Computerized Accounting for Your Company

Writen by Gijo George

Accounting is the core of any business. Each and every transaction that takes place within your organization has to be recorded properly. Without a proper Accounting system, no business can survive in this data oriented world. Accounts data helps to analyze the financial position of the organization, and plan well for future activities. It helps its investors to understand more about the company’s financial objectives.

Accounting is based on some standards and these are known Accounting Standards. Every Organization must adhere to these Accounting Standards. If one organization fails to adhere to these well-defined Accounting Standards, then it will result in complete chaos within the organization and will spoil the reputation of the company.

With the arrival of Computerized Accounting Software, adhering to Accounting Standards has become easy. Accounting Software is built upon Accounting Standards and this makes all the entries made to it follow these standards to some extent. But due care has to be taken while entering transactions, as wrong Account Heads selected can again make problems. In Accounting software, each Account Head is defined under different main groups. When you define these Account Heads proper care has to be taken to ensure that these Account Heads falls under the right group. If this is not the case, then your financial results will show unexpected losses or profits, which is far beyond the reality.

For more details related to selecting an Accounting software please visit http://www.giftsspace.com/accountingsoftwareselection.html

Is Your Backup Good Enough?

Writen by Jeremiah O’Connell

As someone who has seen quite a few hard drive crashes over the years, I believe that performing a full backup of your computer’s hard drive should be an important part of your weekly (if not daily) routine. There’s nothing more frustrating & costly than trying to restore a computer with only a handful of Floppy disk drives, a couple of scratched CD-ROMs or poorly stored backup tapes.

All too often have I been called upon to try and get a home or office computer working again, only to find that the backup (if any) consists of a few word files and maybe a copy of some accounts data?

Now you might be thinking what’s wrong with that? Aren’t those the important files? Well, yes! But what about your Emails, Address book, all your Desktop/Internet Shortcuts, FTP settings, Anti-Spam & Anti-Popup filters etc.? You’ve spend months if not years getting your PC looking and running just the way you like it and in one split second it’s all gone.

Now assuming you’ve got all these backed-up, just think, how long it’s going to take even for an experienced technician to re-install the Operating System and then all your programs like MS Office etc. and that’s if you can find the original CD-ROMs that came with your PC. Plus what about the programs & updates you downloaded from the Internet and stored on your now crashed hard drive. What a nightmare!

So you do the best you can with what you’ve got and get your PC back to some useable state, but it’s only then you fully realize how poor your backup really was and how much time & money you lost while waiting for your system to be restored, not to mention the repair bill.

But you’re probably thinking to yourself, backups take so long to complete and how can you be sure your backing up all the necessary data? Well, as I see it, the only way you can be guaranteed you’re getting all your data is to create what’s called an image of your system (C:) drive.

By creating an image of your hard drive you are basically taking a snapshot or complete copy of your drive at a moment in time, you can then use that image to restore your system drive with a few clicks of the mouse and in a fraction of the time & hassle than with the earlier example.

You will need to have a second hard disk installed on your PC to store your image. I’d recommend one of equal size to your C: drive, you can use drives with less storage capacity but this would mean you’d probably have to apply compression when creating the image.

You’ll also need a backup software capable of creating drive images. There are numerous softwares available such as True Image from Acronis and Norton Ghost from Symantec to name but a few and most of these will allow you to schedule backups to run even when your away from your PC.

With regularly created full backup images, stored securely on a secondary drive out of harms way you can put your mind at ease and get on with more important tasks safe in the knowledge that when disaster strikes you’ll be more than capable of handling it. With a few mouse clicks you can start the restore procedure, go for a short break (have lunch, stroll around the block, catch up on some phone calls etc.) and in no time you’ll be up & running as if nothing had ever happened.

Give yourself that extra piece of mind and do something about putting a reliable backup system in place right now, because you know it’s not a matter of if your hard drive crashes but when and will you be ready for it?

You need to ask yourself is your backup good enough?

Jeremiah O’Connell is an IT Administrator with AbbeyIT.net and has helped numerous home & small business users protect their data. For his preferred backup solutions visit: http://www.abbeyit.net/acronis-true-image.asp

10 Things You Could be Using Photoshop For, But Probably Aren’t

Writen by Shaun Pearce

Most people don’t use Photoshop to its fullest capabilities. Here are just ten uses to which you could put this highly versatile software.

