Useful Knowledge Hub

10 Steps to protect your PC from harm!

2008-01-08T12:00:00.000+08:00

There are several things that many users may not be aware of that can help them to protect their systems and prolong the shelf life of their computers.

This is a much more comprehensive guide than the one I have previously written on how to keep your system going faster.

1 ) Plug into the socket with surge protection.

This actually can physically destroy your computer equipment, as well as the data it holds. Although thunderstorms which are very common in Singapore pose high risks to electrical appliances, anything that interrupts the electrical circuit and then starts the current back again can fry your components.

Something as simple as someone turning on an appliance that's plugged into the same circuit (especially a high voltage one such as a hair dryer, electric heater, or air conditioner) can cause a surge, or a surge may be caused by a tree limb touching a power line. If you have a power outage, you may experience a surge when the electricity comes back on.

You can protect your computer systems against damage from power surges by always using a surge protector, but it's important to be aware that most cheap surge protectors will survive only a single surge and need to be replaced afterward.

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is better than a surge protector; it has a battery that keeps power flowing smoothly even when there's an outage, to give you time to gracefully shut down. You can purchase this at Sim Lim Square, (Singapore’s largest electronics and computer mall, it is located near Bugis MRT) .

2) Connecting to the Internet with a firewall

Many home users plug their computers right into their new cable or DSL modems and log onto the Internet without realizing that they're putting themselves at risk from viruses and attackers. Every Internet-connected computer should be protected by a firewall; this can be a firewall built into the broadband modem or router, a separate firewall appliance that sits between the modem/router and the computer, a server at the network's edge running firewall software, or personal firewall software installed on the computer (such as ICF/Windows Firewall built into Windows XP or a third-party firewall program like Kerio or ZoneAlarm).

One advantage of personal firewalls on laptop computers is that they're still with you when you take the computer on the road and plug into a hotel's DSL or cable port or connect to a wireless hotspot. Just having a firewall isn't enough, though. You must also be sure it's turned on and configured properly to protect you.

Most firewalls instructions are quite fool-proof, you can get it of these free from www.zonealarm.com

3) Run or update antivirus and anti-spyware programs

Antivirus programs can be annoying and irritating when they constantly ask your permission to grant rights etc. They're always blocking some application you want to use, you often have to disable them to install new software, and they have to be updated on a regular basis to do any good. The subscription is always expiring and prompting you to renew it--for a fee, in many cases.

But in today's environment, you can't afford to go without virus protection. The malicious programs that AV software detects--viruses, Trojans, worms, etc.--can not only wreak havoc on your system but can spread via your computer to the rest of the network. In extreme cases, they can bring down the whole network.

Spyware is another growing threat; these are programs that install themselves on your computer (usually without your knowledge) and collect information from your system that is then sent back to the spyware program's author or vendor. Antivirus programs often don't address spyware so it's important to run a dedicated spyware detection and removal program.

4) DO NOT Install and uninstall lots of programs

Always fascinated by something refreshing or new, you often install and try out new software. Beta programs are usually free and give you a chance to sample neat new features before most people. There are also many freeware and shareware programs made available as Internet downloads by their authors. We know you'd never do it, but some users even install pirated software .

The more programs you install, the more likely you are to run across ones that either include malicious code or that are poorly written and cause your system to behave improperly or crash. The risk is greater with pirated programs.

Even if you install only licensed, final-release commercial software, too many installations and uninstallations can gunk up the registry(This keeps your system working properly). Not all uninstall routines completely remove program remnants and at the least, this practice can cause your system to slow down over time.

You should install only the programs that you really need, stick with legitimate software, and try to minimize the number of times you install and uninstall your programs.

5) Keep disks defragmented regularly

One of the results of installing and uninstalling lots of programs (or adding and deleting data of any kind) is that it fragments your disk. Disk fragmentation occurs because of the way information is stored on the disk: On a new, clean disk, when you save a file it's stored in contiguous sections called clusters. If you delete a file that takes up, for example, five clusters, and then save a new file that takes eight clusters, the first five clusters' worth of data will be saved in the empty space left by the deletion and the remaining three will be saved in the next empty spaces. That makes the file fragmented, or divided. To access that file, then, the disk's read heads won't find all the parts of the file together but must go to different locations on the disk to retrieve it all. That makes it slower to access. If the file is part of a program, the program will run more slowly. A badly fragmented disk will slow down to a crawl.

You can use the disk defragmenter built into Windows or a third-party defrag program to rearrange these pieces of files so that they're placed contiguously on the disk.

Another common cause of performance problems and application misbehavior is a disk that's too full. Many programs create temporary files and need extra free space on the disk to operate. You can use Windows XP's Disk Cleanup Tool or a third-party program to find and delete rarely used files, or you can manually delete files to clear space on your disk.

6) DO NOT Open all attachments liberally

Getting an e-mail message with an attachment is like getting an unexpected gift. You just have to peek inside to see what it is. But just as that package left on your doorstep could contain a bomb, that file attached to your mail message could contain code that will delete your documents or system folder or send viruses to everyone in your address book.

The most blatantly dangerous attachments are executable files--those that run code--with extensions like .exe, .cmd, and many others (see http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/a/fileextview.htm for a list of file extensions for different types of executables). Files that aren't themselves executables, such as Word .doc files and Excel .xls files, can contain embedded macros. Scripts (Visual Basic, JavaScript, Flash, etc.) aren't directly executed by the computer but are run by other programs.

It used to be that you could assume plain text (.txt) or graphics (.gif, .jpg, .bmp) files were safe, but not anymore. File extensions can be spoofed; attackers take advantage of the Windows default setting that doesn't display common file extensions to name executables something like greatfile.jpg.exe. With the real extension hidden, it shows up as greatfile.jpg. So the recipient thinks it's a graphic, but it's actually a malicious program.

You should open attachments only when they're from trusted sources and only when you're expecting them. Even if the mail with the attachment appears to come from someone you trust, it's possible that someone spoofed their address or that their computer is infected with a virus that sent the attachment to you without their knowledge.

Having an updated antivirus program may not protect you from the latest threats and malicious codes. However, this would be the best form of protection you have for your system.

7) DO NOT Click on everything

By opening attachments isn't the only type of mouse click that can get you in trouble. Clicking on hyperlinks when surfing in Web sites that have embedded ActiveX controls or scripts that can perform all sorts of malicious activities, from wiping your hard disk to installing a backdoor program on your computer that a hacker can use to get in and take control of it.

