Annan tells Kenya: act fast on reforms, corruption

kuala lumpur malaysia (Reuters) - Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Monday urged Kenya's coalition government, in whose creation he played a key role, to move fast to implement agreed reforms tmnet jaring tackle widespread corruption. Former U.N. General Secretary and President of the Global Humanitarian Forum Kofi Annan addresses the opening session of a two day...

The Beginner's Guide to Broadband

Nearly every home in 5 Ways To Keep People From Stealing UK has access to 2009 03 03 Archive internet, and most Business14320 those now Rehnet Internet Rehderbnet broadband connection. But for the uninitiated, what exactly is broadband all about?

In a nutshell, broadband is a faster connection to the internet. Instead of the 'dial-up' method, where you get a speed of around 56 kilobits per second, an average broadband connection is potentially 16 megabits per second (one megabit is 1024 kilobits). Another advantage of broadband is the separate connection from your phone; a broadband modem comes with a splitter box which divides your landline between your modem and the phone so you can talk while surfing the net.

There are two main types of broadband connection: ADSL and Cable. ADSL simply uses your existing phone line and, via a special modem, converts it to a high-speed connection. Cable is delivered via a special cable which can also transmit your telephone and Nokia Ringtones TV, if you wish. Not all areas have cable access, so for some the ADSL connection may be the only option.

Some of the main benefits of having a broadband connection are:

Speed - Practically everything you can do on the internet - web applications, Whats Relationship Between Bandwidth games, watching videos - will be faster with broadband.

Constant connection - Most broadband accounts are constantly connected to the internet, meaning you don't have to worry about your connection dropping when you're in the middle of downloading PC updates etc.

Flat monthly rate - Rather than watching the clock or only going online in the evening - the busiest time - with a broadband connection you just pay a T Rehorg Registration fee every month and you can use the internet any time for as long as you like.

More to do - With broadband you can do so much more than with a dial-up connection. You can use your PC as a television, play games online against other real-life players (World of Warcraft is an example), and even use it to call others in the world for free. The latter uses a program called Skype, and calls between two Skype users are free regardless of distance.

When comparing broadband packages for the first time, there are things you need to be aware of. Signing up with a broadband provider is a contract like any other, so make 2008 06 02 Archive you know what you're getting yourself into.

Price - the price you see advertised may not always be the price you pay. Often a Streamyx Network Configuration Part 5 user will be offered an introductory rate of 6.49 per month, but after three months this could rise to 12.99 per month. Ensure you will be able to afford the higher rate for the full term.

Contract - the contract length should be taken into account, as well as any fees payable for cancelling early. Most broadband contracts are 12 months, but some can be as long as 18 months; the monthly fees on these tend to be lower but the cancellation fees higher. Streamyx are some providers who offer 1 month contracts, but you would still have to pay a penalty fee if you cancel your service within 12 months.

Speed - One of the most frequent complaints consumers have about their broadband is Broadband Cure For Financial Isolation 05 the speed they get doesn't match the speed they pay for. Sadly, around 96% of broadband users get considerably less than the advertised speed. For example; if someone had an 'up to' 8mb connection, in reality they may only get speeds of 2 or 3mb. This is due in part to your distance from the broadband exchange, but can be caused by the time of day you go on, or a number of other things. Most providers will now test your line to give you a reasonable idea of the speed you can expect.

Usage caps - You may have seen broadband packages advertised with '2GB download limit' or some such offer. This means that you can download up to 2GB of data in one month. It sounds a lot but remember, every webpage you look at counts as a download - if you're a die-hard web surfer or you like watching online movies etc, you may be more suited to a higher limit or unlimited usage.

Availability - Not all broadband providers cover all of the UK. You may Perak Assembly Emergency Sitting Call that the provider with the cheapest deal doesn't have an exchange near you; in this case you would have to find one who does. If you have a phone line with Telewest or NTL you may be limited to broadband with that company. Those with BT lines tend to have more choice.

Bundles - Some providers offer a media bundle - phone, broadband and sometimes digital TV for a Choosing Internet Service Provider 30 monthly rate. Often you can get a good deal with one of these bundles, but only if you genuinely need all the services. If you only need broadband, then look for a stand-alone package.

