Why Trade the FOREX?

My purpose for writing this article is to demonstrate to you the advantages of trading on the FOREX market. However, there is one myth that I want to dispel before I go further. The myth is that there is a difference between trading and investing. To dispel that myth I quote from Al Thomas, President of Williamsburg Investment Company, who wrote "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It". He said "Everyone who invests is a trader, only the time period is different." It is a lesson that I took seriously after taking a beating in the stock market in 2000.

So now, let's compare features of currency trading to those of stock and commodity trading.

Liquidity
The FOREX market is the most liquid financial market in the world around 1.9 trillion dollars traded everyday. The commodities market trades around 440 billion dollars a day, and the US stock market trades around 200 billion dollars a day. This ensures better trade execution and prevents market manipulation. It also ensures easily executable trading.

Trading Times
The FOREX market is open 24 hours a day (except weekends) which means that in the US it opens at 3:00 pm Sunday (EST) and closes Friday at 5:00 (EST), allowing active traders to choose the times they want to trade. Commodities trading hours are all over the board depending on which commodity you are trading. Including extended trading times US stocks can be traded from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm (ET) on weekdays.

Leverage
Depending on your FOREX account size, your leverage may be 100:1, although there are FOREX brokers that offer leverage of up to 400:1 (not that I would ever recommend that kind of leverage). Leverage in the stock market can be as high as 4:1, and in the commodities market, leverage varies with the commodity traded but it can be quite high. Because the commodity markets are not as liquid as the FOREX market, its leverage is inherently riskier. Although I was never shut out of a commodity trade by the day limit, the fear was always in the back of my mind.

Trading costs
Transaction costs in the FOREX market is the difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair. There are no brokerage fees. For both the stock and the commodity markets, there are transaction costs and brokerage fees. Even when you use discount brokers, those fees add up.

Minimum investment
You can open a FOREX trading account for as little as $300.00. It took $5,000 for me to open my futures trading account.

Focus
85% of all trading transactions are made on 7 major currencies. In the US stock market alone there are 40,000 stocks. There are just over 200 commodity markets, although quite a few are so illiquid that they are not traded except by hedgers. As you can see, the fewer number of instruments allows us to study each one more closely.

Trade execution
In the FOREX market, trade execution is almost instantaneous. In both the equity and commodity markets, you count on a broker to execute your trades and their results are sometimes inconsistent.

While all of these features make trading the FOREX market very attractive, it still requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience. All trading can be risky.

Author By: Susan Walker
Dr Susan Walker has been an environmental consultant for more than 20 years and has dabbled in trading for longer than she cares to remember. Please visit her at www.creative4xtrader.com and she will give you, absolutely free, a copy of the great little e-book, "FOREX FREEDOM".
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Others Vs Forex Trading

What are the advantages of Forex over other types of investments? LOW RISK - HIGH YIELD is the first thing that comes to mind. Forex Trading can be risky and the general rule for investing is: When the return is high the risk is high, but with correct planning and strategy combined with a certain amount of self discipline you can bring the risk factor down to a level that is quite low. It is even possible to strategically plan your market entry and exit levels and control exactly how much you profit or lose.
This can be done in a way that allows the investor to still profit even when they misjudge the market 50% of the time! Compare that to other types of investments.

GEARING, is another area that stands out as a major advantage; this also substantially reduces the risk to you the investor. When you trade 1 forex "Mini lot" you will be trading a parcel of money valued at $10,000 USD And you only need $100 USD of your own money! If you trade a regular "Lot" you only need $1,000 USD to trade $100,000 USD. How's that for gearing? Try and do that with other kinds of investments!

LOW CAPITAL REQUIRED, many investments require a substantial amount of capital before you can take advantage of a particular investment opportunity, with Forex You only need $300 USD to "get into the market", and only need to have $100 USD in order to trade your $10,000 "Mini Lot".

CONVIENIENCE, if you have a laptop and an internet connection you can make a trade in 5- 10 minutes! Depending on how long your computer takes to start up, and the speed of your connection.

LIQUIDITY, many other forms of investing require tying your money up for long periods of time, and if you need to use the capital it can be difficult or impossible to access to it without taking a huge loss (Real Estate). Not so with Forex trading. With Forex Trading you have full control of your capital.

CAN PROFIT IN BULLISH OR BEARISH MARKETS
Stock market traders need stock prices to rise in order to take a profit, Real Estate prices must go up in order to make a capital gain.
However, The Forex investor can make a profit in both situations, a rising or falling market.

The Forex Market is open 24 hrs a day.

Can anyone do it or do you need to be some kind of super genius?
Forex Trading isn't for the faint hearted so be warned, while you can get yourself a "Demo Account" and practice as you learn in real time in the real market.
You can't experience the emotions that come with putting your real money on the line.

You can however prepare yourself well by using one of the many Forex Trading courses that are available online today.

Author By: Bill Boyd
Bill Boyd is an investor and online marketer; go here to visit his site: www.fx-t.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Forex Trading - Advantages Over Traditional Investment Methods

Most people are looking for the perfect way to invest their money. No one will argue against the fact that your money is only going to grow by any reasonable amount if you have invested in some type of market. The first piece of advice usually given is that they should take advantage of whatever is offered by their employer's 401k plan, if that is an option for them. This is good, sound and advice and should be followed if at all possible.

However, many people either don't have the option of investing in a 401k, or they have maxed out their 401k contributions and are looking for a good place to invest their additional funds for maximum growth. For obvious reasons (ie - terrible perfomance), traditional savings accounts and CDs are out of the question. These people are usually advised that investing in mutual funds is the only practical, "safe" alternative to a 401k.

Many people hold the belief that a mutual fund is the only "safe" way for an individual to invest beyond the typical savings accounts and CD's offered by their local bank. This belief is no doubt due to the success enjoyed by mutual funds throughout the 1990's, when all of the stock market benefited from the huge bull market that was driven by the tech sector. Ironically, though, just as mutual funds have soared in popularity, they have also peaked in performance, and over the last few years most have seen an astonishing lack of overall success.

So the intrepid investor goes off in search of the perfect mutual fund, only to find that there is a bewildering array of funds to choose from, and an overwhelming number of factors to consider when making that decision. Some people will forge ahead and make a decision on a mutual fund, while others will decide to go to the next level and start looking for investments that give them more control, and hopefully greater returns.

The next level for most investors is usually the stock market, where they hope to achieve phenomenal returns. But most people are not prepared for the reality of investing in stocks, which presents them with an array of choices that is several orders of magnitude greater than that offered by mutual funds. The natural question is: Which is a good stock to invest in? How do you select the one or two rising stars out of all the thousands of stocks there are to choose from?

So just like in the search for a mutual fund, the investor is stuck with the problem of how to pick which investment is the best place for his funds. At this point many people give up, which is a shame, because there are some other options available to them besides mutual funds and stocks.

The most common option considered besides stocks would be commodities. The lure of commodities is that they are able provide tremendous returns for your investment dollars due to leveraging. Leveraging simply means that for every dollar invested you are able to control more than a dollar's worth of commodity. This can lead to tremendous returns, but unfortunately commodities come with a huge downside. One of the disadvantages of commodities are broker's fees, which can be quite high per trade. Another disadvantage is market liquidity... sometimes the markets being traded don't offer enough buyers and sellers to ensure that your order can be executed in a timely manner. This can lead to unexpected losses during times of extreme market volatility.

Another disadvantage endured by commodities traders is the advantage enjoyed by the floor traders in the exchanges. These traders have a huge advantage over the retail trader because they trade with much lower commissions, and also since they have such an intimate knowledge of their market, they know what are the most likely stop and limit targets that have been set by the retail traders through their brokers. This means that they can "flush out" the retail trader by gunning for their stops and taking small incremental profits from the market. Once the small traders have been flushed out of the markets by having their stops hit, the market can continue to move in its original direction. Sadly, many of the retail traders may have been right in their opinion of the direction the market was headed, but they are now out of the market because their stops have been hit.

An alternative to consider to all of the above investment options is to trade the Forex market. The Forex market is the global, electronic, decentralized trading of the world's major currencies. In the past, only major banks government institutions were able to trade on the Forex. But recently the Forex market was opened up to retail traders who are able to trade through retail brokers.

The advantages of trading the Forex are numerous when compared to all the other investment methods. The most obvious advantage is that, unlike stocks, you don't have to search through thousands of different investment types to find a likely candidate. There are a very limited number of currencies that are traded, and most Forex traders only trade in one of the four major currencies: The British Pound, the Euro, the US Dollar, and the Japanese Yen. Each market gives enough volatility to offer plenty of trade opportunities each day. So while the stock trader is busy looking for which stock to trade, the Forex trader is already busy analyzing the market and setting up his trades.

Another advantage of the Forex is that there is no one single "common place" or exchange where the trades are made. The Forex is an electronic market that is traded globally among a network of computers, and is not centralized to any one location. This means that there are no floor traders to compete with, and no one who can "flush out" the retail trader by gunning for his stops.

Yet another advantage of the Forex market is that it is traded 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. This offers the extraordinary opportunity for traders all over the world to trade when it is convenient for them, and not be confined to trading a market that is only open during hours that would impossible or inconvenient.