Clicking the wrong link can also take you to inappropriate Web sites that feature pornography, pirated music or software, or other content that can get you in trouble if you're using a computer on the job or even get you in trouble with the law.

Don't give in to "click mania." Think before you click a link. Links can also be disguised in phishing messages or on Web sites to appear to take you to a different site from the ones they really point to. For example, the link might say www.safesite.com, but it actually takes you to www.gotcha.com. You can often find out the real URL by hovering over the link without clicking it.

8) DO NOT share your data freely

It's nice to share, but when you're on a network, sharing can expose you to dangers. If you have file and printer sharing enabled, others can remotely connect to your computer and access your data. Even if you haven't created any shared folders, by default Windows systems have hidden "administrative" shares for the root of each drive. A savvy hacker may be able to use these shares to get in. One way to prevent that is to turn off file and printer sharing--if you don't need to make any of the files on your computer accessible across the network. This is especially a good idea if you're connecting your laptop to a public wireless hotspot. You can find instructions on how to do so at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1277222,00.asp.

If you do need to make shared folders accessible, it's important that they be protected by both share-level permissions and file-level (NTFS) permissions. Also ensure that your account and the local administrative account have strong passwords.

9) Pick a strong password

That brings us to another common mistake that can expose you to attacks: picking the wrong password. Even if you don't belong to a network where the administrator forces you to select strong passwords and change them regularly, you should do so. Don't pick passwords that are easy to guess, such as your birthdate, loved one's name, social security number, etc. Longer passwords are harder to crack, so make your password at least eight characters long; 14 is even better. Popular password-cracking methods use "dictionary" attacks, so don't use words that are in the dictionary. Passwords should contain a combination of alpha, numeric, and symbol characters for best security.

A long string of nonsense characters may create a password that's tough to crack, but if you can't remember it, you'll defeat the purpose by writing it down (where an intruder may be able to find it). Instead, create a phrase you can remember easily and use the first letters of each word, along with logical numbers and symbols. For example: "My cat ate a mouse on the 5th day of June" becomes "Mc8amot5doJ."

10) Backup your data

Even if you follow all these suggestions, an attacker may crash your system or your data may be corrupted or get wiped out by a hardware problem. That's why it's essential that you always back up your important information and have a plan for recovering from a system failure.

Most computer users know they should back up, but many never get around to it. Or they make an initial backup but don't update it regularly. Use the built-in Windows backup program (Ntbackup.exe in Windows NT, 2000, and XP) or a third-party backup program and schedule backups to occur automatically. Store backed up data on a network server or removable drive in a location away from the computer itself, in case of a natural disaster like floods.( Very common during our rainy season).

Remember that the data is the most important thing on your computer. The operating system can be reinstalled and so can applications, but it may be difficult or impossible to recreate your original data.

Nonetheless, you can save time and frustration by backing up your system information too. You can create mirror images of your disks using popular ghost( Norton Ghost, which is available on the shelves at major IT retail outlets) or clone programs. This will allow you to restore the system quickly instead of going through the tedious installation process.

Adapted from www.zdnet.com article.

For comments, you may want to email me at alpha325@hotmail.com

SIMPLE STEPS TO SPEED UP YOUR WINDOWS PC!

2007-12-17T23:11:00.000+08:00

I believe that there are many people out there who bought computers just about 1 year ago and now it is running at a much slower rate than it used to be. Opening up a document used to take less than 3 seconds. It may take up to 10 seconds after 1 or 2 years. Waiting for windows to boot up used to be as quick as just a min or two. Now it you might have to wait for more than 5 minutes. Just spend one afternoon following my dummy’s guide to speeding up your PC and all your woes would disappear!

1) Run Anti-virus and Spybot Scans.
Ensure that your anti-virus definitions are updated. Besides commercially available anti-virus softwares which you can purchase, there is another free alternative which you may want to consider. You can download this from www.grisoft.com. Always allow your anti-virus software to download updates from the internet automatically. Always allow the auto-protect function. Although it is true that switching this on does affect the performance of your system as it requires system resources to keep it active, I would think that the benefits of the auto-protect function far outweighs its cons

Ensure that you run your spybot scans regularly. It is strongly recommended that the test is run every other day or the bare minimum weekly. This is because each time you open up an attachment from an innocent email or visit a website, there is always likelihood that malicious programs would install itself without your knowledge onto your computer.
Run a manual virus scan for all your drives in your PC at least once every month. This should weed out any viruses and malware not detected by the auto-protect mechanism.
These spywares would then steal confidential information such as your Internet-banking password or personal information which would be very valuable for hackers. These information would then be sold to illegal syndicates which have interest in counterfeit passports etc.
So by clearly these programs which are running in your system and slowing it down, you would be safe from all these threats and have a much faster PC !

2) Perform Disk-Fragmentation
Defragment your hard disk at least once a month. But that doesn’t mean you should defragment your hard disk everyday. That would have been overkill. Excessive defragmentation of your hard disk is not desirable because it accelerates the natural wear and tear rate of hard disks.
To defragment your harddisk
1) Go to My Computer
2) Select the hard disk you wish to defragment eg “ C Drive “
3) Right Click on the disk drive
4) Select “Properties:
5) Select the “Tools” Tab
6) Click “Defragment” now.

The whole defragmentation process would take up to 1 hour approximately or more depending on your hard disk usage rate and system specifications. It is strongly recommended you do not use your system when the process is being executed for effective and fast defragmentation.

Files that have been deleted or modified by the users would be fragmented in the hard disk. This makes the hard disk very “cluttered” (think of a desk that is cluttered with all sorts of documents). The defragmentation process basically rearranges and consolidates these fragments so that your system would be able to function more efficiently.

3) Remove unnecessary programs

You realize that the number of programs running next to your clock (right bottom corner aka system tray) increases as you install more and more programs. Most of these programs are not important and are just slowing your computer.

To uninstall unnecessary programs in your system tray
1) Go to “Start”
2) “Control Panel”, which can be found in “ Settings” for XP users
3) Select “ Add or Remove Programs”
4) A dropdown list would appear and select the programs which you are not using.

