Saturday, January 22, 2011

External Tape Drives

Backing up valuable information is a very important part of running a business or a group successfully. Depending on the type of business being run, it may even be a requirement by law... hence the external tape drive.

As more time passes, it is becoming smarter to save records of all the transactions and paperwork which go through the system in order to have protection against any discrepancies which may arise in the future. The question remains, which is the best way to save these records.

There are two main schools of thought when it comes to the best preservation methods. Most people are more familiar with the use of disc space to record and store all of their records. What many people don't realize, however, is that the use of magnetic tape outweighs disc space by far.

Magnetic tape costs nearly 25 times less to record the same amount of information as it would cost on hard disc space. It also has the ability to last for over 30 years, making its shelf life incredibly valuable. The only issue comes in the form of the fact that most computer systems normally do not come with magnetic tape decks.

This means that if someone wanted to use magnetic tape to backup all of their documents, they would need to install a tape drive into their system. Thankfully, an external tape drive is available, making the use of one of these systems incredibly easy for any user.

By installing an external tape drive, one simply needs to hook the unit up to the computer and run some software to make the unit compatible.

Sticking a blank magnetic tape into the external tape drive makes it then available for the unit to record and store the data necessary, with only a minimal amount of work on the part of the computer user. These external tape drives can be a lifesaver when it comes to the storage of all of the important data.

External tape drives will often end up saving the company a great deal of money as well, when compared to saving the equivalent amount of data on discs. The cheapest of these drives can be found for a little over $100, while some of the more quality, top-end brands can go all the way up to $900.

Whichever external tape drive is purchased, however, the company will quickly begin to save money. The tapes which are required to store the information are much cheaper and will hold much more than the disc space that could be required. In this manner, it will not take long for the company to make up the difference they would have been spending on all of the disc space and begin to save money, therefore killing two birds with one stone, with the external tape drives!

Two Monitors

People are starting to really appreciate just how many things you can do today on your home computer these days. From incredibly realistic video games, to chatting with people from around the world, to even creating your own websites, there is literally no end to what you can to with today's personal computer. You are truly only limited by your imagination.

Lately, more and more people are starting to uncover some real uses for having an extra monitor. Up until a few years ago, only hard core computer programmers and web designers were using multiple screens. But now, more and more of your average computer user is finding plenty of uses for having one. If you are considering one, then this article is for you. By the time you finish reading this, you'll have plenty of reasons to go out and get one.

Naturally, the biggest advantage to having an extra monitor is that you'll have at least double your desktop space. That means that instead of having to toggle between programs, and try to remember what you had where, you can simply have them all open on either screen. That way you'll be much more efficient, as you have to keep maximizing, minimizing, and trying to fit everything on your small, one screen desktop.

One specific example is watching videos. If you like to watch videos while working on other things, then having an extra monitor would be perfect. Just take the video, or play list of videos you'd like to watch, and open them in a separate window. Then move that window over to your other screen, and maximize it. Now you have a full screen video playing on one monitor, while you are doing whatever else you need to do on your main screen.

Another great use of having an extra monitor is video conferencing. If you are talking to somebody about something relatively important, like work for example, you can have a document open on one monitor with all the important information, and have the actual video conference window open in full screen mode on the other monitor. This will make you much more efficient, and much more productive.If you do any work from home, or telecommuting, then this is essential.

Building websites is another task that easily lends itself to using two, or even three monitors. Whether you build websites for fun, for profit, or as a full blown business, this can dramatically help you save time. Simply have the website building software open in your main screen, and have the finished version of your web page open on the other monitor. Even if you are making small changes to a WordPress blog, this can save you a lot of time, as you won't have to toggle between screens.

Naturally, these simple ideas for using an additional monitor are just the tip of the iceberg. Now that you've got this idea in your mind, you'll start coming up with plenty once you start thinking of the possibilities. And after you start using another monitor, you'll wonder how you managed to get by with only one.

Custom Barcode Labels

As all businesses will know there are times when custom barcode labels will be needed for various purposes. While there are many products on sale in stores throughout the world that have their own barcodes printed onto them by the manufacturers, there are some that do not. In fact in small independent stores and distribution centers the need for custom barcode labels is usually quite high.

Barcodes are now used in many different industries from retail all the way through to government offices and as a result there is a need for printers that can produce custom-made barcode labels. These labels contain information relating to the specifics of the item or product that it will be placed on - for example a patient's details on doctors notes or tracking details on a parcel that is being sent from one country to another. With this in mind it is easy to see why pre-printed barcodes are no use in these kinds of situations and that is where custom labels with their own individual barcodes on them are needed.

In order to create custom barcode labels any company or organization will have to purchase their own barcode printer that will put the barcode of their choice on labels whenever they need to. The information that is contained in these barcodes can be quickly imported by the person who is operating the printer and this can then be printed directly onto the label in just a few moments.

When this label with a barcode on it is scanned the information that is contained within it will be shown on the scanning screen.
Thankfully there are many different printers that can be purchased that will enable anyone to create their own labels with barcodes on them. There are some that are ideal for use in a professional environment such as an office or a hospital and others that have a more industrial purpose, for example for creating labels for use in warehouses and so on. It is vital that the right type of label printer is purchased so that the labels with barcodes that it creates are the right type and style for the item they will be adhered to.

As with any type of printer there are printers that will produce barcode labels for pretty much every purpose and budget. While you need to be aware that these are not printers that can be found incredibly cheaply, there are places where you can find them at a reasonable discount which will suit you and your price range. If you are looking for a heavy duty printer that is capable of producing thousands of barcode labels on a daily basis you will need to look towards something that is at the top end of the market and is incredibly durable and will last. However if you are only going to printing out barcodes every few days you can afford to look for a cheaper model that will be just as suitable for your own particular needs.