One thing the Forex offers is identical to what is offered by the futures markets: leverage. Like commodities traders, the individual trading the Forex market can make fantastic returns compared to stocks, mutual funds. But unlike commodities traders the Forex market trades with much lower commissions. Instead of standard commissions, the Forex trader pays a small spread on each trade.

There are a lot of details about the Forex market, and trading the Forex market, that have been left out of this article. This is just a very quick introduction to some of the problems with traditional investing and to the advantages to be had by trading the Forex.

Be sure to check out our free ebook for more info on getting started with the Forex.

Til next time... Success to you!

-Ted
Author By: Ted Lewis
Ted is part of a group of Forex traders that makes its home at: www.ForexProfitMentor.com Check it out for the latest ideas on how YOU can trade the Forex for profit!
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

I Found the FOREX Holy Grail...Do You Want It?

Sound familiar? Well, it should. Every time you read about a managed fund, or FOREX trading system, this is exactly what your are buying into. Obviously, you would never give your money to a fund if they can't provide consistent profits, and in most cases a "detailed" view of historical results.

O.k. I am getting ahead of myself. Let me take a step back and explain the question I am trying to answer.

Who should I let manage my account?

To me, there is a very simple answer to this question. YOU SHOULD MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT. No other individual in this world understands your strengths, weaknesses, and tolerances better than you.

Yet there seems to be a never ending growth of funds and/or trading systems available online. Every one of them, of course, show substantial profits in the past. The question, then, is this.

Why are they sharing this great fortune with us? Why not just invest more of their own money, which they have just recently earned, and increase their profits?

There is a relatively limitless amount of money available in the FOREX. Why would someone want to earn 25% of your profit as a management fee instead of 100% of theirs. Because both of those things can not happen at the same time.

Every FOREX broker offers guaranteed fills on your orders under normal market conditions. This means that a $1 order is treated the same as a $1,000,000 order (whatever the maximum is with your FOREX broker). So, as long as your trade is accurate, you will have no problem getting as much currency as you like.

So what does that mean? Well, every FOREX broker has a maximum size order for which you are guaranteed your fill. This is important to understand for a very simple reason.

If the fund manager is only guaranteed his fill for $1,000,000, why wouldn't he want to capture maximum profit on his entire alloted amount.

In fairness, I would understand if he didn't have the capital to invest, but then I wouldn't trust the claims of his previous successes.

With a consistently successful trading strategy, and a conservative compounding strategy; you could turn a $5,000 account into a $1,000,000 account in just over 1 year. Let me explain before you all go running to open a FOREX Trading Account and lose all your money.

By investing 10% of your account on a daily basis, and averaging 20 pips/day in profit your account would increase by 2% on a daily basis. For those of you familiar with compounding, you understand how this can lead to such a major growth in your account.

So, here is another obvious question. If the fund has been averaging such astounding results over the past year, why can't they invest enough money to reach their limit? And, if they can, why aren't they?

Here is the answer to all of the questions. If they were that good, you would never know about them. It's just that simple. The greatest traders are growing their accounts and reaching their limit day after day.

I promise you this - they are not using anyone else's trading strategy, they are using their own. That's right, to become a truly great FOREX trader, you have to learn what works best for you, not someone else.

The most efficient way to reach the pinnacle of your trading skills is through an elite Forex trading course.

Are you still thinking about letting someone else handle your trading for you?

Here is one more reason for skepticism. Many spreads charge you a per trade transaction. This is an absolute no no. In this arrangement, they are guaranteed to make money on every trade. You, on the other hand are not. Avoid dealings with anyone who will make money on your losses.

Take your future in your own hands. Learn to trade the forex markets on your own.

Author By: Eddie Yakubovich
Eddie is the Head Instructor at Foreign Exchange University. He has developed an Elite Forex Trading Course. Learn about the "Trading In Black And White Forex Trading Course".
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

An Overview Of Forex Trading

Forex, is an exchange that allows investors to trade national currencies through the foreign exchange. This is the worlds largest market for currency, based on the Dollar, anywhere between 1 - 2 TRILLION dollars are traded upon this market on a daily basis. This type of trade is typically performed online or on the telephone. By taking advantage of the world wide web, you are enabling yourself to make your investments in a reliable, easy, safe and fast way.

Some investors are able to enjoy returns of around thirty percent on a monthly basis, this takes a great deal of experience to gain this type of enormous return on your investment. The Forex market does not have one specific place of trade like many of the other markets do, for this reason alone is why most of the trade is performed by internet, fax, or telephone. In the beginning for currency trade was not all that popular, they were bringing in only about seventy billion dollars on a daily basis, with the invention of Forex, that number grew massively.

Of course, the currencies do not only deal with the American dollar, these currencies can be translated to over 5,000 currency institutions world wide, which include, commercial companies, large brokers, international banks, and government banks. Many major countries have forex trading centers such as, Frankfurt, London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Bombay to name a few.

When trading online there are many benefits such as, the ability to trade or track your investments at anytime day or night, from anywhere within the world that offers an internet connection. Another added benefit, is that some online exchange sites allow you to start with a small investment, known as a mini account, some with as little as two-hundred dollars. With online trading, the trade is instant. When you trade offline you have to deal with paperwork, with online trading there is no paper work involved.

The world of the internet, has allow us to do many things with just a click of a button, where else can you bank, trade, talk to your family and friends, research your investments and earn money all at the same time? Make the internet work in your best interest by implementing online trading into your portfolio. There's a whole world of money waiting for you to earn with your online investments, and it's all available at the click of your mouse button.

Author By: Jeff Lakie
Jeff Lakie is a contributing author at our website where You can get a free Secured Loans Quote right now.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Finding a Forex Broker

Foreign exchange is the largest financial market and everyday new investors plan to jump in when they learn of the benefits, that is, high returns on investment which is as high as 20% per month a month. However, inexperience and over enthusiasm can only do bad and bring in losses so, you'll need an experienced forex broker to help you put your money in the right place at the right time.
A forex broker with a cool head, preferably with a long list of satisfied clients and experience is the right guy. Once you've found the right forex broker, all that's to be done is, keep a regular check on your investments and it is advised to do it independently to avoid scams, because one can never know. So, how to find the right forex broker, is that the question? Well, good news, this article was written just for you.
In a market where cash flows faster than the F1 circuit, scams should come as no surprise even with reputed names and it's your responsibility to be aware of where the money is and keep a check on the movement and earnings. Different people prefer different levels of risk and depending on that factor you might like to check how different forex broker work and then select the one from them.
Even before you start the search, remember to strike down brokers promising windfalls, they are scams without doubt and same for brokers who are promising huge profits or no risk. Trading always involves some form of risk because of the nature of the market which you must be prepared to incur.
Make sure to check the spread of the forex broker as that's where they earn their money, read their terms of service carefully and check the services offered. There might be a lot of services being offered upfront at no cost but you might be billed for them later on, so make sure to sign up only for the services that are required.
A forex broker is a long term partner for financial success so, make sure to research their background well. All that's to be done is put in a little effort by checking the credibility of the forex broker or company upfront for peace of mind in long term.

Author By: Arturo Ronzon
Want to learn more about Forex Trading? Feel free to visit us at: Forex Trading Information and Resources
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

5 Things You Must Do To Attain Financial Freedom Through Forex Trading

With the amazing growth of the forex market, you are going to see an astounding amount of traders lose all their money. Unfortunately, they haven't followed the simple steps I have laid out for you. Go through these steps and give yourself the greatest opportunity to achieve your goals.

1. Have Faith In Yourself

To reach the level of elite forex trader, you must trust in yourself and your forex trading education. You must be willing to make all your trading decisions, instead of relying on someone else's thoughts or ability (or lack of). Of course, you will prepare yourself fully before every risking any money.

2. Accept Your Learning Curve

Unless you are a veteran trader, you will lose money trading the Forex market. This is a near certainty. I don't say this to talk you out of trading. In fact, quite the opposite. You will be trading against others that fall to this reality day in and day out. You, however, will not risk a dime until you have learned the skills you need to make money trading the forex.

3. Decide What Type of Trader You Are

There are many ways to trade the forex. They range from very active to very patient. You must decide which style suits you best. The best time to learn this about yourself is while you are trading a demo account. There is no need to allow your learning curve to cost you money.

4. Get Educated

Education is the shortest path to elite forex trading. Regardless of your ultimate goals, you will reach them quicker with a great forex trading education. Take some time to review different options before deciding on who to trust with your forex trading education needs. A forex seminar will help shorten your learning curve drastically.

5. Continue to Get Educated

In order to achieve and retain elite forex trading skills, you must constantly be adding to you knowledge base. Your education should never end. In fact, one of the key points to look for in an elite forex trading course is ongoing education. It's nice to have an ongoing relationship with the person/people helping you to achieve your goals.

What separates an elite forex trader from all others is their desire and ability to be independent. Many traders are willing to follow signals, systems, strategies, or anything else you may call them. By taking this approach, however, these traders are only as good as the people they follow.