1. Restoring Old Photographs. Have a look through that old family photo album - the really old one from up in Grandma’s attic. Inside there are probably a few photos from way back when that haven’t stood the test of time so well. They’ve got cracks and tears that really spoil their appearance. Scan them into Photoshop, and then set to work with the Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, and Patch tools. The Healing Brush in particular is a great tool for this purpose as it samples data from one part of the picture and blends it in with what’s already there.

2. Correcting Mistakes. We’ve all done it: Had an attack of “finger over the lens syndrome,” or got too close with the flash, so our subjects suffer from “red eye” and look like extras from a horror movie. Use the crop tool to salvage something usable from your obscured photo, and the enlarge wizard to blow it up to a reasonable size. For “red eye” and “pet eye,” use the eyedropper tool to sample color from around the iris, and a brush to paint away the red.

3. Adding Graphics to Videos. It’s a little known fact, but many domestic and professional nonlinear editing systems (especially the Mac based ones like Avid or Final Cut) enable you to import Photoshop .psd files directly into the timeline.

4. Creating Text Effects for Print and Web. There’s an almost unlimited amount of things you can do with text in Photoshop. Use the Type Mask Tools to create picture filled text, then upload the results to your web page - or print them out for a one of a kind T-shirt.

5. Turning a Photo Into a Work of Art. Everyone likes to have nice things to look at. Most of us like to have pictures on the wall, and something that looks different from what other people have on their walls is a definite plus. Unless you’re blessed with artistic talent, though, this can be very expensive - until now. Use one of Photoshop’s many Artistic or Brush Stroke filters to turn your photos into “new masters,” then print them out on quality art paper.

6. Designing Web Banners and Buttons. Photoshop comes with a predefined web banner sized canvas. Photoshop’s sister application, Image Ready, comes with several - and lots of tools for animating text and pictures. You can also create interactive buttons that enhance a web browsing experience.

7. Adding Text to Photographs. Impress your boss by putting the company name on the side of an airliner, building, or racing car. Use the Move Tool to skew the text to fit the contours of the picture, adjust the opacity a little, and hey presto! The text will look like it’s always been part of the photo.

8. Combining Pictures, Text, and Graphics to Make Covers for Books, Reports and CDs. Photoshop contains many of the image manipulation capabilities of high-end DTP applications that cost thousands. Use the “Layer via Cut” command to make your title text go behind part of the picture - just like on the cover of “Rolling Stone.”

9. Designing Web Pages. Did you know that Photoshop and Image Ready can turn your photograph or artwork into a web page? Use the slice tool to cut your work into easily downloadable pieces, then the rollover function to embed website URLs.

10. Combining Pictures to Make the Impossible Possible. Come on! You didn’t seriously think that Michael Moore and President George W. Bush really stood hand in hand on the White House lawn for the Fahrenheit 9/11 poster, did you? I don’t know for certain that they used Photoshop to fake that picture, but they certainly could have done. With Photoshop you can remove the background from one picture, take some elements from another, and combine them with the background from a third to create a picture that could never have been taken for real. Who says the camera can’t lie!

Shaun Pearce is a writer and video maker. His latest production “Photoshop Master” shows you how to get the most from Photoshop, and can be downloaded from http://www.learnphotoshopfast.com.

Restaurant Profitability: A Benefit of Offering Your Customers Online Ordering

Writen by Cartess Ross

A new wave of changes are coming to the restaurant industry and if you folks don’t wise-up and adjust, you’re gonna be leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars in net-profits on the table each year!

One thing is for certain! The restaurant industry is getting overcrowded and customers who now have more options, are DEMANDING added services and features for the sake of convenience.

And while you may not realize it yet, some of your competitors have already started responding to those customer demands. And it’s going to be the smart ones, who will be raking in the dough!

The fact of the matter is, you ‘re in business to make money, not to lose money. So, let’s cut to the chase and I want you to imagine the following scenario for just a moment:

Broadband - Will it Affect Your Online Marketing Future?

Writen by Francisco Aloy

The coming age of general Broadband use bearing down upon us, minute by minute, is going to leave many changes in its wake. Some will be welcome; others will demand all we can do, just to keep up!

Of course, items like high quality graphics, streaming video and movies on demand will be commonplace. On the other hand, Broadband spells the end of most common text-only websites. Let’s face it: the consumer wants more! Offering a good deal with high quality service won’t do it anymore.

Websites that cater to the newfound appetite for quality audio and video content will get the sale. Obviously, that makes perfect sense! It brings to mind an experience I had while learning Photoshop. I purchased a very big manual and it took me three weeks just to get my feet wet. A good friend bought a video tutorial and arrived at my level of skill in two days!

