Streamyx

The predicted end to dropping DS3 bandwidth pricing is premature as the downward pricing trend continues. Service providers are up against stiffer competition and are desperate for new customers to fill their pipes and turn a profit. If you're ready to negotiate for a rock bottom price, first consider a few of the reasons for the drop in price on DS3 bandwith. A little preperation will allow you to take best advantage of the situation.

DS3 bandwidth pricing had reduced as companies have gone out of business and the large number of telecommunications companies are fighting for a place in a smaller market. While many service providers did have room to lose margin, many have come dangerously close to the edge of selling circuits at a loss and many have gone beyond this point. It seems that in the race to the bottom many providers failed to learn the lesson that selling at a loss does not create a long lasting and healthy company no matter how many circuits or widgets you sell. Many companies selling at a loss have already been in bankruptcy and look like they will repeat this exercise as they did not learn from their first go around. So, solvency of the DS3 bandwidth provider should be a consideration when looking at great bargains.

Another consideration in bargain shopping for DS3 service is the fact that all DS3's are not created equal. Many providers are convinced (and rightly so) that customers are focused on price and are not concerned with quality of service. Many providers are now oversubscribing DS3 service connections as though they were DSL connections. This means you may not get the bandwidth you thought you would get. Make sure when you look for that bargain price you also review the SLA (Service Level Agreement) and make sure the contract protects you and guarantees you will get the bandwidth to which they committed. Remember, when bargain hunting for DS3 service you'll most likely get what you pay for.

So the general moral to the story is by all means do negotiate for the best price you can get. But....ensure that critical factors such as reliability, Service Level Agreement, QoS, and scalability are met in addition to price attractiveness. For this I receommend sticking with a Tier1 provider for best price AND piece of mind. It just makes business sense.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications....including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

It wasn't all that long ago when personal computers where restricted for offices and wealthy households. Moreover, computer networks where practically unheard of in residential settings, such technology was reserved for large office buildings - things however, have progressed considerably over the years.

One of the most common methods to share a broadband connection within homes and offices today is using wireless technologies.

Although such technology has revolutionised the way people can access networks and the internet it does have a major disadvantage, one that was not prevalent with coaxial cables or the more familiar CAT5 network cable; this being security.

The technology that comprises a wireless network usually consists of a wireless router; wireless receivers (generally USB dongles or built in antennas); and in some cases one or more repeaters (if the signal needs to span an exceptionally long distance).

Once set up, the wireless router will happily start broadcasting and accepting information within a certain radius. This essentially means that your next door neighbour (or anyone in range!) could be accessing your network, and leaching your internet connection - which as well as invading your privacy could be costing you money if you have a broadband usage allowance.

So, the first line of defence is to familiarise yourself with your network and your routers configuration options, which are usually accessed via a browser window

Router manufactures tend to apply the same SSID (the networks name) and login details for all of their routers, so to begin with, changing these to something more personal is the first line of defence.

Following this you should apply some form of encryption, the popular choice being WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), the later of which is the most secure. This involves applying a specific "key" that any computer attempting to access your router will need to input.

Lastly, possibly one of the best ways to ensure only devices of your choice have access to your router is to establish MAC filtering. MAC or Media Access Control is a unique code given to every physical network device.

Therefore, finding out the MAC code for each device in your network (this can prove difficult to the untrained so referring to the manufactures manual is recommended) and inputting only these addresses on your MAC filter list will ensure only they will have access.

In conclusion, securing your wireless broadband network is relatively easy, with a wealth of broadband sites out there offering helpful information and guides you're never far from help. Such sites often allow you to compare broadband packages, as well as offering expert help.

Wireless broadband is becoming more and more of a commodity than a rarity these days, in the past households tended to have one computer usually stashed away in a box room or a corner somewhere and home internet was set up by your Internet provider to come in through the wall into one machine. Well over the past five years wireless internet has quickly brought internet access to everyone in the household not just one machine.

It's not surprising really, considering most typical households will have a main computer, then there will be the laptop that the eldest takes away to university to do work on and chances are another child will have their first computer in their room for talking to their friends online. Queuing up to use the internet used to be like queuing for the bathroom in the morning.

Wireless broadband came about when people bought Wireless routers, equipment that allows one internet connection to be shared amongst many computers in a small area, whilst it was computer enthusiasts that initially used these you can now get wireless broadband from your internet service provider as a product. An engineer will come out and fit the router and add all your devices to the internet connection.