An elite forex trader will lead. Their decisions will be calculated and analyzed to near perfection. They will make decisions with no hesitation, and handle the growth of their account in a predetermined, intelligent fashion. Take your trading to their level and you will never look back.

Author By: Eddie Yakubovich
Eddie Yakubovich has trained hundreds of successful traders using the same methods found in his elite forex trading course. This forex seminar provides you with as in depth a forex trading education we have ever seen. We highly recommend it.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Understanding the Forex Trading System

The forex trading system involves buying and selling foreign currency. Unlike the stock market there is no fixed market for the forex trading system. A good and effective forex trading system allows the traders to transact easily and provide more chances to increase the earnings. Forex, foreign exchange market, is a market place where a currency of one country is sold for another country's currency for some profit. Currencies are traded in pares, like, US Dollar and Japanese Yen or US Dollar and Euro.
Foreign exchange tradings are a great money making opportunity for those who know their way around, for newbie it's a dream world where they either fall hard, sail well or fly high, its not easy to be a successful trader in the forex trading system., it's a mix of luck and experience that must work to find success. There are a lot of companies and individuals over the internet and offline willing to help you earn money from the forex trading system but only a handful of these are true and can actually help.
Nowadays most of the calculations are done by easy to use software that need minimum input from the user. You will need help initially, and may take some time for you to get to know the forex trading system. The high degree off leverage can sweep you either way, in the forex trading system one has to assess the risk for self, think of the chance one may have individually or with the help of a broker and/ or signal provider one may have and the amount which one can safely risk without putting yourself into financial trouble. It's a law of nature, where there's potential to earn there' potential to loose so just be prepared before you dive in.

Author By: Arturo Ronzon
Want To Learn more about Forex Trading, feel free to visit us at: Forex Trading Resources
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

How is Forex Trading Different?

If you're wondering why there seems to be so much buzz these days about forex trading, you're not alone. There are a number of reasons why forex trading is one of the hottest "new" investment opportunities for average folks. Fortunately, more and more information is surfacing about forex, making it a great time to start doing your research.

The purpose of this short article is to present a basic overview of key aspects which differentiate forex from other investment vehicles with which most of us are more familiar.

Today, the average person has a home computer with an internet connection. In addition, the number of people with a hi-speed broadband connection is rapidly increasing. This places a power and control in our hands that we've never before experienced. It's no longer necessary to have to rely upon the technical infrastructure of banks, brokerage firms and mutual fund advisors. This is incredibly significant. The internet represents more and more independence and choice for the individual to handle investing activities.

The nature of forex fits right in with the independence and freedom of having your internet connection. You can trade anytime from anywhere, starting with a very low investment; under $1000. There are no fees to pay and although the currency market is very liquid, it's also very predictable. You can also make money whether markets are up or down. That's why it works. The really fun thing is that you can get online and practice by paper trading and learn without any risk. Then, after gaining a better understanding of how it works, you can begin with a small amount and make it grow.

Previously, only the "big boys" and financial institutions were in-the-know about forex trading and very active in it as well. Seasoned investors have also been involved over the last few years. Experienced stocks and commodities traders have discovered the power of forex trading. The daily forex trading volume is said to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 trillion dollars, which is 30 times the combined volume of all the US equity markets. That's some pretty tall talking, but certainly worthy of your investigation. Now, because of certain regulatory changes that occurred in the late '90's and the explosion of home computing & internet technology, forex has become an investment opportunity that most people can be involved with in the comfort of their home as they control their own investment strategies.

Like I said, this is really just a light overview, but I urge you to give some attention to forex trading and discovering more about it. You may find it quite rewarding.

Author By: J.P. Holesworth
The author is an avid researcher of internet marketing, investment and home business opportunities. For a FREE guide with the straight facts on Forex trading, visit www.4xtradingprofits.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Daytrading The Forex Market

The foreign exchange market (the forex) can be a treacherous market to trade especially if you are not properly equipped for the job. You will need to give attention to the following: the equipment and type of internet connection you have; the overall amount of capital you can put at risk on this enterprise, as well as the amount of capital you are prepared to risk on any one trade;your broker and the reliability of the trading platform; charts and technical analysis; good entry and exit signals; being aware of news releases affecting this market; the need to use a stop loss on each trade to protect your position; the cutting of losses if a trade goes against you; and the compounding of profits.

You will ideally need a Pentium 4 desktop computer running Windows XP with a processor speed of 2.5GHZ and 512MB of RAM. The monitor needs to be at least 17", but 19" or bigger is better. You could get away with a 56K dial-up connection but broadband is usually far better in terms of stability.Some people have been known to trade this market successfully from a laptop which gives them mobility.

YOu will need a minimum of $20,000 risk capital to trade this market. "Risk capital" means that it doesn't include money you require for living from month to month, and therefore you can employ it in the market for speculative purposes. The reason for the entry figure being so high is that it is inadvisable to risk more than 3% of your total risk capital on any one trade. On this basis, the most you should be putting at risk on any one trade is $600 ( that is $20,000 X 3%) using full lots. You could start with a lesser amount of risk capital by using mini lots and still maintain the maximum 3% loss any one trade.

You will need to choose a broker wisely for two reasons: his financial stability; and the stability of the platform he provides. It is best to chose a broker with a proven record in the forex market operating from a well-regulated country such as the USA, UK or Switzerland.This market was only opened up to speculators in 1997, so forex brokers haven't got as long a history as stockbrokers.It is therefore best to chose on the basis of size -you are looking a broker with at least 10,000 clients operating from one of the aforementioned countries. The functionality of the platform the broker provides is important for the execution and tracking of live trades. What you don't want is a platform that always keeps going down at crucial moments in your trading day. In my experience, the platforms belonging the the major brokers are now very reliable although there might be a problem with the continuity of data displayed from time to time.

People who trade the forex market off fundamental analysis have been known to stay in the positions taken for multiple days, weeks, months or even years. If you are daytrading this market, however, you haven't got much choice but to use technical analysis as the basis of your decisions. Therefore charts become vitally important in the decision making process. candlestick charts are the easiest to follow on the screen as it simple to distinguish a bull candle from a bear one just by viewing the different colors. With charts,especially at the start of your trading day, it is best to use the top-down approach.Even though your entry and exits may be made off the 15 minute chart, you should start the day by looking at the daily chart to get the big picture. Then the 4 hour chart, the hour chart and 30 minute can each in turn be consulted prior to your regular chart (the 15 minute) in order to get the top-down perspective on the market.

Breakouts from support or resistance offer good entry points for trades. A support line can be drawn by joining the bottoms of two candles that stand lower than their immediate neighbors remembering that the support line must be tilted upwards therefore the nearest candle the line is connected to must be higher than the further away one. If this line is then extended into the future and is confirmed by a third candle touching the line you have a solid support line. When a candle breaks this support line and a 15 minute candle closes below it and subsequent candles go 5 pips (or points) beyond the bottom of the candle which broke the support line, you have a valid entry point for a short trade (thatis selling the currency pair being traded). Resistance lines are done on the same basis except that the initial line drawn must have a downward slope which when broken, and the the other criteria for entry is met, gives you a valid long entry (that is buying the currency pair being traded).

Before you start your trading day, it is imperative that the daytrader knows when economic news affecting the currency pairs being traded is scheduled to be released.There are various websites that do this but the best one that I have found is http//www.dailyfx.com. If you go to their Home Page, and click on the Calendar tab at the top, a page will open with the words "Weekly Economic Calender for ....." on the top left hand side on which you click to take you to the page where all the scheduled news for the world's major currency pairs are listed on a daily basis. The times of the news releases are given in both GMT and EST so you may have to compensate depending on which time zone you happen to be in the world.Knowing when the news is going to be released is crucial, because depending on its strength is may be sensible if you are in a trade that is making a profit. to take profits before the news hits the wire, or at least tighten up your stop.

It is also sensible never to trade without a stop. For daytrading a stop in the region of 20 - 30 pips is sensible. This is the loss you are prepared to take on the trade if it goes against you. It is also sensible to set your profit objective higher than your loss by 25% -50% dependent upon the quality of the signal generated. Only risk 3% of your risk capital on any one trade. If you start off with $20,000 risk capital and after 4 months or so you have found that it has grown to $40,000, now use 2 lots per trade and thereby employ compounding.When you capital grows to $60,000, you would employ 3 lots and so forth. If your selection criteria is good your capital can build at a surprising rate using this technique.

Author By: Kieran Waldron
About the author: KIeran Waldron is a researcher on many subjects who has recently become an Internet publisher. More articles on forex trading can be viewed at the following website: www.forexgoal.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Types of Forex Trading and Strategies

The foreign exchange market, or forex, being the largest financial market in the World has been the domain of government central banks as well as for commercial and investment banks in a scandalous manner and it exists wherever one currency is traded for another. But recently more numbers of individuals are handling the forex market as it offers trading 24-hours a day, five days a week, and the daily dollar volume of currencies traded in the currency market that exceeds $1.9 trillion daily, making it the largest liquid market in the world.


