!!! The Internet Launchpad !!!

If you are just starting out on your journey to become an internet marketer, you soon realise that there is an awful lot to learn. But the more you search for answers, the more difficult it becomes. You may easily find yourself buried in an avalanche of information. It becomes overwhelming. You don’t know where to turn, or what to do to get started.

It is like getting stuck in quicksand. Every step you take seems to drag you down further.  In part, the effect may be psychological, but it can be really debilitating.

And it can be very demoralising. You are putting in so much time and effort, and yet you are getting nowhere. You are not making any money at all!

Well …. DON’T WORRY!!!

Here is a simple solution. Click the link below and you will discover an opportunity to get up and running – and making money! – quickly and easily. You don’t need to invest a lot. You don’t need to know a lot.

You’ll discover a lot more benefits when you click the link below and take advantage of this genuine opportunity. I recommend that, for the next day or two, you set everything else aside, and concentrate on this one thing. It may not make you a fortune, but it can get you making a regular extra income – and quickly!

Better still, it will teach you about setting up and building your business at the same time.

Just click the link below and see for yourself …

 http://newbiestartupguide.com/?e=EasyRider

Don’t buy from a scammer – Take my advice, it’s cannier!

Manufacturers introduce new driver updates from time to time to solve compatibility problems that have appeared with particular applications, or to make changes to suit new changes in technology, and for other reasons like that.

 So installing updates can fix problems that you may or may not be aware of … can enhance performance … and may even prevent problems you might otherwise have down the line.

 Now, a lot of software products include automated checks for driver updates but, in the case of hardware drivers, you generally need to find and download them manually.

 Driver Scanners will scan your PC and compare your driver versions to those on its current database (which, hopefully, is up-to-date!). It will flag those that can be updated. You can then choose the ones you’d like to download and install.

 Some scanners will automatically do scheduled monitoring. With others, you need to remember to run them from time to time yourself.

 So what scanner should you choose? It is important to make a sound decision, because choosing the wrong one can do a lot more harm than good. For example, I know readers of PC World have reported many problems with scanners. One claimed the software crashed his laptop …. Then the Restore option didn’t work … Recommended updates that were installed were not actually up to date, and even older that the version they had removed! … Others reported that the software stopped their webcams from working etc., etc.

 Before installing any new drivers, you certainly want to do a backup so you can revert to your old driver if there are any problems. Some scanners come with a useful backup facility included.

 Of course, you must be sure you are buying from a reputable company. That said, people have even had problems with scanners from some well-respected firms!

 So how can you choose? Unfortunately, many Review Sites you find on the internet are simply scam affiliate sites – you can’t always trust them. Certainly, if it is not clear who is behind the site, do not trust them.

Mind you, even these sites can be helpful. They give you an idea of what is available and provide clues as to what you might look for in your preferred scanner eg. Does it have a backup facility, or does it do scheduled checks?

 A lot of Driver Scanners cost around $30 to $40, and then there may be an annual fee. Usually, you will be offered a free scan. By all means, take advantage of this to find out if you need many updates. You can then decide if you want to buy the product to download the updates quickly and easily, or if you would be happy to do it manually yourself.

 But here’s the information you won’t find on a lot of the sites trying to flog you scanners. Before you fork out any green stuff, let me recommend one Driver Scanner that is absolutely free – DriverMax

Here is what the publishers themselves have to say about it:

 Publisher’s Description:

DriverMax – DriverMax is a powerful utility which helps you download, backup and restore the drivers installed on your Windows Vista or Windows XP computer and check if newer versions are available. Download all drivers from one place in just a few steps. After backing up your drivers you will have all of them in a single place and will be able to reinstall all of your drivers or just the ones you choose in a single step which takes about one minute.

This utility can save you a lot of time when reinstalling Windows, especially on older computers for which the original CDs containing the drivers have been lost. You no longer have to track down old driver installation CDs, insert one installation CD after another or spend hours searching for drivers on the Internet.

DriverMax is also able to display a detailed report about all drivers (versions, release dates) installed on your system. Identify unknown devices in your computer and get Windows Vista rating information before you purchase new hardware!

You can get it here:

 http://drivermax.inovative-solutions.qarchive.org/

Don’t be conned by the tricks ~ Discover the tricks that work!

 Let’s face it: You can’t run an internet business with a PC that is crawling through cyberspace like a wounded megabite.

The trouble is that, as we add more and more stuff to our computer, it is almost inevitable that it will start to slow down. It is estimated that over 90% of computers have corrupted registries. Now, the Windows Registry is the power behind the Windows Operating System. So, if your computer has become very slow, keeps crashing, or you keep getting error messages etc., then your Registry needs attention.

But there are dozens of so-called registry cleaners out there. Which should you choose?

Here is the nasty truth: Some of these programs are little more than scams that pretend to fix your computer, but actually install pop-ups and advertisements on your PC. A lot of them are based on the same feeble, out-dated software but packaged under different brands. And often they will make dubious or exaggerated claims to scare you into buying their software.