Most programs that are on your system tray are preconfigured by default to start automatically when windows is started up. If you do wish to allow these programs to run when you start up your windows, it is necessary to disable the function. You would have to explore the options of each individual program to stop it from running during startup or the option “Show in System Tray”.

4. Last Resort – Reformat

If all else fails to speed up your PC, then there is simply too much junk and clutter in your hard disk. Reformatting your hard disk is a process where everything in the hard disk is erased. You would lose all your data and saved files after this process, therefore it is important that you get a storage media such as a thumb drive or to burn your personal files into a CD before you start to reformat your computer.
If the disc drive does not have any windows system file in it. You can simply right click on the disc drive in “My computer” and select “Format”. Select quick format for a fast format.
If the disc drive contains windows system files, you would need to obtain a Windows Installation or Back-up CD which was bundled with your system. This is because re-installation of windows would be necessary after the formatting of the disc drive which contains your windows system files.

1) Insert your windows installation CD into the CD-Rom drive
2) Restart your system
3) If the system does not boot from the CD, you would need to adjust the boot order to allow the system to boot from the optical drive first.
4) Press F10 to enter CMOS as soon as your system powers up.
5) Go to “Advanced Setup”
6) Look for something similar to “ Boot Order Preference”
7) You should be able to adjust the boot preference and set your CD/DVD Rom drive as first priority.
8) After this is done select “ Save and Exit” CMOS
9) The system would automatically restart and it should be booting from the windows CD in your optical drive.
10) Just follow the instructions in the windows set-up CD.

By Toh Jun Yong

SOURCING FOR A GOOD CAMERA

2007-12-17T23:05:00.000+08:00

Looking for cameras for this festive season? I’ve sourced some information from cnet.com which would may come in handy for people looking for good cameras.

Canon G9
http://www.canon.com.sg/index.cfm?fuseaction=digitalcamera
If you really want a DSLR but need something more portable, get the Canon PowerShot G9. This 12.1-megapixel model with a 6x optical zoom offers the serious enthusiast or professional all the manual controls they could want, RAW format support, wireless flash capabilities, and a flash hot shoe. But it also has enough automatic controls that even a newbie could use it effectively. 25 shooting modes, including scene modes like Portrait, Night Scene, Indoor, and more, make it easy to snap a great shot in any situation and Canon’s new Face Select and Track lets you automatically detect and select an individual’s face to track on as the primary focus.

The G9, which can be found for about $899(promo price), gets high marks across the board from reviewers for performance and image quality. While Steve’s Digicams did find “colors almost a bit oversaturated,” Lori Grunin at CNET points out “relatively significant distortion at the widest angle of view,” and DPReview calls it out for poor performance in low light, everyone acknowledges that image quality is generally excellent and really as good as it gets in a camera this size. Throw in functional and appealing retro design, a bright 3-inch LCD, the latest DIGIC III image processor, and an Optical Image Stabilizer based on technology developed for Canon’s high-end professional SLRs, and you won’t walk away disappointed.

Most professionals would stick to their film-based SLRs for they are considered to be much more reliable than DSLRs. However, DSLRs are gaining popularity nowadays among photo enthusiasts as they are much more cost-effective.

Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FZ50
http://panasonic.com.sg/web/pid/27
If you don’t mind a little bulkiness and want the flexibility of a broad range of focal length, get Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FZ50.
You have to be willing to drop some change on this 10.1-megapixel megazoom model—it will run you about $800 or more–but you’ll get a slew of features, not the least of which is the excellent 12x Leica optical zoom lens. This camera is the next best thing to a DSLR in many ways (and shoots video, which you won’t find in an SLR). Though it’s bulkier than some other megazoom models, it really handles and operates much like an SLR. Like the much more compact Canon PowerShot G9, which is also on my best-of list, it includes SLR-worthy features such as full manual controls, RAW image capture, and a flash hot shoe, alongside point-and-shoot-simple automatic controls. But unlike the G9—and DSLRs for that matter–the FZ50 serves up a full 35mm-to-420mm zoom lens without requiring additional interchangeable lenses. I do wish the 2-inch LCD could be a bit bigger, but it’s one of those flip-out, rotating screens that sacrifice size for versatility.
Reviewers laud the shooting performance as being impressive for a non-SLR camera, and are generally pleased with image quality. CNET found images to be “impressive, especially for a Panasonic, whose cameras tend to be noisier than this one.” Its big complaint was that “the automatic white balance turned in horribly warm images with our lab’s tungsten lights.” Steve’s Digicams found “image quality was very good using the 10-megapixel, Fine mode, with the ISO set to 100” and “did not feel noise levels were dramatically higher than similar models,” due to Panasonic’s new noise reduction system. DPReview was surprisingly impressed, giving up that “under the right conditions it produces superb output.” Still, its review points out “the smearing of fine, low contrast detail that is the hallmark of the Venus III engine limits the FZ50 to low ISO settings for any serious photography unless you’re happy to accept that you’ll never be able to produce big enlargements.”

By Toh Jun Yong

WIRELESS IS “TROUBLE-LESS"!

2007-12-17T23:04:00.000+08:00

As wireless technology proliferates, more and more people are harnessing the conveniences of wireless technology. Wireless router for domestic use is easy to set-up and it connects all the members in your household to the internet.
The catch is of course when you realize that your surfing speeds start to deteriorate and the download speed of your movies slows down. These are some of the signs that indicate the possibility of strangers “piggy-backing” to the Wi-Fi connection that you have set-up.

Strangers tapping onto your network may be tolerated by most since it doesn’t adversely affect your internet experience as long as you are not a heavy user. However, Singapore telecoms have a clause included when you sign the contract that your internet connection must not be shared. So far, they have not taken any action against domestic users who share their internet connection with the entire neighborhood (this is mere exaggeration). Such a breach of contract may result in termination of contract and compensation if they deem necessary. To avoid putting yourself in such a situation, it is wise to secure your wireless connection!

Here are some tips to stop these cheapskate strangers from stealing your Wi-Fi connection.

1) Using a password to prevent hackers from accessing your wireless access point/ router
To access your router’s homepage - the default address is 192.168.1.1 for most of the routers. Once you key this into the Address Bar, it would bring you to the router’s login page. The default user id is “admin” or “administrator” and the default password field is usually left blank.
Choose a strong password that has to be used to access your wireless access point. A general rule for a strong password is to include the use of symbols such as “ ! , $, @” , numerics and CAPITAL letters. An example of a good password that is easy to remember yet relatively difficult to crack : mon@kEy!
Don't use the default password that comes with your Wi-Fi equipment or a dictionary word that is easy to guess or crack.

