Flibuti Corp.

Unfortunately the subject of taxes as it applies to your telecom bills is broad enough to warrant a lengthy discussion.

In Part 1 of this subject, we’ll take a close look at the regulated and non-regulated charges to your bills. In Part II, I’ll cover a few “rules of thumb” of just how taxes are applied to these charges, and a few tips on how to recover money due to incorrect taxation to certain business entities or non-profit groups.

The charges for local telecommunications services include both regulated and non-regulated types. Taxes are assessed on both. You can find most of these specific charges contained in the “summary” section of your bill.

Regulated Charges

Tariffs are developed and filed by the Local Exchange Carrier with the state and public utility commission. After approval, these public documents define rules under which regulated services will be provided, and the charges that will be applied.

Once approved, tariffs have the weight of law, and deviations require special approvals by the utility commissions. For detailed information on tariffs, visit CCMI. (Center for Communications Management Information) The following are services regulated by tariffs in most states:

Connections to the central office (CO) and any local usage charges (excludes wireless) Service enhancements are usually regulated. In several states, however, centrex-like services are now unregulated and such deregulation is becoming more common. White-pages directory services (except bold listings) Operator services provided by local exchange companies Service initiation, changes, repair, and the like are usually regulated. The expression of such charges may be a “price list” of specific items, or it may be expressed as time and material “rates” for categories of work. Some standard kinds of studies are priced through regulation. Detail of local usage or message units are typical examples. Most “other” services

Non-Regulated Charges

Various price schedules and rates are applied to non-regulated offerings, in accordance with current business and competitive conditions. Keep in mind that all non-regulated charges are subject to rapid change and negotiation, although some are traditionally fixed for a year at a time.

Prices and rates for non-regulated items must be obtained from suppliers. The following services are unregulated in most states:

Terminal and switching equipment, and ancillary items. Pay telephones. Some service enhancements, such as wire maintenance and voice mail boxes Directory advertising, bold listings, street directories Sale of “foreign” directories. Many kinds of studies and some technical service matters, some corridor and other services.

In Part II, we will look at the taxes - federal, state and local - that are imposed on both the regulated, and non-regulated portions of your bills. Included will be the three “rules-of-thumb” for taxes, along with the specifics on what these taxes are and the purpose for which they are paid, and, who is exempt from them.

Whether you’re buying your first cell phone, upgrading to a
newer one or contemplating a new cell phone plan, it’s a good
idea to thoroughly research your purchase. There are a multitude
of companies, cell phone plans and rates available. You can pick
from family plans, prepaid time cards, and plans tailored to
your specific needs. The list, like the beat, goes on. The
purpose of this article is to help guide you through the large
amount of choices. This article includes some suggestions to
help you decide which cell phone and cell phone plan is right
for you.

One of the things to consider when looking for a new cell phone
is what cell phone accessories you need and want. It’s also wise
to acquaint yourself with some websites that rate and review
cell phones and cell phone accessories. Cell phone companies
such as Nokia, Motorola and LG provide easy to use quiz’s to
help determine what cell phone is right for your busy lifestyle.
Because you are busy, I have done a little homework for you and
have come up with some ideas to help you make the right choice
when buying a new cell phone.

There are a few factors to consider when buying or upgrading
your phone. Part of what you want to look for in a cell phone is
what rates are available if you are buying more than one phone.
Many cell phone companies are currently offering “family plans”
which make owning more than one phone very attractive.

The following are some guidelines to consider when researching a
cell phone and cell phone plans purchase:

1. Economy

Advances in technology have revolutionized the communications
industry. This technology has introduced the world to digital
cameras and has also revolutionized the world of cell phones.
This technology has enabled a cell phone to act as a camera and
in some cases to fit in the palm of your hand. This is why the
sky is the limit in the cases of some cell phone prices. You can
pay as much as you like for all the internal options that a cell
phone is equipped with. To further drive up the cost of your
cell phone purchase, there are numerous cell phone accessories
that are essential to the safe operation of the unit and some
which are simply frills.

If funds are limited but you still need a reasonably good phone
and corresponding cell phone plan, there are companies that
provide cell phones free of charge with the purchase of a phone
plan. These plans were previously called contracts and most of
them were fairly long term (at least 3 years). This is no longer
the case. Many companies like Verizon, T-Mobile and Nextel will
provide a phone for free and won’t insist on a lengthy
commitment.

