The Lady Programmer

I find more Filipinos who like to get part time jobs than those who decide to venture into full-time freelancing. I’ve also heard from some forums that there are a few who decided to quit their jobs and find work opportunities at freelance sites. I admit that there are times that I get a good pay from doing various online jobs. Blog writing keeps me alive right now and pays my bills, but I am still interested in taking programming or web design jobs for better paying opportunities.

Not Everyone Can Make Money Online

Not all can be successful, but getting online opportunities is often worth trying. The payouts can be huge if clients like what you do. Repeat clients often give stable income that can last, so these are often worth keeping. But it is important to keep one’s nose up for new opportunities and new trends, because the internet world is a fast-changing world: what is hot right now may be obsolete the next day.

The Internet is a Big Treasure Waiting to Be Mined

There are plenty of opportunities online and much had been written about it. Too bad many others generally write off internet money-making opportunities as scams. One needs to learn how to discern internet scams from real ones. Isn’t it a fact that the real world is also full of scam opportunities where many people fall prey to?

Freelance work is a lot similar to holding a leadership position in a department. All resources had to be weighed in. Resources could be in the form of time, money, people, skills and equipment. Just like the manager who needs to know each and every resource, the freelancer should be able to manage all the above resources well. This even includes working with other freelancers and even hiring people to accomplish a part of the job.

photo credit: matejc (SXC)

Time
I find time as my most precious resource in freelancing. Once wasted, I could not get it back anymore. Taking care to manage tasks in a timely manner is very important thing to me. Wasting time means more lost opportunities, so learning skills in project management particularly in scheduling is a very crucial.


Skills
One’s innate skills often brings people to opportunities that they are selected to do. College students pursue further studies and training to be well-equipped to jobs that require in-depth skills. Fresh graduates often need further training in the company that they will be working for after they are hired. Business skills are also essential. Some people are born with the knack of earning income and knowing market demands for such product. But these skills can also be learned.

Money
This is another important resource that is easily depleted if one is not careful in tracking expenses. To many this can be in the form of compensation. But money lost can be regained – with the right attitude and skills as well as making use of time the right way. Money is also important because it can multiply work like hiring someone to do a part of the job. Money can be used to invest in equipment and supplies that are needed in freelance work to improve productivity.

Equipment
The right equipment is another important resource in the freelance job. A freelancer opt to have outdated equipment but can still do the job, or be better equipped to produce quality goods. Investing in this resource is important for improving productivity.

People
The freelancer does not need to work alone in doing freelance jobs. Some jobs will require another person to do it. It pays to hire another freelancer to finish part of the project. It also pays to hire another person to do time-consuming tasks that contribute less to productivity. Working alone can really be a burnout, so outsourcing some tasks is also an option for the freelancer.

Are there even beings that are more knowledgeable and better than we are? Were these aliens able to discover us first? Are these alien beings interested in studying our behavior? Have you ever thought the possibility of these aliens dominating the world?

The worst thing to happen is to learn that there are other life forms who want to conquer our world and exploit our resources. Hostile alien takeovers could leave nothing for humanity. Most of the time we are wrapped up with our personal ambitions and wants. There are only a few others who are able to leave a lasting legacy on mankind. Have you been given a thought on what legacy that you want to leave before we all get perished?

I am not instilling fear from unknown things. I just want to lead you to one way of leaving a mark. Operation Immortality just allowed me to “send a message to the universe”. The site is reaching out to as many users as they can before they get out the posted message into the space in October. I was able to post out this message and I am hoping the universe would see this:

Immense technological improvements provide better life for humans. But technology results to adverse effects that destroys nature and kills men.

My message made it at message ID 575, if you like to check it out on the website. I just got it out because I love technology and I love nature too. Leave your message now before it’s too late. All you have to do is to follow the link I had provided below:
Operation Immortality: Leave your mark. Save Humanity.

I’ve seen a question that is recently raised by someone who likes to venture into blogging. Just like that guy I was also at a loss at which platform to use for blogging. Blogger and WordPress are popular platforms, but some even go to the point of paying more.

