Bookmarking

I have these possible configurations in mind specifically…
http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/4590/networkih0.png
Router 1 is a Linksys WRVS4400N and Router 2 is a WRT54G.

My question is which network is a better solution, with reguards to security and usability? And is either configuration feasable (or is ther another solution?)? I have some requirements…
[1] Linksys QuickVPN to connect to Router 1 (able to access Server 1)
[2] Need to be able to access shared files on Computer 3 as well as the printer.

Now, I know that WEP is easily cracked and I would definitely like to isolate a possibly comprimised Router 2 from my more secure Router 1 network. For this reason I thought configuration B might be the better solution? However I am not sure if Router 1 can be configured how I would like (able to connect through VPN and access Computer 3).

Well, If I can get any help or informed dialogue on this problem I would greatly appreciate it!

Popularity: 1% [?]

All over this forum, people have been bashing UoPO. I’m not looking for that at all. I’m not looking for whether or not it will be a waste of my money and wont be taken seriously. Hear me out.
I work in a residential treatment facility for troubled kids. I work the academic shift, and I like it. Although there IS a career “ladder” I can climb there, I’d also like to work on my education not only to improve the OUTPUT ($) of my career, but to improve the input as well (educating myself about child psychology and human services related things would help, in my opinion). I know that UoPO has a human services program. I don’t have the time to commute to college, and I certainly don’t have the gas money, seeing as I drive 45-50 minutes to work from point A to point B, then I would have to drive back another 45-50 minutes from B to A, and then it’s another 15 minutes in the opposite direction of B to get to College. Anyway, doing everything online seems a lot easier for me. I have the experiences I need to pull it all together, which would be my job. I’m already IN the setting doing what I want to do, I’d just like to enrich my life further.
So having heard that, would you say that Phoenix Online would be a good choice for me? I know it’s not for everyone, and that people should go for the WHOLE college experience if they have the chance. But I’m thinking that in my case, going to online college may not be considered “taking the easy way out”. Any thoughts?

Also, if anyone has done UoPO, I would just like to know some general information about it. I’ve heard that online courses/colleges usually give students MORE work than a normal school, because they assume that most people will procrastinate and blow it off, because it’s “just an online course”, y’know?

Popularity: 2% [?]

I know a lot about computers, but not much about networking. What issues should I be concerned with and what are the possible solutions? I mean, other than a firewall. Thanks

Popularity: 1% [?]

There are many advantages to Franchising. When you buy into a trusted name, take on its fame and programs, you can be sure to have a business that people will recognize quicker than a start-up mom and pop-type business. In fact, it’s one of the most common business expansion tools. Not only this, but entering into Franchising is like entering into a family: there are other people there who will help you with everything from day-to-day operations of your business to buying your business’s equipment at the lowest price possible.

One of the biggest advantages of Franchising is the draw of the brand name. People recognize brand names, and because of this, the name of a business is worth quite a bit. People come to trust names they see again and again because they associate this frequency with quality and consistency. Soon, people become loyal to certain brand names. Franchising helps develop a brand name’s worth by upping the number of businesses popping up around the world.

Buying into a franchise is smart because it will make dealing with banks easier. A bank is more likely to give you money if they know you’re investing in something that has found success before. Additionally, if people know the name of the franchise, it will make it easier to attract customers to your establishment.

Another great plus to Franchising is that a person doesn’t have to market their business or learn how to do such things as accounting or distribution: The business’s model is already firmly in place. Many statistics say that as many as 90% of new businesses fail in the first few years because it’s hard to get the business generating funds while learning the ropes of what works and what doesn’t work. A franchise’s model is proven – it’s why people what to buy into the business – and it makes it easier to keep your business afloat. Once you’re in charge of a franchise, you’ll have a manual that explains the business’s ins and outs and will make day-to-day operations easy as pie.

When it comes to a franchise, it’s easier to buy your equipment and materials because people know the name. The other folk involved in the franchise system will be a great support system when it comes to buying materials. Additionally, one of the biggest advantages of Franchising is that you don’t have to spend as much on marketing and publicity: the more franchises there are, the more publicity you’ll receive. The sheer number of businesses helps establish a brand’s credibility.

