We all know that a lot of websites are not accessible within China. There are now a lot of free and paid VPN services available. I received quite a lot of messages from the net community lately asking if there is a way of getting a free VPN service. I have tested a number of free VPN services, but the most reliable one by far is from thefreevpn.com.

I downloaded the latest version today, installed it and was able to get on to the VPN without a hitch. The speed is acceptable as long as you don’t use it for downloading huge files. Facebook, Youtube and Twitter are all accessible.

vpn

When launching the program, you will see a list of remote proxy servers to choose from. Some are paid servers but so far I was able to connect using one the free ones.

Please give it a go and see if it works for you. Comments are welcome.

  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Twitter
  • Technotizie
  • Windows Live Spaces
  • Facebook
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • TechNet
  • Technorati Favorites
  • TypePad Post
  • Ping
  • Hotmail
  • Gmail
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Bebo
  • Blogger Post
  • Share/Save/Bookmark

So you have a few Word Documents that you have been working on and now you would like to merge them into a one single document. Opening each document, copying and pasting them into one final document is possible but that would be a nightmare if you created so many documents. Thankfully, Word 2007 has a function to help you do this.

1. Create a new document or open the main document.

2. Click Insert on the Office ribbon top menu bar. Look for Object and click on the drop down arrow followed by Text from File as shown below:

office2007-insert

3. Explorer window will open and locate the document that you want to merge. You can either select one document or multiple documents by pressing “Ctrl” on your keyboard while clicking on the files one by one. Click Insert.

4. All documents selected are now merged and combined into a single document file. Save it and you’re done!

  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Twitter
  • Technotizie
  • Windows Live Spaces
  • Facebook
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • TechNet
  • Technorati Favorites
  • TypePad Post
  • Ping
  • Hotmail
  • Gmail
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Bebo
  • Blogger Post
  • Share/Save/Bookmark

I’m not a Google advocate but they keep on churning out cool applications for us. I have been using Google’s Gmail and one important feature that I thought was missing is how to insert images into the body of an email when composing a message. Previously I tried copy and paste but it never worked. The feature is disabled by default so you will need to enable it first.

Here’s how:

1. Log in to your Gmail account.
2. On the top right corner click on Settings. You may notice that I’m not using the default colour scheme.

gmail1

3. Now select Labs

gmail2

4. You will see a list of “experimental” features that you can play around with.

5. Scroll down close to the bottom and you will see Inserting images. Enable this feature and click Save Changes.

gmail3

6. Now compose a new email and you will see the image icon as shown below.

gmail4

7. If you click on it, it gives you the option to add image from your computer or from a web address.

gmail5

It’s really that simple!

  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Twitter
  • Technotizie
  • Windows Live Spaces
  • Facebook
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • TechNet
  • Technorati Favorites
  • TypePad Post
  • Ping
  • Hotmail
  • Gmail
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Bebo
  • Blogger Post
  • Share/Save/Bookmark

Beijing is home to approximately 17 million people and just recently, Beijing’s vehicle population has exploded to 4 million units. It is fairly easy to navigate around Beijing as you can visualise the city as a dart board; with Tiananmen Square being the bull’s eye. With Google maps, you can now view real time traffic conditions in Beijing. Not that it really matters as the roads are pretty congested throughout the day and even worse on weekends. At present, depending on the last digit on a vehicle’s plate number, cars are not allowed to be driven within the 5th ring road for at least one day during weekdays.

Now let’s get back to the live traffic monitoring system on Google maps. On Tuesday, Dec 29 at around 3.50pm Beijing time, the traffic situation in the North-east side of Beijing seems to be smooth. The one shown in red is the 3rd ring road which gets congested pretty much the whole day.

gmaps-ne1

On the top right corner of your screen you can actually view the explanation of the diffrent colours – although the colour schemes are self explanatory.

gmaps-ne2

You can also view it using satellite view:

gmaps-ne3

It is pretty impressive on how Google is able to bring this technology to our desktops. What’s next Google?

  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Twitter
  • Technotizie
  • Windows Live Spaces
  • Facebook
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • TechNet
  • Technorati Favorites
  • TypePad Post
  • Ping
  • Hotmail
  • Gmail
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Bebo
  • Blogger Post
  • Share/Save/Bookmark

globe_web_mice

Information Technology (IT) is a critical part of the business process that can require technical competence beyond the scope of the current management. In this case, a third party should manage the IT function.

Here are some of the reasons why outsourcing is a better choice for managing the IT department, rather than maintaining IT internally:

Improved Cost Management Controls

  • IT costs become more visible as all billable hours must be accounted for
  • Outsourced services are utilized as needed, and organizations pay only for what services are actually used
  • An outsourced IT department can reduce costs by utilizing its extensive knowledge base of various IT specialists, as opposed to an organization maintaining a comprehensive in-house staff

Improved Service Quality

  • Outsourced companies make performance reports and measurements available to their clients
  • Communications between business functions improve at all levels and ensure that IT resources are not being misused
  • Outsourced companies can provide 24×7 support at a fraction of the cost
  • Outsource staff tend to drive planning and budgeting improvements
  • Service Level Agreements (SLAs) can be established

Staffing

  • Staffing levels can be adapted quickly to client requirements, thereby avoiding gaps due to attrition, business growth or economic downturns
  • IT consultants are fully trained on the latest technologies
  • Retention of technically qualified in-house personnel is more difficult when external job opportunities are rapidly changing
  • Continuous IT support coverage without having to rely on only one or two key people

Equipment and Software/Tools

  • Outsourced services use established standards for equipment and software requirements, saving time and money
  • Outsourced services use approved lists of reliable vendors, which improves the quality of goods and services received

Focusing on Core Business Competencies

  • Client management can concentrate on core competencies and revenue generating activities, while leaving technology management to IT professionals
  • Management of non-essential core functions is transferred to the outsourcer

 

source: http://www.unameits.com

  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Twitter
  • Technotizie
  • Windows Live Spaces
  • Facebook
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • TechNet
  • Technorati Favorites
  • TypePad Post
  • Ping
  • Hotmail
  • Gmail
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Bebo
  • Blogger Post
  • Share/Save/Bookmark

About this site

RichardKer.com is a China based IT Solutions Provider that specialises on Web 2.0 development using WordPress, technology consulting, technical support and other IT related solutions for small, medium and large enterprises.

Photostream