"Foreign Exchange" is the place where the money of one nation is traded with the other nation. The most popular pair of exchange in the forex market is "Euro Dollar". You can view these pairs in all forex display screens as "EUR/USD". Forex trading strategies are the key to triumphant forex trading or online currency trading. The management team of One World Capital Group bid proficiency in both Forex trading and internet technologies and proven track records that deals with large, global trading and brokerage operations as well. Forex made easy is as simple as you would want it to be.


Forex trading is different from trading in stocks entirely and it uses Forex trading strategies that will give you lot of advantages as well as help you to comprehend greater profits in the short term. There are wide ranges of forex trading strategies that are available to investors. It is one of the most useful of these forex trading strategies called as leverage. Knowledge of these Forex trading strategies can imply the difference between profits along with a loss and so it is essential that you fully grasp the strategies that are being used in Forex trading. The world of Forex trading is highly complicated and success requires education and familiarity with terms, charts, signals and indicators.

As you can be able to access it from home or office from any parts of the country, Global Forex trading is the most profitable and attractive internet income opportunity. And you do not need to do anything or there is no need of internet promotion for getting succeeded. Forex Capital Markets are nothing but foreign exchange markets where the currencies are been bought and sold continuously for profits. These capital markets of forex are present globally and their transactions are always non-stop in this forex cash market. A managed Forex account is forex made easy. Many different companies offer these accounts to their clients. The foreign exchange market is a worldwide market and as per to some estimates is almost as big as thirty times the turnover of the US Equity markets.

Author By: usharani
Usha Rani is a Copywriter of
www.1world-forex.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

How to trade successfully in the Forex Market

This article is about money management and trading psychology. This is the lesson that you never get with 99% of other Forex systems that you have come across.

I find it interesting that most of the systems out there don't include this because if they actually were successful traders, they would know that this was the key to success and to leave it out makes an incomplete system that won't work!! This tells me that the people that wrote them or are selling them aren't traders at all. They are just in the business of selling HOPE!

Well, if you haven't noticed yet, I am a trader, and I am different than the others. Don't get me wrong, there are honest trainers out there, I learned from one and I am eternally grateful to him.

So let's get on with this. First of all, this is my own interpretation of several sources, and the practices that have worked for me. Please read EVERYTHING you can find on trading psychology, and money management. There are a lot of slightly different views but overall, they are very similar and the main important points are all pretty much the same.

There are two main issues that cause 99% of the problems. Can you guess what they are?
If you answered FEAR and GREED, you are correct. These two emotions are probably responsible for 99% of the worlds problems as well but that is beyond the scope of this course À .

So, now that we know what the big obstacles are, let's try and figure out how to overcome them. In the course of my lessons, I have listed a few but I will put them all together here in one place so that it is easier to follow, and perhaps make it easier for you to develop your own system to help you trade better.

We can't eliminate fear and greed. They will still be there in your heart and mind, but we can make some rules so that they don't interfere with your trading success. We can come up with systems and procedures to follow, since we KNOW ahead of time that fear and greed are major problems. I'm sure you have heard the statistic that 95% of all speculative leveraged traders FAIL. This is absolutely true. Here is another statistic that I believe... 100% of traders that don't know how to overcome fear and greed will FAIL. So does that mean that if I can teach you how to overcome these problems that your chance of success is 100%? Of course not. But I can tell you that you cannot be successful if you don't protect yourself from yourself.

In lessons 1-3 I have outlined a trading system. The first thing you must do, whether you follow my system, another system, or your own system is to follow the rules of the system WITHOUT FAIL. If your system calls for a certain entry point, do not enter until there is a signal to enter.

Systems are designed for a reason. That is why it is called a system. What do we learn from this? Patience. Perhaps the stupidest thing you can do is enter a trade on a hunch.
This brings us to our first FACT:

The odds are in your favor before you enter a trade. This is true for most trading systems. Void of fear and greed, if you follow each system exactly, you will profit. Some systems may offer better profits than others, but overall you should be able to profit with any system, IF you have no fear and no greed.

This brings us to THE BIG SECRET. Other than omitting trading psychology, other systems also don't tell you that you are playing a game of odds. Let's say for example that we are playing "coin toss." Theoretically, for 100 flips of the coin, 50 will come up heads, and 50 will come up tails. Of course, the first 100 may be 55/45, but the more you play, the closer to 50/50 the numbers will get. Our system for "coin toss" is as follows: We play for 20 hours, and flip the coin exactly 5 times each hour, and for every heads that comes up, we get paid $2, and for every tails that comes up we pay $1. This should be a profitable system. After our game we see that heads came up 50 times and tails came up 50 times. (Stay with me here). So at the end of 100 tosses, we have paid $50 and received $100. A profit of $50.

So let's say that during our second game of coin toss, we decide that we are going to let the flipper(hint: the market is the flipper) keep flipping the coin for an hour while we take lunch but we are not going to pay or be paid for those flips. During our lunch hour, heads comes up 5 times in a row (which is theoretically possible, and not that unlikely). And now we are back from lunch, and we are down $10 for the hour. Now, theoretically the odds of 5 tails in a row coming up after 5 heads in a row are pretty good because for every ten tosses, you should have about 5 heads and five tails. So now we get 5 tails in a row and now we are down another $5, for a total of $15. So not counting the 5 tosses during lunch, this leaves 90 tosses that we still have to account for and let's say that they were 45 heads and 45 tails. Our profit for these tosses is $45 (45x2 minus 45x1), now if we take away the $15 for the tosses we didn't take, and that string of losers, we are left with a profit if $30. So lunch and 5 lousy spins cost us 40% of our profits.

Now this is theory but it absolutely applies to this market. If you are picky about what trades you want to take and what trades you don't want to take, you are MESSING WITH THE ODDS. My point for this whole big story about "coin toss" is this: If the conditions are met, TAKE THE TRADE without hesitation. The odds are in your favor, but only if you take ALL of the trades that meet the conditions. When I say ALL trades I know the market is open 24 hours a day and you can't possibly take every trade. You need to pick a time frame and stick to that same time frame everyday and take ALL trades during that time frame.

I can tell you that in the month before I realized this (my first month of trading real money actually), my total profit was 92 pips. I had an idea of what I was doing wrong so I was keeping track of the trades that I didn't take along with the ones that I did. I included entry point, day, time, and whether the profit target was hit or if it was stopped out. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely happy to be in profit after trading for only one month with real money. But then I went back and looked at the numbers for "what could have been." Guess what? Had I taken every trade that met my conditions, my profit for the month would have been 355 pips! I was not happy. But soon I realized that I had messed with the odds. After realizing what I had done wrong (or not done right in this case) I began to have more confidence in my systems. The very next month my total profit was 515 pips, or a 560% improvement just for taking all of the trades that met the conditions. I think that is enough said about that.

Sorry to stay with the coin flip game here but it actually works very well in teaching these principles.

This brings us to:

FACT #2. You do not need to know what is going to happen to make money. If we know that we are going to make $2 fifty times and pay $1 fifty times as long as we flip the coin, are we going to play? Of course! Well, all trading systems have similar odds. From my testing, I know that this system on average will produce 9 wins of 20 pips for every 1 loss of 40 pips (that number may vary but that is the maximum loss I ever take). So we know ahead of time that 9 wins at 20 pips is 180 pips, and minus the loss of 40 pips, leaves us with 140 pips profit. Now keep in mind that you may be 8 and 2 this week and 10 and 0 next week. We never know when a loss is going to come. We may even lose every trade for a week, but not lose a trade for the next 9 weeks. Believe me it happens. You do not need to know exactly what is going to happen, you just need to take every trade that meets the conditions and then count your profits at the end of the month/week/year etc.

This section deals with money management as well as psychology. Back to coin toss for a minute. We know that each win brings us $2. And we know that for each win in this trading system we get 20 pips. We know that each tail that comes up costs us $1. And in our system we know that each loss is 40 pips. If we know what our loss is going to be ahead of time, we know what it is going to cost us to find out "what is going to happen." From this we can decide how much we want to risk based on our account size.

FACT 3: You know how much it will cost to find out. I have decided not to ever risk more than 5% of my account on any one trade. So knowing that, I can figure out how many lots to trade ahead of time based on my account size. It may cost $250 in margin for a 1 lot position but this is not what we are risking, we are actually risking ten dollars times the number of pips in our stop. If our stop is 40 pips, we are risking $400. Now we know that we better have at least $8000 in our account to take a position of this size. If this trade turns out to be a loser, and our balance falls to $7600, we know that we can't afford to take that trade again because a loss of $400 is more than 5% of our balance. We would need to adjust our number of lots down accordingly to keep our risk.

Author By: articles_s2p@yahoo.com
Ben Rose
Email: m1ghtyboosh@hotmail.com
Please Visit us Forex systems
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Is Forex A Part of Your Investment Portfolio?

FOREX is the abbreviation for the Foreign Exchange market. The main principle of Forex is converting one currency into another. As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, FOREX is a perfect market and is also the world's biggest financial market. In many investment portfolios, you will find FOREX more and more since the currency exchange realm has opened up to the small investor. In its simplest form, Forex is transaction of monetary funds from one government to another or business associates of different countries. There are substantial earnings to be made in the foreign currency market, but trading in the Forex is for the well-informed. In addition, forecasting Forex is not easy, as Forex is a fast moving market where several changes occur in the fraction of seconds.