Ultimately, there’s less risk involved with opening a franchise, and this is perhaps Franchising greatest advantage. Though the cost may be high to buy into a well-respected name, the possible rewards are much higher. As always you need to ensure your research is done in a manner which means you have all the facts in place, doing your due diligence will ensure that not only the franchise is right for you but that it is one that is going to be value for money too.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The concept of franchising is in itself a sound business idea. Many have become rich because of it. However, not all franchise businesses become a success story. There are several factors that may contribute to the problem.

Some franchise units, although parented by large corporations, failed to make the mark due to the failure of the franchisee to strictly adhere to the program and terms of the franchise. Following the system of the company and the provisions of the franchise agreement is crucial to the success of any franchise unit because it is the essence of franchising.

Some companies venture into franchising with little experience and limited resources, hence they are unable to develop an effective franchise system. Although they may be able to sweet-talk prospects into buying a franchise, some, if not all, of these franchises are doomed to fail because of the flawed system of the company.

In some cases, the company did not place much attention and effort to market research specific to the franchise because its main concern is selling as many franchises as possible, without studying what the ideal number of units in a given area should be to ensure success.

The market is affected by many external factors that are beyond the control of business. These include the condition of the national economy, the outbreak of war or local civil unrest, market demand or shift in preferences, disease outbreak that affects raw materials supply, natural calamities, or anything that would cause sudden and significant decrease in the supply of goods or the market demand, or both. Unfortunately, business cannot do much about these conditions. The key to survival is adapting to prevailing conditions and being able to take the blow, until conditions are better. Sad to say, not many businesses can do both so they eventually succumb to the pressure.

Other franchises ceased operations after some time because they failed to obtain a firm commitment from central management to provide adequate, substantial, and continuous support to the franchise.

Some failed to get the commitment of their own employees to support a new business strategy or develop new employee and management skills to help them cope with new market demands.

Failure to handle and manage change is also another factor in the collapse of a franchise. The franchisee may not have sufficient insight about the staff’s resistance to change (new strategy, management style or policies) to be able to detect it right away and handle the situation properly.

Moreover, the franchisee may lack the required knowledge in technology, operational systems and organization that he loses credibility among his employees. In such a situation, employee morale will be low and a high rate of employee turnover can be expected. This dissatisfaction will certainly reflect on their initiative and work quality, and will be mirrored in the overall performance standard of the unit.

Franchises may also lack adequate reporting and control systems particularly those that were abandoned by the parent company after the business has opened. Any business that does not have a strict reporting and control system will most likely be operating on vague estimates, until it finally closes shop.

There are many reasons behind the failure of a franchise but all these can be avoided with a thorough study of the company, its existing franchise network, proper training, and strict compliance with the terms of the franchise agreement.

Popularity: 5% [?]

With some interest in running your own business and a decent credit rating, you can probably get a bank loan on startup costs for a franchise. Startup costs (units in $1000) for a random sample of candy stores are given below.

95, 173, 129, 95, 75, 94, 116, 100, 85

Use a calculator with mean and standard deviation keys to verify that the sample mean is xb ≈ 106.9 thousand dollars and s ≈ 29.4 thousand dollars.

9 / 962 = 106.9

Find a 90% confidence interval for the population average startup costs µ for candy store franchises.

Popularity: 2% [?]

low cost high ROI?

Popularity: -0% [?]

Popularity: 1% [?]

I’ll start:
1. Exploretalent- Overcharges for castings that you can find for free ie Craigslist. They also steal breakdowns from legit sites like Actors Access and post it as their own. Most of what they steal are outdated and posted without the original poster’s consent. It also was owned by Blake Yoon who had a scammy casting company called B.A.M.

