A Good Time is Blog Time

There were expectations by some that Google Checkout would be serious competition for the well established and primary online payment system that we all know as Paypal.

There are big differences between the two however and Google Checkout is limited in the number of currencies it supports and as a pure online system it only accepts payments in the UK and USA. Plus Google Checkout cannot be used to transfer funds.

Paypal on the other hand operates in multiple countries and currencies and allows easy transfer of funds through their system. Question has to be asked then if having a Google checkout account is really a serious competitor to Paypal or not.

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Google checkout came into existence to become a direct competitor to Paypal who hold the prime position as the go to facility for accepting online payments.

Both Google checkout and Paypal are what are called a 3rd party payment processors, which means when you register with them you are given access to software that places different payment options on your website. When a customer clicks on the payment button they effectively are dealing with a 3rd party i.e. Paypal for example take over the purchase, accept the payment on your behalf and redirect the customer to a page that tells them what happens next. This might be a page where they can download a digital product or a page that simply informs them that the payment has been accepted and that the product will be shipped to them in the next few days.

For a merchant, Google Checkout or Paypal is a great way of handing off the responsibility of dealing with secure payments. This does of course come at a cost, both Paypal and Google Checkout charge for the service and Paypal insist that you have a business Paypal account for providing this service as opposed to a free personal Paypal account.

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Even if you are setting up a small office network, there may be issues you did not expect. When one of your clients requires you to use a Windows terminal emulator, you could find that your existing settings are not good enough. Installing a network can go from very easy to very complicated very fast. Wireless networks make things much easier, as long as everyone is using laptops, because we don’t have to start installing dongles on all of those desktops. Here is a look at ways to avoid the common problems that often appear when small business owners install their own computer network without support.

• Internet Speeds. You might have had enough internet speed when you were running a single computer, but now that you have a number of computers on your network, you will probably find that you do not have enough. There are a number of ways to get more out of your internet connection, such as with a free application by Google, known as Namebench, or maybe you will have to speak to your ISP. You can expect the need for more internet speed, and more of it to be available.
•  Wifi Issues. Wifi makes creating a network much easier because you do not have the issues of all of those cables everywhere. At the same time, cable networks are more stable, and this may influence some applications, such as VOIP video calling. Wifi networks will be unstable if you do not have enough power running through your Wifi router. Potential solutions to this problem are that you can either purchase a high-powered broadcaster, or you can make sure your computers are closer to the broadcast point.
• Security Issues. Security is always an issue when we are using computers. Now you are using a network you will need to understand this is even more of an issue. How protected are each of your computers from each other? How protected is your network? Do you know how to set levels of security and create a highly secure Wifi network? Always use Wifi security and regularly change your password.
• Device Issues. You might find you will have issues between different computers because they are using different applications and different operating systems. Starting your small business network means you will need to get all of your computer issues in order.  Again, this is another reason to get professional help.
• Support Issues. Computer support for small-scale business is available. There are those companies who specialise in small business and home computing and network support. For a set fee you will get a certain amount of computer repairs and assistance each month. Paying this upfront can save you a lot of money in the long run. Having them setup your network might be the best option in the first place.

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Guest Post from Nadia Jones discussing the recent and sweeping changes to Facebook.

Over the past few months Facebook has enacted (without warning) a tidal wave of changes to its website interface, often to the chagrin of fans. These recent monumental changes put forth by the king of online social networking explain just how competitive the field has become. Relatively long-lasting social networking sites like LinkedIn and Twitter adding thousands of users every day, and new-comer Google+ can boast over 50 million users in less than 6 months.

Even with 800 million or so users, Facebook continues to overhaul the way they connect people so as to make themselves more attractive to their users. But Facebook’s recent facelift in the wake of so much competition begs the question: is Facebook scrambling just to keep up, or are they innovating meaningful changes for the future?

Most recent changes

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Smart Media Technologies is about to introduce a new concept called ‘Home Page Pays’. It is designed to be instantly accessible to Free members with nothing to download via a PC or a Mac computer and it can be used with any web browser. It doesn’t stop there, the new ‘home page pays’ concept is going to be available on 3 platforms:

• The existing Smart Media Desktop – a downloadable application with a huge range of features, including HPP when it is released
• The new Home Page Pays which will be accessible through your favourite browser
• Smart Media Mobile – a completely portable option designed to work on mobile products and smart phones offering all the benefits that come with Home Page Pays

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