Trading Forex works remarkably easy and is convenient since the currency exchange market is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, providing plenty of trading opportunities. You can get started trading the (spot) FOREX with little money and there are many brokers on the internet that will allow you to make paper practice trades for up to 30 days, free of charge, to see if Forex is for you. They have guides that show techniques for day trading as well as mid-term Forex trading (one to seven days). Trading currency with tighter spreads can improve your trading profits, and you can see for yourself how taking short-term trading positions can be exciting. Low spreads and high volatility is a very popular way of trading on Forex, and is known as day trading.

The foreign exchange (currency or Forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. Trading Foreign Exchange currency in the global Forex trading system market can make you money. Very often currency pairs are closely related to one another - and this is something that can be used to the Forex Traders advantage. There are Consumer Alerts, however, and you should beware of Foreign Currency Trading Frauds. You should educate yourself first in all areas relating to currency trading. It's a great way to get comfortable with a currency trading system and to develop a successful Forex trading strategy. Use the currency forecasts to set profit points and maximize your return. You can make significant earnings in the foreign currency market, but trading in the Forex is for the well-informed and you should take advantage of advice from a reputable broker.

A broker is any person or firm that charges a fee in exchange for executing trades for a trader. When it is time to find a broker, there are several factors to consider. Assuming you are dealing with a reputable broker, there are still risks to FOREX trading. But inexperience is not the only broker reason to consider using a Forex broker to trade in the high risk international currencies market. Most traders find that it is necessary to utilize a broker when making transactions on the FOREX exchange and this has created a market demand for an online Forex broker, Forex dealers and a currency exchange service. As an example, your Forex currency broker is able to purchase $100,000 with only a deposit of $1,000, as the rest of the amount is leveraged to you by your Forex broker. With this type of account, your broker/dealer basically trades your money on the Forex market for you, and will always show the highest bid and the lowest offer.

In simplest terms Forex can be as simple as you would want it to be. Managed Forex is an area of Forex trading that's continuing to grow. FOREX is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons... Forex is maximum liquidity; FOREX is real trade, in term of business. Basically, Forex is transaction of monetary funds from one government to another or business associates of different countries. For the astute investor, Forex is better than the stock market and every other money-making opportunity. Since Forex is entirely electronic and the liquidity and size is so much larger, it tends to be easier and more efficient to do a Forex transaction.

Author By: Gust Lenglet
Gust A. Lenglet has been an accountant and financial advisor for many years. He is President and CEO of HBS Financial Group, Ltd. and offers online tax filing through his many web sites. He is also an accomplished author in the tax, legal, and education fields.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Installing Metatrader 4 under Linux

There is a lot of interest out there in running Metatrader 4 on the Linux platform, however until Metaquotes does a native Linux version, the only option if you want to do it is to run it under WINE emulation.

What follows is a step by step guide to installing MT4 in Linux. I have used the excellent Ubuntu distribution for this task though you may adapt it your distribution easily. This also works on Gentoo for example.

Anyway...

1) Install WINE if it's not already installed.

sudo apt-get install wine

Once WINE is installed you need to configure it. This is pretty easy. As a normal user (Not Root!) run winecfg from a terminal and it should set itself up. If you want to do any more configuration or tweaking, have a look around the tabs, but for now I suggest keeping it as default.

2) From a valid windows installation, copy over all the fonts into your wine installation. It also assumes you told Ubuntu to mount your windows partition in /windows.

cp /windows/WINDOWS/Fonts/* ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/fonts/

3) Copy 2 needed DLL files from your valid windows installation.

cp /windows/WINDOWS/system32/mfc4* ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32/

4) Download mt4setup from your favourite broker, or one of the broker suggestions on rebatefx.com.

5) Install MT4.

wine mt4setup.exe

6) You should now have an icon on your Desktop and a working install of MT4 under Linux! Double click it to launch. Don't be alarmed if it takes a while to run first time.

There are some small problems at the time of writing though. This is to be expected when emulating software written for another platform. These problems may include (They don't happen to everyone), not being able to place limit or stop orders due to an invalid parameter error, not being able to change the width of trend lines, and indicator lines, and in some cases the Meta Editor will refuse to run without a copy of Internet Explorer 6 or better being installed also. While it's no guarantee to fix the problem it's useful to have Internet Explorer installed for those web pages that insist on you using it or for web page development.

To install ie6 you can use the excellent ies4linux package. The following commands should get ie6 installed on your linux machine.

sudo apt-get install cabextract
wget http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/downloads/ies4linux-latest.tar.gz
tar xzvf ies4linux-latest.tar.gz
cd ies4linux-*
./ies4linux

So there you have it. Metatrader 4 working in Linux. Well, mostly ;)

It's not perfect, but it's a workable solution if you trade by entering at market prices. It's certainly good for news trading when an unexpected virus check or annoying windows update popup steals the focus from the trading terminal losing you precious seconds which may mean all the difference between making a lot of money or just a little. Even worse, losing your chart setups or even your whole account to a virus or keylogger attack.

Good luck and Happy Trading!

Author By: Jafar Calley
Jafar Calley is a trader of 6 years experience. Visit rebatefx.com for spread rebates low 2-3 pip spread on major pairs, free strategies and free trading signals. Jafar is always available to talk about the market in the free Chat Room Mon-Fri.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

How to Build a PC

Do you know what could beat the exciting feeling of having a new computer? Make your own PC!

Making your own computer from scratch is not only fun to do but cheaper as well. You can get to choose the parts you want to use on your PC. This gives you the control in balancing the price and the quality of your newly assembled PC.

Before we show you the steps, here are the necessary parts of the computer that you need to buy:
• Processor Cooler
• Motherboard memory
• Graphics Card
• Hard Drive
• CD or DVD Writer
• Floppy Drive
• Sound Card
• Computer Case
• Power Supply
• Monitor
• Keyboard
• Mouse
Steps in making your own PC:
Step 1
The computer case includes motherboard spacers and screws. This helps set the motherboard in the case. Mount the spacers into the corners and to the proper side holes. It should match up with the holes in your motherboard.

If the motherboard has different jack arrangements from the case's I/O (input/output) shield, use the shield that comes with the motherboard. Mount it from the inside of the case.

Now, to install the processor, raise the lever on the side of the CPU (processor) socket. The CPU's pins are made in a way that it is possible to put the CPU into the socket only one way. Therefore, if you are doing it right, it should easily fit.

Hold the processor down and close to the lever. Before installing the CPU cooler, put thermal compound onto the top of the CPU (on core).
Step 2
Mount the processor cooler on top of the processor. Press down lightly. Clip the heat sink to the processor socket. Attach the CPU cooler's fan power to the motherboard's fan header. It is usually labeled "CPU FAN 1".

Plug in the memory module to the long sockets called DIMM's. Unlock both tabs and push the memory straight down. The clips on the slot's sides should close. Carefully push the motherboard against the I/O shield. Put in and tighten the motherboard screws. Do not force it.

The brown slot nearest to the processor is the AGP slot meant for the video card. Insert the video card evenly in the slot provided. Screw the card into place. Make sure that your AGP video card is placed properly.

At the corner of the motherboard, you can see two rows of pins. Connect case leads to the pins. These leads are usually labeled. Read your motherboard manual. See which label goes to which set of pins.
Step 3
Now we mount the floppy drive, CD/DVD drive and the hard drive. The motherboard usually has 2 IDE channels, each supporting 2 devices. If you install 2 IDE devices on the same cable, you will have the main to be the "master" and the other to be the "slave".

This is the same procedure for CD/DVD drives. Look for an HDD and CD drive manual for the correct jumper settings. You should do these before you screw drives into place.

Connect hard drives to a channel different from the CD drives. Floppy controller has a socket shorter than the IDE controllers.

Make sure the side of the IDE cable that has a red colored stripe lines up with pin1.

Lastly, plug in the main ATX power cable and connect all drives with the power supply. If you have more case coolers, you may also connect them.

Now, connect your monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers to the back of the case. Put in the power cable to the power supply unit. Double-check proper installation before the first boot.

You can now show your friends your first assembled computer.

Author By: pazzer
The author of this article has been building PCs for 5 years and contributes to Computer hardware upgrade.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Guide to Buying Hard Drives

Apart from being one of the most essential parts of your computer, hard drive storage is constantly updating, in terms of both capacity of disk space and in physical size. When it comes time to upgrade your disk storage, there are a number of factors for you to take into account. Once you've made basic decisions about size, connectivity, speed and data transfer rate, and whether you want an internal drive or external, you can search through Myshopping.com.au to find the most suitable brand, and model, and compare the prices of different vendors.

Hard Drives

How A Hard Drive Works

Your hard drive has a number of magnetized platters connected to a spindle. The spindle spins the platters at a very fast speed while a series of read/write heads scan over them both looking for and writing information. This information is transferred via a cable system, or through a wireless connection to a hard disk controller, which in most systems is built into the motherboard, or in some systems installed as an add-in card. The information that comes from your hard drive through its controller is then made available to the components of your computer. The effectiveness of your hard drive (its performance) depends on how much of its capacity remains unused, how well organised the data is (known as fragmentation) and its data transfer rate, which in turn is dependent on its connection type and the drive's spin rate.