Some Options To Consider:

Prepaid Cell Phones - Are they right for you?

If you are considering a prepaid cell phone, it is a good idea
to ask yourself how often will you be using the phone. A prepaid
cell phone can be more expensive than a regular monthly rate and
contain hidden charges and restrictions. If you need a cell
phone simply for occasional use, a pr
epaid cell phone is probably a good choice.

Family Plans - You Control who pays the bill.

Many companies are offering “Family Plans”. This is making
owning a cell phone even more economical. These cell phone plans
allow the owner to provide a family member or in the case of
small business, an employee, a cell phone. The principal owner
of the plan pays for the air-time (at a discounted rate) and
long distance. Using a family plan for a small business is a
great way to keep track of cell phone expenditures and keeping
the telephone budget low.

Cell Phone Accessories - The costs add up!

When something shows up on the market, you want it…now! In the
marketing world, you are known as an “Early Adopter” and Early
Adopters always pay more. Communications companies love you! You
are ultimately their test market to find out what consumers are
willing to pay for the newest features and latest gadgets
available as cell phone accessories. There are numerous pages on
the World Wide Web of cell phone accessories. Numerous pages; so
where to look? Start with Verizon or T-Mobile as they provide
stylish phones free of charge. These cell phones come with many
accessories included in the start up cost. If economy is an
issue with you, stick with the basics. You will only need to buy
the following items:

• Handsfree Car Headset
• Battery Charger

It isn’t a very sexy list but if economy is important to you
then that is really all you need. BUT if economy isn’t number
one on your list of what to look for in a cell phone, read
on.

2. The Latest And Greatest - Can You Say “E A R L Y A D O P T
E R?”

If you want the latest in technology, be prepared to pay for it.
A minimum of $200.00 will buy only the most basic of cell
phones. In the case of pricing for cell phones and cell phone
accessories the sky truly is the limit. Nokia, Motorola, LG,
Ericsson and Kyocera provide an established name in cell phone
technology and they also provide cutting edge features in their
repertoire of cell phone offerings. Check out their web sites
for the latest and greatest in cell phone offerings.

3. Style - Looking Good For A Price

Many companies include face plates as a catchy cell phone
accessory. You can wear your heart or your favorite sports team
on your sleeve. Motorola, for example carries a cell phone face
plate that features a major league hockey team. You can even
pick up a purse to carry your cell phone to the most elegant
occasions. Check out these “must have” little numbers on the
Motorola site or one of the many other sites on the internet
selling these aftermarket accessories. If you love color and
need to match your cell phone to your Mercedes that is possible
too!

Would you like something a little different? A cell mate is the
thing to have. This cell phone accessory allows you to dress
your cell phone. This item was adopted by Ashley Judd who is
reported to have many different plush covers for her cell
phones. These items are available from a limited number of cell
phone companies and other manufacturers. Type your brand of
cellphone and “cell mate” into your favorite search engine to
find a unique cover for your cell phone.

4. Reliability - When You Need Your Cell Phone To Be
Dependable

One of the most important features when looking for a cell phone
is dependable service. There is no point in having a cell phone
and the most up to date cell phone accessories if the phone is
not reliable. Some cell phone companies advertise that they
provide the best cell phone service but unfortunately this isn’t
always true. Ensure that you deal with experienced cell phone
service providers such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

5. Rate Plan Flexibility

Phone plans - finding what’s right for you. Family plans, call
home plans, fr
ee included cell phones and prepaid cell phones! There’s a
multitude of choices but what is right for you? Your lifestyle
will indicate what type of phone plan you need. If your cell
phone is your main source of communication and half your life is
spent on your cell, you need a plan that will guarantee you the
most air time for the least amount of money. If you have
children and want to give them the opportunity to have a cell
phone but want to control the amount of time they use it , a
family plan may be the right choice for you. Perhaps you
need to call a certain phone number regularly, then a “call
home” plan is the choice that serves your needs best. Do your
research to find the best fit possible. Gone are the days when
you had to fit the cell phone plan; today companies such as
Verizon and AT&T make sure that the cell phone plans fits
you.

