Phono preamp investments bringing music to the ears of vinyl lovers

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Everyone is aware that our music-listening conventions have changed quite dramatically in the space of two generations or less: while today’s hits are increasingly downloaded and saved digitally, all but the very youthful among us recollect CDs and cassettes emerging as the musical format that promised to supersede the record. However, quite unusually for the domain of technological progress, older manners of listening to music have been gradually creeping back into fashion and coexisting with the new. Of course, for those who remained faithful to vinyl even at the dawn of the CD and later the download, the reaffirmed popularity of records will seem late emerging. Indeed, vinyl addicts stand proud of their beautiful retro collections while many of us who were instantly swayed by the easy transportability of CD and Mp3 files now lament not investing in the sizeable vinyl formats whose extraordinary album art and sheer tactility and warm audio represent more enduring pleasures. And, although such converts have been pleased by the recent reappearance of records for purchase online and in music stores, just one problem remains: how to listen to vinyl through modern speakers ill-adapted to the turntable’s needs? The answer lies in the phono stage, also known as a phono preamp or a phono amp.

The reason for investing in a phono stage is quite straightforward to understand: vinyl, as played on a turntable, requires amplification one step further than the digital files and compact discs most modern speakers have been designed to play. Without the phono stage, those of us who have only recently converted to record buying will feel deceived by our initially exciting yet ultimately nigh on inaudible acquisitions. In sum, the phono stage (or phono preamp or phono amp if you prefer) is fundamental to anyone enthused by vinyl for its sound quality rather than its status as a decorative object. And presumably most of us fall into the former camp!

What remains to be considered is the level of investment one is prepared to make in what is essentially a luxury pursuit: with music so readily accessible on our computers, listening to vinyl is a contrastingly slow activity to be savoured and one that can transform private moments of relaxation or low-key soirées with friends into memorable events. With this potential in mind it is advisable to seek the best phono stage you can budget for: other phono amps and phono preamp products just won’t provide the quality that everyone’s ears deserve.

Please visit http://www.whestaudio.co.uk/

BACS Software from Bottomline Technologies: new applications for a winning transfer formula

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“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” – So says Leo Colston, the protagonist of L.P. Hartley’s famous book The Go Between. Certainly this is true of the worlds of business and computing when we look back to 1968 from the vantage point of the present day. Despite the inroads into the popular imagination made by programmes like Mad Men, the common impression one has of business life in the 1960s is of a rather sleepier, simpler era: the image of gentlemen in stuffy suits executing business deals in a formalistic and gentlemanly manner, their days punctuated by long and well-lubricated lunches. This world, in which old boys’ networks rather than social networking sites were the order of the day; when computers were frequently bigger than the plant machinery they counted or ran; when ‘bugs’ in computers more often than not were actual beasts burrowing in the works – seems to be separated from the ruthless, iconoclastic, fast-paced and carnivorous world of post-1980s economic life by a whole lot more than 46 years.Â

But one thing has remained unchanged in those 46 years: BACS payments. Invented in 1968 by Dennis Gladwell of the Joint Stock Banks Clearing Committee, BACS began life as the Inter-Bank Computer Bureau, it cut out the time-consuming and long-winded system of paper-based transfers between banks. Today, thanks to constantly-improving BACS software, BACS is continuing to cut down on paper usage, and make payments more reliable and rapid, for thousands of organisations around the world. Since 2005 the clearing-house has been moved from a telephone-based system to BACSTEL-IP servers, and BACS has really come into its own as an online service, making for even swifter transfers.Â

Even though some other services are challenging for its spot as the world’s premier payment transfer service, over 5 billion BACS payments are made every year, and while some competitors may claim to have faster systems than the BACS software, the majority of all the employees in the UK still receive their wages via BACS.

The continued dominance of this banking behemoth means that the BACS-accredited training schemes offered by Bottomline’s dedicated educators, who know the BACS system inside and out, are of irreplaceable value for businesses – and the same goes for the BACS and Faster Payments software which Bottomline services have developed. When it comes to the leading worldwide payments system, Bottomline Technologies lead the way in BACS software.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Graduate jobs are worth the time and work

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There are many reasons to go to university. It’s a time to experience life away from home, to broaden your horizons and meet new people, as well as to gain additional education. But the purpose at the end of all that is to access the graduate jobs market. Given the debts that are now associated with three or more years at university, that factor will be uppermost in the minds of many matriculating or graduating now. But going right into a job isn’t the only way to move on after uni. A graduate scheme is another option, as is an internship. (In fact, internships are available while you are at uni, in the holidays, sometimes for terms of up to three months in the summer or for a few weeks at other times. These can be a great way to experience life in the workplace and get to know a particular company. With such a tough jobs market, you would be right to take any opportunity you can get along those lines.)