To make things more difficult, you cannot necessarily trust product reviews which purport to present the best registry cleaner. Some of these seemingly independent reviews are put together by affiliates hoping to sell you a particular product. So check out About Us pages etc. to try and establish if they are genuinely independent or not. Be suspicious!

http://consumer-guides.org This site tested dozens of registry cleaners on computers that had been planted with infections. They report: “We found that many Registry Cleaners simply did not do the job.” They rated Paretologic’s RegCure as the best of five reg cleaners you could trust. The company employs about 150 people, so it is certainly an established business and very successful at selling its software.

http://www.utilitysoftwarereviews.com This site also recommends RegCure. But I have reservations about it …

I bought RegCure. It claimed to find 1,319 faults on my computer. Amazingly, it was able to remove all these in just about one minute. And the result? Not a pickle of difference, as far as I could see! Except that every time I start my computer I am now faced with an advertisement trying to get me to buy Paretologic’s other software, DriverCure. And I have to delete various options before I can get on with connecting to the internet. Very annoying. They also annoy me with their marketing techniques, getting you to fill in all your details before telling you how much you are going to have to pay – or indeed even before letting you know you will have to pay anything at all. That strikes me as a bit sneaky, and so makes me wonder if they are maybe behind some seemingly independent sites I have seen recommending their products. Sorry, but I am a cynical soul!

http://www.registrycleanerstested.org  This is by far the best comparison site I found because it gives really in-depth analysis to back up its findings. I really recommend you look at this site. As you will see, whilst he does not dismiss the software, Tyler Blanton, the man behind the site, also has reservations about RegCure.

The registry cleaner that comes out top in his very comprehensive tests is MAX Registry Cleaner. Now, even that only showed an improvement in performance of 11.5% so perhaps you should not expect miraculous results from any reg cleaner.

Now, there are still more options and you might prefer to take the advice of a man who has spent his life building and repairing computers. Here is another really useful site for you to refer to …

 http://asknerd.net  The Nerd picks three top programs he would be happy to recommend to his friends when in need of a trouble shooting program. They are:

1. Registry Patrol – his parents PC was literally taking about 5 minutes to load a web page, but RP soon had it running like new.

2. XP medic – specifically created for Windows XP (but maybe not suitable for novices)

3. The Windows Repair Kit – easy to use.

Below are the links to my shortlist. Please note there are no affiliate links here – I have no axe to grind. Most cost around $30 but you can run a free scan before you buy – don’t bother topurchase if there is little wrong.

http://www.registrypatrol.com

http://www.xpmedic.com

http://www.windowsrepairkit.com

 http://www.maxregistrycleaner.com

 Sorry, you will have to make the final decision yourself. But I hope all this saves you some research and makes it easier for you

Cheers!

Mat Gallaugher

Protect your email – and your friends too 

Here is a simple computer trick I learned that is really worth knowing.

As you probably know, when a worm virus gets into your computer, it is programmed to head straight for your email address book and sends itself to everyone there, thus infecting all your friends and associates.

This trick won’t keep the virus from getting into your computer, but it will stop it from using your address book to spread further, and it will alert you to the fact that the worm has gotten into your system.

Here is what you do:

First, open your address book and click on ‘New Contact’, just as if you were adding a new friend to your list of email addresses. In the window where you would type in your friend’s first name, just type in ‘A’.

For the screen name or email address, type in AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA

Now, here’s what you have done, and why it works: The name ‘A’ will be placed at the top of your address book as entry #1 …

This will be where the worm starts in an effort to spread to all your friends.

When it tries to send itself to AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA, it will be undeliverable because of the phony address you entered. If the first attempt fails (which it will, because of the phony address), the worm goes no further and none of your friends will be infected.

Here’s the second great advantage of this method: If an email cannot be delivered, you will be notified of this in your In Box almost immediately. Hence, if you ever get a notification that an email to AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA cannot be delivered, you know right away that you have the worm virus in your system. You can then take steps to get rid of it. Pretty slick huh?

If everybody you know does this, then you need never worry about opening mail from friends.

DO IT NOW and pass this on to all your friends!

 If you want to succeed online, then you really must have a website of your own                    And to get your site up on the web, you need a web host.

Now, you could get a free website and free hosting, but most free services then make their money by advertising on your website. You don’t want that.

The reality is that, for your long term success on the net, you want to invest in good quality web hosting and a good autoresponder service (such as Aweber). The good news is that you can get both for under $30 a month. Now that’s not much to pay for your own international business, is it?

I will write about autoresponders in another blog post. Right now, lets look at …

What you should expect from a web host

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the database language used by most web hosts. Just make sure you don’t end up with one of the few exceptions. Because you will need it when, for example, you want to set up a membership site. (And  soon you will probably want to have your own membership site!)

