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文章归档
Does a Building Need An Architect
Information Technology (IT) is more complex than most buildings. This is why it requires a similar architectural process in order to have a positive and predicted outcome. Too many IT projects don’t end positive or as predicted. IPA business analysts end up running hundreds of surveys in companies all over North America. They’re exposed to many IT environments of various complexity and effectiveness. My experience as an analyst leads me to believe that staff tends to fall into three categories. The first and largest group would be those who believe they are completely IT illiterate. The second largest group would be those who think they are the second coming of Bill Gates. This group is considerably smaller. The third and smallest group are those who believe they fall somewhere in between. This is a common disparity and creates a common problem. Those who believe they have no understanding of IT look to anyone with some understanding as highly proficient in all areas; even worse they often confuse PC proficiency with IT proficiency.
The truth is even those who are brilliant in the IT domain are rarely strong across all divides. It is more common that quality IT staff will have superior ability(s) in one or two areas. Here are four basic areas of proficiency to consider. I am certain there are many ways to slice this pie but, in order to keep this short and sweet, consider these four.
1) Hard (Hardware & Networking)
2) Soft (Software, Database & Coding)
3) Application (Planning & Programming Adaptation / High Level)
4) Project Driver (Single Point of Contact & Oversight / Super High Level)
It is very rare that anyone would be exceptionally strong across the board. Placing too much faith in the office “PC guru” is one reason so many IT projects fall short of the anticipated miraculous impact on sales and profits.
Often projects get more driven by the shininess of new equipment and the technical jargon that gets added to staff’s vocabulary. The person or people entrusted may believe acquiring state of the art servers, monster switches, brilliant routers, and the latest greatest cabling and optical fiber is the answer to everything. The problem is the real “answer” is to question that was never asked or asked poorly.
Questions are the foundation of a building in the IT world called “Application”. An ergonomically designed building in the construction world requires a good architect. A well designed IT environment requires the same. The best application architecture comes from processing what you are trying to accomplish while momentarily ignoring the seduction of the hardware and software and the allure of multibillion marketing practices. It is not uncommon for a highly complex technology environment to become an expensive albatross. The reason is the brain for the brain is missing; the application side is weak. Wildly expensive, enormously sophisticated software purchases loaded up with unimaginable binary horsepower fall victim to the same short sidedness. I have been in too many companies hell-bent on purchasing bigger servers and laborious software with absolutely no way to support it.
Proper planning is the key. As obvious as that statement is, technophobia often critically weakens this essential step via a passing the hot potato style of delegation.
Application
Architects require surveys of the existing conditions, such as soil conditions to support the enormous building weights. This ultimately defines footings and foundation requirements. Lot sizes in combination with the local laws pertaining to set backs and zoning affect what you can and cannot build. The survey is where an architect starts in the construction world and the same applies in application architecture. A survey must be performed.
Step 1)
Take a survey of the current platform. Both the business platform and the technology platform need to be analyzed. The current hardware is normally the only substantial survey ever taken. The analysis needs to be heavily weighted to the current business operations. Strong consideration of potential opportunity, lost opportunity, efficiencies and inefficiencies, as well as the current operations model needs to be graphically converted into flow charts that define everything. Schematics need to clearly show the information flow, interdepartmental processes and global processes accompanying written specs. A company outsider should be able to read this and understand in detail critical processes from the survey’s findings. An identical process is used in the construction world by building architects who eventually evolve their construction document from existing conditions documents called as-built drawings, plot plans or “surveys”.
Step 2)
Brain Storm every imaginable opportunity and all potential changes. Be brave, nothing is stupid. You will find quantity will eventually become quality. This is purely an exercise in discovery. You have to walk on the moon to personally feel and relate to its gravity.
Step 3)
Narrow the creative processes to what is likely to work; get sensible. Start applying cost & benefit analysis. Look at what your true resources are. It is important to understand budgetary constraints, people’s ability constraints, and timeframe constraints. You need to be vigilant in cost to benefit as well as hassle to benefit analysis. Look for potential risks, the landmines in the road ahead. Be honest with yourself about impact: learning curves, culture shock, political impact, systems impact, debugging impact, moving the big ship impact. Repeat Step 3 as many times as it takes. Don’t let mental fatigue prematurely hasten this vital process. Often more focused surveys will evolve requiring an increasingly narrowing brain storming process. Once comfortable with the final incremental impact analysis you are ready for the next step in the application evolution.
