Tips for Finding the Proper Printer For Your Home or OfficeWritten by Larry Denton
The written word has existed for at least 5,000 years. The creation of writing had enormous implications, because it allowed humans to communicate across both distance and time. The earliest known printed book, entitled "Diamond Sutra," was produced in China in 9th century using a hand-carved wooden block system. By 1050, movable clay type was being used in China. In 1452, Johann Gutenberg invented metal, movable type in Germany and race for sharper, less expensive and faster printing was on. The first office duplicator was probably typewriter patented in 1867, and first practical mechanized type casting machine, called "Linotype," was created in 1884.The early 1960's brought next major printing improvement with use of cathode ray tubes (CRT) being used for photocomposition. Today, most functions in advanced composition systems--justification of lines, hyphenation of words, and calculations of page depths--are handled by computer. With computer age came dot-matrix printers, first for office and then becoming affordable for home use. Now, affordable, high-quality digital printers have become available, at reasonable prices, for use in home or office. We have certainly come a long way with printing devices over centuries. Today, a printer is one of essential peripherals you will need for your computer. The difficulty in buying right one is complicated by fact that are so many types, models and features from which to choose. The best approach when buying any major item is to educate yourself. Start slowly, you don't need to become a Canon or an HP expert. You simply need to know some of terminology so you do not feel overwhelmed by meaningless technical jargon used by some salesmen who are more concerned about a commission than your personal needs as a customer. Some important terms to know include: inkjet, laser, dpi, cpi (characters per inch), impact printers, optical density, nozzle, cartridge, cpp (cost per page), cps (characters per second), and toner. Three different technologies dominate in field of personal printers: inkjet, laser, and to a lesser extent, LED (light-emitting diode). Using replaceable cartridges that spray fine droplets of ink, personal inkjet are least expensive, but print slowly. Laser printers use a process similar to that of a photocopier: a light-sensitive drum rolls charged black toner onto paper. This produces crisp, fast printouts, but machines are more expensive to purchase.
| | Meetings in the Virtual World--How Web Conferencing Can Save You Time and MoneyWritten by Larry Denton
Face-to-face, across-the-table meetings are a basic part of organizational life. Today, however, organizations, both for profit and non-profit, are turning increasingly to Web conferencing to provide online seminars (Webinars), training, technical assistance, and old time conference meetings. How does web conferencing work and what tools do you need to begin process yourself? The field of Web conferencing software is growing at a phenomenal pace. In summer of 1994 there were two products in category--both primitive freeware packages. By 1996, there were over 60 products that supported Web conferencing on market, and proliferation continues at an astounding rate. With increased competition has come much higher quality and more affordable prices. This tremendous increase has been driven in part by economics--no hotel bills, no airplane tickets, no lost productivity sitting in airports--in short, no expensive travel costs. A valuable saving of both time and money. Secondly, convenience is a major player. All you need to conference face-to-face with any other person in world is a an Internet-connected computer. The largest single factor driving demand for Web conferencing, however, is often over looked. Unlike earlier technologies that replaced personal meetings (telephone and e-mail, for example), Web conferencing allows for layered communication, combining visual, vocal, and participatory. Because of this layered nature, web conferencing can appeal to different learning styles and offers organizations ability to much of what they could previously do only in face-to-face meetings. How does Web conferencing work? Participants join a conference designed by meeting leader or presenter. While in conference, participants can see presenter's Power Point slides, take Web tours, and interact using whiteboard. Additional interactive features allow participants to ask questions and vote on certain topics. Also becoming more common are application-sharing features that allow presenters to provide one-on-one help, and some services offer VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and video so that speech and video are sent via Internet. It is now possible for a large group of people to share data and graphics without having to gather in same physical location. The possibilities are endless!
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