Next, make sure that your web host supports PHP. Don’t worry about what the letters stand for. Just know that this is a programming language that helps your website run more smoothly than one relying on HTML.

Ideally, you want a hosting package that offers unlimited disc space and bandwith.

Disc Space:You want plenty of disc space so you don’t have to worry about how much stuff you put on your site. I recommend 10 Gb. But you could start with 500 mb and upgrade later.

What exactly is Bandwith?

Well, everytime someone visits your website their computer downloads the header, pictures, text etc. All these downloads are added up during the month to determine how much bandwidth you have used.

If you exceed your limit, your website is likely to be shut down until you pay for more bandwith, or until the start of the next month.

Bandwidth is generally measured in Gigabytes. (1gb = 1,000 megabytes). You want a lot of gigabytes- 50gb minimum. Fortunately, you can get generous packages at reasonable rates.

Now, before long, you will probably want to have several websites. But you don’t want to be paying an extra monthly hosting fee for each one. You don’t have to! Just make sure your host allows you to have several, or ideally unlimited, add-on domains on your hosting account.

Finally, I recommend that you check that your host uses the most popular Control Panel, cPanel. This enables you to create databases, set up email accounts, upload files, password-protect directories, and so on.

What Hosts Do I Recommend?

www.hostgator.com  You may have read my criticism of Hostgator elsewhere, but the fact remains that this is one of the most successful and best value options available. Yes, it would help if you are fluent in mumbo-jumbo. However,to be fair, they do have a 24/7 helpline. Their support gets mixed reviews, but I can imagine their staff have a hardtime dealing with a lot of exasperated and probably irritated customers!

www.bluehost.com Now,I have not used this service myself, but their long list of awards speaks volumes … rated Number One Web Host and notably Best Support. What’s more, they have packages from just $6.95 with a free domain too. Got to be worth checking out.

But wait …

www.prohostmanagement.com They have packages from just $6 a month. But, particularly if you are a newbie, or a bit of a technophobe, look at their Unlimited Package! They offer a much more pro-active service than others. This includes monthly one-on-one and on-call website management for all of your websites. Need help with edits or tweaks? Website Marketing? They will work with you personally on your websites each month. That alone must be worth more than they are charging. And I am sure you will find Adam Spiel, the man behind the business, very helpful indeed.

Well someone ought to be shot!

One of the biggest problems when you are trying to launch an internet business is that, with almost everything you have to do, you are faced with techno-babble and instructions that are downright gibberish.

When you are faced with this sort of nonsense, don’t let it go. Have a shot at the culprits. And join my crusade to DEMAND PLAIN ENGLISH!!

One company that has infuriated me in this respect is Hostgator. Here is the salvo I fired off at them …

Hostgator: here is what I think …

Frankly, whoever wrote your instruction pages should be skinned alive, boiled in a vat of oil, strung up on a gibbet … and then punished!

Your ‘helpful’ instructions are anything but. Indeed they are a jumble of jargon, gobbledygook, assumptions and ambiguity. It is amazing! Isn’t that EXACTLY what instructions should NOT be?

Your writer is correct about one thing: the whole process is actually quite simple. So he cannot even explain something that is really perfectly straightforward. How clever is that?

It is no wonder you need a 24/7 helpline!

OK, no doubt the people working for you are very clever. But clever clogs often cannot understand why the average idiot, like me, can’t understand. You know, you would save yourselves a lot of trouble if you bothered to get a really good teacher to rewrite your instructions. Not, by the way, someone who just thinks they can teach (I am afraid there are plenty of that sort about).

Here is a suggestion about how instructions should be written:

Imagine you are chained to a chair on top of a bomb. The bomb goes off if anyone following your directions makes a mistake. Then you might write more clearly and intelligently!

You could make a game of this. However, in your case, I really think it might help if you were to use a real bomb!

For more suggestions on how to write good, clear instructions please visit my blog: http://matgallaugher.com (The Internet Launchpad)

There you will see that, as part of my Demand Plain English Campaign, I am reproducing this memo, and my thoughts about Hostgator. But I will make you this promise …

If you are good enough to rewrite your instructions clearly, then just let me know. I will check for myself and, if satisfied, I will happily add a postscript congratulating you, thanking you, and recommending your service to my visitors.

Look, I know you are by no means the only company guilty of producing such gobbledygook garbage. Indeed, don’t you see that you could get a huge jump ahead of your competition, if you sorted out this problem? It’s simple:You would win more clients if you wrote more clearly!

Please act on my advice. I hope to hear from you soon.

Mat Gallaugher

PS: Don’t take my threats to skin you alive and boil you in oil too literally. Give me time to calm down, and I may actually give you a choice!

Will it make any difference? Who knows, but if enough of us complained, I think companies would take notice. So when one deserves it, fire off a missive or give them a blast on your blog. DEMAND PLAIN ENGLISH!

By the way, because hosting is so important for the success of your internet business, I am preparing a report on what you should look for,  and what you should expect from your web host. Watch out for that.