the funds invested. The bonus declared varies from year to year, and the post-tax return is less than the other options mentioned above.
That brings us to another reason why people buy life insurance—to save tax. For tax savings, insurance is a very good option but not the only one. There are several other ways to save tax. One could invest in PPF, NSC and ELSS (equity-linked savings scheme) mutual funds too. ELSS mutual funds have shown a mind boggling 44.88% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over five-year period.
The best performing fund, the Magnum Taxgain scheme, has fared even better: 63% CAGR over five years. PPF gives a clear 8% returns year on year, compounded.
The rebuttal would be that the insurance corpus goes into debt and that cannot be compared with mutual fund or equity returns. The insurance doyens would probably point to Unit-linked insurance plans for realistic comparison. To be sure, there’s some truth in the claim that unit linked insurance products ULIPs) can give good returns, like mutual funds. But insurance companies eat the premium in the first year and the following few years, leaving a reduced corpus for the actual investment.
The policy holder starts life with a disadvantage. ULIPs can make up in one situation. The mortality charges in a ULIP plan tend to be low. Hence, if you take a high insurance cover (like, say, Rs 50 lakh), the ULIP plan becomes comparable to a combination of mutual funds and term insurance, after about 12 years. This comparison is for some plans with low-charges.
That is, assuming that MFs and ULIPs are going to perform at the same return-levels. There is a concentration risk in ULIPs, as all the money goes to the fund of the insurance company, whereas a mutual fund corpus can be diversified across funds and schemes. Assuming that mutual funds and ULIPs will give the same returns. To date, mutual funds have been winning hands down. As of last week, six large-cap funds have given a five-year CAGR return of more than 50%, while the Sensex has returned 38.15%. The average five-year CAGR for the large-cap category is 44.6%.
ULIP returns are reported on the invested amount, after deducting all the charges, which are substantial. The actual returns are thus far less. The last reason for buying insurance is that it provides protection. At last, the real reason but unfortunately, agents don’t talk about it. No client wants to talk about it, either, since it involves their death (“eventuality”, in insurance lingo). When insurance agents seldom talk about protection and family security, but keep harping on tax breaks, tax free returns, and safety, it’s no wonder that they don’t help customers see the real need for life insurance.
The fact is that term plans are still not sold by insurance agents. The reasons are premiums and commissions are low. Secondly, many medical tests are required, which is a lot of work. And thirdly, policies may be declined, or may be issued at an extra premium. Extra work, lost commissions and that is why agents don’t talk about term insurance. That leaves it up to each potential insured seek protection, which is really the main purpose of insurance.

• Americans are underinsured. Only 47% of U.S. households own any individual life insurance, placing great importance on employer-sponsored life insurance programs (Conning & Company). Our complete portfolio of Group Life products provides comprehensive protection at affordable rates.
• In the U.S., Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada currently provides Group Life insurance solutions to nearly 5,000 employers covering nearly 1.5 million people (Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada).
• Unintentional injury deaths occur every six minutes (National Safety Council). We offer a broad range of Accidental Death & Dismemberment solutions to help mitigate the financial repercussions of accidental death and other qualifying injuries

Among employers offering Basic Life insurance, approximately 80% pay the entire cost and 20% share the cost with their employees (Conning & Company). Our affordable Basic Life/Optional Life combinations allow employers to provide an affordable base level of coverage to their employees, as well as the option for employees to purchase additional levels of coverage on their own.

Death Benefits of Life Insurance

A death benefit is the amount that is paid to the beneficiary of a life insurance policy upon the death of the policyholder. The amount may be a lump sum or annuity.
The IRS generally considers a death benefit to be nontaxable income. For variable annuities, a death benefit is paid to the beneficiary if the contract owner dies before annuity payments begin. If an annuity is received, the amount may be either a fixed or variable annuity. A death-benefit annuity may include a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to protect against inflation. In most cases, a death benefit is paid monthly. The amount of death benefit and period for which one receives it are explained in the terms and conditions of the life insurance policy.
In general, most of the death benefit is treated as nontaxable income. However, the portion that the IRS determines is interest income earned on the policy is considered taxable.
The Social Security Administration provides assistance to eligible survivors of an eligible beneficiary by way of a "lump sum death benefit" (currently $255). This death benefit is payable only to a spouse or minor children who were dependent on the deceased. The surviving spouse and minor children can also be entitled to monthly benefit checks.
The Veterans Benefits Counselor at the nearest VA regional office or a local veterans service organization representative should be contacted regarding survivor benefits and to secure a burial flag and/or burial in a national cemetery. If requested to do so, the funeral provider can alert the VA insurance division so that an insurance claim form is sent to the veteran's beneficiary without inquiry on the beneficiary's part. Veteran's mortuary benefits are available only if the veteran was:
• Receiving a pension or compensation for military service
• In a veterans hospital at the time of death
• Indigent at the time of death.
Three hundred dollars are available to an eligible surviving spouse or children. One hundred fifty dollars are available for a plot allowance and can be claimed by the family, funeral provider, or cemetery. If the death of the veteran was a direct result of injuries received while in service, then the veteran's survivors can be eligible to receive up to $1,100.
Some of the other Death Benefits are life or casualty insurance in which if death results from a motor vehicle accident, benefits might be provided under no-fault insurance provisions, employer’s payments which include severance pay and/or vacation time, credit unions, trade unions, and fraternal organizations, federal Government Railroad Retirement Board insurance which provides benefits to the survivors of railroad employees, either active or retired, but depending on length of service, state victims of crime statutes in which some states provide benefits to survivors of a crime victim, federal, state, or local government employees' benefit programs, state or local welfare allowances.

Mesothelioma

2008-08-08T00:03:00.000-07:00

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart).

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking.[1] Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma (see asbestos and the law).

The symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis can be made with chest X-rays and a CT scan, and confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. A thoracoscopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. It allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lung. Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for the early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and cachexia, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity). Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing mesothelioma is often difficult, because the symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions. Diagnosis begins with a review of the patient's medical history. A history of exposure to asbestos may increase clinical suspicion for mesothelioma. A physical examination is performed, followed by chest X-ray and often lung function tests. The X-ray may reveal pleural thickening commonly seen after asbestos exposure and increases suspicion of mesothelioma. A CT (or CAT) scan or an MRI is usually performed. If a large amount of fluid is present, abnormal cells may be detected by cytology if this fluid is aspirated with a syringe. For pleural fluid this is done by a pleural tap or chest drain, in ascites with an paracentesis or ascitic drain and in a pericardial effusion with pericardiocentesis. While absence of malignant cells on cytology does not completely exclude mesothelioma, it makes it much more unlikely, especially if an alternative diagnosis can be made (e.g. tuberculosis, heart failure).

If cytology is positive or a plaque is regarded as suspicious, a biopsy is needed to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma. A doctor removes a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope by a pathologist. A biopsy may be done in different ways, depending on where the abnormal area is located. If the cancer is in the chest, the doctor may perform a thoracoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor makes a small cut through the chest wall and puts a thin, lighted tube called a thoracoscope into the chest between two ribs. Thoracoscopy allows the doctor to look inside the chest and obtain tissue samples.

If the cancer is in the abdomen, the doctor may perform a laparoscopy. To obtain tissue for examination, the doctor makes a small opening in the abdomen and inserts a special instrument into the abdominal cavity. If these procedures do not yield enough tissue, more extensive diagnostic surgery may be necessary.

