Shanghai for Expatriate Beginners

Archive for August, 2010

Shanghai for Expatriate Beginners

Friday, August 13th, 2010

There’s no two ways about it – Shanghai can seem extremely daunting at first, but after just a few weeks you will feel totally at home. Expatriates enjoy a high standard of living in Shanghai and, if you embrace everything that the experience has to offer, this will be one of the richest and most exciting times in your life.

Most expatriates arrive in Shanghai for the first time via Pudong Airport. This gleaming, light and airy model of efficiency may come as a bit of a surprise to those expecting something a little more second world, but it sure is a reassuring sign of modernity.

Drivers From Hell

Reassuring that is, right up until you are in a rattley, old taxi being hurtled at light speed down the motorway towards town. Although tired from your flight, fear will provide you with the energy to sit up in your seat and clock the way everyone drives, or rather attempts to drive. Cars swerve violently, horns are constantly beeped, no one indicates and there are no seatbelts in the back. It’s scary! Oh my, what have you done?!

High-Rise Jungle

As you enter the suburbs on the elevated highway, you will catch the first glimpse of your new city. And it ain’t pretty! Shanghai is a vast, high-rise jungle. You will be astonished by the sheer level of building work: the incredible number of building cranes – the way that forests of half-built, high-rise apartment blocks lead off in every direction, stretching endlessly beyond the horizon. But, you will also get your first taste of the ambitions that this city harbours.

Teeming Street Life

Once inside the inner-ring road, traveling at a more subdued speed, you will begin to catch an essence of the bustling, teeming street life. And it is this – not the culturally faceless high-rises – that will give you your first sense of place. You are in China! People are carrying huge loads on bicycles, food is being prepared and eaten by the roadside, it’s rich, it’s very poor, it’s animated, and nothing is familiar. It will seem very foreign but also very exciting.

Shopping For Supplies

So, you’ve arrived at your new home and everything is in order. Or, at least it’s just a phone call to your new landlord away from being perfect, but you need supplies and to run a whole host of errands. Just hop in any taxi and say “Bortaman, Nanjing Shee-lu”.The Portman Shanghai Centre on Nanjing XiLu, Puxi, was the first expat hub to be built in Shanghai and, although 15 years old, it has never been usurped as the king of user-friendly convenience for freshly arrived westerners.

Portman Shanghai Centre

There’s a City Supermarket selling everything you need including a good deli and wine selection. Plus there’s a Starbucks, the popular café Element Fresh, a good cheese and wine shop, a florists, a dry cleaners, a post office, a chemist, a medical clinic, a host of other bars and restaurants, airline ticketing offices, an HSBC bank and several consulates, including that of the UK….it’s all here in one place for your ease!

Starbucks Expat MixIt is also at the Shanghai Centre where various groups post information on the notice board in City Supermarket about forthcoming social gatherings. Another way, in the initial days, to meet people is to head to the first floor of Starbucks, opposite Parksons on Huaihai Lu by Shanxi Lu for the Saturday morning (10am) social mixer. A nest of tables is gathered in the centre and you will be made to feel very welcome. You will find very early on, that Shanghai expats are approachable and it will be no time at all before you have more contacts than you ever thought possible.

Shopping Areas

As you become more confident about the geography of the city, your comfort zone will extend to the major shopping areas in Puxi of Huaihai Lu, Nanjing Lu, Xujiahui, and Lujiazui in Pudong. This is to name just a few and, as you can imagine in a city of nearly 20 million with a growing middle-class who like to shop – the list is endless. If you enjoy shopping – Shanghai will be a never-ending voyage of discovery for you.

Jacqueline Reischel
http://www.articlesbase.com/moving-and-relocating-articles/shanghai-for-expatriate-beginners-681553.html

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Slow Pc? Learn How a Windows Registry Repair Can Help You!

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Many people prefer to spend hundreds of bucks in computer repair but rarely if ever, do they try to get into the root of the problem. Take for example, your slow and sluggish computer. You probably know that this problem occurs when the windows registry becomes corrupt, but do you ever spend fifty bucks on a professional registry cleaner? No; you would rather spend double that amount on a computer technician, even though chances are that the computer technician has used a registry cleaner software to fix your computer! In this article I will tell you all about a computer registry and how a registry cleaner works!