There are many other things audio and video can explain better and in much shorter time than text, as in the example above. We’re not talking just innovation; but also, the very deep and long-lasting impact the technology is going to produce.

I was reading an informative article written by Darrin Coe, titled “The Internet Consumer Exposed.” It’s a piece compiled from larger studies of the habits and lifestyles of Internet centered consumers. By the conclusions reached in the item, it does appear the consumer will smile upon the coming Broadband changes. Here is Darrin’s website: http://dcoe1.tripod.com/exposed1/

There are some Marketers actively staking out their Broadband future. One that comes to mind is Jim Edwards. Jim is also a well known writer and syndicated newspaper columnist and - not to mention - a very pleasant person.

A week or so ago, I received an email from Jim inviting me to witness the birth of his new multimedia Newsletter “I Gotta tell You.” I was speechless! Very seldom do we get to watch one of the early events giving birth to a revolution! It is content delivery that’s light years away and will only get better and better. Good work Jim!

Here is Jim’s Newsletter: http://www.igottatellyou.com/

Another application that’s blazing a trail into Broadband is the Instant Video Generator sold by Armand Morin, Alex Mandossian and Rick Raddatz. Though they claim it works as well with a dial up connection, I can see it carving out a big chunk of the Broadband market. I’ve gone to the website and viewed a few presentations. It does seem to work quite well! The buffering is almost instantaneous and the quality very good. Here is the website: http://instantvideogenerator.com

Conclusion

Start taking the necessary steps to get on the multimedia bandwagon or suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs! Broadband dominance will become an inescapable reality of the very near future. As Stark Trek’s Borg say: “Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated!”

About the Author:

Francisco Aloy is the author of “Yes, I Want to Start My Internet Business Without Being SCAMMED!.” He has an online business catering to the needs of the Newbie Net Entrepreneur. Visit his site to see more of Mr. Aloy’s articles. http://www.newbie-business-guide.com

Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Configuring And Troubleshooting OSPF Virtual Links

Writen by Chris Bryant

Knowing when and how to create an OSPF virtual link is an essential skill for BSCI and CCNP exam success, not to mention how important it can be on your job! As a CCNA and CCNP candidate, you know the theory of virtual links, so let’s take a look at how to configure a virtual link, as well as some real-world tips that many CCNA and CCNP study guides leave out!

In this configuration, no router with an interface in Area 4 has a physical interface in Area 0. This means a logical connection to Area 0, a virtual link, must be built.

In the following example, R1 and R3 are adjacent and both have interfaces in Area 0. R4 has an adjacency with R3 via Area 34, but R4 has no physical interface in Area 0 and is advertising its loopback 4.4.4.4 into OSPF. R1 doesn’t have the route to that loopback.

R1#show ip route ospf

6.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets

O 6.6.6.6 [110/11] via 10.1.1.5, 01:05:45, Ethernet0

172.23.0.0/27 is subnetted, 1 subnets

O IA 172.23.23.0 [110/74] via 172.12.123.3, 00:04:14, Serial0

7.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets

O 7.7.7.7 [110/11] via 10.1.1.5, 01:05:45, Ethernet0

To resolve this, a virtual link will be built between R3 and R4 through Area 34. The area through which the virtual link is built, the transit area, cannot be a stub area of any kind.

R4(config)#router ospf 1

R4(config-router)#area 34 virtual-link 3.3.3.3

R3(config)#router ospf 1

2d07h: %OSPF-4-ERRRCV: Received invalid packet: mismatch area ID, from backbone area must be virtual-link but not found from 172.23.23.4, Ethernet0

R3(config)#router ospf 1

R3(config-router)#area 34 virtual-link 4.4.4.4

R3(config-router)#^Z

2d07h: %OSPF-5-ADJCHG: Process 1, Nbr 4.4.4.4 on OSPF_VL0 from LOADING to FULL, Loading Done

A few details worth noting… the virtual link command uses the remote device’s RID, not necessarily the IP address on the interface that’s in the transit area. Also, don’t worry about that error message you see in the output from R3 that is normal and you’ll see it until you finish building the virtual link.

Always confirm the virtual link with show ip ospf virtual-link. If you’ve configured it correctly, the VL should come up in a matter of seconds.

R3#show ip ospf virtual-link

Virtual Link OSPF_VL0 to router 4.4.4.4 is up

Run as demand circuit

DoNotAge LSA allowed.