Internal Hard Drives

Most computers from, the most basic home models up to the most powerful servers, have an internally installed hard drive. Technology today ensures that they are all generally fast, reliable, and offer dependable storage ability. Most modern computers have installation slots and cabling to enable you to install additional hard drive. This allows you to increase your storage capacity without giving up your existing hard drive.

Internal Hard Drives

External Hard Drives

These drives are essentially the same drives as ones installed inside computers, but cased inside a protective, portable case. This is a good solution for people who work remotely and need to transport large amounts of data. If an external hard drive is your choice, make sure your computer is compatible with the interface that the hard drive uses. An add-in card, such as a FireWire card can help to increase your computer's capabilities. You can compare different brands of external hard drives simply at Myshopping.com.au and search on the connection type, or other specifications.

External Hard drives

Laptop Hard Drives

There have been many advances in miniaturization of hardware components for laptop computing, and hard drive technology is not left out of this loop. Laptop hard drives function in exactly the same way as internal hard drives on other computers, only they are designed to provide maximum storage and efficiency in the smallest possible package. For added flexibility, some laptop computers come with removable hard drives that can be easily installed and removed. However, before you buy a hard drive for your portable computer, check that the hard drive's specifications will meet the standards of your computer, as many laptop hard drives are proprietary, and are not compatible with other brands and models.

Laptop Hard Drives

Size

Your hard drive stores your operating system, its programs (games and applications), your working data, and your digital music and movies. Most new computer purchases have a minimum of 80 GB of hard disk space; many have considerably more. Hard drive space is one of those things, once you have it, you'll find ways to fill it soon enough. There is no real rule of thumb, but consider the cost per gigabyte of storage as a way to guide your purchase. If you work with large files, such as music, video and graphics, it pays to have a big storage space for your work. It may pay you to have two hard drives, one that houses all your programs and applications, and another for storing your work and projects.

You may want to compare the price of say a 160GB drive against two separate 80 GB drives. If one drive fails all is not lost. Today's hard drives however, are fairly robust pieces of equipment and providing they are not abuse, will serve you well for a long period of time.

up to 32 GB Hard Drives

32-64 GB Hard Drives

64-100 GB Hard Drives

100 GB and more Hard Drives

Interface

One key distinguishing factor between hard drives is the way in which they connect to your computer. There are a number of basic types of connection schemes used with hard drives. Each connection type has a range of differences in performance.

IDE (INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS)

This is by the most common connection methods. Because the hard drive controller is on the drive itself rather than on the motherboard, it helps to keep costs down. There different IDE standards available. Mostly, you will want to purchase the fastest possible standard that your computer can support. Most computers will support a standard that is faster than what the computer currently supports, so you can buy a faster drive, and update your computer at a later time. The different IDE standards, in order from most basic to fastest, are:

ATA (Basic). Supports up to two hard drives and features a 16-bit interface, handling transfer speeds up to 8.3 MB per second.

ATA-2 or EIDE (Enhanced IDE). Supports transfer speeds up to 13.3 MB per second.

ATA-3. A minor upgrade to ATA-2 and offers transfer speeds up to 16.6 MB per second.

Ultra-ATA (Ultra-DMA, ATA-33 or DMA-33). Dramatic speed improvements, with transfer rates up to 33 MB per second.

ATA-66. A version of ATA that doubles transfer rates up to 66 MB per second.

ATA-100. An upgrade to the ATA standard supporting transfer rates up to 100 MB per second.

ATA-133. Found mostly in AMD-based systems (not supported by Intel), with transfer rates up to 133 MB per second.

IDE / EIDE Hard Drives

Serial ATA Hard Drives

Ultra DMA 100 Hard Drives

SCSI (SMALL COMPUTER SYSTEM INTERFACE)

This is the hard drive interface standard used by many high-end PCs, networks and servers, and Apple Macintosh computers, except for the earliest Macs and the newer iMacs. While some systems support SCSI controllers on their motherboards, most feature a SCSI controller add-in card. SCSI drives are usually faster and more reliable, and the SCSI interface supports the connection of many more drives than IDE. While SCSI drives come in many different standards, many of them are not compatible with one another. So it's important be know that your computer supports the drive you plan to install. The different SCSI connections are:

SCSI-1. A basic connection using a 25-pin connector, supporting transfer rates up to 4 MB per second.

SCSI-2. Uses a 50-pin connector and supports multiple devices with a transfer rate of 4MB per second.

Wide SCSI. These drives have a wider cable and a 68-pin connection that supports 16-bit data transfers.

Fast SCSI. Uses an 8-bit bus but transfers data at 10 MB Per second.

Fast Wide SCSI. Doubles both the bus (16-bit) and the data transfer rate (20 MB per second).

Ultra SCSI or Ultra Wide SCSI. Uses an 8-bit bus and transfers data at 20 MB per second.

SCSI-3. Features a 16-bit bus and transfers data at 40 MB per second.

Ultra2 SCSI. Uses an 8-bit bus and transfer data at a rate of 40 MB per second.

Wide Ultra2 SCSI. Uses a 16-bit bus and supports data transfer rates of 80 MB per second.

SCSI Hard Drives

Ultra320 SCSI Hard Drives

FIREWIRE (IEEE 1394)

The FireWire standard is becoming popular in portable hard drives because it can be connected and removed without having to reboot the computer. It supports data transfer rates of 50 MB per second, which means it is ideal for video, audio and multimedia applications. FireWire requires a dedicated add-in card and the hard drives in use require an external power source, but the interface can support up to 63 devices simultaneously.

FireWire Hard Drives

USB 1.1 (UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS)

Pretty much all computers today include USB ports on their motherboards. (On older model, you can install an add-in card.) USB controllers can be used to connect external hard drives, and can support as many as 127 devices simultaneously either through USB port hubs or linked in a daisy chain fashion. USB controllers do delivery power to devices connected to them, but many hard drives still use an external power source. USB is limited by its data transfer speed, the maximum rate being about at 1.5 MB per second.

USB Hard Drives

USB 2.0 (HI-SPEED USB)

A more recently introduced and far better connection standard that offers backward compatibility and data transfer rates of up to 60 MB per second. USB 1.1 system can use a USB 2.0 device; it will need a USB 2.0 controller card to achieve the higher transfer rates.

USB 2.0 Hard Drives

FIBRE CHANNEL

Fibre Cabling is mainly used for high-bandwidth network servers and workstations, providing very fast data transfer rates (up to 106MB per second), and connection at long cabled distances, although it is expensive and you need to install a special interface card.

Spin rate

Data transfer rate is crucial to how well your computer performs for you. Apart from the connection types above, the performance of your hard drive depends on its spin rate, measured in RPM. Higher RPM generally means faster data transfer rate. The lowest spin speed that is acceptable in computing today is 5400 RPM. The common standard at present is 7200 RPM. But higher speeds are available in SCSI drives, and it is one area of computer system technology that is constantly being developed.

3600 RPM Hard Drives

4200 RPM Hard Drives

5400 RPM Hard Drives

7200 RPM Hard Drives

10000 RPM Hard Drives

15000 RPM Hard Drives

A larger capacity hard drive will not necessarily make your system function any faster unless you are low on available disk space with your existing drive. But a drive with Ultra ATA/100 or ATA/133 and a 7200 RPM spin rate will pretty much guarantee an improved hard drive performance.

Other considerations

CACHE

Cache (pronounces 'cash') is additional temporary memory that acts as a buffer between the system and the drive. Frequently accessed data is stored in the cache for quick access. Cache sizes vary from 512 KB up to 16 MB on some SCSI drives. The larger cache you have on your drive, the faster your drive will transfer data. If you are working with large files, such as video, images and audio files, it pays to have the largest cache you can get (8MB or more).

SEEK TIME

The data on your disk is stored in tracks and sectors and when you instruct your hard drive controller to retrieve some data, it goes looking. The seek time is a measure of how long it takes the hard drive to find a specific track on a disk. Seek times can vary slightly from disk to disk and a drive with a faster seek time will always perform better.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TRANSFER RATES

These two rates tell how fast a drive actually reads the data and passes it along to the system. Internal Transfer Rate refers to the time it takes for a drives heads to read data from the platter and pass it to the drive's cache. The External Transfer Rate (sometimes called the Transfer Rate or the Burst Transfer Rate) is a measure of the time it takes to send the data from the cache all the way to the computer's memory. Naturally faster transfer rates provide better performance.

S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology)

This is a nice built-in feature in some hard drives that can help alert you to a potential hardware problem. Your computer's BIOS must support this in order for the SMART function it to work, however the drive itself will still work in a system without it.

Buying and installing a hard drive has some technical aspects that you need to take into account. Use Myshopping.com.au to compare different hard drive makes and specifications to find the drive that will work best for your needs and computer. You can compare prices and service offers from different vendors.