Treatment

Treatment of malignant mesothelioma using conventional therapies has not proved successful and patients have a median survival time of 6 - 12 months after presentation. The clinical behaviour of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity which favours local metastasis via exfoliated cells, invasion to underlying tissue and other organs within the pleural cavity, and the extremely long latency period between asbestos exposure and development of the disease.

Surgery

Surgery, either by itself or used in combination with pre- and post-operative adjuvant therapies, has proved disappointing. A pleurectomy/decortication is the most common surgery, in which the lining of the chest is removed. Less common is an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), in which the lung, lining of the inside of the chest, the hemi-diaphragm and the pericardium are removed. It is not possible to remove the entire mesothelium without killing the patient.

Radiation

For patients with localized disease, and who can tolerate a radical surgery, radiation is often given post-operatively as a consolidative treatment. The entire hemi-thorax is treated with radiation therapy, often given simultaneously with chemotherapy. This approach of using surgery followed by radiation with chemotherapy has been pioneered by the thoracic oncology team at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Delivering radiation and chemotherapy after a radical surgery has led to extended life expectancy in selected patient populations with some patients surviving more than 5 years. As part of a curative approach to mesothelioma, radiotherapy is also commonly applied to the sites of chest drain insertion, in order to prevent growth of the tumor along the track in the chest wall.

Although mesothelioma is generally resistant to curative treatment with radiotherapy alone, palliative treatment regimens are sometimes used to relieve symptoms arising from tumor growth, such as obstruction of a major blood vessel. Radiation therapy when given alone with curative intent has never been shown to improve survival from mesothelioma. The necessary radiation dose to treat mesothelioma that has not been surgically removed would be very toxic.

Notable people who died from mesothelioma

Mesothelioma, though rare, has had a number of notable patients. Hamilton Jordan, Chief of Staff for President Jimmy Carter and life long cancer activist, died in 2008. Australian anti-racism activist Bob Bellear died in 2005. British science fiction writer Michael G. Coney, responsible for nearly 100 works also died in 2005. American film and television actor Paul Gleason, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Principal Richard Vernon in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club, died in 2006. Mickie Most, an English record producer, died of mesothelioma in 2003. Paul Rudolph, an American architect known for his cubist building designs, died in 1997.

Bernie Banton was an Australian workers' rights activist, who fought a long battle for compensation from James Hardie after he contracted mesothelioma after working for that company. He claimed James Hardie knew of the dangers of asbestos before he began work with the substance making insulation for power stations. Mesothelioma eventually took his life along with his brothers and hundreds of James Hardie workers. James Hardie made an undisclosed settlement with Banton only when his mesothelioma had reached its final stages and he was expected to have no more than 48hrs to live. Australian Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd mentioned Banton's extended struggle in his acceptance speech after winning the 2007 Australian Federal Election.

Steve McQueen was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma on December 22, 1979. He was not offered surgery or chemotherapy because doctors felt the cancer was too advanced. McQueen sought alternative treatments from clinics in Mexico. He died of a heart attack on November 7, 1980, in Juárez, Mexico, following cancer surgery. He may have been exposed to asbestos while serving with the U.S. Marines as a young adult—asbestos was then commonly used to insulate ships' piping—or from its use as an insulating material in car racing suits. (It is also reported that he worked in a shipyard during World War II, where he might have been exposed to asbestos.[citation needed]

United States Congressman Bruce Vento died of mesothelioma in 2000. The Bruce Vento Hopebuilder is awarded yearly by his wife at the MARF Symposium to persons or organizations who have done the most to support mesothelioma research and advocacy.

After a long period of untreated illness and pain, rock and roll musician and songwriter Warren Zevon was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma in the fall of 2002. Refusing treatments he believed might incapacitate him, Zevon focused his energies on recording his final album The Wind including the song "Keep Me in Your Heart," which speaks of his failing breath. Zevon died at his home in Los Angeles, California, on September 7, 2003.

Christie Hennessy, the influential Irish singer-songwriter, died of mesothelioma in 2007, and had stridently refused to accept the prognosis in the weeks before his death.[10] His mesothelioma has been attributed to his younger years spent working on building sites in London.

Bob Miner, one of the founders of Software Development Labs, the forerunner of Oracle Corporation died of mesothelioma in 1994

Structured settlement

2008-08-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

A structured settlement is a financial or insurance arrangement, including periodic payments, that a claimant accepts to resolve a personal injury tort claim or to compromise a statutory periodic payment obligation. Structured settlements were first utilized in Canada and the United States during the 1970s as an alternative to lump sum settlements. Structured settlements are now part of the statutory tort law of several common law countries including Australia, Canada, England and the United States. Although some uniformity exists, each of these countries has its own definitions, rules and standards for structured settlements. Structured settlements may include income tax and spendthrift requirements as well as benefits. Structured settlement payments are sometimes called “periodic payments.” A structured settlement incorporated into a trial judgment is called a “periodic payment judgment."

Structured Settlements in the United States

The United States has enacted structured settlement laws and regulations at both the federal and state levels. Federal structured settlement laws include sections of the (federal) Internal Revenue Code. State structured settlement laws include structured settlement protection statutes and periodic payment of judgment statutes. Medicaid and Medicare laws and regulations affect structured settlements. To preserve a claimant’s Medicare and Medicaid benefits, structured settlement payments may be incorporated into “Medicare Set Aside Arrangements” “Special Needs Trusts."

Structured settlements have been endorsed by many of the nation's largest disability rights organizations, including the American Association of People with Disabilities and the National Organization on Disability.

Legal Structure

The typical structured settlement arises and is structured as follows: An injured party (the claimant) settles a tort suit with the defendant (or its insurance carrier) pursuant to a settlement agreement that provides that, in exchange for the claimant's securing the dismissal of the lawsuit, the defendant (or, more commonly, its insurer) agrees to make a series of periodic payments over time. The insurer, a property/casualty insurance company, thus finds itself with a long-term payment obligation to the claimant. To fund this obligation, the property/casualty insurer generally takes one of two typical approaches: It either purchases an annuity from a life insurance company (an arrangement called a "buy and hold" case) or it assigns (or, more properly, delegates) its periodic payment obligation to a third party which in turn purchases an annuity (which arrangement is called an "assigned case").

In an unassigned case, the property/casualty insurer retains the periodic payment obligation and funds it by purchasing an annuity from a life insurance company, thereby offsetting its obligation with a matching asset. The payment stream purchased under the annuity matches exactly, in timing and amounts, the periodic payments agreed to in the settlement agreement. The property/casualty company owns the annuity and names the claimant as the payee under the annuity, thereby directing the annuity issuer to send payments directly to the claimant. If any of the periodic payments are life-contingent (i.e., the obligation to make a payment is contingent on someone continuing to be alive), then the claimant (or whoever is determined to be the measuring life) is named as the annuitant or measuring life under the annuity.

In an assigned case, the property/casualty company does not wish to retain the long-term periodic payment obligation on its books. Accordingly, the property/casualty insurer transfers the obligation, through a legal device called a qualified assignment, to a third party. The third party, called an assignment company, will require the property/casualty company to pay it an amount sufficient to enable it to buy an annuity that will fund its newly accepted periodic payment obligation. If the claimant consents to the transfer of the periodic payment obligation (either in the settlement agreement or, failing that, in a special form of qualified assignment known as a qualified assignment and release), the defendant and/or its property/casualty company has no further liability to make the periodic payments. This method of substituting the obligor is desirable for property/casualty companies that do not want to retain the periodic payment obligation on their books. Typically, an assignment company is an affiliate of the life insurance company from which the annuity is purchased.