Transit area 34, via interface Ethernet0, Cost of using 10

Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State POINT_TO_POINT,

Timer intervals configured, Hello 10, Dead 40, Wait 40, Retransmit 5

Hello due in 00:00:00

Adjacency State FULL (Hello suppressed)

Index 2/4, retransmission queue length 1, number of retransmission 1

First 0×2C8F8E(15)/0×0(0) Next 0×2C8F8E(15)/0×0(0)

Last retransmission scan length is 1, maximum is 1

Last retransmission scan time is 0 msec, maximum is 0 msec

Link State retransmission due in 3044 msec

Virtual links are actually simple to configure, but for some reason they seem to intimidate people. It’s my experience that the error message highlighted in R3’s output above causes a lot of panic, but the only thing that message means is that you’re not finished configuring the virtual link yet.

There are three main misconfigurations that cause 99% of virtual link configuration issues:

Using the wrong OSPF RID value

Trying to use a stub area as the transit area

Failure to configure link authentication on the virtual link when Area 0 is running authentication

That last one is the one that gets forgotten! A virtual link is really an extension of Area 0, and if Area 0 is running link authentication, the virtual link must be configured for it as well. Pay attention to the details. don’t panic when you see the error message on the second router you configure with the virtual link, and you’ll be ready for any virtual link situation on the job or in the CCNA / CCNP exam room!

Personnel Time Tracking Software

Writen by Kevin Stith

A problem that comes with taking care of personnel records is the accuracy and the quantity of the information that needs to be considered. Your human resource personnel are often overwhelmed by this task because amount of information that has to be considered. This information needs to be accurate to compute the proper compensation an employee is to receive. Things to consider are the attendance records, the number of holiday and sick leaves used and the actual leaves that are still allotted. Overtime pay can also be a headache, because personnel may not be paid the same in cases of overtime.

A personnel time tracking system can help your human resource officer keep track of the attendance record of each employee. Your time tracking software can be configured to alert your supervisor if an employee has excessive absences or tardiness. By entering all the data into your system, leaves of absences can be automatically monitored, and personnel will automatically be denied request, if a leave is requested when the allotted number leaves are already used up. A monthly report can be generated for your supervisor to help keep track of the attendance records of your personnel under their jurisdiction. Having a system with web capabilities also allows you and your personnel to access attendance records to be aware of your own actions.

Another tedious task and often difficult task is to evaluate the progress of your personnel. Sometimes without any tangible method of calculating the progress of your personnel, it is very hard to justify a pay raise. By keeping track of their progress via the time they spend on their job responsibilities determining whether or not a pay raise is warranted is an easy task.

Time Tracking Software provides detailed information on Time Tracking Software, Time And Attendance Tracking Software, Employee Time Tracking Software, Personnel Time Tracking Software and more. Time Tracking Software is affiliated with Time And Attendance Tracking Software.

Using ‘Get’ and ‘Set’ Might Be Something You’ll Regret

Writen by V. Berba Velasco

It’s an all-too-common pitfall. Programmers who attempt to write object-oriented code decide to make all of their data variables private, while creating public get() and set() function pairs for each one. “See?” they declare, as they pat themselves on their backs. “The data is private, but it can be accessed through these functions. I’ve encapsulated my data. That’s what object-oriented design requires.”

I think this betrays a fundamental (and exceedingly common) misunderstanding of what constitutes encapsulation and information hiding. Ideally, in an object-oriented design, the user of a software class should have no idea what type of data the class contains. As far as he’s concerned, the class should simply provide the required services, and its internal details should be invisible. However, when we provide get() and set() function pairs for each member variable, we are basically announcing the existence of this data to the world. The information hiding provided by this class is weak—and arguably non-existent. One might change the name, data type or implementation of this member variable, but its existence remains painfully obvious to everyone.

(Note that I say that the user should “ideally” be oblivious to the type of data contained within the class. In practice, this is not always feasible. If we were to implement a BankAccount class, for example, most programmers would immediately guess that this class would have the account balance as one of its data members. They would also guess—rightfully so—that the owner of this account is likely to be data member as well. Nevertheless, we should avoid needlessly divulging such details, especially when the contents of a class are not so easily discerned.)

In effect, these get() and set() member functions are almost as bad as having public data. Sure, they may provide some useful services; for example, the set() function could validate the data, ensuring that it is within the proper range of values. Nevertheless, they tend to violate the spirit of information hiding, at least to some degree.

Using get() and set() functions is not always a bad idea; in fact, sometimes they make perfect sense. Their frequent use, however, is a pretty good indication of a poorly abstracted software design—one that does not adhere well to the principle of information hiding. When designing software classes, we need to think primarily in terms of the services they provide (i.e. their public functions), rather than the data they contain. Ideally, their data implementations should proceed from the required services, rather than other way around.