2) Using encryption to secure your wireless connection
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) is a much stronger encryption system than WEP. Therefore this can be used to reduce the chances of hackers intercepting your communications. This can be accessed in the router webpage. (See above para on how to get access into the router webpage).
Any wireless device that attempts to connect to your network would need to authenticate itself with this code.

3) Using MAC address filtering
Wi-Fi routers and access points normally have the ability to prevent unknown wireless devices from connecting. This works by comparing the MAC address (This is an unique code of the wired/wireless device) of the device trying to connect with a list held by the router. However, this feature is turned off when the router is shipped because it requires some effort to set up properly. By activating this feature and only telling the router the MAC address of wireless devices in your household you can reduce the chances of strangers' computers piggybacking your internet connection. However it is still possible for a seasoned hacker to clone your MAC address, but this measure should still be taken to reduce the risks.

To determine the MAC address of your labtop
a) Go to “Start”
b) Click on “Run” and type “cmd”
c) A pop-up window would appear. Type “ ipconfig /all”
d) A long list of information would appear. Look out for the “Physical Address” of your wireless device under the “Wireless LAN Adaptor Wireless Network Connection”. It should look something like this “ XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX”. This is the MAC address.

Go back to the router homepage and activate the access list control. Add your wireless device’s MAC address onto the list. (The sequential steps vary from one brand of router to another).

4) Don't broadcast the name of your wireless network
The name of your wireless network, known as the SSID, should not be broadcast to strangers. In addition, choose an obscure hard-to-guess SSID name to make life much more difficult for hackers. Change the default SSID to something more complicated and hard-to-guess.

5) Restrict internet access to certain hours
Some wireless routers allow you to configure internet access to certain times of the day. For instance, if you know you will not need to access the internet from home between 9-5, Monday to Friday, and then schedule your router to disable access between those hours.

6)Securing your own PCs
Ensure that your own PCs are equipped and installed with antivirus, spybot- scanners and firewalls. Get them free from www.grisoft.com (anti-virus), www.safer-networking.org (spybot scanner) and www.zonealarm.com (firewall).

Remember that “a moment of vigilance, a lifetime of assurance”. Just spend an hour also figuring this out and you would be secured!

Completed by
Toh Jun Yong
25 Nov 2007

LOOKING FOR CONTRIBUTORS

2007-11-26T00:16:00.000+08:00

Hello there!

We are a Singapore based site that aims to share useful knowledge with you in work, study and play. We hope that the experiences and expertise of our writers would be able to provide useful insights for newcomers who are planning to take up the same activity - to point out the benefits of undertaking a particular activity, the shortcuts to success and the pitfalls to avoid, so as to ensure maximum enjoyment and minimum hassle. We also hope to direct you to the best resources that we rely on in the course of performing these activities.

We are currently in the midst of starting up. Here is the list of topics that will be covered in the following months, and it isn't exhaustive. We are looking for contributors, so any one interested to share their knowledge with the world, please contact the webmaster.

1. Universities
-studying locally or overseas.
-choosing the appropriate course of study.

2. Career
-relevant choices for career
-career skills

3. Information Technology and Computers

4 Entertainment

5. Recreation
-Mastering Sports
-Mastering Musical Instruments

6. Technical Skills

MASTERING BADMINTON

2007-11-24T00:36:00.001+08:00

As a social sport, badminton is a great game to start with. It is a popular past time amongst south east asian countries. It is especially popular in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. To play a social game, it is quite an easy sport to pick up. You just need to be able to hit the shuttlecock back and forth with a friend for hours of endless entertainment.

However, to be proficient at it, like many other sports, badminton could prove to be daunting, especially when you are faced with an experienced opponent. The intricacies of badminton revolve around the usage of the wrist - all the powerful lobs and smashes that you see in competitions are all the result of a trained and strong wrist.

Also, good footwork is essential to be able to master the game. There are four corners in a badminton court that you must be able to cover - front left/right, back left/right; and six corners - add in centre left/right , for more advanced players. You must be able to move effortlessly back and forth, much like a ballet dancer, to cover all these positions, for these are the areas that opponents like to hit to.

You also must master lobbing the shuttlecock high and towards the baseline, otherwise you would be vulnerable to smashes from the opponent. Badminton is also a mental game- you must be able to be offensive - to hit to places where the opponent is likely to miss; and defensive, able to anticipate where your opponent might hit the shuttle next. The fast pace of the shuttlecock does not make things better - but makes for an exciting game.

Your stamina must also be good - both your anaerobic and aerobic stamina would be put to the test here - as you run fast within a confined area. Feinting a shot is also common practice - you must be able to anticipate the shot, as well as deal it out to your opponent. In singles, you are on your own. Victory goes out to the player who is superior in the aspects mentioned. In doubles, the gameplay is the same, but the dynamics are slightly different. Success depends on both the individual skill of the players and their ability to communicate with each other. Doubles mainly revolves around low, fast shots that skim the net (drives), or baseline high shots (lobs), and drop shots - alternating between them in an erratic manner is the best strategy, to make your opponent run here and there.

There are also many rules to follow that a beginner might find daunting and confusing. Traditional format is a game to 15 , other variants have 3 sets of 7 points each-but you only gain a point if you are serving. In general, for odd points you stand on the left; for even points you stand on the right. You must serve towards the opposite court for singles and doubles. Singles service is a high shot to the back (goes high up then lands at the baseline; a half court effort would normally result in a smash from the opponent, which is bad), or a low shot to the front. Doubles is usually a low to the front or a lob to the back, but take note of the difference in the lines. I won't go into the technical details here; it is best to play with someone experienced, and play regularly to improve your skills.

However, if you are really serious in improving your skills, like all other sports, it requires much training - which could be repetitive and boring for some - it consists of honing individual strokes like lobbing (Basic), smashing (more advanced, and deadlier), netting (oh, the trickery), driving (aim for the opponent's head) for hours on end - and lots of running and frog jumps to strengthen the calf muscles. But going through all these exercises would pay off in the end - you would become a better player in the long run, and technically competent too, which is especially important for this game.