An assignment is said to be "qualified" if it satisfies the criteria set forth in Internal Revenue Code Section 130 . Qualification of the assignment is important to assignment companies because without it the amount they receive to induce them to accept periodic payment obligations would be considered income for federal income tax purposes. If an assignment qualifies under Section 130, however, the amount received is excluded from the income of the assignment company. This provision of the tax code was enacted to encourage assigned cases; without it, assignment companies would owe federal income taxes but would typically have no source from which to make the payments.

About Forex

2008-08-07T23:52:00.000-07:00

The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. The average daily trade in the global forex and related markets currently is almost US$ 4 trillion.

Contents

Market size and liquidity

The foreign exchange market is unique because of

* its trading volumes,
* the extreme liquidity of the market,
* the large number of, and variety of, traders in the market,
* its geographical dispersion,
* its long trading hours: 24 hours a day except on weekends
* the variety of factors that affect exchange rates.
* the low margins of profit compared with other markets of fixed income
* the use of leverage

Main foreign exchange market turnover, 1988 - 2007, measured in billions of USD.

As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks. According to the BIS,[1] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion. Trading in the world's main financial markets accounted for $3.21 trillion of this.

This $3.21 trillion in main foreign exchange market turnover was broken down as follows:

* $1,005 billion in spot transactions
* $362 billion in outright forwards
* $1,714 billion in forex swaps
* $129 billion estimated gaps in reporting

Of the $3.98 trillion daily global turnover, trading in London accounted for around $1.36 trillion, or 34.1% of the total, making London by far the global center for foreign exchange. In second and third places respectively, trading in New York accounted for 16.6%, and Tokyo accounted for 6.0%.

In addition to "traditional" turnover, $2.1 trillion was traded in derivatives.

Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, and accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).

Market participants

Unlike a stock market, where all participants have access to the same prices, the forex market is divided into levels of access. At the top is the inter-bank market, which is made up of the largest investment banking firms. Within the inter-bank market, spreads, which are the difference between the bid and ask prices, are razor sharp and usually unavailable, and not known to players outside the inner circle. As you descend the levels of access, the difference between the bid and ask prices widens (from 0-1 pip to 1-2 pips for some currencies such as the EUR). This is due to volume. If a trader can guarantee large numbers of transactions for large amounts, they can demand a smaller difference between the bid and ask price, which is referred to as a better spread. The levels of access that make up the forex market are determined by the size of the “line” (the amount of money with which they are trading). The top-tier inter-bank market accounts for 53% of all transactions. After that there are usually smaller investment banks, followed by large multi-national corporations (which need to hedge risk and pay employees in different countries), large hedge funds, and even some of the retail forex market makers. According to Galati and Melvin, “Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, and other institutional investors have played an increasingly important role in financial markets in general, and in FX markets in particular, since the early 2000s.” (2004) In addition, he notes, “Hedge funds have grown markedly over the 2001–2004 period in terms of both number and overall size” Central banks also participate in the forex market to align currencies to their economic needs.

Commercial companies

An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants.

Central banks

National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high — that is, to trade for a profit based on their more precise information. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.

The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank. Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992–93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in Southeast Asia.

Trading characteristics

There is no unified or centrally cleared market for the majority of FX trades, and there is very little cross-border regulation. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currencies instruments are traded. This implies that there is not a single exchange rate but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading, and where it is. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs instantaneously. Due to London's dominance in the market, a particular currency's quoted price is usually the London market price. A joint venture of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Reuters, called FxMarketSpace opened in 2007 and aspires to the role of a central market clearing mechanism.

The main trading center is London, but New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are all important centers as well. Banks throughout the world participate. Currency trading happens continuously throughout the day; as the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, followed by the North American session and then back to the Asian session, excluding weekends.

There is little or no 'inside information' in the foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and trade deficits or surpluses, large cross-border M&A deals and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, the large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers' order flow.

Currencies are traded against one another. Each pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX is expressed (called base currency). For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.5465 dollar. Out of convention, the first currency in the pair, the base currency, was the stronger currency at the creation of the pair. The second currency, counter currency, was the weaker currency at the creation of the pair.

Laptop Computer

2008-08-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

A laptop computer or laptop (also notebook computer, notebook and notepad) is a small mobile computer, typically weighing 3 to 12 pounds (1.4 to 5.4 kg), although older laptops may weigh more.

Laptops usually run on a single main battery or from an external AC/DC adapter that charges the battery while also supplying power to the computer itself even in the event of a power failure. This very powerful main battery should not be confused with the much smaller battery nearly all computers use to run the real-time clock and backup BIOS configuration into the CMOS memory when the computer is without power.

Laptops contain components that are similar to their desktop counterparts and perform the same functions, but are miniaturized and optimized for mobile use and efficient power consumption, although typically less powerful for the same price. Laptops usually have liquid crystal displays and most of them use different memory modules for their random access memory (RAM), for instance, SO-DIMM in lieu of the larger DIMMs. In addition to a built-in keyboard, they may utilize a touchpad (also known as a trackpad) or a pointing stick for input, though an external keyboard or mouse can usually be attached.

Laptops began from a desire to have a full-featured computer that could be easily used anywhere. Their predecessor was called the luggable. These all-in-one systems could be easily transported, but were heavy and usually were not battery powered. The CRT was one of the major reasons luggables were so large and heavy, but the use of a full-size desktop motherboard with room for ISA expansion cards was another size factor.

It was the transition to LCD and plasma displays that permitted the luggable to shrink in size and become the first real laptop, though at first still without internal batteries. Battery technology improvements and the introduction of smaller devices such as the 3.5-inch floppy disk permitted a gradually more compact and sophisticated complete portable system.

Types

Desktop replacement

A desktop replacement computer is a personal computer that provides the full capabilities of a desktop computer while remaining portable. They are often a larger, bulkier laptop. Because of their increased size, this class of computer usually includes more powerful components and a larger display than generally used in smaller portable computers and can have a relatively limited battery capacity (or none at all). Some use a limited range of desktop components to provide better performance per dollar at the expense of battery life. These are sometimes called desknotes, a portmanteau of the words "desktop" and "notebook," though the term is also applied to desktop replacement computers in general.

Powerful laptops meant to be mainly used for fun and infrequently carried out due to their weight and size; the latter provides more space for powerful components and a big screen, usually measuring 17–20 inches (43–51 cm). Desktop replacements tend to have limited battery life, rarely exceeding three hours, because the hardware is not optimized for efficient power usage. Sometimes called a luggable laptop. An example of a desktop replacement computers are gaming notebooks, which are designed to handle 3D graphic-intensive processing for gamers.

Subnotebook

Laptops weighing typically between 0.8 to 2.7 kg and a screen of 6.4 to 13.3 inches diagonally. A subnotebook is a small and lightweight portable computer, with most of the features of a standard laptop computer but smaller. The term is often applied to systems that run full versions of desktop operating systems such as Windows or Linux, rather than specialized software such as Windows CE, Palm OS or Internet Tablet OS.

Subnotebooks are smaller than laptops but larger than handheld computers and UMPCs. They often have screens around 10.6" (26.92 cm) (diagonal) and weigh less than 1 to 2 kg, as opposed to full-size laptops with 14.1" (35.81 cm) or 15.4" (39.12 cm) screens that typically weigh 2 kg or more. The savings in size and weight are usually achieved partly by omitting ports or having removable media/optical drives; subnotebooks are often paired with docking stations to compensate.