The Choice Is Yours - The Sky’s The Limit

As you can see, there are lots to look for when shopping for a
new cell phone. This article covered only a portion of the
information available on the World Wide Web and in the
Marketplace. I hope you found it helpful in your search for just
the right cell phone company for your unique lifestyle. Keep in
touch!

Most large retail stores have migrated from the old trusty cash register to more modern computerized point of sale (POS) systems. This post is an excerpt from POS for Beginners which explores computerized POS technology and provides a roadmap for anyone contemplating acquiring POS systems for their own business.

IS POS for you?

Do you own a retail store? Do you currently use a cash register to ring up sales? If so, you may want to explore the feasibility of converting to a computerized point of sale system. POS systems are finding their way into all sorts of businesses large and small. It may be just the right ingredient to jumpstart your salon or childcare business. A POS system can help your business grow to the next level.

If the thought has crossed your mind while waiting in the checkout line at your local food chain “Can one of those POS systems help my business?”, then you owe it to yourself and your business to find out.

What is POS?

Point of Sale (POS) — The physical location of a transaction, but usually refers to any device or system that is used to record the transaction for the retailer. Sometimes used to classify all of these together. (I.e. the POS industry); e.g. the grocery store checkout register or the retail checkout counter.

For the sake of this article, POS systems will refer - not to the traditional mechanical cash register, but to the newer class of computer-based POS systems. The term “cash register” will refer to the traditional mechanical or electronic cash register that is not based on a computer.

Evolution of POS

Most people type on computers these days. For a long time, the typewriter manufacturer’s tried to resist the tide by touting the new features of their products. Some added memory and LCD displays to make their typewriters more “computer like”. In the end, they lost the battle. While typewriters can still be found, by and large computer word processing has won the battle. Why? Because word processing provided much more: Spell checking, different fonts, graphics, pagination, etc. Typewriters couldn’t compete.

We’re seeing the same battle now between mechanical cash registers and computer-based POS systems.

Benefits of POS

A Cash Register is dumb. It tells you only how much money your business has taken in during the day. It can tell you that you took in $350, but it can’t tell you how much of that money is profit. It can’t tell you how much inventory you have on the shelf or what it’s currently worth. It can’t tell you how many bottles of soda your business sold today or which favors are more popular. A computerized POS can instantly tell you that you have $350 in your cash drawer. It will tell you that $225 of that $350 is profit. It can tell you that you sold 123 bottles of soda today and that you still have 246 bottles on the shelf. It can tell you that your customers favor Coke over Pepsi. It can also tell you what items you should order today because your stock is low.

While cash registers are improving, they’re still being out paced by the rapid development of POS.

According to Gartner Inc., a research and advisory firm, in a study released in 2002, of 300 retailers surveyed, 81 percent expected to see POS upgrades pay for themselves within two years.

Here are just a few benefits of POS over mechanical cash registers.

Register……..POS

No…………..Yes………….Inventory Control

No…………..Yes………….Invoicing and Receiving

No…………..Yes………….Interfacing with Accounting

Z-out……….Yes………….Reports

No…………..Yes………….Inforced Accuracy

Limited…….Yes………….Integrated cc handling

No…………..Yes………….General Ledger

No…………..Yes………….Accounts Payable

No…………..Yes………….Accounts Receivable

No…………..Yes………….Preferred by tax accounts

This post is an excerpt from an ebook entitled POS for beginners. This eBook is available online and can be downloaded from http://www.barsnstripes.com.

If your host is running under the Linux (Unix) operating system, you can perform tasks in the server on a regular basis. For example, sending mails at a certain time of the day, backing up database at 6 in the morning and so on. “Cron” is a program that runs in the background of the Linux server. The program runs certain commands defined by you at fixed time intervals. A tyical cron file will look something like this:

# My Sample Cron File 12 01 02 * * /usr/bin/du /var > /home/test/diskSpace.txt

Cron command lines consist of 6 whitespace separated fields. The first 5 fields are used to specify when to run the command, and the last field determines what command to run. The first field(12 in this case) represents minute, the second field represents hour, third field represents day of month, fourth field represents month(1=Jan, 2=Feb and so on), fifth field represents day of week(0=sunday, 1=monday and so on).

Note: * means every time and # means comments.