Step 4)
A high level of confidence in the strategic planning and schematics are a required precursor for this step. Once the written problem/resolution logistical spec is done and final agreed upon procedural changes outlined it will be time to sharpen the information processing to support and proactively enforce the objectives of everything you wish to accomplish. This is where the interface of the technology side and application come together. Ultimately all the high level planning becomes low level information handling. When designed correctly the end user interface should mandate, high level performance. Ironically high level application will become lines of code and clever programming that ultimately become templates, macros, websites, databases, smart queries and smart metrics. Codes sequenced in billions of zeros and ones will get routed at the speed of light through networks that should be designed to support all of this with scalability within anticipated growth and budgetary constraints.
Step 5)
The best of the construction world architects with the most proactive design methodologies will still encounter change orders because of unforeseen problems. The more proactive the blueprint, the fewer change orders. This holds true in application architecture too. No matter how well you plan, you will encounter unforeseen problems resulting in change orders. You should always plan, budget and anticipate accordingly. Modifications to the original application design of your IT project will happen. It is easy to make rash decisions because you are in “lets just get it done” mode. That is likely to create more change orders and less is better. You can avoid falling into that trap by employing the same methodologies as described in steps 1-4 only with a narrowed focus on what precipitated the need for a change from the original application.
It becomes increasingly critical as you add more stories to a building’s design the necessity for a strong foundation to support it. Designing information technology to support your operations follows the same rule. The more layers of complexity likewise will require a stronger application. This is especially the case when you are introducing either new technology or technology intended to dramatically enhance operations. Over look this and you may find your parking spot in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Please feel free to visit International Profit Associates website to learn more about our services, resources and opportunities www.ipa-iba.com.
About the Author
Geoffrey Ladish Gabor is the COO for IPA. Gabor is a former senior business analyst and has personally experienced a vast array of application projects. Gabor recently was placed in charge of a multi-million $ network & telephony makeover at his home base, International Profit Associates. Gabor has had multiple speaking engagements at Harvard’s Graduate Business School discussing topics relating to the perils today�s businesses face.
Enjoy and Relax With Screensavers
It is a well known fact a few decades back computers used to have serious problems with monitors. When static images were left on them, monitors could easily burn them in permanently. To fight this problem, people came up with software programs that were set to change the images displayed on computer screensaver after a certain period of time, thus preventing monitors from burning. These programs were the first screensavers.
Today monitors are a lot more advanced, and displaying static images for many hours is no longer a problem. However, screensavers did not disappear; instead, they have developed and now have many new functions.
Today you may use 3d screensavers to show your individuality and spirit, you may make your desktop unique and thus different from million of other desktops! Blooming gardens and birds’ songs, gentle murmur of a brook and leaves rustling, fascinating and unforgettable space travels and many more pictures from you dreams will color your every day at home or at the office. Screensavers will always improve your mood and raise your spirit, adding something interesting to your daily life.
If you are fond of taking pictures or have collected a great stock of nice images you can make a slideshow of them and place it as a screensaver on your desktop. You can find lots of programs and utilities in the Internet which will help you to create your own screensavers. There are also huge amounts of the websites which will give you a wide variety of screensavers for your desktop.
At present 3D animated screensavers present the greatest interest. They are multifarious and spectacular and sometimes people watch them as a short movie. Such screensavers will accompany you during the holidays or take you away from boring daily routines, to the dream islands and tropical paradises, or to the nice house with a roaring fireplace and cat watching it from the armchair. Just have a look at the 3D screensaver and you will see there almost a real world, with awesome nature or mysterious and breathtaking Universe, with soothing sea and warm sand or any other place where you would like to be at this moment!
When you find a screensaver of your dream and download it, you install it and change it to your taste by choosing different scenes, views, tunes, etc. It is should be mentioned though that not all of the screensavers have various settings and can be customized. As a rule, most slideshow screensavers or free screensavers have limited functionality. Still, even among those you are likely to find attractive and colorful sceneries.
Brighten up your desktop with a screensaver and get a world of your dreams!