OK, so how does your windows registry really get corrupt? Let’s say that you use your computer a lot and frequently install and uninstall software programs on your PC. As soon as you install a new program on your system, several new entries are created in the registry; in this way, your computer registry keeps track of all the software programs installed on your computer. In a way, you might say that the windows registry is the central record keeper of your system, and if this record keeper gets damaged in any way, your whole system starts behaving unruly.

When you uninstall or remove a software program from your system, theoretically the entry connected with the software program should be deleted from the registry. However, it doesn’t happen that way! When you remove a program from your system, it is unable to remove all the registry entries that it had created! How strange! These ‘left-over’, invalid entries eventually get deposited in your registry.

Over time, when you remove more and more softwares from your system, the process repeats itself, with the result that your windows registry becomes clogged with several hundred invalid entries! A clogged registry results in slow computer that freezes and crashes frequently! If you want to speed up your computer, you need to clean all the invalid entries from your computer registry. So how would you do it?

There are actually two ways in which you can clean your registry.

1. Removing registry entries by hand: You can remove the invalid entries manually by hand but if you don’t know a thing about your registry, you shouldn’t do it! If you delete a single valid entry from your registry by mistake, it can have disastrous effect on your computer, with the result that your computer might stop working altogether!

2. Using a windows registry repair software: Another, and much better option, is to use a professional windows registry repair software. Most windows registry repair softwares are affordable and can be purchased for less than 50 dollars! These programs are also very easy to use; they are fully automatic and require no manual configuration on your part. You simply install the software, click a button, and your windows registry will be cleaned. As soon as you clean your windows registry, your computer will become a brand new machine! For best results, you should clean your windows registry at least once every week!

Chelsey Fox
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/slow-pc-learn-how-a-windows-registry-repair-can-help-you-382824.html

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Platter Scratch Repairing:the Critical Step Into Data Recovery From Crashed Drives

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Platter Scratch Repairing:The critical step into data recovery from crashed drives

Hard Disk Drive Crash

Take the case of computer systems. We become so used to working on the computer on a regular basis that we are rarely ready to face the consequences if things go wrong. This is truer of a computer hard disk drive crash than of anything else. Hard drive malfunction can be divided into two types: one is the so called Firmware Level malfunction that can be repaired using relating software or factory commands; the other one left is the Physical Level malfunction caused by physical hard drive components damage. As to the latter Physical Level crash, the typical case in data recovery practices is that the head crash and serious platter scratches caused by direct contact between the head and the platter surface; such drives manifest themselves as undetected, staying BUSY, besides an ominous scratching sound may start to emanate from the disk. This is a serious problem. It is indicative of nothing less than a crash of the hard disk drive.

Functioning of a Hard Disk Drive

In order to understand the problem of a hard disk drive crash, it is important to first understand the mechanism of a hard drive. Only after knowing how the disk drive functions can one understand the nature of the problem.

Components

Read-Write Head: The read-write heads of the hard disk drives are those mechanisms that, as the name suggests read or write the data from the magnetic fields of the platters.

Hard Disk Platter: A hard disk platter is a circular disk within the hard disk drive. It is circular in shape and the magnetic media of the disk drive is stored on it. Generally multiple platters are mounted on a single spindle of the hard disk drive.

Lubricant Layer: This is the topmost layer of the platters and is made of a substance similar to Teflon.
Carbon: There is a layer of sputtered carbon just below the lubricant layer.
Magnetic Layer: This is below the layer of carbon.

Functioning

The magnetic layer of the hard disk drive stores all the data. The two layers of carbon and the lubricant like material saves this magnetic layer from coming into accidental contact with the read-write head of the disk, we can say they exist as the protection layer of the magnetic layer (of course, another important function of them is to maintain the stability of the flying read-write head)

The platters move at an exceptional speed and the data is read from, or written on to, the magnetic layer by the read-write head which flies above the surface of the platter. As the read-write head flies over the platter surface its height is controlled by a thin film or layer of air entrapped between the platters and the slider surface of the read-write head. That’s why we mentioned that one of the functions of the protection layer is to maintain the stability of the flying read-write head: the film of air floats the head over the surface will be generated only when the surface of the platter maintains flat and smooth.