To edit the crontab file, we use the crontab command like so:

“crontab [ -e | -l -r ]“

The switch -e means to edit the current cron file. -l means to list the current file, and -r means to remove the current cron file. Try typing “crontab -l” and you will see the cron file contents. To access the crontab command, you need to have SSH(Secure Shell) access to the server. Basically, SSH allows you to type commands in the command prompt. If you have limited access to SSH, your host might provide some other ways to access cron via the control panel.

For example, if I want to run a php script at 12 midnight everyday, I will type “crontab -e”, then write my script as follows:

0 0 * * * php /home/username/public_html/www.sitecritic.net.php

The command that I run is “php”. It is also recommended that you use full path reference to your script. In this case, it is /home/username/public_html/www.sitecritic.net.php.

In Conclusion, cron can save you alot of time and effort in doing daily repetitive tasks. By running a customised php script, you can automate the task of sending mass mails, backing up database, creating RSS feeds…etc.

Visibility Corporation (www.visibility.com) and Level Eight Systems (www.level8systems.com) announced a strategic partnership. Level Eight systems will implement and resell Visibility Corporation’s .net based ERP solution, VISIBILITY.net.

The partnership combines an ERP software solution with the significant experience of a proven sales and implementation organization based in the Western US market. Level Eight is respected for providing implementation and technical expertise leading to successful deployments of ERP solutions.

Increasingly, mid-range manufacturers are focusing on resource utilization, manufacturing planning, compliance and data consolidation initiatives to insure improved customer service, shortened time to market and improved efficiencies. Manufacturers gain higher returns by effectively implementing their ERP systems with careful attention paid to optimized business processes.

“Level Eight’s ERP implementation and business process optimization experience extends our coverage to the western US marketplace, bringing a solid business partner with a proven track record,” said Stephen Carson, vice president of Visibility Corporation. “Level Eight has a core competency in sales and implementation excellence and understands the needs of manufacturers of complex products. Our partners must be experts in our market…Level Eight deliver that expertise.”

Jim Ethell, Level Eight president noted, “We have a great deal of experience with several ERP products and were looking for an ERP solution that was comprehensive and built using today’s advanced technologies. Visibility is accomplished in building remarkable business solutions to help manufacturers optimize their business operations. Both companies share similar philosophies about extending business efficiencies and deploying it with precision and speed.”

Founded in 1998, Level Eight is recognized as much more then a solutions company having developed a “Best Business Practice” for implementing new business solutions, eliminating costly interruption to business. Level Eight Systems, practices a rapid implementation philosophy, ensuring a quick return on investment with the lowest total cost of ownership.

Visibility is the leading worldwide suppliers of enterprise solutions that help manufacturers of complex products streamline business processes that increase profitability. Visibility’s solutions are specifically designed to meet the business needs of mid-sized manufacturers of highly engineered products. Visibility’s focus is centered on delivering the right software, services, technology and support necessary for engineering-intensive, project-oriented clients to achieve competitive advantage. Visibility’s solution includes: ERP, SCM, CRM, BI, Quoting, Configurator, Quality and Finance, providing a powerful, integrated business solution. With offices in the United States and Europe, Visibility has over 20,000 users worldwide.

Visibility Corporation Jaclyn Aldrich 978-694-8132 aldrich@visibility.com

The DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a unique molecule. It contains every single piece of genetic information of a person; just like the memory card of a PC, which contains all the data. The major difference between the DNA and the memory card of your PC though is that the microscopic DNA helix can store more data - actually about a thousand times more. So, scientists have got the bright idea of mimicking the DNA’s data-storage secrets for use on your PC’s memory card. This will lead to a more compact data processing and storage circuitry.

In the standard silicon-based chip (which is the basic unit of practically any electrical instruments) information processing is limited by the distance between the units which store and process data. With DNA scaffolding however, the interconnections can be made really short so as to increase the performance. And that’s what the scientists have been working on.

The DNA scaffolding is made up of artificial DNA ’tiles’ that automatically join together in a predetermined pattern. The so-formed molecular fabric has many strands. These DNA strands will clip to nanocomponents coated with the matching DNA strands. The nanocomponents could be metallic particles that can store or process data in form of an electric and magnetic state or they could simply be organic molecules.

