How to keep your pipes from freezing next winter

How To Keep Your Pipes from Freezing Next Winter

It is inevitable that pipes freeze in winter. However, the damage can vary. Sometimes it is merely an inconvenience of not being able to run water until it thaws, but other times there is extreme damage to the property caused by flooding. While it is the cold temperature that causes pipes to freeze, a combination of frigid temperatures with high winds allow the cold to penetrate the pipes even deeper.

Virtually any pipe can freeze, but the most susceptible are pipes in the garage, crawlspaces, those in exterior walls, and basements that are left unheated. Even though it is impossible to stop freezing temperatures, it is possible to prevent pipes from freezing. Begin by disconnecting all water hoses and accessories that are located outside of the house. The hose will hold water in and cause it to freeze as opposed to letting it drain before it reaches that point.

As an additional precaution, shut off the interior valves that control the outside faucets. To prevent damage to your garage, make sure all the doors and windows are closed as much as possible. You may even consider supplying heat to the garage to keep the temperature from dropping below freezing. Just make sure you choose a safe method to do this.

Many more measures can be taken to prevent pipes from freezing inside your home where the damage will be more detrimental. First, open cabinets that hide water pipes . This will allow heat to penetrate the pipe with greater ease. Next, during frigid weather when the chance for frozen pipes is highest, allow both hot and cold faucets to drip slightly.

The risk of freezing is decreased due to the movement of water. Call in a plumbing company to clean your drains. They will remove the buildup of debris that may be causing your pipes to run slow. Under normal conditions this can be an inconvenience, but it can turn disastrous when the temperature is below freezing.

Crawlspaces and attics are not to be ignored when it comes to freezing pipes. Just as with the garage, make sure all openings of the crawlspace are closed, and consider safe heat. Also, electric heat wrap can be applied to the pipes that are prone to becoming frozen. The same ideas can be applied to prevent pipes from freezing in the attic, raise the temperature, keep cold air out, and allow the water to move.

All these precautions apply to houses that are occupied and unoccupied. Do not leave your house unheated if you plan on traveling unless your home has been winterized by a professional. Also, do not over rely on insulation. While it does slow down heat loss, it does not produce heat. An insulated pipe can still freeze if heat is not added and the water does not move.

When winter weather is upon you, consider calling a plumber to inspect your pipes. This is especially important if you have an old house. It may take a professional to adapt some of the new methods to your old building that can prevent pipes from freezing. Make sure the water in your water heater is kept at an ideal temperature to prevent freezing in such conditions.

How secure is cloud computing

How Secure is Cloud Computing?

If you are an executive of a large company, one of your responsibilities is to make sure that all your employees are using the right software and hardware so they can do their jobs properly. It is not enough to buy just the hardware. You also need to buy software licenses so that your workers are equipped with all the proper tools. And when new employees come in, you have to make sure that the current software license lets the new user work. This task alone can be quite stressful. To make things easier, you must make use of cloud computing. But what exactly is cloud computing, and how can it help your company?

Cloud computing is a style of computing offered as a service over the internet that is often virtual and dynamically scalable. One of the most often used is email hosting. The best thing about it is that users are not required to learn the technological infrastructure that supports them. Cloud computing will take care of it all. Most applications cloud computing uses are business related such as an email server platform. Users can access them through a web browser. You may wonder why it is called cloud computing. Well, the term ‘cloud’ is actually used as a metaphor for the Internet and the idea is composed of a combination of platform, software, and infrastructure services. The actual software, however, are kept securely on the servers rather than on your computer.

The truth is you may have used some sort of cloud computing and may not even aware of it. You already have an experience with cloud computing if you have an email account with Hotmail, Yahoo mail, or Gmail — these are popular Web-based email services. What you do is to log-in to your email account remotely instead of running an email program on your PC. But is cloud computing really secure?

A lot of people admit that cloud computing is here to stay, and pretty soon millions and millions will be using it as well. Many companies are really worried about this due to the security concerns that come with jumping the firewall. Furthermore, how can you trust the cloud if you don’t even know where exactly your data is being stored? The worst thing that could happen is when its systems are down, you are down as well. And if you did not purchase all those servers to run the application, there would be no local systems for back up.

But others are saying that there is nothing to worry about because the security of data in cloud computing is quite the same as with the data security at a remote data center. This means that data at the majority of companies actually has higher security risks in their own environment compared to a well-managed cloud.

The best thing to do is to teach your team about cloud computing. To learn more about the security implications of cloud computing, you can go to Cloud Security and other trustworthy online resources. To ensure data privacy, make sure that you always know where your data is stored and who has access to it and who doesn’t.

How to conference call

How To Conference Call

Conference calling is one of the best business solutions to conduct a meeting over the telephone, in which more than three persons can participate to share some points. Or in other words, it is a means of communicating with more than one person simultaneously, without actually being physically present at a designated place. Conference calling offers mainly three modes for communication, i.e., audio, video, and web based conference calls. It is obvious that these conference calls eliminate a major cost for the companies, and therefore, are very much advantageous for the organizations. Some of the advantages offered by these conference calls are:

Cost Effective Process: Though the fee for availing the service varies with service providers, yet conference call is a much economical option to conduct a virtual meeting and to convey the message to the people concerned. Because in conducting a meeting with the conventional processes, a lot of travel expenses and hotel accommodation expenses are involved; whereas in case of conference calling, nothing of that sort is required.

Time saving process: It is as easy as thinking of talking to some persons and you can make a conference call immediately. Usually it is very good option for conferences that are called on very short notices. It also does not involve any loss of work and the message can be conveyed at a faster pace.