The good thing about badminton it is indoor - and thus all-weather - rain or shine you are assured of play. However, it could get stuffy on hot days especially. Also, you won't be able to get a nice tan. The equipment is quite affordable too, a good racquet, which is a worthy investment for an exciting game, costs about SGD 100, plus minus. Shuttlecocks (heard it takes 200 people to make one) could be expensive though in certain places, and their feathers get crumpled very fast. Also, working your wrist could mean that taking up certain sports like tennis and bowling would result in a steeper learning curve initially. Using your wrist to hit a tennis ball could result in a broken wrist; bowling with your wrist curving like badminton could result in lots of balls ending up in the gutter.

WHY PLAY SPORTS

2007-11-24T00:34:00.001+08:00

Doing sports is a very profitable activity to take up, in more ways than one. Besides the obvious benefit of maintaing one's health and improving one's fitness, it is also the gel that binds people that would not normally meet or socialize together. Why do I say that?After a hard day's work, or on a leisurely weekend, there is nothing like a good game to unwind, with friends or family alike.

Everyone is equal on the sports field; forget the rigid social hiearchies that govern the workplace and school, if even for a while. The lines between boss and subordinate, business partners, parents and children - all blur, and give way to a spirit of informality and camaraderie. It is a great way to learn many of life's lessons and priceless benefits abound- competitive spirit, never-say-die attitude - for the individual; cooperation with your team mates; the potential to make lifelong friends irregardless of backgrounds, to achieve victory; and the ability to win, and lose, gracefully in the sprit of healthy competition. Moreover, conflict resolution skills can be put to the test in some heated competitions; as can be the chance to help others - those who are not as proficient as us at the game, or those who get discouraged or injured.

All these opportunities are less likely to occur in the formal world; we need to escape from reality from a while to enjoy the drama that sporting activity gives us.

It is also a good avenue to evaluate a person's character that could be disguised under a veneer of politeness in more formal spheres - his true colours show when a game is played in competitive spirit - is he or she determined to win or more the social player? a good or bad loser? able to empathise with those not so proficient at the sport? able to coach others, or inspire interest in them? so on and so forth. We can also meet new people through our friends, or simply through those who challenge us to a friendly game - which could lead to further networking opportunities - he could be your next business partner, or she could become your future spouse... who knows? sharing the same interests could be the stepping stone to a something much greater.

So what are profitable sports to invest your precious time in? I will attempt to evaluate the following sports on an impartial basis, for they are sports which I have engaged in before.

A HISTORY STUDY GUIDE

2007-11-06T01:32:00.000+08:00

INTRODUCTION
This is for all you history students out there who are wondering what is the most effective and efficient process to prepare for the examination.

LECTURE
1.Listen attentively to what the lecturer has to say because important aspects of topic will be highlighted, hints might be dropped for certain upcoming assignments/tests
2. ask questions when in doubt
3. write down additional notes the lecturer says

SELF STUDY
1. re-organize notes into summaries and answer plans (points substantiated by evidence)
2. submit essays to history teacher if time permits, try to cover as many aspects as possible

REVISION
1. read through notes once through if time permits for familiarization purposes
2. re-read doubtful parts
3. read through summaries (timeline)
4. read prepared answer plans-types of questions: causes, impact, specific questions

COPING WITH TESTS AND PROJECTS
1. prepare well in advance, do all readings several weeks before test
2. go through answer plans the night before
3. ensure adequate rest

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS FACED BY THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT?

DURING PREPARATION

1. Huge amount of content to cover, insufficient preparation time
Reason: this is the nature of history; need to cover many aspects of the issue
Implication: inefficiency, fail to achieve desired grades, may eat into studying time for other subjects
Solution: plan time correctly and use the method advocated

2. Failure to familiarize with the contents
Implication: cannot possibly fulfill minimum requirements of test as basic understanding is required for a pass
Solution: Read and re-read the notes as necessary, annotating significant events as you go along

3. Failure to understand syllabus requirements
Reason: failure to check what is required
Implication: lack of direction in studying
Solution: obtain syllabus requirements and familiarize before starting to study

4.Failure to recognize the significance of events
Reason: wrong method used to study, reading and re-reading of notes will not help
Implication: inability to score well in essay as evidence used is immaterial
Solution: create answer plans tailored for each specific requirement; summarize notes into a timeline if necessary to obtain proper perspective

5.Insufficient analysis
Reason: failure to analyse evidence
Implication: might be handicapped during test with time constraint as issue has not been analysed fully during preparation
Solution: analyse arguments and perspectives beforehand

ESSAY TECHNIQUES

COMMON PROBLEMS

1. Incorrect Arguments
reason: fail to gain grasp of argumentative positions within essay
implication: will barely pass essay
solution: study various perspectives to gain a feel of the issue. Can either argue via conventional viewpoints. Can have own unique viewpoint too but must be able to substantiate with compelling evidence.

2. Lack of Evidence
reason: failure to familiarize self with content
implication: can get 14-16/25 at most
solution: when studying answer plans, must note the key points and the specific evidence attached to it

3. Lack of Analysis
reason: concentrate too much on listing points and examples, minimal analysis
implication: cannot score high, grade ‘A’s
solution: remember that history is an analytical subject, needs your evaluation of an opinion. Focus more on answering the question, not just listing examples. (will get minimal credit for it)

IMMEDIATELY BEFORE EXAMINATION: STUDY PREPARED ANSWER PLANS
1. create a brief answer plan; jot down key points and evidence; might have to modify prepared answer plans
2. concentrate on analysis more than listing evidence

EVALUATION
1. Evaluate the marked scripts returned by the teacher if possible- find out strengths, weaknesses for the particular question

TIME SAVING PRACTICES
1. obtain scripts and answer plans prepared by seniors to get additional perspectives
2. create peer study groups to prepare answer plans for different aspects and share
3. discuss questions with peers if time permits

PROCESS

LESSONS FROM PERSONAL FINANCE

2007-11-06T00:46:00.001+08:00

INTRODUCTION
Personal Finance is an important skill for us to learn in order to sustain and improve our lifes materially, emotionally, spiritually, through the accumulation of wealth. Having enough savings for retirement is also the worry of most people once they reach a certain age. Thus, having the appropriate skills is definitely of utmost importance. Without the proper management of monitoring expenses and growing our wealth, we are unable to achieve our other more important objectives in life - living healthy, fulfilling lives and being able to help others. Financial abundance is the foundation upon which achieving our targets in life is based upon.