“We can now assemble a DNA scaffolding on a pre-existing template, such as a computer chip and then assemble nanocomponents on top of the DNA,” said Richard Kiehl, a professor of electrical engineering.

This technology would enable computers to identify objects in images in a blink of an eye. The speed at which the computer could find the objects would near the speed of the eye and brain doing the same thing!

Revolutions in genetics have only just begun and surprisingly we are finding ways to put the newly found data in practice - in a totally different way as first perceived, I might also add.

It appears we have found many identifiers for Bio-Metrics to identify people. In this new age of International Terrorism with bad guys trying to get Pilot’s Licenses, HazMat Driver’s Licenses, get onto airlines, step onto buses and sneak over our borders we need a fool proof system. Currently we use fingerprints to identify criminals and those who hold important positions. Some of the newest forms of security include retina scans, voice prints, palms, DNA, Implanted RFID Chips, etc. We have devices, which can see thru trucks, pick up the scent of bio-weapons that use heat to pick-up illegal human trafficking inside vehicles. We need sensors to pick up human intent. Lying devices tell us when someone is exuding thru facial sweat glands, but what about a person who is not close to the device? Inside a vehicle, in a crowd or approaching a sensitive check point. Advanced warning could be the difference between life and death.

For security of military positions we use radars, sonar, heat signatures to identify people. Body heat combined with night vision is nearly impossible to fool as helicopter mounted devices can see thru fences to catch escaping criminals. Special Forces also use such devices to detect and eliminate threats. Research now is being done to detect people by odor, the Vietnamese often could detect Americans because their sweat glands exuded a different scent which gave them away. Most of the successful LRRPs were careful to eat the native foods to not give themselves away.

http://www.lcompanyranger.com/

The human plume of odor is highly detectable and we are figuring out ways to use this to identify approaching human threat.

One way that is not talked about enough is the electromagnetic signatures given off by people. Every human body has a set of biorhythms. The nerves use electrical signaling, the pulse and heart rate are also very significant and unique to human beings. Even the brain waves are detectable thru the waves, which are sent out. The skull acts as an antenna and with careful fine-tuning and calibration we can detect these waves. It appears that animals can sense these as human approach them. We are now able to build devices, which can detect minute changes in brain waves from afar. Such detection could help us identify someone in a crowd with evil thoughts and a sense of call to action to prevent a flare up of violence. Guards could be alerted that intruders are approaching and have high heart rates and negative intentions. This could be good for Border Security or perimeter control or fighting in Fallujah, while entering an area where an ambush could occur. They say that the seasoned veterans of war and those of the soldier of fortune mindset have a sixth sense about this. Do they? Or are they in tune to slightest anomalies in approaching brain waves? Well? There are enough real world war stories that there has to be more to this.

The brain waves of humans work at frequencies of 20 Hz during an agitated and hyper state of potential combat. Those who are approaching a facility will be at such a state and their bio-systems and bio-rhythms will give them away. For instance during the 9-11 incident in the parking structure one of the International Terrorists was so hyper sensitive and stressed that he cussed out and yelled at someone in the parking lot who was about to take the parking spot he wanted. It is quite evident that such a stress on the bio-system probably went with himself and the team all the way thru the airport, onto the plane, in the flight and right into the World Trade Towers. If someone had such a state of mind, hyper bio-rhythms, they would be flagged to be further scrutinized, perhaps there is another explanation? Perhaps there is not? Such a system might have stopped the 9-11 hijackers?

Could Bus Stops have such sensors within their design to alert the driver to bypass the stop and not pick up the passengers that time around? In Israel it would be a good idea and prevent radical suicide attacks. In the US it might prevent problems on our buses as well. In the case of a roadside check point the car might be flagged as it approached the crossing point to a separate and more secure area for a further look with a greater degree of caution? Could such devices help at our Mexican and Canadian Borders as well? Surely it could.

We believe further research in the stressful displacement in the bio-rhythms of criminals, International Terrorists, Drug Runners, Coyotes, Smugglers, insurgents and attackers could be reduced significantly using such methodology.