Subnotebooks have been something of a niche computing product and have rarely sold in large numbers until the 2007 introduction of the Asus Eee PC and the OLPC XO-1.

Parts

Most modern laptops feature 12 inch (30 cm) or larger active matrix displays with resolutions of 1024×768 pixels and above, and have a PC Card (formerly PCMCIA) or ExpressCard expansion bay for expansion cards, one or more USB ports, and a external monitor port (VGA or DVI). Most laptops have also an ethernet network port. Some have legacy ports such as a PS/2 keyboard/mouse port or a serial port, parallel port, and S-video or composite video port. Hard disks are physically smaller—2.5 inch (60 mm)—compared to the standard desktop 3.5 inch (90 mm) drive, and usually have lower performance and power consumption. Video and sound chips are usually integrated. This tends to limit the use of laptops for gaming and entertainment, two fields which have constantly escalating hardware demands,[3] however, higher end laptops can come with dedicated graphics processors. These mobile graphics processors tend to have less performance than their desktop counterparts, but this is because they have been optimized for lower power usage. Some subsystems, such as Wi-Fi, come in contemporary laptops on replaceable MiniPCI cards, usually accessible through a door on the bottom. Memory modules (smaller than the usual DIMMs) are often also accessible through the bottom, though some may be on the motherboard under the keyboard and thus not meant to be accessed by the user.

There is a wide range of laptop specific processors available from Intel (Pentium M, Celeron, Intel Core and Intel Core 2), AMD (Athlon, Turion 64, and Sempron) and from VIA (C3 and C7-M). Motorola and IBM developed and manufactured the chips for the former PowerPC-based Apple laptops (iBook and PowerBook). Generally, laptop processors are less powerful than their desktop counterparts, due to the need to save energy and reduce heat dissipation.

Current models of laptops utilize lithium ion batteries with more recent models using the new lithium polymer technology. These technologies have largely replaced the older nickel metal-hydride batteries. Typical battery life for most laptops is two to five hours with light-duty use, but may drop to as little as one hour with intensive use. Batteries gradually deteriorate over time and eventually need to be replaced in one to five years, depending on the charging and discharging pattern.
Laptops typically use SODIMMs, as shown here.
Laptops typically use SODIMMs, as shown here.

Docking stations became another common laptop accessories in the early 1990s. They typically were quite large and offered 3.5" and 5.25" storage bays, one to three expansion slots (typically AT style), and a host of connectors. The mating between the laptop and docking station was typically through a large, high-speed, proprietary connector. The most common use was in a corporate computing environment where the company had standardized on a common network card and this same card was placed into the docking station. These stations were very large and quite expensive. As the need to additional storage and expansion slots became less critical because of the high integration inside the laptop itself, the emergence of the Port Replicator as a major accessory commenced. The Port Replicator was often a passive device that simply mated to the connectors on the back of the notebook and allowed the user to quickly connect his laptop so VGA, PS/2, RS-232, etc. devices were instantly attached. As higher speed ports like USB and Firewire became commonplace, the Port Replication was accomplished by a small cable connected to one of the USB 2.0 or FireWire ports on the notebooks. Wireless Port Replicators followed.

Virtually all laptops can be powered from an external AC converter. This device typically adds half a kilogram (1 lb) to the overall "transport weight" of the equipment.

A pointing stick or touchpad is used to control the position of the cursor on the screen. The pointing stick is usually a rubber dot that is located between the G, H and B keys on the laptop keyboard. To navigate the cursor, pressure is applied in the direction intended to move. The touchpad is touch-sensitive and the cursor can be navigated by moving the finger on the pad.

Intel, Asus, Compal, Quanta and other laptop manufacturers have created Common Building Block standard for laptop parts.

Blue Cross

2008-08-07T23:40:00.000-07:00

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) is an American federation of 39 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield healthcare coverage companies, in total covering over 100 million Americans

In 1929, Justin Ford Kimball became vice president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. An experienced administrator, he headed the Baylor College of Medicine, School of Nursing, College of Dentistry, and the university hospital. Soon after taking the job, he developed a health plan that guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year. The plan was extended to other employee groups in Dallas, and similar plans began to spread nationally.

The cross symbol was first used in a 1934 advertisement for the Hospital Service Association, today known as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Company secretary E.A. van Steenwyk had Viennese artist Joseph Binder create a poster that included a blue Greek cross. Van Steenwyk continued to use the symbol to identify his company's health plans, and the Blue Cross began to be used in other parts of the country.

In 1939, the Chicago-based American Hospital Association began using the Blue Cross symbol to signify that health plans across the country met certain standards. The AHA continued to administrate the use of the symbol until the Blue Cross Association was founded in 1960. The two organizations remained affiliated until 1972.

Another health plan gained popularity in the lumber and mining camps of the Pacific Northwest around the same time that Kimball created his plan. These would provide medical care by paying monthly fees to medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians. The first of these, Pierce County Medical Bureau (now known as Regence BlueShield) in Tacoma, Washington, was founded in 1917 and is now a part of The Regence Group. The shield symbol was created in Buffalo, New York by Carl Metzger in 1939, and the first official Blue Shield plan was founded in California that same year. In 1948 the symbol was informally adopted by nine plans called the Associated Medical Care Plans, and was later renamed the National Association of Blue Shield Plans.

Current organization

Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield insurance companies are franchisees, independent of the association (and traditionally each other), offering insurance plans within defined regions under one or both of the association's brands. Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers offer some form of health insurance coverage in every US state. They also act as administrators of Medicare in many states or regions of the U.S., and regularly can be found providing group coverage to state government employees, as well as the U.S. Federal government under a nationwide option of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) established by the association on their behalf. Thus a strong bond exists between the Blue Cross Blue Shield system and health insurance policy-making bodies at the highest levels of government in the United States.-

Though historically "Blue Cross" was used for hospital coverage while "Blue Shield" was used for medical coverage, today that split only exists for traditional health insurance plans in eastern Pennsylvania, where Independence Blue Cross (Philadelphia) and Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania each have joint marketing agreements with Highmark Blue Shield (Pittsburgh) for their separate hospital and medical plans. However, Independence Blue Cross, like most of its sister Blue Cross-Blue Shield companies, cover most of their customers under managed care plans such as HMOs and PPOs which provide hospital and medical care in one policy. In most of the country (including western Pennsylvania), one insurer operates under both brands; in the remaining places (including California and central Pennsylvania), the Blue Cross and Blue Shield brands belong to competing insurers. Blue Cross of Idaho even displays the Blue Shield logo alongside the Blue Cross logo, in direct competition with Regence BlueShield of Idaho. Both brand names are used in both CamelCase and traditional forms by both the association and its member insurers, though some members prefer one form or the other.

Some of the state plans have been merged to achieve economies of scale. Many plans are administered by not-for-profit organizations, while others are for-profit companies. (Though all Blue Cross Blue Shield plans must pay Federal income tax under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, some plans are still considered not-for-profit at the state level.) The 14-state WellPoint is the largest Blue Cross Blue Shield member, and is a publicly traded company. Other multi-state organizations include CareFirst in the Mid-Atlantic and The Regence Group in the Pacific Northwest. The largest non-investor owned member is Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), which operates four Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in the Midwest and Southwest.

Consumer credit

2008-08-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

Investment Dictionary: Consumer Credit

A debt that someone incurs for the purpose of purchasing a good or service. This includes purchases made on credit cards, lines of credit and some loans.

Also referred to as "Consumer Debt".