About the Author
Dmitry is a staff member on 3D Relax
Download and enjoy quality 3d screensavers from 3D Relax.
Improve the performance of your MySQL Server
MySQL is a rock solid, lighting fast database server which has been designed for two factors speed and performance. It is the Ferrari of databases: Light weight, fast and Built for the high speed tracks!
I still hear an awful lot of stories from owners whose databases are running two slow. In my experience, the three main places to look for problems are:
- Faulty Database Design
- Bad Queries
- Server factors
Faulty Database Design
Proper database design is the single most important factor for the ensuring performance and maintainability of the database. Here is what you need to answer when designing a table: Can I reduce the size of data that each row will have? Here is what you can do:
- Use unsigned numeric values when the application will not store negative numbers. Like the “quantity ordered” of an item in an ecommerce application is never going to be -$125.
- Use Variable length values instead of fixed length value i.e. used varchar instead of char.
- Do not use unnecessarily large field sizes. For most ecommerce application “unsigned smallint” is more than enough to store inventory count. A field described as “unsigned smallint” can store a max value of 65535.
- Don’t ignore normalization; its helps prevent unnecessary repetition of data. The part B of this is, don’t overuse normalization. If the table will not grow in size significantly, there is no point in normalization. For example, if the user table has just 20 rows (i.e. 20 employees in a company), all attempts of normalization are wasted.
- Use Keys. Don’t decide keys by “The customer id has to be indexed in the order table”. If the order table is being searched 90% of the times by “order date”, it makes more sense to index “order date”.
Remember, how a table will be used should determine how it is designed. Spending time here will save years of frustration.
Bad Queries
It sounds too good to be true but you wont believe the number of developers out there who completely suck at writing queries. There are two types of bad queries:
a) Unnecessary Queries: These are the queries that shouldn’t have been made in the first place. The only way to avoid this is asking, “Do I really need this data?”
b) Inefficient Queries: These are the queries that do not use the underlying table structure or MySQL functions in the correct way.
Here is a starting point to start looking at problem areas:
- Unnecessary usage of “Select * “statements when the entire processing is being done on a single column. The more data is fetched from the server the more work MySQL has to do and more bandwidth it takes.
- Using sub-query instead of a join. On a properly designed database, joins are incredibly fast. Using sub-queries just shows a lack of knowledge.
- Improper use of Keys. This is especially valid for range checks. Remember to use the “Explain” statement to check the usage of keys and then use the “use key” statement in your “where” clauses to force key usage.
Server Factors
Everything done correctly, there still may be some server factors that may be causing the system to be slow. These are:
- Hardware related
- Server configuration related
Here is what you can do about the hardware:
- The more RAM is on the system the better it is. MySQL frequently fetches data from the RAM and more the RAM is on the system, the better it is.
- Buy the fastest possible RAM! A slower RAM is just irony.
- Once you are settled with the RAM size and speed, look for processing speed. MySQL can use multiple processors.
Once you are satisfied with the hardware, there are a set of variables in “my.cnf” that you must look at:
a) key_buffer_size: This describes the memory available to store the index keys. The default is 8 MB but you can set it to 25% of the RAM.
b) query_cache_size: This value is by default 0. if you have a lot of repeating queries like in reporting applications etc, make sure you set this value high.
c) table_open_cache: This determines the number of table descriptors that MySQL will keep in the cache. The default value is 64. But, if you have 100 users accessing a table concurrently then this value should atleast be 100. You also have to take into considerations joins etc. Thus, this value should also be kept high.
I hope this article will take one step further in unlocking the mystery of slow servers and help solve some of the problems.
About the Author
Mukul Gupta is the CMO of Indus Net Technologies, an India based Internet Consulting firm which specializes in Opensource solutions. You can reach him at script@script2please.com or visit http://www.script2please.com
PNG is replacing GIF files for digital graphic storage
GIF is one of the oldest file formats used for graphics and digital photos storage. GIF has many technical advantages but it also has one big business disadvantage. GIF uses LZW compression which is tangled with patents and licensing issues. The free creation and usage of GIF files was always in debate.
While GIF is a great format for the storage of graphics the usage of GIF files represents some licensing issues. Specifically GIF uses the LZW compression algorithms that are patented and not free to use. GIF became so popular that practically it is used in many places without any practical licensing issues but regardless of the problem being practical and real it drove some industry groups to get organized in order to find a way to solve it once and for all.