The device would focus energy waves at a device across the road or hallway of an airport. Any waves near the spectrums of bio-rhythms of the human body’s bio-system would be recorded by their amount of disruption of the traveling wave. Waves such as personal cell phones, computer PDAs, Heart Pace Makers, car stereos, automobile radar detectors, spark plug resonance, friction sound waves from squeaky brakes would not be anywhere near the bio-rhythm waves and would be deleted from the signature of the approaching car or airline patron approaching the metal detector machine.

I propose a study of 1000 people of different ethnic persuasions to test and to put these test subjects through various stressful situations and record their biorhythm disruptions on a beam of energy. In our study we will also allow for disruptions of various hand held devices such as MP3 Players, Sony Walkmans, radios, pace makers, etc. to see if we can accurately discern the emotional displacement of the individual human at the crossing point through large databases of possible combinations within the realms of potential non-threatening biorhythms. Eventually we will prove we can preempt an attack and pull out a large percentage of potential culprits in advance of a horrific event.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Discover the enchanting Euganean Hills, the 19,000 hectares Regional Park which includes the most important hills of the P Plain. A soft landscape characterized by hills of volcanic origin born 35 millions years ago. A trip into the past through fortresses, castles and abbeys. Come to CORNOLEDA (150 metres above sea level) a picturesque village near Cinto Euganeo, made of a few houses built around a little church, where you will find the Mediterranean vegetation (olives, dwarf Indian figs, Patavina rues), Roverella and chestnut woods.

“Home Life Bed Colli Euganei” propose a “B&B” accommodation (overnight stay and breakfast). You will spend a holiday according to your wishes in a familiar, but professional and friendly, ambience.
Holiday House - Bed and Breakfast in the Euganean Hills Park. It is a typical Euganean colonial house situated on the Gemola hill, surrounded by woods, vineyards and olive groves. The stone walls, the wooden beamed ceilings and the fireplace have been restored to their original structure which dates back to the early 1900’s.
The house is surrounded by 2 hectares of land with woods, orchards and olive groves. Next to the house is a big grill where you can have a wonderful barbecue with your friends during the warm seasons. For relaxing, there’s a large yard with a ping pong table, a football table and a sand box for children.

The private area reserved to guests is equipped with 3 double bedrooms furnished with antique hand-painted furniture, bathroom and access to the panoramic yard.
The rich ITALIAN BREAKFAST will be served in the dining room or, in the warm season, in the large panoramic terrace. It includes jams, yoghurts, fresh and biological fruit, or salami and locally made cheeses. THE WHOLE UNIT can be rented for one or more weeks with equipped kitchen, 7 beds.
LARGE GROUPS can use a Open Space , with a view of the yard, furnished with beds and linked to the other rooms by comfortable inside stairs.
Credit cards: not accepted

If you think that Home Life Bed is not exactly what you are looking for, click here to visit our catalogue for Hotels in Italy, and make a search for another hotel in Cinto Euganeo: we are pretty sure that you can easy find the Cinto Euganeo accommodation that can best fit your need for a perfect stay in Italy.

ROI is generally defined as ‘Return on Investment’ and almost always concerns ideas of business and finance. Let me put a slant on this for you - have you ever wondered about how much ‘return’ you would get if you invested in acquiring knowledge from storytelling? Imagine having a wealth of stories to give examples when you are tying to explain something complicated? Imagine reading about the past and in the process get inspired to find new ideas? Stories from all over the world are full of intrigue, suspense, espionage and pure entertainment.

Let me introduce to you 7 stories from two ancient epics that portray love, rules of war, polygamy and polyandry, ‘upstairs, downstairs’, good parenting, gambling and all its ill effects and the real return on investment.

Story Number 1 - Love

In the Indian epic, The Ramayana, Prince Rama is sent into exile for 13 years. His devoted wife, Sita joins him there. However, bad luck befalls them and Sita is abducted by the King of Lanka, Ravana. Now, Prince Rama goes in hot pursuit of his wife and enlists the help of the monkey race. Together, they defeat Ravana, and Sita is rescued.

Story Number 2 - Rules of War

Today, there is much talk of war - war in Iraq, civil way in many African nations and even small factions in Russia, terrorist attacks in many parts of Asia. Ever wondered what the rules of war are?