Author By: Andrew Gates
MyShopping.com.au helps you compare hard drives and buy online from top-rated online stores.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Guide to Buying a Webcam How web broadcasting works

Webcams are those handy little cameras that attach to your PC and send images to a web page that can be viewed by others. This enables you to share daily life events with friends and family in other parts of the country or the world, or to arrange a video-conference with colleagues and maintain long distance relationships of all kinds. Of course the number of ways to use this technology is limited only by your imagination.

Web Cameras

But before you buy a webcam, it pays to understand a little about how the technology of broadcasting images over the Internet works. Of course, if you're a full bottle on this already, you can skip this section and go straight to browsing the options on Myshopping.com.au where you can compare products and suppliers, their specifications and prices.

Webcams provide 'real time' images of people; places and events that can be viewed 'live' on a web page. The broadcasting end has a camera that captures the images, feeds them into a computer to an ISP and out to viewing pages across the Internet. There are two different types of broadcast: streaming images, where the images are a constant stream downloaded in video format; or Java, where the images are captured at fixed time intervals and refreshed on the web pages at a rate fixed by the broadcaster.

The Applications - What are you intending to broadcast, and to whom?

There is a wide range of uses of webcam technology. Some examples include personal 'Big Brother' style diaries, sharing of family events, workplace security, video conferencing, virtual tourism, road traffic management, weather watching, event broadcast and a host of others.

Before you make a choice about any webcam equipment, it helps to decide exactly how you want to use the technology, in other words, what you are intending to broadcast. This decision will impact upon the type of camera you use, and how you use it.

A second consideration is, who will be viewing your content? What level of quality is expected? This will help determine the type of camera you use, the software involved and your Internet connection. Of course, your Internet connection may be a limitation on how much you can do.

The requirements for video conferencing are different from the requirements of workplace security, which are different again from the requirements of sharing a family event.

The physical components

There are a number of physical components required to make web cam technology work. At the top of the list is the camera itself. Then, depending on the type of camera you use and the way in which you want to deliver the content to the Internet, you may need to incorporate video capture hardware in your computer. Some software is required to help you process the data, and Internet connection is required and a web page into which the data is fed.

CAMERA CHOICES

Your choice of camera depends somewhat on what you are intending to show. If you need to reach a large public audience yo may want good quality camcorder or megapixel camera that captures high quality images. If it's just for seeing who's at your front door or keeping an eye on the kids in their playroom, then it may not need to present high quality images. If you are intending to use it outdoors, it will need to be weather proof and you may need to consider sun and UV protection. Available power supply and any robotic requirements for camera movement and focus are extra considerations.

Dedicated webcams

The most basic webcams connect to a PC using a simple USB connection. A wide range of cameras with accompanying software at a range of prices is available for this type of application. Simply search though Myshopping.com.au to compare prices and specifications. Dedicated webcams are simple to install and easy to use, but come with limitations that affect the quality of the images, such as low number of frames per second (refresh rates) and resolution (pixels per inch).

Camcorders and security cameras

Higher quality images and more camera control come from using camcorder and security cameras. To use these devices you will need to add a video capture card to your PC. Once you have that installed however, you can use a wide range of cameras from broadcast cameras to miniature spy cameras. You can include variable lens options, filters for daylight and low light situations, as well as robotic controls for panning and focus adjustments. You can search through Myshopping.com.au for camcorder selections.

Integrated cameras

An integrated camera combines the camera and the optical hardware with a video server, and as such requires no additional software. They can be used in network situations or as stand-alone devices for monitoring progress on a construction project for example.

Megapixel cameras

Network megapixel cameras combine network capability with high quality digital camera technology. These cameras offer excellent quality but this creates large files sizes, therefore they have limited application in constant streaming video. However for interval refreshed archive image collection, they are ideal, providing a constant record and high quality. You can search through Myshopping.com.au for digital camera selections.

SOFTWARE

If you are not using an integrated camera solution, you will need to install an encoding program like Webcaster or MediaCaster to transfer your images to a web page.

At the receiver end, when web surfers browse the internet and wish to view live video on the web for the first time, they will need to download dedicated applications that show the content such as an ActiveX control, Windows Media player, Flash player or the like.

INTERNET CONNECTION

Finally, you need an Internet connection. The hardware you will need may include a modem for dial-up connection, or modem/router for a broadband solution. Naturally the higher the quality you want, or the faster refresh rate you want, the more bandwidth you will need. ADSL (Broadband) is going to offer you the best solution, but keep in mind what your Internet connection when you are making choices of cameras and feeder software.

Webcam applications work well with wireless solutions. Make sure when you are purchasing a camera or network video solution that it is compatible with any wireless system you may be using in a LAN.

Key considerations

The specifications that are variable with webcam applications, and are affected by camera type, web interface and Internet connection, include the number of frames per second and the image resolution.

Frames-per-second is the number of times a still image flashes by in a second to give the appearance of moving pictures. In Australia, the standard television PAL format is at 25 frames per second. A webcam with up to 30 frames per second will show normal video images. But the more frames per second you demand, the more bandwidth, memory and processing power is required.

Resolution is measured the number of pixels per inch. High quality photographs require a high resolution. But the standard for web images is a low 72 dpi. Higher resolution images will not be of any better visual quality, just slower to upload and download.

Author By: Andrew Gates
Andrew Gates is a writer for comparison online shopping site MyShopping.com.au , MyShopping.com.au helps you compare web cameras and buy online from top-rated online stores.
Use Myshopping.com.au to compare different webcams, camcorders and digital cameras. You can compare the prices and specifications of the different products and brands, and a wide range of reputable vendors.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Notebook or Desktop Computer, What is the Best Buy?

The idea of purchasing a personal computer may be appealing to a lot of people, however they may feel undecided as weather to go for a traditional desktop computer or for a light weight portable notebook. Several aspects should be taken into consideration as for the purposes of such acquisition. If the main purpose of buying a computer is for occasional use, regardless if it is for work or entertainment activities, one may consider buying a traditional desktop computer taking in consideration that its price is usually lower than the portable version.

The maintenance and eventual upgrade of a desktop computer is also much easier to perform and less costly. If the buyer is looking to spend the least amount of money, definitely the desktop computer models offer more choices of finding better deals weather it is used or new. One may look around the local computer stores for special deals or may consider browsing the many possibilities offered online stores.

Perhaps the greatest feature a desktop computer has is the fact that quite often it can be upgraded and personalized to suit the user needs without having to be sent back to the manufacturer. In most cases a local authorized computer store can perform the technical changes or upgrades to satisfaction. The desktop computers are meant for work and leisure as well and regardless of its configuration or how fast it can perform, it seems that it became an everyday tool of modern times.

On the other hand, if the main reason for the purchasing of a computer is portability, then in this case the notebook will be the right choice. There are several brand names available on the market offering all kinds of configurations, from very basic up to the most sophisticated and powerful late models of notebooks. After a careful research on which model will better suit your needs, then you will still have the option to choose to buy a new, reconditioned or used unit for the sake of saving some money. Keep in mind that a reconditioned laptop purchased from a computer store, usually comes will full warranty, just like as if you had purchased a brand new model but for a much less cost.

Just like any other purchase, it is important to do a careful research to find out what exactly your needs are and what are you going to do with it. The lightweight and portable notebooks are much nicer to carry around even though they are usually more expensive. Also the lightweight models almost always have a smaller screen and a more compact keyboard than traditional models of notebooks. So, in this case if weight is not a critical issue, than you may just consider to purchase a traditional regular-model notebook as long as it meets your requirements. If you choose this later option you will certainly be saving a great amount of money.

If you are the kind of person who feels skeptical about purchasing a reconditioned computer, because it has been previously returned from the manufacturer, relax, some times there is absolutely nothing wrong with the returned unit. It may have just been a matter of model preference or some minor detail that didn`t quite match the previous owner`s preference. Keep in mind that a reconditioned notebook with a full warranty is just as good as a brand new one and maybe even better for the great discount it usually offers.

Also you may find some good deals in refurbished notebooks. Beware that the difference between refurbished and reconditioned notebooks is that the former is usually an older notebook that has been used and then reconditioned, often by a third party, and the later usually means that it had some problem, went back to the manufacturer, got fixed and now it is available at a fair discount price with full manufacturer guarantee.

The right solution for one`s computer related tasks, whether desktop or notebook, will depend mostly on one`s working or leisure needs. Search carefully for the best deals and avoid paying extra for accessories you will hardly use. Also take a look at reconditioned (full warranty) computers. The price will certainly surprise you. And the performance might too!

Author By: Roberto Sedycias
Roberto Sedycias - IT Consultant
This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.
This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Article section of page PoloMercantil
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for PoloMercantil.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

A Purchase Guide to Budget Notebooks

Since it became commercially available back in the early eighties, notebooks called the attention of computer users because of its small size and portability. Not much of a commercial success back then, it only took a short time before the computer industry improved this item, up to a point that is now considered to be one of the best selling computer consumer products.

For one who intends to buy a budget notebook, he may have some difficulties in picking the right one, since there are several notebook manufactures offering so many models. Budget notebooks are in a class by itself with basic features but capable of delivering full solutions for computer related tasks.