2. One Source Talent-Similar to Explore talent. They charge you $400 to have a digital comp card on their site with a $30 monthly fee. They tell you to use their photographer that charges at least another $500-800. The only CDs that they work with are reality show ones ie. MTV, VH1

3. John Robert Powers-It’s a crappy franchise that banks on a famous and DEAD agent’s name. They charge a ridiculous price and claim that many celebrities went through the school such as John Wayne, Lucille Ball, etc. NONE of them did!

4. John Casablancas-Crappy franchise like JRP. Dishonest business practices as well.

5. Keith Wolfe-Career consultant who charges $400 to hook you up with scammy agencies like Dedicated and Don Gerler(Doug Bennet). False promises.

6. Hollywood Company/Model One Casting-Charge up front fees for extra work that doesn’t exist and management services. They claim that they’re sister companies with Central Casting, a legit extras casting service. THEY AREN’T!

7. Infinitetalent-Same as OneSource

8. Actorsreps-Scammy agency. Mostly deal with extra work.

9. EAM Casting/Mediaentertainment1.com-Google “Bill Starkov” and you’ll see that this company scammed a lot of people.

10. Dedicated-Originally Zanuck, Passon, and Pace, one of the scammiest agencies in L.A. When they were ZPP they would make their clients use their photographer and take their classes. They also made you get 10 character shots such as literally dressing up like a doctor, cop, construction worker, etc. You don’t get character shots! Dedicated is still up to this scheme.

11. Michael Zanuck-Split from Dedicated in hopes of bettering his reputation, but still up to the same schemes. He at least makes you get 6 character shots instead of 10.

12. Doug Bennett of Don Gerler-He makes you get 15 character shots. Wastes your time with multiple 2 hour interviews, consisting of him mostly talking. If you thought the agent movie stereotype was phony, think again.

13. Sylvia Ferguson-Not state licensed. Charges $140 a year for this bogus casting service called E-Talent files. She entices potential clients into getting the service by saying it will help better their chances.

14. Talent6-Inferior casting site. They like to send “urgent” e-mails from supposed CDs wanting to audition you in their projects. In order to respond you have to pay the Talent Hunter fee to leave reply messages on the site!

15. Barbizon-Popular school in the 70s. Now another JRP.

16. Kevyn Major Howard-Overcharges and underdelivers. Does a lot of things that agents/cds hate with regards to headshots. He’s also known to hit on hot girls during photo shoots.

17. MMPRG- Management company that works with Baron Entertainment. They make you take classes with them for $80 bucks a month. They also make you use their photographer who isn’t very good. They prey mostly on people doing extra work in L.A. using bait and swtich tactics. Howard Ferguson (owner) tells people that he’s associated with Baron Entertainment, edifies the hell out of them and gets people interested in coming to his management company.

18. Model Management Inc-Upfront fees. Another ONESOURCE.

19. Talent Hunter-Another inferior casting site. They post “urgent” e-mails from supposed CDs wanting to audition you in their projects. In order to respond you would have to pay the Talent Hunter fee to leave reply messages on the site!

20. Actor’s Club (they advertise fake breakdowns on other sites and then when you submit for the “project”, they tell you to go to the “Actor’s Club” site to fill out a profile. Only after you have done all that do they tell you about the fees. PRESTO they have your email and then they SPAM you forever to join their site.

21. Talent Jug- Like Explore Talent where it takes castings from other casting sites. They also mysteriously get your email and spam you.

22.ACT-Another JRP

23. Pinkerton Model And Talent-Not state licensed. Lynn Venturella Pinkerton has been known to be associated with various scams notably “Best New Talent” an over priced weekend seminar where you pay ridiculous amounts to audition, be judged, and possibly “be discovered.”

24. Best New Talent-need I say more?

25. Instantcast.com-Another Explore Talent

26. Ambiance Talent in Chattanooga, TN- There have been reports of the agency telling potential clients to take their $700 class before signing with them

27. Alan Baltes-Charges money for inferior services that have inaccurate information.

28-Proscout-Another one of those overpriced seminars where you pay big bucks in hopes to get “discove

Popularity: 2% [?]

Popularity: 1% [?]