Wealth accumulation is carried out primarily via the inflow of income and the successful saving and investment of it.

DEFINITIONS OF INCOME
Firstly, there are two definitions of income - active and passive.

Active income compensates you for the hours and effort you put into work - that is, you have to be physically present at work. the only source of this is your day job.

Passive income is income that flows into your account without you moving a muscle, even as you sleep. The sources include stock/bonds/funds investment, collection from rentals, capital gains, revenue from home based business (done in spare time), e-business, royalties, affiliate marketing commissions and so on.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTITUDES TO WEALTH ACCUMULATION
Firstly, one's psychological approach to accumulating wealth is of greatest importance in the journey for financial abundance. The problem with many of us is that we tend not to keep track of our expenditures and spend as and when we want, in search of short term gratification - buying new clothes, shoes, accessories, gadgets, dining out with friends, spending on entertainment, giving gifts to others. However, this is a short term attitude and will not lead to long term accumulation of wealth. What income is flowing in flows out through the other end as it is converted into depreciable assets.

Some others also think that they can worry about wealth accumulation when they 'grow up' or get a job, or perhaps that it is too early to plan for retirement. However, good wealth accumulators start early in life - the earlier you educate yourself about this, the better, since the earlier you can start. Some people postpone this and spend like there's no tomorrow until retirement hits and they are left with meagre savings after a lifetime of material acquisitions.

WHAT IS WEALTH?
Building up wealth is a time concept. It is not the absolute amount of money you have, but the length of time in which you can sustain yourself without any pay. A manager who earns $20k a month but who spends $19k of it monthly is relatively poorer than a teacher who earns $4k a month but saves $2k of it monthly. Thus, to start off, one has to have about 3-6 months of emergency fund to use in case of temporary inability to work, e.g. due to retrenchment. Thereafter, one should, apart from working smart and hard at the day job, continue to build up on the passive side of investment.

HOW TO ACCUMULATE WEALTH
Savings and investment are the main drivers of growing wealth.

REGULAR MONITORING OF EXPENDITURE

Firstly, one has to know how much he or she spends every month - an expenditure record should be in place in order for one to be in control of his or her finances. The impact of a particular purchase, or the savings made, no matter how insignificantly small, will be accounted for in one's monthly and yearly expenditure statement. Expenditure targets should be monitored religiously. Savings should be maximised and utilized for maximum effect in investments later on.

CASE STUDY - why be thrifty? : THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR
Indeed, a good source of inspiration for being thrifty should come from the book The Millionaire Next Door- a survey of the lifestyles and habits of American millionaires conducted by two American social scientists. Most people would think that millionaires drive nice big cars and wear fancy branded clothes. Surprisingly, it would be impossible to tell apart most millionaires from the common folk. For example, they tend to buy only when necessary, and drive second-hand cars instead of buying brand new ones (because cars are depreciable assets). They are also aware of how much they spend every month, and constantly use discount coupons when making purchases. Professionals such as doctors, lawyers might seem to have an unlimited amount of cash to afford such a lavish lifestyle, but many of them are just a paycheck away from bankruptcy. In their effort to maintain their reputation of being at the highest echelon of society, and also to keep up with the Joneses, they tend to spend most of their income on lavish items to show off. Instead, many other people from humbler professions do not have this requirement, and thus can save their income to invest in other more meaningful and appreciable assets.

WHY SAVING IS NOT ENOUGH
However, it is not good enough just to save. Inflation will erode the value of your savings if it is merely kept in the bank at meagre interest rates.

REMEDY - INVESTING
To quote renowned Singaporean trainer Adam Khoo, many people say that investment is risky- but only if you do not know how to do it. Not investing is riskier, he says, for the reason quoted above. Investing in stocks and bonds is only risky if one does not know the fundamentals behind it, and lacks the technical expertise to do so, much like how it is dangerous to drive a car on public roads without learning the highway code, how to control the car etc.

FIRST, START OFF WITH THE MIND
A good investment is to pour funds into improving one's mind in the intellectual aspect especially. Material goods can be taken away from you or depreciate in value over time, but, to paraphrase my Dad, knowledge that you have learnt and developed over time cannot be taken away from you. Adam Khoo has also inspired me on my quest to gain more knowledge - as I use my spare time to read up on the ideas of great leaders in each of their fields- standing on the shoulders of giants, we can see further, as Isaac Newton used to say.

We have come a long way. Previously, one could be assured of life long employment in a single firm with benefits paid in retirement, a tradition that started off with the Industrial Revolution. But this Revolution was such a long time ago- today we are in a Knowledge-Based economy, where Innovation and Intellectual Property, and not factories and hardware, will be the new buzzwords. Our greatest asset is our mind, for it is with this that we can discover new ideas or create new inventions without spending a single cent. Of course, much effort has to be spent cultivating this through education, experience and reading widely. But with the advent of computers and the Internet, conducting business has become much easier - we do not need to manage cumbersome inventories and can start a home-based business easily with low start up costs (think e-bay.com or many of the other numerous sales portals that have sprung up in recent years). The new breed of entrepreneurs earn their keep with new ideas - software companies, royalties from artistic compositions, competence in investment, e-commerce, so on and so forth. Thus, cultivating the mind has become a priority of utmost importance, as opposed to being content as a cog-in-the-wheel factory worker with assured but meagre benefits. In today's socially and economically mobile economy, and the trend towards outsourcing, the mediocre factory worker will not stand a chance if he does not upgrade himself by learning newer, more relevant skills.

USING THE MIND TO CREATE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME
We must learn how to accumulate wealth - how? Working harder at your day job is something that most people would do, but this only generates one stream of income. There is only one you - a doctor, for example, can only treat x number of patients in one day as he humanly can, no matter how hard he works. The trick is to cultivate multiple streams of income, as advocated in the New York Times Best Seller of the same title, by renowned personal finance guru Robert G. Allen. The key is the creation of as many sources of income as possible, so that even as you work , sleep, or play, you are earning income. Even if one source stops, there are several others to compensate for it while you rectify or search for new sources. If you only rely on your day job for income, daily sustenance would be a problem in the increasingly plausible scenario of job loss.