The technology initially worked to certain strength, dubbed 802.11b it didn't have fantastic range and the strength of your connection depended on how thick the walls were between your PC and the router, invariably like most early technologies it wasn't that impressive with poor data speeds being reported, not only that but other wireless transmitting devices in the home such as TV remotes and even microwave ovens interfered with the signal.

This all changed with the next generation of wireless standards 802.11g chances are if you have any wireless devices they are probably wireless G enabled. Most home video game consoles and mobile phones will connect to a wireless G standard, it provides much faster speeds over the wireless airwaves as well as being strong enough to penetrate the thickest of house walls.

The thing is that Wireless G too is getting old and the craving for quicker speeds brought about the next generation, Wireless N. Wireless N is much more powerful and allows most remote computers to achieve speeds much more like being connected via an Ethernet cable. Whilst most people will typically choose the latest and greatest technology for some reason Wireless N routers and their equipment has not taken off and remains sat on computer store shelves.

Why is this happening especially in the ever changing nature of gadgets and electronics? Well most people put it down to being simply happy enough with wireless G, as well as this most routers for the G standard are cheap enough to be provided by home broadband suppliers for free, (being subsidised by the suppliers monthly charges). Couple that with that most devices that people use such as the Sony Playstation 3, iPhone and Apple TV all use Wireless G it makes for not much need to go faster since the speed boost wouldn't affect these devices.

Most wireless N equipment is obviously more expensive and if you have many computers and other devices sharing your broadband connection then you don't want to be spending money on unnecessarily excessive technology.

For now Wireless N seems to be on the verge of being the new standard as far as consumers are concerned and so there are some people who are buying now in anticipation but until Wireless G becomes obsolete or overburdened then for the typical broadband user, G will do just fine.

If you are looking for cheap broadband whether you have an existing provider or not then you can compare broadband deals online. Also if you are thinking about changing your supplier then check your connection using one of the various broadband speed test websites to see whether you are getting your money's worth.

Our most recent cruise was aboard the Princess Cruise Lines?ship the Golden. Our itinerary included the tropical Southern Caribbean. This overview is one article in a series of our Golden Princess Southern Caribbean cruise review. First, let me start by explaining why we chose this particular cruise.

We had a very special birthday to celebrate. This celebration was to include our children (in their mid to late 20s) as well as our parents (up to 85 years old). We wanted a cruise line that would cater to the activity needs of our kids and still be elegant enough to be enjoyable to our parents.

Princess Cruise Lines seemed to be a natural fit. The date for our cruise was somewhat fixed in that the birth date had to be among the cruise dates. Our preference was to take a Southern Caribbean Cruise which included Aruba, St. Thomas and St. Kitts. It just so happened that the magnificent Golden Princess was sailing that itinerary on the required dates.

Our cruise started from the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It meant a rather lengthy flight with one stop-over to reach San Juan. The flight segments however were very smooth and uneventful. From the airport, we had a short bus ride to the cruise terminal.

There were the usual line-ups to clear customs and check-in with Princess in the terminal. This seemed to pass quickly enough considering some of the other cruises we have enjoyed.

The Golden Princess had its inaugural cruise in May of 2001. That meant that she was 5 years old at the time of our cruise. Having been on a newer cruise ship, her age was somewhat evident to us but her majesty overshadowed her age.

The cruise was a very smooth sail when compared to other Caribbean cruises we have been on. With so many stops on a one week cruise, the distances between ports made for a mostly leisurely run.

The ports of call were all interesting. Some were still rebuilding after hurricane damage. We are normally beach babies?wanting to enjoy the sun and surf as often as possible, but on this cruise we went to a beach only twice and one of those times was right at the cruise port. Our ports of call included San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Isla Margarita, and Aruba.

We found this cruise to be rather aggressive?in that we were in port so quickly and so often that we never really saw the entire ship. Of course we mad a point to try to see all of the common areas but obviously missed a few.

The weather, although overcast with light rain a couple of days, was great. Mid to high 80s every day is what we went on a sunny vacation for.

The staterooms we chose were balcony rooms. All were on the same side of the ship with two groups of three attached balconies. This was great. With the doors between balconies open, we could congregate as we would at a cottage or resort.