In the Indian epic, The Mahabharat, there was a great war fought at Kurukshetra. Prior to battle commencing, the rules of warfare were laid out as follows:
• Each day the battle was over at sunset, and the hostiles mixed freely like friends.
• Single combats might only be between equals and one could not use methods not in accordance with dharma (concept of duty). Thus those who left the field or retired would not be attacked.
• A horseman could attack only a horseman, not one on foot.
• Likewise, charioteers, elephant troops and infantrymen could engage themselves in battle only with their opposite numbers in the enemy ranks.
• Those who sought quarter or surrendered were safe from slaughter.
• Nor might one, for the moment disengaged, direct his weapons against another who was engaged in combat.
• It was wrong to slay one who had been disarmed or whose attention was directed elsewhere or who was retreating or who had lost his armour.
• No shafts were to be directed against non-combatant attendants or those engaged in blowing conchs or beating drums.

Story 3 - Polygamy and polyandry

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one wife. Polyandry is the practice of having more than one husband. Now in The Mahabharat, the two main female characters were both Queens - the first was Queen Kunti and the second was here daughter-in-law. Kunti was one of the two wives of King Pandu. Nothing very surprising about this. But her daughter-in-law, Draupadi, was the wife of all of Kunti’s five sons!

Story Number 4 - Upstairs, Downstairs

The caste system has its origins with the Aryan people. They were nomadic warriors how began to settle in India on or about 1500BC.

The Aryans divided their society into separate castes. Castes were unchanging groups. A person born into one caste never changed castes or mixed with members of other castes. Caste members lived, ate, married, and worked with their own group.

At the top of the caste system were the Brahmin - the priests, teachers, and judges. Next came the warrior Kshatriya caste who were mainly the nobility and ruling classes. The Vaisya’s consisted of farmers and merchants and the Sudras, was composed of craftworkers and labourers.

Is this so very different from the difference aristocracy and the working class? What about the upper middle class and the lower classes?

Story Number 5 - Good Parenting

In the Mahabharat, the great war is between two factions a ruling family. The father of the ‘baddie’ is a blind King. Throughout the epic, the blind King is constantly counseled by his advisors that he should discipline his son. Unable to do so, the blind King gives in to every wish of his child. This weakness on his part eventually leads to the destruction of his entire family!

Story Number 6 - Gambling and its ill effects

In the Mahabharat, Yudhisthira, is bound by the code of Kings to play a game of dice when invited to do so. Unfortunately, not at all adept at it, he loses. But what he stakes over and over again are not only his personal possessions but eventually members of his family including his wife, brothers and eventually his kingdom! He loses it all.

Story Number 7 - Real Return on Investment!

The apostle Paul in Galatians says: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6,7). This is very simply, a reward for anything at all can only be reaped if effort is put in. In Indian mythology, this is, in very general and simple terms, the concept of karma!

*******************

Aneeta Sundararaj, a storyteller, is the creator of the bestselling program “How To Tell A Great Story”. Aneeta’s technique and famed “R.P.I. Principle”© has been used by many people and offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable universally. She is also the author of two ‘traditional’ books The Banana Leaf Men and Mad Heaven: the biography of Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. M. Mahadevan. Visit http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com to learn more.

These days, web cameras are everywhere. Your friends have one, maybe your office or the university that you study in also do. So, you decided to finally go with the crowd and get a camera. Now that you have it at home and connected to your computer, you probably wonder: “How do I make this thing show a picture online?” We are here to explain.

Setting up your own web camera is easy: all you need is a computer, the cam itself, webcam software which will do the broadcasting, and an Internet connection.
Streaming Video vs. Still Images

The first decision you have to make before putting your camera live is if it will show streaming video or still images. If you have visited a webcam directory such as OnlineCamera.com and looked at a few cams, you have most probably noticed that some of them show a continious stream of live video, while others refresh the page in your browser and show a different picture at a pre-set time interval. The first flavor, the streaming ones, are without doubt more attractive to a viewer, but can you support such a camera? If you have a broadband Internet connection, and you can afford setting aside much bandwith for your camera to stream, the answer is yes. If not, you’d better stick with the still image camera - that will make the proccess lighter for both you and your camera’s viewers, and such a connection can work without problems even if you access the ‘net through a dial-up connection. Also, this will give you the chance to show the world images with higher picture quality - larger and without grains, - although those images won’t be moving the way they do on TV.