Investopedia Says:
Consumer credit is basically the amount of credit used by consumers to purchase non-investment goods or services that are consumed and whose value depreciates quickly. This includes automobiles, recreational vehicles (RVs), education, boat and trailer loans but excludes debts taken out to purchase real estate or margin on investment accounts. For example, a mortgage for purchasing a house is not consumer credit. However, the 52 inch television you put on your credit card

Law Encyclopedia: Consumer Credit

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Short-term loans made to enable people to purchase goods or services primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

Consumer credit transactions can be classified into several different areas.

Installment credit involves credit that is repaid by the borrower in several periodic payments; loans repaid in one lump sum are classified as noninstallment credit. Installment credit has expanded in popularity, with an increasing number of consumers buying goods on credit in order to spread repayment of the purchase price plus the interest owed on the principal borrowed over a series of payments.

Originator and Holder

The originator of credit is the person or company who originally extended the credit, while the holder is the individual or business who obtained the debt at a discounted price in order to collect payments at a subsequent time. Auto dealers are credit originators at the time a consumer purchases an auto on credit, but many of the loans are subsequently assigned by them to banks or sales finance companies, which become credit holders.

Commercial banks buy many consumer installment loans from car dealers and department stores and also participate in all aspects of consumer credit transactions both as originators and holders. The portion of the consumer credit market attributable to banks has greatly increased due in large part to widespread use of bank credit cards.

In addition, two types of finance companies are active in the consumer credit industry. The first type is the small loan company, which has contact with consumers as originators and makes loans to them directly. The other type is the sales finance company, which does not deal directly with consumers; it purchases and holds consumer installment debts related to the sale of durable goods on time. The distinction between the two decreases in importance as consumer finance companies diversify and engage in business on both levels.

Vendor and Lender

The law might regard credit differently, depending on whether or not it is offered by a vendor (seller). When an appliance store gives credit to customers who buy such things as washing machines and refrigerators and pay for them over a certain period of time, this is known as vendor credit. When a consumer borrows funds from a finance company to pay for appliances, this is known as lender credit, since the finance company lends but does not sell.

Some states exempt vendor credit transactions from the provisions of state usury laws. A vendor or a lender can charge the consumer interest (a fee for the use of borrowed money over time). In the past, usury statutes restricting the legal interest rate have ordinarily been applied only to lender credit. The difference in the treatment of lender credit and vendor credit is premised upon the assumption made by law that vendors are able to adjust their prices to allow for the period during which they await payment. If, for example, the vendor's time price was excessive in that it allowed for a high interest rate, then the consumer could opt for payment of the cash price. Courts believe that competitive pricing will prevent vendors from charging too much interest when they extend credit. It is the seller's decision how to reduce the time price to encourage consumers to pay cash for goods.

Some courts have found since 1970, however, that these principles have no application to revolving charge accounts because department stores do not charge consumers less for paying for items in cash. There is one uniform purchase price, regardless of whether the sale is a credit or cash transaction. Both finance charges and tax are computed on the basis of the cash price.

In cases where courts have indicated that state usury laws must necessarily be applied in the vendor credit extended through revolving charge account customers, state legislatures have enacted statutes to increase the legal rate of interest that may be charged on such accounts. Most consumer credit cannot exist within the usury law limits, and therefore the pattern has been to enact laws that permit special higher finance rates for vendor credit to consumers.

Licensing Creditors

Banks, savings and loan associations, and finance companies ordinarily must be licensed under state or federal statute. Credit companies that purchase retail installment debts from sellers are also subject to governmental licensing regulations.

When the licensing requirement is primarily a revenue-raising device, potential licensees often need only file the appropriate forms and pay the required fee to obtain a license. However, when the licensing provisions require the applicant to be reputable and reliable, the public is protected only if the licensing agency has the energy and resources to investigate the applicant's qualifications.

Credit Reports

When a consumer makes an application for credit, the creditor must decide whether or not he or she is a good risk. Most creditors regularly order a credit report on an applicant rather than undertake a costly investigation on their own. Files are retained by two types of credit agencies.

Credit Bureaus

Credit bureaus publish reports which are primarily used by merchants who are attempting to decide whether or not to allow consumers to purchase merchandise financed by credit that will be repaid on time. Such reports ordinarily disclose financial information, such as the location and size of an individual's bank accounts, charge accounts, and other debts and the person's bill-paying habits, income, occupation, marital status, and lawsuits.

Credit bureaus supply such information to a group of subscribers who, in exchange, provide them with information for their files. All the information obtained is filed in case it is requested by someone in the future. Nonsubscribers can ordinarily obtain information through the payment of a fee.

A majority of credit bureaus are members of the Associated Credit Bureaus of America, which regulates public information for them. It keeps members apprised of financial transactions that might cause people to be unable to meet their obligations.

Credit Reporting Bureaus

Credit reporting bureaus formulate financial reports on individuals for purposes not directly related to the extension of credit. Such reports are used by employers to evaluate job applicants, by insurance companies to assess the risk in relation to a prospective policy buyer, and by landlords to avoid renting to tenants likely to cause damage to the property or disturb other tenants. Bureaus of this type compile data and provide it upon request to interested parties.

These reports contain personal information about the subjects and their families that is obtained from interviews with neighbors, associates, and co-workers. Information is kept for possible future investigation requests.

Problems

In the late 1960s, Congress investigated abuses in the collection and dissemination of information by credit bureaus and determined that such bureaus compiled files on more than fifty percent of the people in the United States. These information files, however, frequently contain inaccurate, misleading, or irrelevant facts, and are not kept confidential. The most frequent error is to confuse two individuals having the same name or similar names. The possibility of committing this error increases as the area covered by the bureau becomes larger.

Supervision

Many states have enacted statutes to regulate the business practices of credit bureaus. However, the need for national uniformity has led to the enactment of fed- eral laws dealing with consumer credit information.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is title VI of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C.A. § 1601 et seq.), was enacted in 1970. This congressional enactment affects and regulates businesses that regularly obtain consumer credit information for other businesses, either for payment or in a cooperative exchange.

The law covers any report by an agency if it is related to a consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing or capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living. Further, the law applies to any such report when employed or expected to be used for evaluating a consumer for one of four purposes: credit or insurance for personal, family, or household use; employment; licenses to operate particular businesses or practice a profession; and any other legitimate business need.

The requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act affect (1) the credit bureau; (2) the businesses that use the credit reports compiled by credit bureaus; (3) the rights of the consumers who are the subjects of such reports; and (4) how the consumer can enforce his or her rights when errors are discovered in such reports.

Credit bureaus are required to have standard procedures for determining and updating the accuracy of the information in their files. There is a seven-year limit on the information on file, except where the file discloses that the party was bankrupt within a period of ten years. Data relating to an individual's character, reputation, or lifestyle that are obtained through personal interviews with neighbors and friends cannot remain in a file unless it is verified every three months.

While the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not prohibit the collection and compilation of information unrelated to finance — such as hair length, political tenets, and sexual practices and preferences — such information must be accurate and not obsolete. The law does, however, restrict credit bureaus to furnishing reports for reasons of credit, insurance, employment, obtaining a government license or other benefit, or other legitimate business needs related to business transactions with the consumer. Credit bureaus are required to investigate new clients to ascertain that they are using reports solely for one of these five permitted purposes. In addition, prospective clients are required to file a statement with bureaus certifying the purpose for which the reports will be used and agreeing not to use them for any other purposes.

Consumers are legally entitled to ascertain that no inaccurate or obsolete information is kept in files on them, and to be notified when a creditor relies upon a report issued by a credit bureau, so the consumer can see the type of information kept on file and correct any mistakes in it.