One solution that was suggested and implemented was to create a completely new file format that will simply replace the old GIF. This format was called PNG – Portable Network Graphics – and it was designed to be as efficient as GIF but free for use without any risk of licensing or patents issues. PNG was also designed in the Internet era and as such was designed with Internet and networks usage in mind.
Both GIF and PNG were designed and are mostly used for storing graphics. Some people confuse graphics with digital photos although the two are completely different. Graphics are usually computer generated pictures that are built from some basic geometrical objects such as rectangles, triangles and circles. These objects can be combined in complicated ways, colored, filled, brushed, different textured can be used and more. Digital photos on the other hand are generated by digital cameras and by shooting photos of real objects. Digital photos are not built of discrete objects. There are technical implications to that difference mainly in how compression is implemented. For example it is easier to compress graphics (since it is built of known objects and more homogenous colors) than to compress digital photos (since they include areas of different colors, usually some noise and slight variations in colors in each pixel).
To conclude here are short explanations of what the GIF and the PNG formats are:
GIF – Graphics Interchange Format: An old file format initiated by CompuServe. It uses a lossless LZW compression and is thus more efficient than BMP files. GIF files are very efficient for storing basic graphics (that include lines, circles and other graphical shapes) and also efficient for storing small digital photos but are rarely used to store large digital photos as there are more efficient formats for that purpose. GIF files can also include multiple “frames” and support basic animation.
PNG – Portable Network Graphics: This relatively new format was designed to be used in online applications such as web pages. It uses a lossless compression. The original goal of the PNG format was to replace GIF (due to some licensing complications associated with the GIF format). PNG is commonly used now by online web sites to represent small digital photos or graphics replacing the GIF format.
About the Author
Ziv Haparnas is a technology expoert. This article can be reprinted only if the resource box including the backlink is included. Information about photography and photo prints is on printrates.com – your home for digital photo print service
Read more: PNG is replacing GIF files for digital graphic storage
Steps To Better Project Procurement and Management
1. Build and Maintain Contacts – Contacts are the life blood of any successful business. Most people have short memories hence its imperative to keep in touch with prospective clients, business contacts and industry people. You never know who may need you when and for what work.
2. Bid for work on Freelance Marketplaces – The internet has created a massive opportunity for small and medium service providers to bid for work on the numerous freelance marketplaces. These marketplaces match service providers with thousands of service buyers and are great source of project procurement. It is not possible to bid on all the marketplaces everyday. Choose the ones that cost you less and offer more regular opportunities.
3. Build a Strong Portfolio – When service buyers see provider portfolios on the freelance websites, apart from the price bid, the profile of the service provider, client referrals, work examples and overall presentation plays a major role in the selection process. Hence, it is important to build a professional portfolio with clearly laid out skill sets, contact information, customer references, academic qualifications, professional qualifications and examples of work done.
4. Define Scope of Work – When you win a project, make sure you clearly discuss the scope and functional features of the project with the client. This leads to healthy client relationships and makes it easier to plan the project execution. If you frequently contact the client with your queries, he might think that you did not understand the project and may become apprehensive working with you.
5. Design System Architecture – After finalization of project scope, design the architecture of the project in the form of a diagram and discuss it with the client so that you need not make too many changes after delivering the project to the client. Make sure you or your team sticks to this design so that the project development does not become haphazard.
6. Project Documents – It is a good practice to store all project related documents and client instructions in one place for quick access and timely action.
7. Time Allocation – Define Projects Tasks, Sub-Tasks and Allocate Time for each activity so that you can match client deadlines and also monitor the progress of work with respect to pre-decided timelines.
8. Allocate Tasks to Team Members – Keep track of Tasks allocated to team members for quick reporting and monitoring the progress of work.
9. Set Deadlines – Estimate and Set Deadlines on the various project related activities.
10. Monitor Progress of Work – Monitor the progress of work frequently so that you can communicate the same to your clients. Clients expect you to keep in touch with them and intimate them of the state of affairs.
11. Keep Track of Project Costs and Expenses – The primary purpose of business is to earn profits. For this you need to keep track of your expenses and revenue generated from work.