It is also important to consider the image size of the shots being taken by your webcam: the greater the image, the lower the refresh rate. A 640×480 pixels image can be great looking, but it can be great trouble for users with slow Internet connections, especially if the refresh rate of your camera is set to an interval such as 3 seconds. Take a look at the options of the broadcasting software that came with your webcam, and think of how different options that it offers would look on other people’s computers. If you have friends and relatives living away from you who have Internet access, you could ask them to test your camera. Set it to different combinations of image size and refresh rates, and ask them to look at it and tell you how it looks. This way you could have some great fun with your camera even before you show it to the public. In case you don’t have people to experiment with, keep the following tips in mind: a reasonable image size can be 320×240 pixels if refreshed every 20-30 seconds. If you want the picture to update more often, try with an image size of 160×120 pixels. Using that, you can have refresh rates of up to 10 seconds. If you stream live video, try to keep an image size of 160×120 so slow Internet connections can see your webcam without problems.
Methods of Delivering the Webcam Shots
Client Pull

This method is the most popular, designed to show single snapshots from the webcam. It is the most easy method to set up, and the one that works perfectly for dial-up Internet connections. It also won’t take much bandwith from your connection, so you’ll still be able to surf the web, get e-mail, and other things while your webcam snaps shots. However, you won’t be able to serve live video feeds with this method.

This method is usually accomplished with an FTP connection that sends the last shot captured by the WebCam to the site hosting your web pages.
Server Push

This is the most resource-consuming method, and thus, the least implemented. You should use it if you’d like to stream live video from your cam to viewers. It has its limitations, some of which are:

* It requires a high bandwith connection.
* You must put a limit to the video stream for each user connecting to it.
* You can’t use a dial-up connection for this method.
* If there is a firewall in your network, it can disallow you to use this method, or can limit you in some way or another.
* Only the most recent browser versions support server push.

To set up a server push webcam, you’ll need a fixed IP (dynamic IP’s are also possible, but you need more resources) and server push software.
How to Refresh the Image

Once you’ve decided which kind of webcam you are setting up, you need to decide how to make it refresh the image.

To get the latest shot captured by the camera, your viewers will have to reload it (usually by pushing the F5 button on their keyboard), unless you add some extra HTML, Javascript code or Java applets which will autoreload the picture after a given period that you can define. (This does not apply to the server push method, since it is continously streaming a video feed).
META Tag Command

Altough this is the oldest method of refreshing a webcam image on a web page, it is in use in many places, and works perfectly. This way of refreshing is done via a little HTML code.

There is an HTML tag than can make a page automatically reload after a period of time (in seconds) is reached. The syntax for this tag is as follows:

<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV=REFRESH CONTENT=”seconds”>
</HEAD>

At the interval in seconds, the browser will reload the current page, and do it over and over again until the user closes it. The most significant disadvantage of this method is that the whole page is reloaded, so a heavy graphics site will be a pain to reload on slow connections and will result in high bandwith usage.

If you decide to use this method of refreshing your image, keep in mind that some old browsers don’t allow an image to automatically refresh after some reloads. To work around this bug, add the following code to your page’s HEAD tag:

<META HTTP-EQUIV=”Expires” CONTENT=”Tue, 01 Jan 1980 1:00:00 GMT”>
<META HTTP-EQUIV=”Pragma” CONTENT=”no-cache”>
JavaScript Refresh

If you don’t want to make your viewers wait for the whole HTML page to refresh, you can use the JavaScript language to make just the image refresh. Note that the visitor of your webcam page will have to enable JavaScript in order to see the image changing (nowadays, 90% of the audience does have JavaScript enabled).
Java Applets

Java applets are small programs embeded inside a web page, which load the webcam images freeing the browser form that job. There are hundreds of Java applets for this purpose available online, such as OnlineCamera Java Viewer. You can put them anywhere in your webcam page and they’ll refresh the image for you, without refreshing the whole page, just the image.

Stay with us to learn more in the coming parts of this tutorial.
About the Author

© 2005, OnlineCamera.com, All rights reserved.

Silvina Georgieva is Managing Director of OnlineCamera.com.
Founded in 1996, OnlineCamera is the leading independent webcam directory on the Internet.
It has more than 3000 web sites currently listed, and grows with more every day.
Contact: http://www.onlinecamera.com/contact.htm