A consumer, however, has no right to examine the actual file kept on him or her by a credit reporting agency. Anyone who has been refused credit on the basis of a report can discover the nature and substance of all but medical information contained therein, as well as the source of the information, except investigations based on comment from neighbors and associates. The consumer can also find out the identity of anyone who has received the report for employment purposes during the last two years or any other purpose during the last six months.

A consumer who discovers inaccurate or misleading information in his or her file can request that the agency reinvestigate his or her credit background and submit a brief statement which either explains or corrects the information. The agency must include such information in the consumer's file and notify recent users of the changes in the consumer's file upon the consumer's request.

Federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), can issue orders for the enforcement of this law. Officers and employees of the credit bureau who willfully or intentionally violate this law are subject to criminal prosecution. A maximum fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for a period of up to one year for each violation can be imposed upon conviction.

A credit bureau which fails to treat a consumer in the manner required by this law can be sued by the consumer who must prove that the credit bureau or the business that used the report did not properly maintain reasonable procedures to ensure compliance with the law. The consumer must also show that such failure to maintain was negligent or careless and that he or she incurred personal or financial injury from this failure.

Credit Discrimination

Discriminatory practices in the granting of credit led to the enactment of legislation to ensure that all qualified applicants have the same opportunity to receive credit.

Sex

In the past, women were systematically denied credit regardless of whether they would be able to repay their loans. It was not uncommon for bankers to refuse to consider a married woman's income when a couple applied for a loan or a mortgage. Banks made the assumption that a woman of childbearing age was an automatic credit risk.

Single women had greater difficulty than single men in obtaining credit, particularly home mortgages. Creditors were also reluctant to extend credit to married women in their own names and refused to count a woman's income when calculating the creditworthiness of a married couple. Women also had a difficult time reestablishing credit upon divorce or widowhood.

More than half of the states currently have enacted statutes proscribing discrimination based upon sex or marital status.

In 1974, Congress enacted the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C.A. § 1691 et seq.), which prohibits credit discrimination based not only upon sex and marital status, but also upon race, religion, and national origin. It has, however, very detailed prohibitions against discrimination based upon sex and marital status. Creditors are not permitted to (1) assign a value to sex or marital status in calculating an applicant's creditworthiness; (2) assign a value to having a telephone in the name of the applicant; (3) question a married couple's childbearing plan; (4) alter the terms of credit or require a reapplication when there is a change in an individual's marital status; (5) refuse to consider the total income of an applicant and a spouse; (6) delay action on an application or refuse to consider it; and (7) discourage an individual from making an application for credit.

Federal agencies such as the FTC can guard against violations of this law through the issuance of restraining orders. In addition, consumers can commence an action against creditors who have denied them an equal opportunity to acquire credit. Where credit discrimination is prohibited by a state law also, the consumer can choose whether to pursue the state or the federal remedy.

Other Types of Discrimination

Subsequent amendments to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act have been concerned with race and age discrimination. The act provides that a creditor can take an applicant's age into consideration only in a situation where older people are given a preference or where a specific type of credit is allowed someone because that person is elderly. The law also requires that public assistance benefits be counted by creditors as a portion of an applicant's income. The race of an applicant cannot be used as a ground for the denial of credit.

Disclosure of terms

Until the late 1960s, there was considerable variety as to the information given consumers about their credit arrangements. The greatest lack of uniformity was in the statement of the rate of interest charged. Some creditors did not disclose the rate of interest, telling consumers only the number and amount of monthly payments. Those creditors that did state the rate of interest stated it in a variety of ways.

In response, Congress enacted the Truth-in-Lending Act as Title I of the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968. The law is essentially a disclosure statute, offering little substantive protection to consumers. A creditor is free to impose any charges for credit permitted by state law. In addition, the statute does not restrict or confine the terms and conditions of the extension of credit. All that the Truth-in-Lending Act requires is that the consumer be informed of the terms and conditions of the credit transaction.

Under the statute and FTC regulations, the creditor must describe the credit terms clearly and conspicuously in a disclosure statement. At the time of disclosure, the creditor must furnish the customer with a copy of the statement. The disclosure requirements of the act are detailed and complex, because they deal with many types of credit transactions. In general, the creditor must disclose the amount financed, the annual percentage rate, and any finance charges associated with the extension of credit to the consumer. Any charges payable in the event of late payment must also be disclosed.

Trade credit

2008-08-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

Trade credit exists when one firm provides goods or services to a customer with an agreement to bill them later, or receive a shipment or service from a supplier under an agreement to pay them later. It can be viewed as an essential element of capitalization in an operating business because it can reduce the required capital investment to operate the business if it is managed properly. Trade credit is the largest use of capital for a majority of business to business (B2B) sellers in the United States and is a critical source of capital for a majority of all businesses. For example, Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, has used trade credit as a larger source of capital than bank borrowings; trade credit for Wal-Mart is 8 times the amount of capital invested by shareholders.

There are many forms of trade credit in common use. Various industries use various specialized forms. They all have, in common, the collaboration of businesses to make efficient use of capital to accomplish various business objectives.

For example: Let's say you operate an ice cream stand under a franchise which agrees to provide you with ice cream stock under the terms Net 60 with a ten percent discount on payment within 30 days, and a 20 % discount on payment within 10 days. This means that you have 60 days to pay the invoice in full. If you sell enough ice cream at your markup within a week, then you can dispatch a cheque for 80 % of the invoice, and make an extra 20 % on the ice cream sold. However, if sales are slow, leading to a month of low cash flow, then you may decide to pay 90 % within 30 days or use the money another 30 days and pay the full invoice amount within 60 days.

The ice cream distributor can do the same thing. Receiving trade credit from milk and sugar suppliers on terms of Net 30, 2 % discount, if paid within ten days, means he is apparently taking a loss or disadvantageous position in this web of trade credit balances. Why would he do this? First, remember he has a substantial markup on the ingredients and other costs of production of the ice cream he sells to you. There are many reasons and ways to manage trade credit terms for the benefit of a business. The ice cream distributor may be well capitalized either by steady profits or recent new investments and may be looking to expand his markets. In this case he is being aggressive in attempting to locate new customers or to help them get established. Having experienced a few customers going out of business from cash flow instabilities he has decided on financial terms to accomplish two things:

1. Allow startup ice cream parlors the ability to mismanage their investment in inventory for a while, while learning their markets without having a dramatic negative balance in their till or bank account, which could put them out of business. This is in effect, a short term business loan made to help expand the distributor's market and customer base.
2. By tracking who pays, and when, the distributor can see potential problems developing and take steps to reduce or increase the allowed amount of trade credit he extends to prospering or faltering businesses. This limits the exposure to losses from customers going bankrupt who would never pay for the ice cream delivered. It is better to have a $5,000 loss than a $30,000 loss

Business credit

Business credit is essential if you ever want to obtain significant capital for your business. Learn step-by-step how to build your business credit scores up fast with our FREE business credit workbook

Benefits of corporate business credit:

* You create a new entity not a new identity
* The business debt is not yours personally
* Obtain credit regardless of "your" credit score
* Dramatically improve your business image

Use your new business credit for:
* Office supplies, equipment, and computers
* Any reasonable business use or office need
* New auto loans, truck loans or leases

How to Build Your Business Credit

HOW & WHY TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS CREDIT PROFILE

* Are you looking for a business loan or financing? Been turned down?
* Do you need a business line of credit for working capital or growth?
* Do you want to lease or finance equipment for your business?
* Would you like to stop having to personally guarantee every loan?

