Choose and Register a Domain Name

Find the best web address and protect it with domain name registration.

To do business on the Web, you'll need at least one domain name -- the .com or .net website identifier that has become so familiar (and sometimes annoying) in commercials and print advertising. You may want to use your business name as your domain name, with .com or .net tacked on at the end -- or you might pick a new domain name that you think will draw people to your site.

To help your website, and business, flourish, pick a domain name that:

- is easy for Web users to remember and find
- suggests the nature of your product or service
- serves as a strong trademark so competitors won't be able to use a business name or domain name similar to it, and
- is free of legal conflicts with trademarks belonging to other businesses.

Choosing a Domain Name
The best domain names are often the simple ones -- short, memorable, clever, and easy to spell and pronounce. Nevertheless, you must weigh the sometimes competing concerns of a Web-friendly name with the importance of obtaining trademark protection for the name you choose.

Can You Get Trademark Protection?
Straightforward domain names that describe a business's product or service are more difficult to protect as trademarks than distinctive and clever domain names. Many good domain names -- for instance, coffee.com, drugs.com, and business.com -- are not eligible for much trademark protection because they aren't unique; they identify whole categories of products or services. Likewise, domain names that use geographic identifiers or surnames are less likely to receive trademark protection -- unless your name happens to be Dr. Koop or something equally famous.

Best Broadband in Malaysia

Guess what, I just came back from PacketOne Networks (P1, for short) office located just beside the Federal Highway. What did I go there for? Simple enough, because they knew I am the upcoming Malaysia Problogger and invited me over to officiate the launching of their long awaited P1 W1MAX USB Modem!



This USB modem is what the folks there called the WIGGY. You can see this teaser which counts down to PC Fair day! This is something which all of you have been waiting for… and you just have to wait two more days to find out all the details you need in PC Fair.

But you are in luck today! I show you first hand photos of the much talked about P1 W1MAX USB Modem.

The USB Dongle comes in a little plastic case. It contains the USB modem, a manual and is encased within some shock absorbent material.



The USB Modem itself is sleek and sexy. This small modem definitely provides more mobility for P1 W1MAX and so much better compared to the current bulky DS-300 Modem.

Let’s plug this baby into my USB port.

So far so good. Once the modem is plugged it, it triggers the self installation program and installs the device drivers and the connection manager program. This is simple enough and was completed in a couple of minutes. What the heck, let’s connect now….

Darn, can’t connect. The connection status stays as “Scanning” (red light blinking) for forever… Hey, P1 WiMAX supports download of up to 30Mbps and upload of up to 7Mbps, but I am getting “Scanning…” only. Not too sure it is because my account is not activated yet (they told me I will need to wait until tomorrow noon for account activation), or my area is located at the fringe of the coverage area. I will give it another chance tomorrow and will also try this at another place.

More details of this modem can be found on Green Packet’s website under the name US-230

How to Connect Two PCs with an Ethernet Crossover Cable

Networking Options
There are four reasonable ways to connect two PCs (both running Windows) by a single cable:

1. Connect an Ethernet crossover cable between the Ethernet network ports on the two PCs. (Easy)

2. Connect a FireWire cable between the FireWire ports on the two PCs. (Easy)

3. Connect a special USB link cable between the two PCs, along with some software. (Requires some fussing, some software, and a special cable.)

4. Connect a serial-port crossover cable (sometimes called a null modem cable) between the serial ports on the two PCs. (Requires a fair amount of fussing, works slowly, and sometimes won’t work at all for reasons that never come clear.)

Use an Ethernet Crossover Cable to Connect Two PCs
By far, the simplest, easiest, and cheapest connection between two PCs is through a Category 5 Ethernet crossover cable. If you’re using Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista, it’s virtually automatic. In summary: You turn both PCs off, connect the crossover cable between the Ethernet port on one PC and the Ethernet port on the other, and then turn them on and boot up. In a couple of minutes, you should be connected. That’s all it takes!

An Ethernet crossover cable is a special variety of the familiar Category 5 Ethernet patch cable. It looks almost exactly like an ordinary Ethernet patch cable, but it will be labeled somehow so that you know it’s a crossover cable. Look for the abbreviation CRS embossed in the plug on each end or for a label of some other kind.

TIP: If you have a crossover cable that isn’t labeled, label it right now. If you mix them up later on and try to use a crossover cable instead of a regular Ethernet patch cable (or vise versa), you will not be able to make a connection!

What is a Crossover Cable?
What makes the cable a crossover cable? It doesn’t look any different physically, and it’s only different electrically. Old-timers may remember something called a null modem, which was used to connect PCs through their serial ports in ancient times. A crossover cable is a null modem for Ethernet ports rather than serial ports. It connects the output pins of one Ethernet port to the input pins of another and vice versa. No communication can happen between two PCs on a straight-through patch cable because with a straight-through cable, the two PCs’ input pins are connected together, as are the output pins. Inputs can’t talk to inputs, nor outputs to outputs. The crossover cable makes sure that inputs talk to outputs and outputs to inputs.

How to Create the Connection
Here’s your step-by-step for direct connection via Ethernet crossover cable:

1. Make sure the network ports on both PCs are enabled in pre-Vista PCs. To do this, click Start, then Settings, and then Network and Dial Up Connections. Look for a line labeled “Local Area Connection” and be sure that it’s marked as “Enabled.”

2. Make sure the cable in your hand is indeed a crossover cable, and connect it between the two Ethernet ports.

3. Power up or reboot both PCs.

Once both PCs are past bootup, give them a few minutes to self-assign an IP address with APIPA and locate one another.

4. For XP PCs, in Windows Explorer, expand My Network Places and click on Computers Near Me. Look and see if the name of the opposite PC is displayed. For Vista, open Network. If you don't see the new PC, click Network and Sharing Center and enable "discovery".

Connect Two Home Computers for File Sharing

Methods for networking two computers

The simplest kind of home network contains exactly two computers. You can use this kind of network to share files, a printer or another peripheral device, and even an Internet connection. To connect two computers for sharing these and other network resources, consider the options described below.

Connecting Two Computers Directly With Cable
The traditional method to network two computers involves making a dedicated link by plugging one cable into the two systems. Several alternatives exist for networking two computers in this manner:

•Ethernet crossover cable
•Null modem serial cable or parallel peripheral cable
•Special-purpose USB cables

Ethernet - Of the above choices, the Ethernet method is preferred as it supports a reliable, high-speed connection with minimal configuration required. Additionally, Ethernet technology offers the most general-purpose solution, allowing networks with more than two computers to be built fairly easily later. If one of your computers possesses an Ethernet adapter but the other has USB, an Ethernet crossover cable can still be used by first plugging a USB-to-Ethernet converter unit into the computer's USB port.
See also: Ethernet crossover cables

Serial and parallel - This type of cabling, called Direct Cable Connection (DCC) when using Microsoft Windows, offers lower performance but offers the same basic functionality as Ethernet cables. You may prefer this option if you have such cables readily available and network speed is not a concern. Serial and parallel cables are never used to network more than two computers.

USB - Ordinary USB cables must not be used to connect two computers directly to each other. Attempting to do so can electrically damage the computers! However, special USB cables designed for direct connection exist that can be used safely. You may prefer this option over others if your computers lack functional Ethernet network adapters.

To make dedicated connections with Ethernet, USB, serial or parallel cables requires

1. Each computer have a functioning network interface with an external jack for the cable, and

2. The network settings on each computer appropriately configured
One phone line or power cord cannot be used to directly connect two computers to each other for networking.