HOW TO INCREASE ACTIVE INCOME
This revolves primarily around your job performance. To do well, you must love what you do. The best choice would be to find the career that you wouldn't mind doing even if you did not receive any pay at all. In fact, Warren Buffett loves his job so much that he receives only a nominal salary, and has said that his job is so good that one should pay to have it! Working hard and smart, and having a competence in your field of expertise is of utmost importance. Adam Khoo advocates working hard at your job to value-add, so that your boss will recognize your achievements and give you a raise.

LAYMAN'S GUIDE TO PLAYING GUITAR

2007-11-06T00:45:00.001+08:00

'Without music, life is not worth living' - Gramophone slogan.

How true this is. Many of us listen to music everyday - radio , I-Pod, Music Videos so on and so forth.

Wouldn't you like to be able to play the favorite songs that you hear every day? Many of my friends I have encountered want to learn how to play the guitar... simple songs that can entertain... I myself have been playing the guitar for fun and entertainment since 13 years old, when my cousin introduced me to it... And have performed at a few gigs, just for fun... sec 2 at the RGS PSL carnival, at my secondary school's prefect activities and sec 4 graduation ceremony, in Mongolia for some middle school children, at Basic Military Training as part of my platoon's item during Recruit's evening... etc etc. I can't say that my guitar skills are very good... but I can assure you that playing the guitar isn't very difficult... and the benefits of learning it are great indeed!

WHY LEARN THE GUITAR?
The guitar is a versatile musical instrument... It is ubiquitous and portable... it can be used to recreate the sounds of many favorite bands from many genres ... acoustic, rock, alternative, punk rock, jazz so on and so forth. In my opinion, its learning curve isn't as difficult as say, learning the piano, since by strumming a few chords you can actually come up with a song good enough to be sung along by your friends! It is useful at informal gatherings and formal functions alike... to break the ice and create a nice, soothing and relaxing atmosphere... (though the quality of singing is another story altogether ;) ).

How to go about learning guitar?

Let me recount my experience... I went to stay at my cousin's place during the holidays and he was already playing guitar at that time... He taught me how to play a few chords... and from there, I progressed...

LEARN SIMPLE SONGS
You could start learning by playing a few simple songs... Catchy songs, fortuitously, consist of only 3-4 chords that are repeated, save for the bridge... (the presence of such few chords is why they are so catchy)... The websites available for such songs are www.ultimate-guitar.com...
You can search by song name and band name... The few simple songs I started with were :

SONGS THAT SOUND DECENT WHEN THERE'S ONLY STRUMMING
Pearl Jam - Last Kiss (G Em C D)
Green Day - Warning (A D G D)
Semisonic - Closing Time - (G D Am C)
Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing at All - (G D C D)
The Calling - Wherever You Will Go - (C G Am F)
Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life (G D C)

You can just learn the fingering of these few major chords:
CDEFGAB
C=do, D=re, E=me etc...

and the minor chords...

Em, Am

After that, you can progress to songs with more chords, e.g.

Cake - I Will Survive Am Dm G C F B E
Eagles - Hotel California, Love Will Keep us Alive, Desperado
Beatles - Let It Be.... etc

FINDING CHORDS ON THE WEB
At Ultimate-guitar.com, once you have searched for the song, several versions will appear:

followed by : or .

click on the chords for purely sing -along stuff, i.e. lyrics with the chord on top.

Click under 'show chord diagrams' to see the fingerings for the various chords...

The guitar consists of 6 strings.
EBGDAE(Every Bad Girl Deserves An Egg)
from thinnest to thickest.

PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE
Practise makes perfect. You must be willing to invest time and effort into perfecting your skills, just like any other art. Perhaps guitar is one of the easier instruments to pick up, as compared to piano, for example...

You should practise the fingering every day... and initially it will be quite painful as the soft skin of your fingers have not adjusted to brushing against the hard metal strings of your guitar... you must play for a few weeks to months for the callus (dead) skin on your fingertips to grow, such that you would be immune to the 'pain'...

Another difficulty is 'Barring' the chord... ie using one finger to cover several or all six strings... You must perservere in learning this skill, for it is essential in playing chords like F... and certain minor chords, e.g. B-minor.. and also power chords...

You must be able to transit from chord to chord instantaneously and effortlessly to be able to play a decent tune, so just focus on the simple songs above first...

Practise strumming the songs above... Strumming in itself is enough to get you sufficient entertainment... because most sing-alongs or other communal activities revolve around one or more people strumming the guitar and the rest singing along...

BUYING A GUITAR

BENEFITS
Also, it would be a good investment to purchase a guitar. It might be expensive at the start, but it is a worthy investment. Most guitars can last you a lifetime, and you can bring it anywhere you go... I brought mine overseas several times already, ensuring that it was kept in a hardy case... My friend owns a guitar that was passed down to him from his father's time! Owning your own guitar would mean that you have access to it 24/7, and can practise at any time... initially, you might want to borrow a guitar from a friend to try... but I recommend that if you are serious about learning, you should get one of your own, for every guitar has its own 'feel' and 'personality'... and it is important that you like to play yours...

TYPES OF GUITAR IN THE MARKET
Moreover, there are many kinds of guitar out there in the market. There is the classical with nylon strings (the kind you hear people playing Greensleeves with), the acoustic with metal strings, electric guitar, bass guitar etc. I suggest you start off with an acoustic guitar first, before progressing onto others, like electric guitar. Acoustic guitar can be played by itself, but if you are thinking of performing in future, you should get one with a socket for an amplifier... Also, buying a good quality guitar (which might cost more) is better than buying one cheap one... after all, you will be keeping it for a long, long time, might as well get a long lasting one... an electric guitar is a nice addition, but it is slightly more expensive...

After you have learnt these main chords, you can progress to power chords for the same notes,
so you can play rock songs...

Power chords are those with a fixed fingering... eg 355, 466 etc. Learning them would prove useful as they are flexible. If you can't play the original chord, simply use the power chord by finding the first note and playing the other two correspondingly.

Blink 182 - All the Small Things (C Am G Am-F (intro), C G F G verse & chorus)
Third Eye Blind - Never Let You Go - E B Am

After you have completed with strumming, you may want to progress to plucking.