For an easy guide to budget notebooks, check the following major manufactures:

SONY
Sony VAIO notebooks are fashioned products targeted to consumers who demand flexibility and power without compromise. It is expected to find features such as 15.4`` WXGA, duo core processor and 100 gb hard disk. Although not the cheapest of budget notebooks, it compensates the higher price by offering more technological features.

Most common features one can expect from Sony budget notebooks: 1 - Intel Core Duo Processor T2250 1.72 Ghz; 2 - Windows Vista; 3 - 1 gb DDR2 ram; 4 - Widescreen XGA display type; 5 - Intel graphics media accelerator 950; 6 - 100 gb SATA hard disk 5400 rpm; 7 - CD-RW/DVD rom; 8 - wireless lan 802.11 a/b/g; 9 - Modem and Lan port 10/100; 10 - USB connectivity; 11 - It weighs around 6.5 pounds; 12 - Lithium ion battery up to 5.5 hours; 13 - One year limited warranty. Price starts from U$ 929.00 and up according with optional accessories.

DELL
With features such as 15.4`` WXGA, duo core processor and ATI Radeon Xpress graphics, Dell budget notebooks offer a flexible combination of power, mobile productivity and entertainment at a good price.

Most common features one can expect out of these notebooks are: 1 - AMD Turion 62 X2 1.8 ghz/1mb cache processor; 2 - Windows Vista; 3 - 512 mb ram; 4 - Widescreen XGA display type; 5 - ATI Radeon Xpress 256 mb video graphics chipset; 6 - Up to 80 gb hard disk; 7 - CD-RW/DVD rom; 8 - It weighs around 6 pounds; 9 - 9-cell lithium ion battery; 10 - One year limited warranty. Price starts from U$ 549.00 and up according with optional accessories.

TOSHIBA
All Toshiba budget notebooks feature an 15.4`` diagonal WXGA display, DVD optical drive which reads and writes up to 11 formats, high speed wireless lan (802.11 b/g) for easy connection in networks.

Most common features one can expect out of these notebooks are: 1 - Intel Celeron processor with 1+ Ghz; 2 - Windows Vista; 3 - 512 mb ram; 4 - Widescreen XGA display type; 5 - Radeon Xpress 200M video graphics chipset; 6 - 60 gb hard disk; 7 - CD-RW/DVD rom; 8 - wireless lan but no Bluetooth connectivity; 9 - Modem and Lan port 10/100 mbps; 10 - USB and firewire connectivity; 11 - It weighs around 5 pounds; 12 - 4-cell lithium ion battery; 13 - Tv-out s-video; 14 - One year parts and labor warranty. Price starts from U$ 599.00 and up according with optional accessories.

HP
HP Budget notebooks with features such as 15.4`` display screen, AMD Sempron 3500+ and a sophisticated black resin finish, offer an attractive mix of style, mobility and performance.

Expected features one can find in this HP notebook category: 1 - AMD Sempron 3500+; 2 - Windows Vista; 3 - 15.4`` WXGA Widescreen; 3 - 512 mb ddr2; 4 - CD-RW/DVD rom; 4 - Wireless connectivity 802.11b/g wlan; 5 - It weighs around 7 pounds; 6 - Nvidia video graphics chipset with 256 mb; 7 - 6-cell lithium ion battery; 8 - USB, lan and modem port; 9 - Integrated stereo speakers; 10 - 60 gb SATA hard disk; 11 - Tv-out s-video; 12 - One year warranty in parts and labor. Price starts from U$ 569.00 and up according with optional accessories.

A while ago portable electronics devices were a luxury at an expensive price. Nowadays it became an affordable must have kind of product for lots of people. Notebooks are in this category for sure! And basic notebooks are the best option for those who are in a tight budget. So, if portability is a must for your personal or professional computer related tasks, waste no more time. Get yourself a budget notebook!

Author By: Roberto Sedycias
Roberto Sedycias - IT Consultant for PoloMercantil
This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.
This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Article section of page PoloMercantil
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for PoloMercantil.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Is Notebook A Better Choice Than Desktop?

If internet made the world a global village, then we might as well say that notebooks made it a global colony. With desktops, things were a click away from us; notebook shorted the distance. Now we can carry the global colony on our shoulder. High-end technology at your lap, perhaps, we need nothing to conquer the world of convergence.

The great advantage of notebooks is that it gives us a sense of portability and mobility. Looking critically, portability is the only feature, a notebook has over desktops then why do we choose to go for a notebook? Notebooks can let you carry your work conveniently and you do not have to worry about all the wires, hardware and space required to keep a desktop. Also it's a matter of choice between work and home. You may want to work from home, when your baby or wife is ill. A notebook comes in handy then.

A notebook has a different role to play for different people, but it gives an incredible sense of freedom. Gone are the days when people walked around with pen and paper. All you need to do today to make notes it to buy a notebook. You may want to quickly write a email to a radio station, which is making noise in the name of music. You may want to sit in your neighborhood coffee shop and write a book or letter. But if you want to carry your notebook everywhere you go, you have to consider the weight of the machine too. A notebook weighs between 5 to 10 pounds; an ultralight model is even lighter. Whereas, a desktop computer, with its standalone CPU, monitor, and keyboard, weighs in at about 70 pounds. A notebook takes much lesser space too and is very convenient.

Some of the most famous notebooks are Sony Vaio, Apple MacBook, Dell Latitude, Toshiba, HP. Also there are many affordable versions of notebooks marketed by companies like Fujitsu, Panasonic, IBM, Asus and etc.

Let's look at a scenario where at a school, students are quietly seated at their desks and working on a class assignment with no teachers to guide them. It's real, and is happening in many schools around us. Now, we don't have to mourn looking at our tiny ones carrying pounds of baggage in their backs. Notebook has it all, from their books to assignment copies.

When we look at the productive side of the picture, we would promptly realize that a notebook is always a wise choice for an employer too. It makes his or her employees to achieve more productivity at work. It saves critical office space. At any crucial moment, a notebook can help you to do the work, even when you are not physically present in the office. When the traffic is high, and your boss is waiting for presentation in a conference room, a notebook comes to the rescue. A desktop PC does not give all this freedom for a good worker.

A research says that employees with notebooks work more than those companies with desktop PCs. A notebook enables you to work from anywhere, while traveling, from a beauty parlor, or while waiting for someone at a shopping mall. And the only disadvantage a notebook has is its safety, unless you doubly assure it from theft. It's easy to pick and elope for anyone at a busy commercial place. So, ensure the safety of your costly gadget that makes you feel the world is at your feet and enjoy the power of technology.

Author By: Roberto Sedycias
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for PoloMercantil. This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Article section of page PoloMercantil
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

A PC in the modern home

Computers have become an essential part of our day-to-day life. No longer are they just a tool we use when at work. Virtually every household in the UK now owns at least one PC or laptop and many homes now have more than one. With the introduction of wireless routers and broadband a few years ago ‘PC Recovery’ have found that many people would now rather be without their television than their computer. A spokesperson for ‘PC Recovery’ said “Typical PC users these days will use their computer for a wide variety of tasks. From emailing their friends and family to booking cheap flights online. We have found many people will store all their photographs and music on their computer as well as any important documents such as a CV or letter to their bank”

With the increase in home PC usage it stands to reason that more and more problems are going to arise. “It’s no longer a case of just removing a virus or upgrading someone’s RAM” said the spokesperson. “Many families now have home networks with several computers and laptops involved. As well as wireless printers and network storage devices and they want to make the most of their hardware whether it is a laptop or a desktop PC.”

As computers are able to take care of more and more tasks for us computer engineers are finding themselves doing a wider variety of tasks than in the past. Apart from the obvious things such as fixing a broadband problem or removing a virus from a computer, they now find themselves doing things such as setting up home games consoles on the internet i.e Xbox 360 or PS3, or installing a customer’s mobile phone or MP3 player. “Times are changing” said the spokesperson. “And with it our engineers are finding they have to adapt and keep abreast of new technology and new advancements.”

Without doubt the most popular advancement in recent years would be the wireless network. Throughout the United Kingdom and in particular southeast England there are hundreds upon thousands of wireless hotspots, many of which are free. “If you drive into any town center in Essex or Kent you are now able to access the internet from many available hotspots” revealed the spokesperson “Libraries, fast food restaurants, cafes and even hotels are now only too happy to offer this service free of charge in order to encourage potential customers to use their facilities” The problems arise when people access private wireless networks that have not been secured. “This can cause a great deal of problems and security issues for the owner of the private network. This can potentially be very damaging as in the wrong hands this access could lead to bank details and personal files be extorted from the owner’s computers.

So while the new age of wireless is incredibly useful and makes it much easier for us to keep in touch with each other and indeed our online pursuits we should all take care and if necessary have our home networks checked by someone professional before it is too late. “We have seen too many people fall foul of stolen identity just by leaving their home network unsecured” said the spokesperson “So it does pay to have your system and network checked by someone professional and reputable every so often, even just for your own peace of mind.”

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info
About the Author: Paul Orams
www.pcrec.co.uk PC Recovery is a home visiting pc repair business in the southeast of England who have been specialising in computers and networks for many years.