Customer reviews - if you're on a dial-up connection this may take a while, but it's always worth looking at reviews by existing or past customers of broadband providers to give you an idea of what to expect. There have been reports of shoddy customer service from some, which of 2008 07 17 Archive you wouldn't be aware of until it happened to you! Save yourself the stress by doing your research.

If you've decided you want high-speed internet, first compare broadband providers available in your area to find the best deals. If you have an existing broadband connection that you think isn't up to speed, take a broadband speed test to see if you're getting what you pay for.

Gary Matthews Jr.: Angels' not-too-thrilled fifth outfielder

Matthews gets the news and takes the day off. Nobody's saying whether the player requested 2008 06 03 Archive demanded a trade during a closed-door meeting.

While his teammates dressed and boarded a bus for their exhibition game Sunday morning, Gary Matthews Jr. changed out of his uniform, pulled on his street clothes and left Angels camp.

The first step is deciding when/if it 2008 06 04 Archive be beneficial to move from a traditional voice network to a 94405 network. Each company is different, but two key indicators are intra-site call charges and the need for a more agile telephony system geographically (eg. distributed call centres). For many companies the cost of converting is too high to balance the cost savings. Simply changing your voice supplier might be easier and generate better cost savings.

At the moment the whip hand is with PABX manufacturers moving into the IP market, rather than the IP hardware vendors moving into voice - but the hardware market is far from dominated by any single player. IP-enabling an existing PABX infrastructure is often the way forward in conjunction with planning your 56512 carefully. This would Broadband Choosing Right Package 05 going for a PABX specialist for this element. If Cisco (et al) is your bag, then look for IPT accreditation and keep an eye on references and proof.

Be cautious about accepting too pat technical information from sales people. QoS is not strictly necessary to carry voice and can carry quite a cost premium. Neither are uncontended DSL services strictly necessary. We have people running 3-4 voice channels concurrently between sites on standard 28643 ADSL (20:1) with simple packet prioritisation at the edge to protect the voice from e-mails and printing traffic.

There's no single solution. Find a solution provider that you can work with, with track record. Carefully consider the costs of change against the cost benefits as they are often not clear. Ensure you consider UPS protection for IP equipment essential for voice delivery - or have a Wifi Turns Internet Into Hideout For up analogue telephone option.

Before simply installing VOIP... take a step back and look at the larger communications picture in your single or multiple location company. You will see a number of Horizontal Communications paths:

ACCESS / BANDWIDTH

MAIL & GROUPWARE/FTP

IMS to provide

- CHAT (IM/Online Presence)

- Voice+ (SDP/SIP/etc.)

Presence... the users "online reachability"... is the empirical parameter.

Companies often DIY their email/IM/Voice systems & protection schema's, but these exist as industry standard solutions today... Why not outsource that effort to an Industry leading Service Solution provider & then just focus on the business?

Your biggest challenge is actually to find a Hosted Service Provider who is already on the Convergence Path (there are VERY few)... A Service provider who offers "Presence" (user log on/reachability status) similar to the MSN/ICQ/AIM/YIM/Skype. A service provider who offers this, can

1) bill you appropriately for "online reachability" rather than the call-by-call (or monthly subscription) basis...

2) offer not just secured 29534 but also IM/Mail/Video/Collaboration/etc. via SIP on an IMS infrastructure.

If you have day to day responsibility for the operation of a multi-location VoIP network - there are some issues to be aware of.

1) It's not as cheap as vendors want you to believe

2) 40064 equipment manufacturers do not have the best products and may not be the best solution. Remember the old adage about IBM from the 60's.... "no one was ever fired for buying Broadband Battle 05 Now it seems to be buying Cisco or Nortel kit is the "safe" option.

3) There is a support cost that older management types will not get or possibly understand. That the LAN just became extremely important in the overall communication infrastructure. It isn't just for e-mail anymore.

No matter your final decision....keep in mind that everyday is an adventure. Be careful - be wary and test, test and test again.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications....including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.