12. Client Communication – Frequently communicate with clients, intimating them of the progress of work. This leads to development of client confidence in your abilities.
13. Deliver the Project – After completion, deliver the project to the client and keep record of the delivery so that you can generate invoices on the client.
14. Raise Invoices on Clients – Raise Invoices on Clients and record of payment receipts for timely reminder to clients and to manage your inflows.
15. Manage Project Change Requests – Often, clients may ask you to change certain parts of a project. As part of efficient customer service, you should record and keep track of such requests and intimate the client upon making the change.
16. Use a System to Manage Activities– Utilize a software system to manage all these activities. There are plenty of software available that can help you manage one or more of the above activities. Or else you may choose to buy an affordable and all integrated solution like – Service Desktop Pro (www.servicedesktop.com).
About the Author
Business Management Software
Read more: Steps To Better Project Procurement and Management
Tips on Understanding the Benefits of a Download Manager
A download manager facilitates downloading of files from the Internet. Designed with specific purposes in mind, a manager can:
• Automatically dial up an Internet provider at night, when rates are low and download files. The manager will disconnect the dial up when the downloading is complete.
• Download huge files for users with a broadband connection, can resume broken downloads, limit downloading capacity, browse a site automatically to download specified content, and do regular updating of downloads.
Easy to use download managers integrate well with web browsers. Features include: scheduling, traffic shaping, virus checking, as well as cataloguing.
Download managers either use BHO, browser helper object or APP, asynchronous pluggable protocol to intercept downloads. Some managers use one while others use both methods. An effective download manager is known to increase download speeds by 500 percent.
• BHO is used by: FlashGet, GoZilla, Mass Downloader, Alligator, and NetAnts.
• APP is used by: GetRight, Re Get, FlashGet, and Download Accelerator Plus.
Downloading videos, freeware, and shareware is facilitated by the use of a download manager. Download managers save downloaded files in appropriate folders and perform their functions late at night when you are not using the net.
• If a download is broken due to browser crash, electricity shut down, or lost connection, a download manager will resume where the process was interrupted.
• A download manager permits viewing of partially downloaded video files.
• It will allow you to drag and drop, download links to a floating icon.
• It can be programmed to begin when the PC is not in use and shut down on completion.
• One can formulate simple rules which the manager will follow to download several files from a site.
• Download managers do automatic recursive downloads.
• A manager manages files and gives instant review of downloads.
A few download managers grant greater user control while others are designed such that the content developers have control. Some like GoZilla display adware in the user interface while others have spyware, FlashGet. There are some with no adware or spyware like LeechGet 2003.
Download managers are of many kinds. Some are free while others require payment. Commonly used managers are: Offline Explorer, Nici, GoZilla, WellGet, Download Accelerator Plus, and Mozilla Firefox. Related to but different are P2P applications: Kazaa, eMule, BitTorrent, and stream recorders.
An ideal download manager must be:
• Free.
• Easy to use.
• Not have spyware or adware.
• Provide effortless downloads.
Choose a manager after you compute your PC needs. Find out what integrates well with your system. Always keep abreast with developments and changes in technology. A suitable download manager can make life easy and wonderful. Enjoy movies, videos, news clips, photographs, as well as games.
About the Author
Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com, the premier website to find Free Software Downloads including free anti-virus software, free spyware detection software, free toolbars, free chat software and more. He also freelances for www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com.
Read more: Tips on Understanding the Benefits of a Download Manager
Tips on Understanding the Dangers of Spyware and Adware
Adware is a program that displays advertisements on the computer whether you want them or not. They are not just connected to particular websites or free software but are programmed to start up whenever your computer is switched on.
Programs like Eudora mail client display advertisements in lieu of charging registration fees for use of software. It helps developers recover program development costs. Kazaa the file sharing application comes bundled with at least three ad-ware programs. Two of them serve ads to the desktop while another redirects the user’s browser to a search engine with advertiser sponsored web results. Well known ones are: BroadcastPC; Comet Cursor; GeoWhere; Network Essentials, 123 Messenger, Direct Revenue, and so on.
Unfortunately, other guises of adware are spyware and malware.