Helps in relation building: It is sometimes difficult for a business to conduct meetings for every segment of employees at regular intervals, which may lead to some misconceptions among employees and they may feel neglected. However, conference calling can eliminate such situations and helps in building good employer-employee relationship.

Simple and easily accessible: The service provider links the persons to be involved in a conference call and the persons do not need to have any special equipment for the same, as it simply linked with the ordinary phone or mobile phone. The person conducting a conference call is facilitated with a speaker, so that all persons involved must be heard at that point. The other persons can talk with the main conductor from their places.

Facilitate Data transfer: Audio conference calling is limited only to transfer instructions or views verbally; but via video conferencing, it is possible to transfer presentations or data to all the persons. With this service there will be no mistakes in sending and receiving instructions, as if there is any, one can clear it immediately and correct it.

Distance is not a problem: With the help of conference calling, the limitations of distance can be eliminated, as it can be used for talking to persons anywhere around the globe. That is why it is most commonly used by small as well as big business houses for communication purposes.

From the above advantages that conference calling provide, we can easily gauge the importance that they hold for any business model and organization setup—they are indispensable!

Is an executive virtual office right for you

Is An Executive Virtual Office Right For You?

The economy has not been kind to many businesses of late. An increasing number of business owners are finding out that a drastic slowdown in sales or clients means that being able to cover operation costs is becoming more and more difficult. An executive virtual office, though, is a financially–savvy cost to make when it comes to keeping such costs at a reasonable level. However, such an arrangement may not be perfect for every business.

Most of the time, the people who run extremely streamlined businesses such as those that are internet-based or single-employee consultancies are the ones who benefit most from using a virtual office space. This is because businesses like these are highly-reliant on the ability to cater at any time of day to customers or clients who are often in remote locations. These businesses have little or no requirement for large, permanent office spaces, being based mainly on a minimal number of highly-skilled employees.

Another aspect to consider about an executive virtual office is the frequency with which you will need its services. Such offices are usually used on a semi-regular basis, such as conference rooms to be used for monthly meetings or occasional seminars. As such, a virtual office may not be the best choice for a business that is built on daily face-to-face interaction between clients and staff.

If you’re considering switching business operations to a virtual location in order to save on rental costs, then you’re on the right track. A virtual office space is almost always available at a cheaper rate than a permanent office address. Additionally, signing up for such a service allows a business owner to enjoy the same facilities as that of an «actual» office. This means not having to sacrifice conveniences like phone answering services and a business address. As a matter of fact, features such as a respectable address, professional receptionists and efficient mail and fax management systems are all part and parcel of the virtual office. 

How to work with contractors to create great content

How To Work With Contractors To Create Great Content

Many Internet marketers use writers to create content for their websites. We are frequently asked for suggestions on working with contractors. Let’s take a look at some of the more common questions on the subject of hiring a writer.

How do I find the right person for the job?

When first looking for a writer, you might be tempted to go with the cheapest one just to save a few dollars but cost should not be your only concern — and never your first concern. This person is going to be writing as you and you should feel comfortable putting your name on the work they do. Here are some things to do to find the best fit for you.

— Request samples of their writing. This will give you a feel for how they approach different topics, the amount of time they put into making sure the content is informative and engaging to your readers, as well as if they have an understanding of the subject.

— Request references. Ask around your group of networking friends. Have they used the particular writer? Was the writer timely and did she ask questions for clarification? Was the client happy with the outcome of the content? Did the writer need to tweak the article more than normal?

— Test their work. Give the writer a small assignment so you can see how she works. Does she take constructive criticism well? Does she make certain she understands the assignment before beginning by asking questions? Does she need hand holding throughout the entire process or do she complete the project with very little direction?

What about payment?

How payment to the contractor is handled will be something the two of you should discuss up front, before any work is passed back and forth. You should find out the following from the contractor regarding payment:

— What are her rates? Do she charge by the hour, per page, per word, etc?

— Does she offer discounts for on-going work or client referrals? Many writers will offer this. Keep this in mind for future projects.

— When do they invoice clients? Do they bill once the project is complete, weekly, or monthly? What are your payment terms?

— Is a deposit required? If so, how much do you need to initially put down? Although paying a deposit is ok, never pay 100% upfront. We like to think the majority of contractors are honest and ethical, but there is always a possibility a contractor will accept payment in full and then never complete the work. Give your writer an incentive for completion; payment or remainder of amount due.

— Will you be paying them via paypal, check, or some other method? Paypal is pretty standard in today’s virtual world, but not everyone does it this way, so be sure to double check. If you want an alternate payment method, be sure to ask about that.

How do I assure I keep a contractor that does a good job?

When you find a writer that fits well with you and your business, you had better keep them. Some tips for keeping them include:

— Give her continual work. Don’t just throw her a task or two a month, when you need something and expect her to stick around forever. She can and will move on to bigger and better projects if she doesn’t have on-going work from you.

— Be patient during the learning curve. Working with someone new always has a learning curve. Your writer needs feedback and patience while she learns your writing style and preferences.

— Pay her on time, every time. Swift payment makes a writer want to work with you more because she knows she doesn’t have to worry about whether she will receive her money or not.

— Allow them to correct any mistakes they make…don’t just fix it for them. Your writer can’t learn what you want if you don’t let her know.

Once you find someone that works well, using a contractor to create content for your business is a wonderful thing. Be patient during the learning curve that comes with working with someone else and if you find it’s just not working out, don’t sweat it. Let her go and move on.