Staying in contact with customers will help you keep them and ensure prospect will come back to you to do business. Email marketing has gotten easier over the years and more affordable. Email marketing is great if you want to:

Increase Communication - Email newsletters are very affordable & easy to create. By paying a low monthly fee you can send unlimited newsletters or announcements to your customers. You can even schedule the emails on a certain date and time you want them to appear in their inbox.

Target your Emails - By creating multiple email lists you can target customers based on their interests. For example an Information Technology company can target customers based on if they want to hear about Website Design, Search Engine Optimization or Computer Support. This allows you to send more relevant and targeted messages and guarantee that they will be more likely to respond and act on your emails.

Get Referrals - Email newsletters can be read by your current customers and then easily forwarded to their friends and family who can then contact you about new business or easily subscribe to your newsletter. Through regular communication, you’ll turn those interested prospects into additional loyal customers.

Instant Feedback - As I mentioned before you can schedule emails to be sent on a certain date at a certain time. After you email is sent you can login to your account and track who opened your emails, who forwarded them to a friend and even who you need to resend them to. Bounced emails with incorrect email addresses can be fixed and resent with a few clicks!

Save on Paper and Postage - By paying a low monthly fee for unlimited communication you can really save on your paper and postage budget.

See for yourself with a FREE 60-day trial!

The computer’s CPU gets hotter while you are using the computer, which might explain why it continues to run OK when you are not using it. One of the fans in the computer blows directly on the CPU to reduce the heat. When that fan stops working properly, the temperature of the computer’s brain shoots up.

If you are using a laptop computer, keep in mind that using it on your lap may cause it to overheat if your body is blocking the intake vents on the bottom of the computer. One of my customers put the laptop on their bed. The computer shut down when the bedding blocked the vents. Computers, like humans, can’t stand too much heat — and over time it could lead to a “terminal” meltdown.

Computer viruses and spyware programs can reduce your computer’s performance significantly, so you will need protection from them if you are using the Internet. However, some of the new anti-virus programs are so big that they actually reduce the performance of your computer. Find out which has the least impact on the speed of your computer before making a purchase, especially if your computer is not new.

If you are using the Windows XP program on your computer, make use of the ALT-CTRL-DEL keys (press all 3 at the same time) to see how your computer is performing. The information that will be displayed includes the number of programs that are running and the percentage of your computer that is being used by those programs. When your computer is supposed to be idle, make sure the usage is between 0% and 5%.

Escambia and Santa Rosa counties sometimes sponsor an “amnesty day”, during which residents are allowed to bring old computer equipment, batteries, chemicals, paint, etc to designated collection points around the county.  More than 90 percent of an old computer’s parts can be reused or melted down by professional recyclers.

In Escambia County Florida, computers, monitors, printers and other electronics can be delivered to the landfill on the 2nd Saturday of every month between 8:00 a.m.and noon, at 13009 Beulah Road in Cantonment (850-937-2160).   At that facility, the electronics are processed for recycling.

3G wireless features multimedia (data, voice, and video) services and is being developed under an international master plan.  The service is currently available on about 200 networks in 40 countries.   Using this technology we will be able to communicate wirelessly wherever we are in the world, no longer tethered to our home Internet modems or Internet hotspots around town.  The services currently include cellular telephone, e-mail, paging, fax, videoconferencing, and Web browsing.

The 3G technologies are gaining users rapidly in Europe and Asia, but still only a small percentage of all cell phone users are 3G subscribers.  In Japan, however, one-half of all cell phone users subscribe to it.  We can only imagine what the future holds for us when 4G Wireless arrives.   We know that it will be even faster, more secure, and  higher quality  — but the full capabilities of 4G may not be seen for another 5 years.

If you are always getting that message on every secure website, check your computer’s time and date to make sure that the clock settings are accurate.  An incorrect date can cause the website’s certificate to appear to be invalid.     You may also have some very old certificates stored in Internet Explorer and those may have to be replaced with new ones.

If the error message continues to appear, you may have to download the latest copy of the “Java” program.   That download is found at the website www.java.com.  Java is a programming language used to develop websites, providing you with many online tools that you use on a regular basis.   Make sure you keep your virus protect up to date though, since virus programs can use java programs to enter your computer.
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For customers using Microsoft’s Outlook or Outlook Express, there may be an interruption when their email account is moved to Yahoo’s servers.  Typically, the customer stops getting mail, or receives a message indicating that they are using the wrong password.   The solution is to modify the email server settings in your email program, rather than trying to change the password.

The email interruption usually occurs after the customer receives a notice from AT&T indicating that it is time to upgrade to the new ATT-Yahoo home page.  Unless you realize what is about to happen and follow all the steps, you may only partially complete the process. Certainly it can be confusing, but AT&T can usually help you to finish updating your account and making the necessary changes to your email program settings.   Talk to the customer support technician and have them check to see if your account has been completely through the Yahoo conversion.  Their phone number is 888-321-2375.
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The random-access memory (RAM) is contained on small “chips” that have been inserted into the computer’s main circuit board (the motherboard).   Increasing that memory in your computer helps the computer to run faster.   Replacing the chips is usually a relatively easy task.   When shopping for memory chips, make sure you know the brand and model numbers of your computer, because there are many different chips on the market.   Also, you must know how much memory is in the computer already (measured in megabytes or gigabytes), and the maximum amount of memory your computer can handle.   Check your vendor’s website to see your computer’s specifications.

Look in the computer to see if all the slots are already filled.   If they are, you will need to remove some chips to put in higher-capacity chips.  If you have a laptop computer, the memory chips will be under a small cover on the bottom of the computer.  A jeweler’s screwdriver will be all you need in order to remove the cover and see the chips.  They are held in by two quick-release clips.   In the desktop (or tower) computers, you can see the chips by removing the side cover.  Those chips are also held in by quick-release clips.   When inserting new chips, make sure they click into place and that the clips fit snugly on both ends of the chip.

Make sure that computer is unplugged from the wall before poking around inside the computer.  For laptop computers, also remove the battery.   If your computer doesn’t start after replacing the chips, put your original chips back in the computer and turn it on to make sure you are doing it correctly.

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Your computer probably just needs some fine tuning to reduce the impact of programs that are running away with your computer’s memory. It helps if you know the difference between “disk space” (where data is stored) and “computer memory” (where your programs are run). Extra computer memory “chips” can be purchased at the computer store and can significantly improve your computer’s speed.

To look at your disk space, click on “My Computer”. The main computer disk is usually identified as (C:). Point your mouse at (C:) — then right-click your mouse button. Then select “Properties” from the menu. This will enable you to see a pie chart that shows how much disk space is available. You will be surprised at how much disk space is not being used. So, don’t delete those pictures of the kids and pets just yet!

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It may also be needed more often if your disk storage is more than 85% full. (At that point you might want to look at getting a bigger disk.) On most computers, the Disk Defragmenter gives you the option to analyze the disk. The analysis only takes a couple of minutes and it tells you if you need to continue with the defragmentation process.

If you have never run the program, you might want to try it. Make sure that you won’t need to use your computer for a while though, because it might take about an hour to complete. To locate the program, go to your programs list — then to “Accessories” — then to “System Tools”.
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