The birthday celebration was wonderful as well. Room service delivered veggies and dip, fruit trays, cheese trays nachos and dip and beverages to our stateroom. There was ample room on our balcony for the eleven of us to sit and enjoy all of this food.

In all, this cruise ship was not the most elegant that we have been on, but it did have all of the amenities and activities required to suit our broad age range. It certainly sold the kids on cruising vacations.

For more specific reviews on the components of our Golden Princess cruise including the trip to the cruise port including embarkation, stateroom, food, dining options, activities and ports-of-call, check our Caribbean Cruises Articles map at www.a1-discount-cruises.com often.

Brian A Schmidt is the author and web publisher of a1-discount-cruises.com your #1 source for cruise information, discounts and great deals! Visit http://www.a1-discount-cruises.com to book your fabulous cruise vacation! For more specific articles pertaining to the Southern Caribbean Cruise visit our Caribbean Cruises Articles map.

All of the rail systems of Kuala Lumpur are joined to Sentral Station, a state of the art railway center which is astounding for both its simple thinking, beautifully designed marble floors and walls, the road ways that lead up to the station and the fact that right next to it are the Hilton and Le Meridian hotels which are simply magnificent twin towers.

Simplicity is the order of the day when it comes to Sentral Station. The KLIA Express, the raised railway (LRT) and the KTM which is a long distance commuter train run from here in separate sections of the building. The mono rail is situated just outside of the building. In between all of this there are shops, cafes and restaurants.

If you are traveling from Sentral Station to KLIA and are flying with Malaysian airlines you can check your baggage here and get your ticket before getting on the train. The KLIA Express leaves from the basement and costs RM35 one way. The journey takes 28 minutes and leaves on schedule to the second. If you do happen to miss it, dont worry as in 20 mutes another one will arrive. This is a non stop service to KLIA.

The raised railway runs from upstairs and in places the train actually runs through the building on its way. This system is charged on a per stop basis and one of its most important stops is the Twin Towers otherwise known as KLCC or Kuala Lumpur City Center.

The mono rail runs from Brickfields ?a mainly Indian area of Kuala Lumpur. Within minutes you can be in Times Square, Sultan Ismal or Butit Bingtang, some of the major shopping areas in Kuala Lumpur.

The railway systems in Kuala Lumpur are clean, cheap, fast and safe, although you should never let your guard down.

Ronan Menton is the webmaster for a number of travel related websites and has been for some time in Ireland, associated with search engine optimisation in the Irish travel industry. He spends two months a year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and now sees it as his second home. Among the many sites he is currently working on are the following: hotels in Singapore and hotels in Kuala Lumpur.

Securing a home wireless network is a two step process. The first step is to ensure network security by securing the wireless access point or router. All of this can normally be done through the web based software interface of the device, by typing in the default address of ?92.168.0.1?

The first thing that needs to be changed is administrator username and password. Many networks are hacked into, simply because nobody bothered changing the default values. This is the same as most VCRs still blinking 12:00 because no one changed the time. Once this is done, enable MAC address filtering, and add computers based on their MAC address. This option will allow only those specified computers to connect to the network, but will not however guarantee total security.

The network SSID defines a name for the network. The default value of this should be changed to an obscure and long string. This value should be written down in a safe place and entered into the machines that are allowed to connect. Disabling the broadcast of the network SSID also provides an extra layer of security as the network will not advertise itself to outsiders.

Encryption should also be enabled. The default encryption is normally weak and can be easily broken. Normally WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy) is used for data encryption, however where available try and use WPA-PSK encryption. This method uses 256 bit encryption for transmitting data and the key also changes so provides a far more secure alternative to WEP.

Some routers have firewalls built in. Where available make sure that this option is enabled.

The second step of securing a home wireless network is securing each individuals PC. This can be done by installing a software firewall (this may not always be necessary if a hardware firewall is installed), antivirus software, anti-spam and pop-up blocking software. It is essential to keep this software up to date, as downloading the latest security updates for the operating system and web browser you are using.

You can manage your home network yourself if you have the time, or you can buy a home networking software that will monitor your network and alert you to any intruders or weak security measures for about $30. Whichever way you choose to do it make sure you secure your home wireless network.

About the Author

Wallace Renckers is a wireless networking fanatic who runs Home Wireless Network. Get your free wireless network software that makes setting up a home wireless network a breeze. Solve your own connectivity and security problems and leave tech support alone.