To illustrate this concept, let us revisit the BankAccount class mentioned earlier. It is clear that the BankAccount object will need to keep track of its balance, so let’s make that a data member. A novice programmer (or one with a poor grasp of object orientation) may choose to provide both GetBalance() and SetBalance() functions for this class… but does this make sense?

What happens when a user attempts to make a deposit? The user would have to call GetBalance(), add the deposit amount, and then set the new value using GetBalance(). That’s not how real users operate, though; in the real world, there is no need for the depositor to know how much money is in the account. This class design gives the user too much information and requires too many steps.

Similarly, to perform a withdrawal, the user would need to call GetBalance(), subtract the withdrawal amount, and then call SetBalance() to update the account. This also requires too much work on the user’s part. In the real world, the user should not always be required to know exactly how much money is in the account. This person might want to know that there are sufficient funds, but he wouldn’t necessarily need to know the precise balance, and this information should not be a constant requirement.

A sensibly written class should provide the following services instead: DepositAmount(), WithdrawAmount() and GetBalance(). With this design, the data member—the account balance—is logically implied by the services provided, rather than the other way around. (We could define other services, such as AccrueInterest() and TransferFunds(), but let’s keep it simple for now. Note that these services might suggest additional data members; for example, AccrueInterest() would suggest that a data member would be needed for the interest rate.)

In summary, get() and set() function pairs are not inherently bad, but their preponderance could suggest a poorly abstracted software design. There’s nothing inherently wrong with using get() and set() functions when they form part of a sensibly designed set of services. Nor is there anything wrong with using a data member to reflect these functions. When one proceeds in the opposite direction, though—when one starts with the data members, then adds corresponding get() and set() pairs—that’s a strong indication of a poorly conceived software design.

V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D. is a senior electrical and software engineer at an ELISPOT biotech company that provides ELISPOT analysers and cryopreserved PBMCs.

How Cable Modems Work

Writen by Brian Wilson

Basic explanation of DOCSIS

So you have a broadband connection at home/work and are wondering how it all works. Well I hope to explain to you how it works on a low-tech level so you will have a better understanding of how your connection works. Broadband services from cable companies or Multiple Service Operator’s (MSO’s) are normally provided via cable modems and 90% of the cable modems are using DOCSIS (Data over Cable Service Interface Specification). So let’s now look at what DOCSIS is and what is means. DOCSIS defines interface requirements for cable modems involved in high-speed data distribution over cable television system networks (definition from cablelabs.com). With DOCSIS comes the different versions (1.0, 1.1, 2.0, & soon 3.0) and the limits for each version. We are not too worried with the versions and limits between the versions as consumers since we just want speed and security. But the important thing about DOCSIS is that it’s a standard that protects the consumer and vendors by forcing interoperability and keep the cost of equipment down. If the modems where proprietary then the consumers would have to pay a very high price for the modem or would be force to lease them from the MSO’s. Most MSO’s will allow you to use just about any cable modem that is DOCSIS certified. Now not all MSO’s will do this since they have to support all the modems on the plant with firmware upgrades and other issue with support but most of your well known modems should be supported.

Now for the CMTS & Node

Cable modems communicate with a device called a cable modem termination system (CMTS). The CMTS is a router that talks to all the cable modems and routes there traffic to the internet or the MOS’s backbone. There are a few different vendors in the CMTS market but the most recognized is Cisco Systems. Cable modes are typically grouped into regional nodes. A node is most likely your subdivision but could but a smaller or lager area the MSO uses to support all you services. The node is a fiber to RF converter which allows the MOS to send services to you area via fiber up to the point of you local service area and them the services are sent over coax. The size of the node and number of modem customers in that node can make some difference in the speeds of you modem. With cable modems the node is you local access point and the more users the less bandwidth available for all. Most MSO’s over subscribe nodes but try to make sure there is always 50% available bandwidth at peak hours. What this means is that if you are in a heavily loaded node and everyone is downloading files you service can slow some. With how competitive the ISP business is most MSO’s will try to not over subscribe nodes to much with out adding more nodes or splitting then.