If the read-write head comes into direct contact with the surface of the disk platters then the head can scratch through the protective layers of sputtered carbon and the lubricant material, leaving a circle scratch area to the platter. This is called a head crash or a hard disk drive platter crash.

Cause of a Hard Disk Drive Crash

The cause of a head crash can be a minute particle causing the read-write head to bounce against the platter disk. The head is made of hard materials that can scratch through all the protective layers. If the head bounces against the platter while the latter is rotating at a speed equivalent to thousands of revolutions per minute then the head is bound to scratch the platter surface. This destroys the magnetic layer of the platters. If the head begins to drag over the platter then the data loss can be tremendous. Besides this the head will end up overheating or physical damage making the hard disk drive stop functioning properly. Even the possibility of further head crashes increases as particulate freed on account of one head crash are scraped on to the platter surface, leaving more scratches to the platter each time you power up the drive.

Data recovery from drives with physical scratches

For data recovery from physically damaged (head crash/platter scratch) hard drive, currently the best and the only solution is to open the HAD in a proper environment (such as a clean room) to replace the damaged physical head stack, meanwhile to clean up the particles on the platter, then working for data recovery from the postoperative drive. However this technique will not work for all the cases, especially when there are severe scratch area on the platter which is caused by the head crash – besides a failed head swap, the scratch area will also be an obstacle for your successful data recovery: even after you swap the crashed head stack faultlessly, it will crash immediately on power up, making the scratch issue worse and there is no way for users to read any data (even the data locate on good area of the platter) out of the drive. The reason for this situation is that when the head flies over the scratch area (it does not matter if it is trying to read from that area or not), due to the breakage of the protective layers, the head can no longer maintain its floating status when it comes to the scratch area, but makes directly contact with the platter again, the head will end up overheating or physical damage (crash or short circuit). The point of how to recover data from the patient drive becomes the point of how to make sure the head passes the scratch area smoothly.

Platter Scratch Restoration Solution

What is Platter Scratch Restoration Solution?
The Platter Scratch Restoration Solution is the unique technology developed under joint effort of SalvationDATA, Computer Institution of CAS, Chemistry Institution of CAS and Physics Institution of CAS, which takes over two years of time and hundreds of thousands of dollars for R&D, integrating interdisciplinary achievements of multiple fields like chemistry, computer application and physics. It is the perfect solution for the current corner of data recovery from drives with severe platter scratch; empowering data recovery professionals who have been working on physical data recovery a deeper and more comprehensive capability.

Basic principles of operation:
SalvationDATA Platter Scratch Restoration System includes the following major parts:

1. High precision scratch positioner
2. High pressure cleaner
3. Nanometer filling materials spray arm
4. Master program controller

The system will first clean up the target platter using the high pressure air cleaner; then scan the platter with the optical scratch positioner to locate scratch area and label its size and depth; finally the spray arm contains the nanometer filling materials will fill the scratch area with the donor materials under the management of the master program controller, so as to restore the scratches and make the scratch area revert to flat and smooth, thereby allows the head to pass the scratch area in a stable floating status so that data recovery from the good area can be achieved. The scratch positioner carries out analysis and positioning towards the tiny scratches using optical imageology technology; by sending the scan report back to the master program controller, a repairing instruction flow will be generated and sent to the spray arm controller for implementation. The nanometer filling materials and the high precision nozzle controlled by the master program controller ensures 100% accuracy of the restoration; meanwhile the filling materials have been improved by trial and error, it won’t cause any chemical reaction with the materials of the different layers.

As for drives of multiple platters, the system will record the platter alignment by using optical image before separating the target platter from the platter assembly; so that the platter alignment can be easily restored after the scratch restoration. The entire restoration process will be carried out by the master program controller and the full angle robot arms under its control without user’s intervention, ought to be the fastest and safest solution for platter scratch restoration available; what’s more, the estimated price of the system would be around $5,000 only, making it the most adoptable and popular equipment.

Support List

The system includes robot arms and workstations designed for standard platters of 3.5-inch, 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch hard drives of different manufacturers; fully satisfies the platter restoration needs towards the hard drive types mentioned above. (As to those platters contains special manufacturing process and technology, such as the glass platter technology is being worked on, and hopefully it will be announced on initial launch day plus 6 months).