Research out recently suggested that the average student could soon be building up debts of around £50,000 over the course of a three year degree. That figure is disputed, with others calculating it will be nearer £40,000, but either way, that’s a huge amount of money to have to pay back when you leave. However, this is a different kind of debt to other loans like a mortgage. The tuition component is quite low interest, and only has to be repaid after you pass a certain threshold of earnings. You also have to remember that the average graduate will earn an additional £100,000-plus over the course of their working lifetime, above and beyond the debt their studies involved.

Nevertheless, £40-50,000 is a huge amount of money – more if you are considering a longer course, such as for engineering, which frequently involves a ‘sandwich’ year in industry. With that in mind, you should do everything you can to prepare you for accessing graduate jobs. A graduate scheme will introduce you to a company and lead you into their organisation, but these are currently in short supply. Another option is an internship (after uni, this time). These are often low-paid or expenses-only but are a foot in the door in many cases. Whilst you won’t want to be building up more debts, if the internship leads to a proper job at the end of the term, then it will have been worth it.

Please visit http://www.careerplayer.com/ or more

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Video conferencing and its benefits

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video conferencing comes in many guises, from the simple – though still effective – to the extremely sophisticated and expensive. Telepresence video conferencing is the most high-end of the options available. The idea here is that the other person or people in on the call should seem like they are actually in the room with you. That means they employ the highest quality sound and vision communication, depending on high bandwidth connections for the significant amount of data that needs to be transmitted reliably for such high resolution and fidelity reproduction at the other end. That involves specialist equipment and, as such, has an associated price tag. For that reason, it is most frequently employed by big businesses that can both afford the costs and require the best audio visual conferencing that technology can offer. At the other end of the scale there is the simplest camera and microphone set-up, which is cheap enough to be built into many new computers – even netbooks, which might cost only £200-£300. Powered by Skype or other similar software, these are used by millions of people to make cheap or free video calls across the world with only a broadband connection.

There are many advantages to all forms of video conferencing. Cost is one, and is the reason that so many people use Skype. Why pay for a costly international call when you can get one for free online? Throw in the video images as well and you have all the reasons you need. For companies, this cost factor is multiplied when you consider the expense of getting people together for a meeting – especially if they are coming from different countries. This also takes time, and generally you will be spending far longer travelling than in the meeting itself – an inefficient use of time. There are also environmental advantages, since travel is carbon-intensive. That makes a difference in an age where carbon footprint is quantified and incorporated into a company’s results and public image.

Video conferencing will usually pay for itself in a pretty short time. Naturally, there are limits even to the best technology and there is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting. But the benefits are such that every business with any kind of geographic spread – even across a few miles – should consider some form of audio visual conferencing. Whether that’s at the lower end of the spectrum or one of the cutting-edge telepresence video conferencing set-ups will depend on the needs of your firm.

Please visit http://www.edgevision.co.uk/

Powerpoint presentations that shine

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powerpoint presentations have long been a double-edged sword. Good sales presentations using decent Powerpoint design can be a massive asset to a company. A poor presentation, put together by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing, can be a liability.

One of the problems with Powerpoint, as well as its advantage, is that it is so easy to use. Without any training, someone with basic computer literacy can cobble together a slideshow without too much trouble. It’s extremely powerful, allowing you to embed all kinds of different graphics, movies, audio and other effects. So much is built in that a speaker hoping to make a good impression can really go to town, incorporating as many as possible of its capabilities.

This, however, is often a serious mistake. Powerpoint design is a fairly subtle art. Like any audio-visual medium, doing it well is difficult. Just because you can put together a flier with desktop publishing software, or a home movie with a video camera, doesn’t mean that the outcome will convince the audience.

Worse, Powerpoint is so ubiquitous in the business world that there is often the expectation that it will be used – both on the part of the audience and the speaker. That means that presentations can be thrown together simply to fulfil that expectation. Whilst well-designed powerpoint presentations can add a whole new dimension to a speech, giving complementary information and appealing to listeners for whom the spoken word isn’t a natural medium, a poor presentation will switch people off. Put another way, not having a Powerpoint presentation is better than having a bad one. This can hamstring otherwise competent speakers, because they find that the slideshow actually detracts from what they are saying. This is never more the case when it simply duplicates the material verbatim – a mistake that is all too common.

The purpose of sales presentations is to close a deal. Good Powerpoint design can help you with this; bad Powerpoint design can end up losing you the bid. If you are in any doubt, compare a few successful presentations – yours or other companies’ – with ones that haven’t gone so well. What has been the difference? Where Powerpoint adds to clear and effective communication, it is an asset. Where is makes things more complicated and distracting, it’s best left out. The trick is finding out how to do it right, every time.