PLAYING RIFFS (plucking on strings)
Beginner's songs include:
Green Day - Time of Your Life
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing At All

Again, you can get the tabs from ultimate-guitar.com... and look for 'Guitar'

You should see lines:

____
____
____
____
____
____

These correspond to the guitar strings.
____E (thinnest)
____A
____D
____G
____B
____E (thickest)

And there will be numbers on the lines:
____2___
____3___
____2___
________
________
________

The numbers correspond to the frets on the guitar. The example shown above is the 'D' chord.
To play a riff, simply follow the directions given. I.e. use your finger to press down on the number given for that fret, and play in sequence. N.b.: '0' denotes that you pluck the string without holding down any string.

The best is to engage a teacher to teach you, like some of my friends have done. Or any siblings/friends who play the guitar.
You can then progress faster.
Or you could learn by yourself if you prefer, but you need more perserverance. '
Books and e-learning are also another possibility.
but what matters most is that you practise whenever you can, especially on the basic chords...
You can also learn other more challenging skills like hammering, sliding (electric guitar rock songs), etc. in order to play like Jimi Hendrix or Guns n Roses for example.

Where to PRACTISE?
Initially, you should practise by yourself at home, to get the basics right.
once you are done, you can head to Jamming studios (average about SGD 12.00 per hour) with your friends. This is when the fun starts. You could start your own band with your friends - same instruments but each playing different parts, or different instruments harmonizing together - keyboard, drums, bass, electric, acoustic guitar, singer... This is the best part of learning as you get to harmonize with your friends and create nice symphonic music (hopefully!) with your friends..and you could even record your own album... :)

Hope this has been useful food for thought to those of you who are thinking of picking up guitar as a skill. Feel free to approach me if you got any questions on basic guitar-ing.
Good luck and happy jamming! :)

HOW TO OBTAIN A DRIVING LICENSE IN SINGAPORE

2007-11-06T00:44:00.001+08:00

Hey!
This is for those who are 18 years of age, have graduated from JC or Poly and waiting to enlist to NS who are thinking of getting a driving license fast.

I just recently obtained my driving license.... after about a year plus of hard work...
Would just like to share some of my experience with you, and some of the pros and cons... hopefully you will be able to benefit from this and complete it faster than I did!

there are mainly two ways to do so. You could sign up at a driving school, of which there are three : Singapore Safety Driving Centre at Yio Chu Kang, Bukit Batok Driving Centre at Bukit Batok, and Comfort Driving Centre at Ubi. Alternatively, you could sign up for a private instructor.

There are two types of car license:
Class 3: Manual (can drive both manual and auto car)
Class 3A: Auto (can drive only auto car)

The Great Debate : School vs. private - which is better?

Advantages of school -
1. can practice at the circuit every lesson.
2. greater exposure to wider range of possible mistakes: being taken by different instructors means that different mistakes can be pointed out to you easily.
3. can book lessons and tests online easily
4. can cancel lessons up to 72 hours in advance for free, and can sell lessons online after 72 hours (drawback: must pay if no one buys your lesson, but that is rarely the case)

Disadvantages:
1. it is more expensive. non peak hour: $58.80 per lesson, peak hour: $67.20 per lesson. (about 1.5 hours). Private lessons: $30/- per hour on average.
2. inconsistent advice given by various instructors at times.
3. need to pay to request for fixed instructor , around SGD$8.00 per lesson.
4. travelling time needed to go to the place
5. must book lessons about two weeks in advance.
6. private has the advantages of more flexibility, and you may acclimatize to outside roads faster as there is practise in public carparks, and not the circuit ones with poles

You need to clear three tests.
1. Basic Theory Test (BTT)
2.Final Theory Test (FTT)
3. Practical Test

The time frame in which you would complete these typically range from about 5 months to a year.

The general route of advance would be as follows:
1. sign up at a driving school - you need a student account (private or public) to sign up for the theory and practical tests.
2. clear the basic theory test : you would be able to obtain a Provisional Driving License (PDL) which would allow you to go onto the road during your lessons.
3. clear the final theory test: you need this to book your Practical Test.
4. clear your practical lessons. 5. clear your Practical Test.

Advice on Clearing the Theory Tests:
you must be able to score 45/50 to pass the theory tests.
the questions will be mainly on interpreting Singapore traffic signs, driving techniques.
The test will be on a computer in MCQ format, in 4 different languages, and lasts about an hour.
You have to book the test date about a month in advance due to overwhelming number of people taking the test.
How to study for the theory test:
1. Read through the guidebooks given by your driving centre.
Warning: the 4 options tend to be quite tricky and close for certain questions, so read through the book more thoroughly. You can only make up to 4 mistakes.
2. Optional way to improve success chances:
attempt a test bank of questions.
it is always good to have an idea of what the test format will be like, and what questions will likely to be asked. You can purchase a book bank of MCQ questions from petrol stations (about SGD$8.00) or Popular book store and attempt the questions. This would focus your mind on what sort of questions would be asked during the test. It would save you valuable time as certain details in the guidebook are unnecessary.

Practical Lessons:
For school, you have to clear approximately 33 subjects for manual car (less for autocar)
you have to clear up to lesson 25 before you can book your TP (practical test).
Typical waiting time is 3 - 5 months for first-timer, and 2 months or so for retest.

During the Practical (TP) Test:
lasts about 20 -40 minutes, depending on traffic conditions...

General Guidelines:
1. Don't be nervous (although it is next to impossible)
2. Always remember to do safety checks when parking or driving... and must emphasize on checking blindspot...
3. travel at the appropriate speed for gear, not too fast, not too slow
4. look out for pedestrians, stopping taxis and other hazards
5. concentrate on passing the stations, not preventing accidents like 'immediate failures' or 'demerit points'- your brain can only focus on so much in such a short period of time
6. Don't speed
7. Don't think of the small mistakes you made

Good luck!

WELCOME

2007-11-06T00:43:00.000+08:00

WELCOME TO USEFUL KNOWLEDGE HUB

Time is a very precious commodity in our fast paced world. We have so many things to do with such a limited amount of time. Obtaining the correct information before embarking on an activity is crucial to saving precious time and resources. However, in our busy lives, we tend not to have much time to do proper research. As such, we tend to rely on the advice of the people immediately around us before making a decision to engage in a particular activity. However, the problems emerge when the advice given by various friends and family members is inaccurate, tends to contradict each other, or is simply insufficient.

This website aims to be an informal guide that has consolidated all the information based on other peoples' experiences.