Found Not Lost

I had a phone call the other day from an old friend in the Philippines. It was so out of the norm it shocked me that I was even talking to this person after so many years. We fell into the old banter after only a few minutes as if we just spoke last week. After getting caught up in the gossip and all that, I suddenly realized how long we’ve been on the phone! I told him we’d better get off or he’d have more than hell to pay on his phone bills. I remember on the one or two lapses I had with international phone calls in the past, I ended up tripling my normal monthly bill! He laughed and calmly explain that they used voip gateways to make all their long distance calls now, especially international calls. He said voice-over-internet-protocol is the thing now. For the same cost as a local phone call, they can make long distance calls for pennies!

That just goes to show how much I stay on the phone. I had never even heard of VOIP before. He even gave a U.S. number to call him at even though he’s in the Philippines. When I call via VOIP, I only get billed what it costs to call that area code, not the triple digit rate for international calling. Sweet!

When you have a computer, if you’re plugged into the internet or local network, then you become quite familiar with different kinds of cables like Cat5e patch cable which are Ethernet cables.

We are getting such a tangle under our computer desk at home that the other day, my husband was wishing we had all wireless connection. Especially since I can sit in bed and blog while he has to sit at the desk to work on his website. Boohoo! I’m such a meanie, huh?

My husband just signed up for his own webhosting service so he won’t be sharing mine anymore. He ended up going with the same provider I am using since we are already familiar with their track record.

However, after reading this website about web host scams I had to think twice about the service I’m receiving. When I signed up with my host, they gave me a free domain name. I just said thank you and kept on going. Now that I’ve seen this alert, I’ll have to check back to see if I own the domain name or if they do. There are other signs to watch out for listed on the site. Check it out and make sure you haven’t fallen for any of those gimmicks.

If you have kids, you probably have experienced moving from one physician to another. That’s happened to us several times as our doctors either move on, or we change insurance and have to find a new doctor, or when we moved from one coast to the other. During all that moving, it’s always been a chore to get our medical histories to follow us. To request a copy of your records, you’d have to go to the office (that is if they don’t send you to another site that handles their paperwork), fill out a request form and maybe pay a fee for having someone find your records, photocopy them and mail them. There is usually at least a two week wait before you get your information too.

VirMedice is a software consultant that offers a way for physicians to convert their paper records to an electronic medical records system that will hopefully eliminate some of the hassle of storing and archiving your medical records. I’ve actually seen a version of this software being used at my doctor’s office and at the hospital. It makes life so much easier for the doctor and the patients. They have your whole history at their disposal without having to wait for a nurse to pull one information or another while you are having a conversation with your doctor. The software also comes with useful tools such as e-Prescribing which while convenient for the employees, it also increases patient safety by checking for possible drug interaction.

There are still late comers to this technology, but I think most medical practices will soon find that the benefits of going digital and storing their records electronically will ultimately save them time and increase their productivity.

Anyone who has been in the workforce quickly learn that the way to advance in most careers is education. Even doctors, engineers and lawyers, who you would think have reached a certain level of accomplishment have to constantly renew their certifications, licenses and most need continuing education in order to stay at the level they wish to be in.

One of the fastest growing fields, information technology, is also the fastest field to become obsolete in. New development and technology crop up almost on a daily basis and people in these careers have to constantly re-make themselves to stay competitive. The problem is, once you are ensconsed in a career, it’s not always easy to find the time to go back and take classes. Thankfully, with the advent of the internet, most courses can now be taken online and at your own pace and time.

QuickCert.com offers IT professionals self-study and training materials. There are courses offered in the following areas: Microsoft Certification, Comptia Certification, EC-Council and Cisco Certification. Courses are taught by industry experts and they guarantee that they will prepare you enough to pass all courses. Visit the website for free demos and to receive a price quote.

If you are unsure whether you need additional certifications, just compare the salaries of Microsoft Certified professionals and see where you fall:

Base Salary, Microsoft Certification
MCP, NT 4.0 $72,164
MCP, Windows 2000 $69,757
MCP, Windows 2003 Server $68,426
MCP, Developer $73,409
MCP, Other $66,765
MCP + Internet $73,536
MCSA, Windows 2000 $71,672
MCSA, Windows 2003 $71,250
MCSA: Messaging, Windows 2000 $66,667
MCSA: Messaging, Windows 2003 $58,333
MCSA: Security, Windows 2000 $68,452
MCSA: Security, Windows 2003 $66,944
MCSE, NT 4.0 $71,900
MCSE, Windows 2000 $69,905
MCSE, Windows 2003 $67,057