Financing is a critical part of growing a small business and almost always a very large concern for the owners. Nothing is more important and vital to the health of a small business than having the right financing in place.

Most small businesses are initially financed by the personal savings or assets of the owners, and can rapidly reach a stage of growth where they are forced to seek credit or investment solutions to fund that growth. Below, I am going to teach you how to build your business credit profile in order to assist you in obtaining the financing you need to grow and succeed.

Business owners quickly realize that applying for business funding is a much more complicated process than applying for personal credit. Applying for business funding requires careful preparation and demands that you understand the process and what it takes to qualify.
Why Do I Need A Business Credit Profile?
When you apply for business funding, funding sources will look at your personal credit and the business credit profile to determine: If they will approve your request, the amount, what the terms will be and if you will have to give a personal guarantee.

Web hosting

2008-08-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Web hosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center, called colocation.

Service scope

The scope of hosting services varies widely. The most basic is web page and small-scale file hosting, where files can be uploaded via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a Web interface. The files are usually delivered to the Web "as is" or with little processing. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) offer this service free to their subscribers. People can also obtain Web page hosting from other, alternative service providers. Personal web site hosting is typically free, advertisement-sponsored, or cheap. Business web site hosting often has a higher expense.

Single page hosting is generally sufficient only for personal web pages. A complex site calls for a more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development platforms (e.g. PHP, Java, Ruby on Rails, and ASP.NET). These facilities allow the customers to write or install scripts for applications like forums and content management. For e-commerce, SSL is also highly recommended.

The host may also provide an interface or control panel for managing the Web server and installing scripts as well as other services like e-mail. Some hosts specialize in certain software or services (e.g. e-commerce). They are commonly used by larger companies to outsource network infrastructure to a hosting company. To find a web hosting company, searchable directories can be used. One must be extremely careful when searching for a new company because many of the people promoting service providers are actually affiliates and the reviews are biased.

Types of hosting

Internet hosting services can run Web servers; see Internet hosting services.

Hosting services limited to the Web:

* Free web hosting service: is free, (sometimes) advertisement-supported web hosting, and is often limited when compared to paid hosting.

* Shared web hosting service: one's Web site is placed on the same server as many other sites, ranging from a few to hundreds or thousands. Typically, all domains may share a common pool of server resources, such as RAM and the CPU. A shared website may be hosted with a reseller.

* Reseller web hosting: allows clients to become web hosts themselves. Resellers could function, for individual domains, under any combination of these listed types of hosting, depending on who they are affiliated with as a provider. Resellers' accounts may vary tremendously in size: they may have their own virtual dedicated server to a colocated server.

* Virtual Dedicated Server: dividing a server into virtual servers, where each user feels like they're on their own dedicated server, but they're actually sharing a server with many other users. The users may have root access to their own virtual space. This is also known as a virtual private server or VPS.

* Dedicated hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server and gains full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, the user typically does not own the server. Another type of Dedicated hosting is Self-Managed or Unmanaged. This is usually the least expensive for Dedicated plans. The user has full administrative access to the box, which means the client is responsible for the security and maintenance of his own dedicated box.

* Managed hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server but is not allowed full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, they are allowed to manage their data via FTP or other remote management tools. The user is disallowed full control so that the provider can guarantee quality of service by not allowing the user to modify the server or potentially create configuration problems. The user typically does not own the server. The server is leased to the client.

* Colocation web hosting service: similar to the dedicated web hosting service, but the user owns the colo server; the hosting company provides physical space that the server takes up and takes care of the server. This is the most powerful and expensive type of the web hosting service. In most cases, the colocation provider may provide little to no support directly for their client's machine, providing only the electrical, Internet access, and storage facilities for the server. In most cases for colo, the client would have his own administrator visit the data center on site to do any hardware upgrades or changes.

* Clustered hosting: having multiple servers hosting the same content for better resource utilization. Clustered Servers are a perfect solution for high-availability dedicated hosting, or creating a scalable web hosting solution.

* Grid hosting : this form of distributed hosting is when a server cluster acts like a grid and is composed of multiple nodes.

* Home server: usually a single machine placed in a private residence can be used to host one or more web sites from a usually consumer-grade broadband connection. These can be purpose-built machines or more commonly old PC's.

Some ISPs actively attempt to block home servers by disallowing incoming requests to TCP port 80 of the user's connection and by refusing to provide static IP addresses. A common way to attain a reliable DNS hostname is by creating an account with a dynamic DNS service. A dynamic DNS service will automatically change the IP address that a URL points to when the IP address changes.

Some specific types of hosting provided by web host service providers:

* File hosting service: hosts files, not web pages
* Image hosting service
* Video hosting service
* Blog hosting service
* One-click hosting
* Shopping cart software

Email Hosting

2008-08-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

An email hosting service is an Internet hosting service that runs email servers.

Email hosting services usually offer premium email at a cost as opposed to advertising supported free email or free webmail. Email hosting services thus differ from typical end-user email providers such as webmail sites. They cater mostly to demanding email users and Small and Mid Size (SME) businesses, while larger enterprises usually run their own email hosting service. Email hosting providers allow for premium email services along with custom configurations and large number of accounts. In addition, hosting providers manage user's own domain name, including any email authentication scheme that the domain owner wishes to enforce in order to convey the meaning that using a specific domain name identifies and qualifies email senders.

Most email hosting providers offer advanced premium email solutions hosted on dedicated custom email platforms. The technology and offerings of different email hosting providers can therefore vary with different needs. Email offered by most webhosting companies is usually more basic standardized POP3 based email and webmail based on open source webmail applications like Horde or Squirrelmail. Almost all webhosting providers offer standard basic email while not all email hosting providers offer webhosting.

Credit Counseling

2008-08-07T04:18:00.000-07:00

Credit counseling (known in the United Kingdom as debt counselling) is a process offering education to consumers about how to avoid incurring debts that cannot be repaid. This process is actually more debt counseling than a function of credit education.

Credit counseling often involves negotiating with creditors to establish a debt management plan (DMP) for a consumer. A DMP may help the debtor repay his or her debt by working out a repayment plan with the creditor. DMPs, set up by credit counselors, usually offer reduced payments, fees and interest rates to the client. Credit counselors refer to the terms dictated by the creditors to determine payments or interest reductions offered to consumers in a debt management plan.

Common features of Debt Management Programs

After joining a DMP, the creditors will close the customer's accounts and restrict the accounts to future charges. The most common benefit of a DMP as advertised by most agencies is the consolidation of multiple monthly payments into one monthly payment, which is usually less than the sum of the individual payments previously paid by the customer. This is because credit cards banks will usually accept a lower monthly payment from a customer in a DMP than if the customer were paying the account on their own. Some DMPs advertise that payments can be cut by 50%, although a reduction of 10-20% is more common.

The second feature of a DMP is a reduction in interest rates charged by creditors. A customer with a defaulted credit card account will often be paying an interest rate approaching 30%. Upon joining a DMP, credit card banks sometimes lower the annual percentage rates charged to 5-10%, and a few eliminate interest altogether. This reduction in interest allows the counseling agencies to advertise that their customers will be debt free in periods of 3-6 years, rather than the 20+ years that it would take to pay off a large amount of debt at high interest rates.