Security on the Network

Other things to watch out for is the security of the node. Make sure other subscribers in your node are not able to see you computer and its traffic. This security issue is normally handled by encryption on the modems traffic to the CMTS. Most ISP’s use BPI+ encryption to protect you traffic but you should always use a hardware firewall/router off of any broadband connection. To test the security of the node you can open your windows network places and look to see if any unknown shares are listed. If there is no encryption in the node and you’re on the same subnet you might be able to see other user’s network shares. This is bad if you have pictures or other sensitive data you do not want others to see. Other things to know are that most MSO’s will block ports to your computer network. This is for both there business goals and your protection. MSO’s typically block NetBIOS, SMTP, port 80, and a lot of other virus ports (business accounts may not have port filters). The port blocking is done mostly to protect the customers from viruses and worms that travel quickly over broadband connections.

Signal Levels and Splitters

Let’s now look at the signal level needed to keep your cable modem online and surfing. Most cable modems have a signal range that they need to communicate to the CMTS. The signal levels can differ from vendor to vendor but as a rule of thumb most modems work well from RX -10dbv to +10dbv and TX 40dbv to 56dbv. A lot of modem vendors provide an informational webpage or diagnostic page you can connect too on the modem to see the messages from the modem and it’s levels. The diagnostic page’s IP is different from modem to modem but if you lookup your vendors modem specifications you will be able to see if you modem has this diagnostic page available. Other things to keep in mind is that your cable modem should be on its own coax line from the cable audit box outside or from the main feed you get from the MSO. It’s not a good idea to have your modem on a coax line with a lot of splitters due to each splitter has at least 3.5dbv or loss. And if you have to use a splitter make sure you read the throughput ratings on the splitter it should be at least 5-1000 MHz pass though. I hope this basic look at cable modems has helped you better understand how it al works and if you would like to find out more information about DOCSIS, CMTS’s, or cable modems try to use Google.

Brian Wilson
CCNA, CSE, CCAI, MCP, Network+
Slimjim100@gmail.com http://www.middlegeorgia.org http://www.middlegeorgia.info

An All Too Familar Pain

Writen by Chris Cameron

Lost & Found for the 21st Century

In today’s hectic world more and more people are turning to those handy gadgets and mobile products that can be taken with them anywhere they go. The more things consumers own, the more they’re prone to lose them. This in mind we actually went out and tested a new service on the UK market from Want it Bak. Lets see what Londoners are really made of.

We left a Palm m130 PDA on the Jubilee Line of the London Underground, a Sony Ericcson Mobile on the number 15 bus route, a Blackberry “email on the move” gizmo down in a local pub in South West London and a rucksack sitting in Starbucks Chancery Lane area. Lastly we left a digital camera sitting out in the open in Hyde park. Not the easiest thing leaving items lying about in this highly security conscious world we live in these days.

Here in the 21st century our lives have become more and more reliant on mobile items. As we go through our days, keeping a mental log of everything we have and where we have it becomes more and more difficult. It is inevitable that some things get lost. In fact as stated in a recent research “Around 62,000 mobile phones were left in London taxis during the last six months. That’s an average three phones per taxi, according to a survey of licensed London cabbies by the Taxi Newspaper and Pointsec Mobile Technologies. Absent minded and drunken travellers also forgot 4,000 laptops and 5,000 PDA’s when exiting cabs”.

So what can we do to have give us some reassurance that we have at least a chance of getting our valuable or even sentimental items back.

In steps lost and found for the 21st century in the form of Want it Bak. The service is based around the belief that most people are actually honest and will do the right thing if a method is offered to them. This feel good factor is enhanced by the added incentive of a reward for doing the right thing.

Anything you can imagine, mobile phones, keys, cameras, PDA’s, laptops, binoculars, backpacks, passports, briefcases, wallets and purses, golf clubs, power tools, textbooks, credit cards, cheque books… you get the picture, it can all be protected using their simple system.

How does Want it Bak work? Simple. You purchase a range of security tags each with their own unique id number. You register them with Want it Bak and that’s it. If you ever lose the item and someone finds it they contact Want it Bak directly using their website or their 0800 number and they arrange a courier to pick it up and return it to the owner for a small admin charge.

One of the best things about this service is the confidential nature of it. The “Finder” never knows who the owner is and vice versa. Reassuring for owners of expensive items, they can now safely retrieve their possessions.

“It’s a great incentive for people to do the right thing”, says Chris Cameron from Want it Bak, “Our research shows that most people are actually honest and the biggest barrier they have to returning items is the hassle of finding out who it belongs to, arranging delivery or pick up, getting the time to drop the item off at the local police station. Now they don’t have to do anything except ring us or visit our website, and they get a Reward for their troubles”.

The “Finders” themselves are offered a basic reward of