Please visit http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/

Brise soleil: their functions and importance

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Every budding architect or builder should be familiar with certain key terms, and anybody who wants his or her designs to be amongst the top buildings of today certainly needs to know his brise-soleil from his glass louvres.  One need not be confused by the sophisticatedly confusing sounding French names – these structures are really fairly simple, and as soon as you get your head around them they are likely to be extremely useful.  This article aims to give a succinct explanation of these important architectural terms, so that next time external louvres come up in conversation with a builder or architect, you will know what they mean.

The term ‘brise soleil’ is from the French, meaning ‘sun breaker’.  The term refers to a variety of permanent sun-shading techniques, and the beauty of the technique is the range of architectural strategies that come under this umbrella.  They span from basic patterned walls to the stunning mechanical, pattern-creating devices of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.  In its classic form, this sun breaker exists as a horizontal projection extending from the sun-side façade of a building.  Façades with a large amount of glass can be in danger of overheating during the summer, and installing a brise-soleil is a very effective way of stopping this from happening.  The structure can be further adapted by incorporating louvres, which prevent high-angle summer sun falling on the façade, and allow low angle winter sun to provide passive solar heating.

Glass is one of the most useful and multifunctional building products there is.  It can be used fora variety of purposes, from creating striking glass façades to elegant internal screen solutions.  Glass louvres are used to control solar heat gain within buildings, and have traditionally been tinted to create the desired effect.  More elaborate finishes are available, too.  Ceramic frits, for example, involve baking a type of paint onto the glass.  These type of finishes create a more adventurous appearance while reflecting the sun’s heat and helping to maintain a comfortable interior temperature.  Currently, glass louvres are taking on a more active role in buildings than ever before, with light redirection and photovoltaic systems allowing for various different functions.  These louvres can offer building owners and specifiers realistic solutions in terms of creating environmentally friendly buildings by reducing the need for air conditioning while providing renewable energy sources as well as shading.

Basic external louvres, on the other hand, are usually mounted in the vertical, with a row of horizontal blades shaped and positioned to minimise the ingress of water.  With relatively simple functions such as providing shade from the sun, brise-soleil, glass louvres and the like should not provoke confusion.  Once you know what they are and how they work, it should be fairly easy to assess which solution would be right for your project.

Please visit http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Document processing from a reliable technology provider

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With so much being free in today’s online community, many web users forget to appreciate safe payment systems when they do end up investing in goods or services using their computers. These customers will quite rightly be very dissatisfied as soon as they experience headaches where transactions made over the internet are concerned though, and this is why all businesses operating online in a financially interested capacity will need to be especially vigilant when thinking about the systems they are going to put in place to ease relations between themselves and their clients. Evidently, it is not only cash that will be changing hands in these kinds of relationships; a smooth exchange of data will be just as important to manage. This is why corporations, financial institutions and banks around the world look to specialist companies to help them meet their document management and document processing requirements: ultimately, keeping up good practice in document use will be as crucial to the success of a company as efficient invoice processing.

Those in a position to decide on the way in which their company will deal with their data and payment obligations will be faced with several options where technology providers are concerned. The decision of which provider to use will carry with it a notable weight of responsibility, and should not therefore be taken too hastily. The kinds of things these decision-makers should think about will consist of evaluating the cost, reputation, and ethics of the company whose services such as document management will to an extent determine their own institution’s profile.

The decision-maker confronted should ask him or herself a few questions then, such as: is the technology provider I’m researching used by other well-established and highly regarded corporations? Does the technology provider assist my company in the calculation of its environmental savings? Am I able to read approving reviews of the technology provider I have in mind from reputable sources? If the answer is yes to these kinds of questions, the chances are that data and financial transactions will be safe in the hands of a given technology provider.

Follow in the footsteps of other UK businesses and multinationals such as TDG and Avnet then, by using document processing along with document management systems to seamlessly combine online and paper orders. Those in search of leading payments and invoice processing solutions will not regret choosing an award-winning payments technologies provider allowing them to keep their customers satisfied.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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You can find social worker jobs in several ways

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You can find social work jobs in a number of ways. Naturally, in the internet age the best way to locate the right social services jobs is to log on to a dedicated job site and see what there is on the books. This tends to be a more valid method than trying more general services, whether on the internet or in the ‘real’ world. The job centre want to find you a job, but they don’t hugely care what it is; in addition, just because they are a general job organisation, they may not have access to the sorts of jobs that you want. Similarly, you may not find the social worker jobs you’re after with a general web-based service – it may simply be that the employers you want to know about just aren’t advertising with them, because they know they will get a vast number of unsuitable applicants. A better solution for everyone involved – you, the employer, and the job agency itself – is to tailor the service to the right kind of job and jobseeker.