I’ve used both platforms for each of my blogs for several months now. This blog is done using Blogger and my other blog is hosted with WordPress.com. Don’t confuse WordPress blogs because there are two types of WordPress blogs – the first one can be hosted with WordPress.com and the other one can be downloaded free from WordPress.org for self-hosted WordPress platforms.

As a serious blogger, I still go for the hosted one. I wish I had enough money to invest into my own hosting. Spending for the domain is cheaper, but owning a host will require me to spend serious money for a good host and support even for just a year.

photo credit: konr4d (SXC)

Before plunging cash into self-hosted blogs, try out free blogging platforms first. Blogger and WordPress are the most popular ones used, but both have its set of advantages and disadvantages. There are also other blogs that are hosted with Typepad, and those blogs that come with MySpace. I will just focus my sites on two platforms that I’ve used: Blogger and WordPress. I’m trying to spell out the differences below:

Blogger: Advantages

• Allows the use of JavaScript widgets. I love Blogger because of its ability to accept JavaScript codes. Google Adsense, Adbrite, Alexa traffic ranking, sitemeter, Entrecard as well as some BlogCatalog and MyBloglog are some widgets that can be installed easily with Blogger blogs.
• Allows full control over the blogger template. This is also what I like about blogger. I could easily put in Javascripts directly into the XML template of my Blogger blog. I could change the design look of my blog or upload custom designs from other websites.
• Paid posts are accepted. I have no problems putting up paid posts and being penalized by Blogger. Majority of my paid posts have that “nofollow” code, so I was able to get some page rank from Google.

Blogger: Disadvantages

• No “recent posts” and “best posts” widgets. “Recent posts” and “best posts” is a good way to turn first-time visitors into all-time readers and visitors. I do not rely on the list of Blog Archive to keep visitors clicking on my blog.
• No “related posts” widget below the post. Related posts also retain readers so that blog visitors keep clicking more. 
• Comment editing is not enabled. I still like to have better control over comments. I am not able to edit comments in Blogger; some commenters leave out ads in the comment section. Instead of deleting the undesirable comment, sometimes editing is better. 
• Renaming post filenames is not possible. Renaming post filenames contributes to Google search engine results. 

Blogger: Recommendation
I would use Blogger if I want to run Entrecard and Alexa to improve my traffic. If I prefer to earn residual income from Google Adsense and other ad networks, then Blogger is the best route to go. Additional widgets for installing “recent posts”, “best posts” and “related posts” can be provided from third-party bloggers, but I think one needs the technical know-how to install such widgets successfully.

WordPress blog hosted on WordPress.com: Advantages

• Top posts, top clicks and recent posts are readily available. This keeps readers reading more entries in my blog, not just the first post that they had landed on. At least this keep my previous posts very useful and are not left deep into the archives.
• Spam comments are protected by Akismet. WordPress.com hosted blogs are protected by Akismet so that those comments that are flagged as spam by other users are automatically queued to the spam section.
• Access to WordPress.com traffic. I’ve successfully got some traffic from other WordPress.com blogs as long as you put some tags in your posts. WordPress.com bloggers often visit neighborhood blogs with the use of tags, to see what’s being discussed on other blogs. I also get commenters this way.
• Renaming blog posts is possible, so these can be optimized into improving Google search engine results.

WordPress blog hosted on WordPress.com: Disadvantages

• Blog layout cannot easily be changed. I’ve wanted badly to change the blog layout to something that is not included in their default layout. One has to pay a bit more to change the CSS styles.
• Paid posts are not allowed in WordPress.com. It violates their Term of Service.
• JavaScript widgets are not allowed. You cannot use it with Entrecard and Alexa widgets to improve site traffic ranking. Google Adsense, Chitika and Adbrite ads are not also allowed.

WordPress blog hosted on WordPress.com: Recommendation
I think personal blogs fit perfectly into this category because of the Terms of Service that WordPress.com imposes on its users. However, anyone who plans to have a blog without any sponsored posts should find WordPress.com a perfect match at no cost.

