RULING IN VOIP VoIp is certainly getting it's share of market right now as more and more softphones or internet phones are coming out of market every month.

What is voip? Voice over internet phone which basically denotes that you can now make clear pc to pc calls worldwide.

Skype.com Take a look at Skype for example. They're definitely a new player against giants like Yahoo, and MSN but they say that they have 14 million downloads up to date. I'm not against them but hey, they're software is ad-ware so you should be aware! http://www.Skype.com

Buzzfon.com There's a new player in town and they call their pc to pc calling softphone, Buzzfonp2p. They're giving away free 30 day trials and yes, user surveys are in. They're clear, quality is amazing with no disruptions mind you even if you're on dial up! So you can check them out. http://www.buzzfon.com and nope, they don't have ads on them and you can even make pc to phone calls, phone to phone calls, phone to pc calls on their advanced version of Buzzfonp2p, aptly called, Buzzfon+.

GO BROADBAND FOR LESS There are a lot of broadband services out there who would'nt charge you an arm and a leg for their services. One of them is Vonage and newest player in town is Bonusfon.

Vonage.com They have specific target packages for different market segments and they're basically number one in terms of broadband user surveys. http://www.vonage.com

Bonusfon.com They are certainly getting their own share of market, as what energetic telecom owner Tam Sanchez said regarding distributing global broadband services. Their rates are highly affordable and they have a feature called pay -per-talk. Pay only for services you need and you want. Yes, they're lower than Vonage and more competitive and flexible in terms of packaging. http://www.bonusfon.com

HELPDESK SOLUTIONS Helpdesk solutions are web applications that you install on your own server or hosted on provider's server that includes most of customer support solutions like FAQ, TICKET SUPPORT SYSTEM, and LIVE CHAT. Some even have phone in support.

There are a lot of helpdesk solutions out there which are free but then always has a drawback. It's either, chatting service are slow on your server or it just freezes in screen while you're online or you can only try it if you have latest language of php, and perl installed in your server.

There are particular helpdesk solutions we like that offers a lot more for less.

LiveHelp.Stardevelop.com - PHP Live Help Messenger is new real-time, live chat, customer service software solution allowing customer support operators to chat to potential online customers browsing your web site. (Price : $89.00) http://www.livehelp.startdevelop.com

DNAHelpdesk.com - DNA Helpdesk is a powerful yet user friendly module for corporate helpdesk available on its own, combined with DNA Pack 1 (Inventory) or as part of our overall DNA management suite. DNA Helpdesk is a fully web based solution providing detailed recording and tracking of user Help Requests. (Price : Commercial) http://www.dnahelpcenter.com/

IN CONCLUSION There are a lot of ways to interact and create a more personalized service than your other competitors and that will surely depend on ways and means that you want them to contact you. Provide them more avenues of interaction and they will certainly trust you more than your competitors. Help them to help yourself.

Happy Profitting!

The author Maida M. Barrientos is owner and publisher of TalkingProfits.net, (http://www.talkingprofits.net) and a marketing assistant for Buzzfon.com (http://www.buzzfon.com) and Bonusfon.com (http://www.bonusfon.com), a premier voip solutions and broadband communitications provider. You can contact her at maida@buzzfon.com for partnership inquiries.

If you have Windows XP, you may check your hard drive by going to MY COMPUTER, clicking on drive in question and then going to FILE menu and selecting PROPERTIES. Under TOOLS tab is error-checking utility.

Many commercial utility software packages provide a variety of disk-checking and repair tools. LIUtilities’ SpeedUpMyPC and Norton SystemWorks suite by Symantec are two of more popular utility packages.

Buffing Your Computer System

Once computer has been checked out and cleaned up, a good defragmentation session can tune it up further. Operating systems tend to fragment and scatter files around hard drive as they are used, causing slower performance over time because system has to look all over drive for those file parts. Defragmenting drive puts everything back together.

Windows has a built-in Disk Defragmenter program on SYSTEM TOOLS menu, and many of non-Microsoft utility programs mentioned above also provide a defragmenter option. If you find that your computer keeps starting process over and over, try booting your computer in “Safe Mode” to turn off all programs before trying to run Defragmenter again.

Microsoft’s Safe Mode is a Windows diagnostics mode. When you start computer in Safe mode, only specific components that are needed to run your computer’s operating system are loaded. Safe mode does not load software applications automatically and does not allow some functions, such as connecting to Internet. Under Safe Mode, you are running your computer’s Windows operating system at its most basic level.

To activate Microsoft’s Safe Mode, power-up your computer. Watch for a blank black screen. When you see "Starting Windows," immediately press F8 key. Windows then proceeds to start in Safe Mode.

If you are running under Windows XP, Click START, and then click RUN. A RUN dialog box appears. Type “msconfig” (do not type “) and then click OK. The System Configuration Utility appears. Select BOOT.INI tab then check "/SAFEBOOT" option, and then click OK.

The time needed to perform all of these system checks and cleanup procedures will vary, depending on size of your hard drive and amount of data stored on it. Each task could take just 10 minutes or so, but it is not unheard of for it to take several hours to complete all of them. If you would rather be sleeping or playing softball, you can automate many of cleaning chores with Maintenance Wizard or, in some later versions of Windows, Scheduled Tasks function. Both are found in System Tools area.

Here are three most important steps that you must do to protect your valuable computer files:

~ Regularly Backup Key Files: Save valuable computer data on a separate drive, CD, or disk, such as a Zip(R) disk. After files are backed up, remove disks from computer and keep them in a safe place removed from your computer.

~ Install and Update Anti-Virus Software: Make sure any anti-virus program runs from start menu and updates program on a regular basis.

~ Carefully Review all email Attachments: Don't open e-mail attachments unless you know source. Also, to minimize potential impact of an email attachment to your hard drive, transfer attachments to a CD or Zip(R) disk before opening.

Taking care of your computer with a little regular maintenance may just pay you dividends down road.

Copyright Steven Presar

Steven Presar is a recognized small business technology coach, Internet publisher, author, speaker, and trainer. He provides personal, home, and computer security solutions at www.ProtectionConnect.com. He provides business software reviews at www.OnlineSoftwareGuide.com. In addition, he publishes articles for starting and running a small business at www.Agora-Business-Center.com. Be sure to sign-up for SOHO newsletter at this site.