If you click to the right website, you’re assured that they will only be offering the kinds of jobs you need – and the employer knows that there’s a far better chance that any applicant will be good for the job. A decent job service dedicated to social work jobs will enable you to search by vacancy and location, meaning that you receive information about only the most relevant jobs in your area. This is key, since you don’t want to be losing any more time that you have to. Job hunting can be a tough business. If you are searching from within another job, you won’t want to spend any more time on it than necessary. If you are unemployed, that comes with challenges of its own. Either way, slimming down the options to the most viable ones is a valuable exercise.

But that relies on the right social work jobs being advertised, and you accessing them. There is another way, and that is to post your CV online and let the employers find you. Of course, there’s no sense just dumping a CV and sitting back, expecting the job offers to come flooding in. But it’s another strand to your search for social services jobs, and one that may give you a head start against some of the competition. If you’re serious about securing one of the best social worker jobs, then surely this is worth some consideration.

Please visit http://www.socialworkandcarejobs.com/ for further information about this topic.

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Duplicate payments are potentially a source of waste

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Accounts can be a complex process, which in terms of the bottom line means they can be a costly business. There aren’t many firms that don’t have some kind of mistake in their books at the end of the year. That can have different consequences, some of them major. On the one hand, it might just mean the figures don’t quite add up, little more than a frustration to an accountant somewhere. On the other, it could result in a substantial loss of cash for your organisation, or a problem with the Inland Revenue. An accounts payable audit can help you smoothe out many of the glitches in your accounts, enabling you to locate issues such as duplicate payments and other types of overpayment. This is all possible using specialist recovery audit software, which checks your accounts and finds sources of mistakes. The results can be shocking, particularly for larger organisations, and can represent a significant saving. In fact, the software could easily pay for itself the first time you use it.

Audit software is versatile enough to check for not only problems that happen due to negligence or accident – simple human error – but also more sinister cases, such as fraud, when a client deliberately overcharges you or keeps funds that you have paid by mistake. (In fact, the Inland Revenue uses this kind of software to check returns, using the information to identify possible occurrences of fraud.) That’s important, because if your client list is long or complicated, there may well be opportunities to exploit that, costing you even more money. Running the software will flag up suspicious entries, enabling you to regain funds that you never should have paid in the first place. That’s got to be a good thing in difficult times, when every little extra could mean the difference between balancing the books and wondering about ‘efficiencies’ – usually meaning layoffs – or even worse.

If you’re in need of convincing, start with the (not unreasonable) principle that errors could account for 1 percent of turnover, perhaps more. What does that equal in cash terms, and is it worth pursuing – apart from any other concerns such as tax returns and catching fraudsters? For most companies, the answer will be a clear ‘yes’ – recovery audit software is inherently worthwhile. duplicate payments and other overpayments can be hugely and unnecessarily expensive, so an accounts payable audit is often highly illuminating.

Please visit http://www.fiscaltechnologies.com/ for further information about this topic.

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Kickboxing London -€“ the basics

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Many people know something about kickboxing, and think of it as something they might be interested in getting involved in, but don’t quite know where to begin.  There are several clubs and leisure centres which offer kickboxing London, but the variety of styles and approaches can be quite confusing for the new kickboxer. Finding a kickboxing club should not be too much of a headache, though, as long as you have some idea if what you are looking for.

One form of kickboxing is Zen-Do, which translated from the Japanese means ‘all paths’ and originates from the traditional Karate style of Wado-Ryu and Mu-Gen-Do fighting system.  Sensei Hironori Ohtsuka created the Japanese martial art of Wado-Ryu Karate in 1934, after studying another form of karate called Kiu-jitsu.  The full name of this style means ‘way of peace’, which suggests that the intention was to use it as a means of solving issues in a non-violent way.  Karate-Do means ‘way of the empty hand’, as karate is always done without the use of weapons.

Karate took off in England in the 1970s, when the first group of instructors pioneered Wado-Ryu karate in the UK.  Meiji Suzuki came here  to teach at the Tonbridge Club in London’s King’s Cross. Whilst he was here he decided to expand his martial arts knowledge by going beyond  the strict training system he was accustomed to.  He travelled to Yugoslavia and trained with the national team coach there, who was an expert in kick-boxing.  He then created  a system called ‘the unlimited way’, so called because it remains open to new ideas and techniques.  The focus of this style of fighting is seeking the most appropriate and correct answer to the problem of a fight.  If a participant loses, he will think about his mind, body and technique in order to work out what might have gone wrong.  As Zen-Do is not bound by tradition, like some martial arts, it is constantly evolving.  Another reason for its popularity is that it is not just physical in nature, but it represents the development of the mind, body and spirit in a continuous cycle.

If you are looking for a kickboxing club in London and are interested in a form of kickboxing that allows for some creativity and expression of individuality, then it well well be that Zen-Do is for you.  But if you think you might be better suited to a more rigid discipline, the current kickboxing London scene is sophisticated enough that there will certainly be a club out there to suit your demands.

Please visit http://www.zendokickboxing.com/ for further information about this topic.

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