Self-hosted WordPress Blog: Advantages

• Full flexibility over change in blog layout. Self-hosted WordPress blogs are a sure way to go for full control in the blog layout. The flexibility is even better than that provided by Blogger blogs.
• Paid posts are allowed. Unlike those that are hosted in WordPress.com paid posts are permitted.
• JavaScript widgets are fully supported. There is no limit to which JavaScript widgets can be placed on the blog.
• Better widgets. Self-hosted WordPress blogs come with the “top posts”, “top clicks” and “related posts” widgets.
• Posts can be renamed. Choosing the right words to name a post is crucial to Google search engine results.

Self-hosted WordPress Blog: Disadvantages

• Self-hosted blogs cost quite a great deal of money to get a hosting package. Self-hosted WordPress blogs always require the technical know-how. Full-time bloggers often go to this route, but they often had to learn the technicalities involved in putting up a blog. If one decides not to bother with the technicalities, the blogger has to pay for someone to do the maintenance for him.
• Prone to spam. Unlike blogs that are hosted with WordPress.com, self-hosted WordPress blogs do not come with spam filtering capabilities such as the one that is provided with Akismet. Installing also requires technical know-how or hiring someone to do the job.

Self-hosted WordPress Blog: Recommendation
These blogs are the true nirvana of blogging. It combines the best of both Blogger and hosted WordPress.com blogs. But this is worth spending so this is a better fit for true-blue professional freelance bloggers.

I encounter occasional computer slowdowns. I’m quite fortunate that I get one problem after the next, but I still have great hope that there will come a period when I am left with no problems to solve – for a break.

Of course, troubleshooting computer problems is a task that I should do. I’m a technical person, being previously in the field of maintenance engineering and IT software development. I work around with computers and I do not mind getting my hands dirty on fiddling with the insides of my own computer.

Part of the maintaining my computer is making sure that it runs well. I do a lot of tweaking and optimizing just to squeeze out more power from it. I’ve seen so many notebook computers whose desktops run using the default driver and do not perform up to the expected functions that are provided with the drivers. Technicians at computer repair shops always say that the default settings are fine for them. I do not agree with this. Technicians are more concerned in building up a PC and keep it functioning – they think that this is enough to make computer users happy.

photo credit: sue_r_b (SXC)

I’ve got something to say for PC users who prefer to get more power from their PC without getting through the hassle of an upgrade:

1. Install the latest drivers provided by each hardware manufacturer. I would recommend this highly if you got a fast internet connection. Even if Windows (or other OS) installs a default driver for your motherboard and other add-in cards, most special functions and optimized settings are not available. If you do not have a fast internet connection, the drivers provided in the CDs will do.
2. Turn off unnecessary services. In Windows XP, I often turn off several services that I do need like System Restore, Help and Support, Fast User Switching, Remote Registry and IIS. There are many guides in the Internet that leads to which services are safe to turn off – just do a Google search for it. Enabling unnecessary services not only slows down the PC but exposes it to virus attacks.
3. Kill all viruses and malware. The present-day viruses often slows down the PC and are often difficult to remove once that these offending software had settled-in. Consider investing into leading antivirus software with built-in internet security settings (not the plain ones). BitDefender, Kaspersky and ESET are leading antivirus software that are worth having. Online virus scanners are also available and are good for getting “second opinion”.
4. Disable unnecessary programs that load at startup. Slow startup time is often the result of too many programs that load up at startup. Get into these programs one-by-one and try to disable loading up at startup through its settings.
5. Turn off eye candy. The default settings of Windows always enable the effects, which slows down the response time of the PC. Turning it off can help reduce the load in loading windows of software. Or better yet, turn off the Themes services in the Administrative Tools.
6. Uninstall unnecessary browser toolbars. Not all toolbars are worth running at the same time in Firefox and IE. Turning off some of the toolbars will do wonders on loading up the browser the next time around.

These are simple tips that I can share which, I believe, can do significant changes to the speed of the PC.