Spyware is a program code that relays information about you and your work without your permission or knowledge. Some just “spy” on you conveying your Internet habits to marketing companies, while others are “thieves” they access credit card information as well as other sensitive files. In plain terms, it is malicious software that can intercept or take control of a computer’s operation without user knowledge or consent. Termed as “malware” the redefinition of spyware, the programs can:
• Steal personal information and the address book.
• Flood the browser with pop-ups.
• Spam the system.
• Slow down programs and connection.
• Hijack the browser and redirect the user to a “con” page.
• Uses the computer as a server to broadcast porn.
• Can cause a crash.
Spyware reaches a computer through innocent web pages, game demos, MP3 players, search tool bars, and other downloads like free software. It installs itself and leaves a mark on the windows registry. It can hog the computer resources such as memory and hard drive and cause a crash or lock up. Keystroke-logging spyware can steal passwords and credit card information for thieves.
To protect the files one has to:
• Use anti adware and spyware programs. Examples: Spybot, Search & destroy, Pest Patrol, and Lavasoft’s Adware.
• Keep windows as well as Internet explorer up-to-date by applying the latest security patches.
• Maintain the security level of the Internet Explorer at medium. Users must not lower the security level.
• Use firewalls and web proxies to block access to web sites known to carry spyware.
• Install layered protection.
• Update the antivirus program. An up-to-date program will stop spyware as well as Trojans.
• Install a startup monitor to protect your system.
• Never accept “free” as being free—check out free software and downloads, there will be a hidden surprise or catch.
• Never download software from warez sites. Pirated software is always distributed along with adware and spyware.
• Use Spy checker to determine if the download has spyware. This can be accessed from the free computer securities pages.
An anti-spyware coalition has been instituted by Microsoft, Earthlink, McAfee, and Hewlett-Packard. They are working towards anti-spyware legislation and putting protection systems in place. A survey shows that 87 percent of users know what spyware is and of this 40 percent through firsthand experience. Protect yourself and your work; keep your system free of adware and spyware.
About the Author
Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com, the premier website to find Free Software Downloads including free anti-virus software, free spyware detection software, free toolbars, free chat software and more. He also freelances for www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com.
Read more: Tips on Understanding the Dangers of Spyware and Adware
Video capture software for AVI and WMV
In this age of computer technology access and In this age of computer technology access and manipulation of information at any point of time and in any form has become absolutely common. With invention of CD, Camcorder, MP3, digital cameras and many more gizmos like them access to audio and video files have become a commonplace affair for most of us. Everyone just expect that if one has any sound track or any video clip they must be able to play and view it every time and at all places. But the problem is that these many diversified instruments each have their own format for storing the various audio and video clips.
It’s not certain that the audio CD that produced excellent sounds in the MP3 would perform equally well on the home theater system at the house. Problems eventually arise when you eagerly switch on the computer to view some of the pictures recorded on the handy cam or when you want to listen to some rare and favorite sound track on the computer. After all the endeavor to attach the cords and devices you find that all the efforts was to only find the computer display a message that it did not support the format in which information was supplied to it and hence could not do anything with the audio or video. Believe me its very frustrating when such incidents happen. Usually one has to just sit back, get frustrated with the technology and miss their very rare favorite sound track. One desperately wishes that if they had some thing in this world that could change the format of the file and make the file work on the device they had.
Blaze media pro is a perfect solution to all these problems and now you don’t have to miss viewing your much-loved pictures and hearing to the best of tracks just because the format in which they were stored was different. Blaze media pro is a blessing for a techno freak. Now none needs to pay a huge ransom to the technical experts for just changing formats of simply editing a little piece of information. All types of changes and inclusion or deletion of any part of the recording is only a click away. Blaze media pro has very exhaustive tutorial and extremely easy steps to perform all manipulations that are desired on video or audio files. It’s easy to follow steps enables even a novice to easily handle all the technicalities involved in the process.
Many software’s promise to provide an easy way to convert audio and video files from one format to another but with most of the services there’s a limit that they can only perform one specific task that they had assured. Now each time one requires a different type of format exchanging they have to rush and mess with another device. Blaze media pro brings an end to all these hurdles in the way to universal access of information. It offers an one stop venue for all the your digital requirements. What better can it get than, that it’s available free for trial for 15 days on net and can be downloaded easily.
About the Author
Mansi Gupta writes about video capture. Learn more at http://www.blazemp.com/video_capture_software.htm.