A third benefit offered by credit counseling agencies is the process of bringing delinquent accounts current. This is often called "reaging" or "curing" an account. This usually occurs after making a series of on-time payments through the debt management program as a show of good faith and commitment to completion of the program. For example, a client with an account with a monthly payment of $50 which has not been paid in two months might be considered by the creditor to be 60 days past due. After joining the DMP and making three consecutive monthly payments, the creditor could reage the account to reflect a current status. Thereafter the monthly payment due on the statements would be the monthly payment negotiated by the DMP, and the account report as current to the credit bureaus. It should be noted that this process does not eliminate the prior delinquencies from the credit bureau reports. It merely gives a fresh start and an opportunity for the client to begin building a positive credit history. Like all derogatory credit information, the passage of time will lessen the impact of the negative marks when credit scores are calculated.

History of credit counseling

The first credit counseling agencies were created in 1951 in the United States when credit grantors created The National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC. According to W. Patrick Boisclair, Chairman of the NFCC's Board of Trustees, "the NFCC initially monitored legislative and regulatory activity for its retail credit members" and "also conducted public awareness campaigns on credit."(source) Their stated objective was to promote financial literacy and help consumers avoid bankruptcy, but they did not serve as collection agencies for the creditors. The first local credit counseling franchises emerged in the 1960s, offering education and counseling directly to consumers.

In 1993, the “Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies,” or AICCCA, was founded, citing a need for “industry-wide standards of excellence and ethical conduct.” This formally organized the NFCC’s competition. The AICCCA was formed from the group of counselors who favored telephone delivery of debt management programs. The NFCC was, in the beginning, strongly opposed to this telephone business model, primarily favoring face-to-face counseling as a more effective solution. Eventually, all organizations practiced both phone and face-to-face processes with some agencies using large inbound call centers driven by mass media advertising.

The credit counseling industry’s third major trade organization is its largest: the American Association of Debt Management Organizations, or AADMO.

However, not all credit counseling agencies belong to a trade organization, nor are they required to do so; there are well over 1,000 active credit counseling organizations in the United States.

In 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 made credit counseling a requirement for consumer debtors filing for Bankruptcy in the United States. In order to meet this requirement, during the 180-day period preceding the filing of bankruptcy, the debtor must complete a program with an approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency. Such a program may include, but is not limited to, one counseling session conducted by phone or over the internet. In addition, a post-filing debtor education credit counseling session is required in order to complete the bankruptcy process and to have your debts discharged.

Credit Counselling is also a growing industry in Europe, both for profit-making debt management companies and charities such as Christians Against Poverty and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, Britain's largest debt advice charity.

Register Domain

2008-08-07T03:40:00.000-07:00

A domain name registrar is a company accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and/or by a national ccTLD authority to register Internet domain names. These "retail" companies are often distinct from the "wholesale" domain name registry operator.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, has authority over generic top-level domains, or gTLDs. Examples of gTLDs include .com, .net, .org and .mobi. ICANN does not have authority over ccTLDs, or Country Code Top-Level Domains, although it is quite common for domain name registrars to offer ccTLD registration services as well. Most registrars provide DNS hosting service, but this is not required, and is often considered a separate service.

Until 1999, there was no Shared Registration System (SRS). Network Solutions (NSI) operated the .com, .net, and .org registries, and was the de jure registrar and domain name registry operator. However, several companies had set up as de facto registrars, including NetNames, which invented the idea of a commercial standalone domain name registration service in 1996. Registrars formed another link in the value chain, introducing the concept of domain name sales, effectively introducing the wholesale model into the industry. NSI followed suit, forcing the issue of separation of Registry and Registrar.

In October 1998, following pressure from the growing domain name registration business and other interested parties, NSI's agreement with the US Department of Commerce was amended. This amendment required the creation of an SRS that supported multiple registrars. The SRS officially opened on November 30, 1999 under the supervision of ICANN, though there had been several testbed registrars using the system since March 11, 1999. Since then, over 500 registrars have entered the market for domain name registration services.

Designated registrar

An end-user cannot directly register and manage their domain name information with ICANN. A designated registrar must be chosen. Prior to 1999, the only .com registrar was NSI, but the approval of the SRS opened up the opportunity for other companies to be designated as registrars.

Each ICANN-accredited registrar must pay a fixed fee of US$4,000 plus a per-registrar variable fee totaling US$3.8 million divided among all registrars.

Only one designated registrar may modify or delete information about a domain name. The competition that SRS created enables end users to choose from many registrars offering different services at varying prices. It is not unusual for an end user to wish to switch registrars. Thus, there is the domain name transfer clause.

When a registrar registers a .com domain name for the end-user, it must pay a maximum annual fee of US$6.42 to VeriSign and a US$0.20 administration fee to ICANN. VeriSign is the registry manager for .com gTLD. Most domain registrars price their services and products to address both the annual fees and the administration fees that must be paid to ICANN. Barriers to entry into the bulk registrar industry are high for new companies without an existing customer base.

An end-user registers either directly with a registrar, or indirectly through one or more layers of resellers. As of 2008, the cost generally ranges from a low of about $7 per year to about $35 per year. The maximum period of registration of a domain name is generally 10 years. Some registrars are offering longer periods of up to one hundred years, but such offers involve the registrar renewing the registration for their customer. The one hundred year domain name registration would not be in the official registration database. Some packages of services, such as web hosting, include the domain registration in the total package pricing.

An end-user cannot directly register and manage their domain name information with ICANN. A designated registrar must be chosen. Prior to 1999, the only .com registrar was NSI, but the approval of the SRS opened up the opportunity for other companies to be designated as registrars.

Each ICANN-accredited registrar must pay a fixed fee of US$4,000 plus a per-registrar variable fee totaling US$3.8 million divided among all registrars.

Only one designated registrar may modify or delete information about a domain name. The competition that SRS created enables end users to choose from many registrars offering different services at varying prices. It is not unusual for an end user to wish to switch registrars. Thus, there is the domain name transfer clause.

When a registrar registers a .com domain name for the end-user, it must pay a maximum annual fee of US$6.42 to VeriSign and a US$0.20 administration fee to ICANN. VeriSign is the registry manager for .com gTLD. Most domain registrars price their services and products to address both the annual fees and the administration fees that must be paid to ICANN. Barriers to entry into the bulk registrar industry are high for new companies without an existing customer base.

Domain name transfers

Domain name transfers is the act of designating a new registrar with the authority to add, modify, and delete information about the domain name. The usual process of a domain name transfer is:

1. The end user verifies that the whois admin contact info is correct, particularly the email address; obtains the authentication code from the old registrar, and removes any lock that has been placed on the registration.
2. The end user contacts the new registrar with the wish to transfer the domain name to their service, and supplies the authentication code.
3. The new registrar will contact the old registrar with this information.
4. The old registrar will contact the end user to confirm the authenticity of this request. The end user may have to take further action with the old registrar, such as returning to the online management tools, to re-iterate their desire to proceed, in order to expedite the transfer.
5. The old registrar will release authority to the new registrar.
6. The new registrar will notify the end user of transfer completion. The new registrar may have automatically copied over the domain server information, and everything on the website will continue to work as before. Otherwise, the domain server information will need to be updated with the new registrar.

After this process, the new registrar becomes the end user's designated registrar. The process may take about five days. In some cases, the old registrar may intentionally delay the transfer as long as allowable. After transfer, the domain cannot be transferred again for 60 days, except back to the previous registrar.

It is unwise to attempt to transfer a domain immediately before it expires. In some cases, a transfer can take up to 14 days, meaning that the transfer may not complete before the registration expires. This could result in loss of the domain name registration and failure of the transfer. To avoid this, end users should either transfer well before the expiration date, or renew the registration before attempting the transfer