A Final Note

What we do using this system is to carry out a padding restoration to the platter scratch using alternative materials; therefore data locate on the scratch area will be lost beyond recovery even after the platter restoration. The significance of this solution is that to ensure the read-write head pass the scratch area smoothly, so that the head continues to work for reading data from the subsequent good area.

Zoe
http://www.articlesbase.com/data-recovery-articles/platter-scratch-repairingthe-critical-step-into-data-recovery-from-crashed-drives-685090.html

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4 Carpet Cleaning Tips in Hiring Professionals

Friday, August 13th, 2010

There are two ways to clean carpets. You can hire professional cleaners from cleaning companies then there is the DIY (do it yourself) method.

In many cases, people prefer to hire carpet cleaning services. Still, there are guidelines to follow. Here are some carpet cleaning tips in hiring professionals:

1. Number of carpets to be cleaned.

Take for instance; your carpet never ever really underwent deep cleansing since the time you have bought it, and you are living in a 2-storey house wherein all the rooms contain carpets. Moreover, your kids have inevitably left marks besides its general wearing and tearing.

In this case, hiring a professional carpet cleaner is advised. If only small carpet areas need cleaning, then you can do it yourself. There are lots of cleaning products that are doing well even with tough stains.

2. Consider your budget.

Keep in mind that you need to pay a considerable amount of money when you hire someone to do the carpet cleaning for you.

3. Know the advantages of hiring a professional carpet cleaner.

They have the expertise in cleaning even the worst carpet stains. Their equipments have more extraction powers compared to the units that you have. Their knowledge about cleaning agents is incomparable to you, besides they also know the distinctions between carpet fibers and construction.

4. Ask recommendations from friends.

Usually, they are good sources of information about reputable companies offering carpet cleaning services. You can observe their cleaning jobs when visiting some friends who also prefer carpet cleaning services.

Other sources of information are the internet and local business directories. Numerous reputable companies are advertising their services online. They really offer the best deals on carpet cleaning jobs.

Anthony Lee
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/4-carpet-cleaning-tips-in-hiring-professionals-124247.html

Posted in house cleaning | 9 Comments »

Kitchen Remodeling Design Ideas and Considerations

Friday, August 13th, 2010

When considering the different aspects of kitchen remodeling design, you should be open to all the different ideas for planning and remodeling this area. Therefore, it is wise to make a list of the areas and items that you do not like about the existing kitchen while planning a kitchen remodel design.

Here are examples of kitchen remodeling design issues to address:

* Determine a kitchen remodel design budget, and then stick to it.

* What is the size of your family or number of people you plan to accommodate while entertaining?

* What is the number of cooks who will be using the same space?

* Consider the amount of preparation and counter space you need.

* Determine whether you have enough storage space.

* What about the replacement of some or all of your appliances?

* Consider the type of lighting you plan to use for most areas of your kitchen, whether it is natural or artificial.

* Consider the traffic flow and the work triangle, which is the most efficient distance between the oven, sink and refrigerator.

* You might consider adding or designing a kitchen island for storage, cleaning area and cook top or food preparation area.

* A kitchen remodeling design takes time and planning, so consider the type of pantry and cabinets you want and the types of materials used for the floors, countertops and backsplash.

Do you know that there are homeowners who do not cook but have a beautiful kitchen show place? Some families do a great deal of entertaining in this area that is the center of their homes. It may also function as their office, an after school work shop for homework as well as a place to cook and entertain family and friends.

Kitchen remodel designs today are more complex and expensive. The appearance of your kitchen can add to the value of your home or take away from it. However, this does not mean you have to spend $80,000 to create a beautiful and functional kitchen. When you live in an area that does not feature high-tech kitchens with large food preparation areas as well as expensive materials and finishes, it may not be wise to invest so much money on a kitchen remodeling design, since if you do sell your home, you may not get back your investment.

Most homes today feature an open plan design kitchen that provides good natural lighting. This way you, your family and friends can eat, drink, talk, watch television while preparing meals and enjoying the same open space. The most successful kitchen remodeling designs take into account various designing tips.

You do not have to spend an outrageous amount of money for a basic kitchen remodel design. For instance, when your cabinets are in good condition, you may consider staining or repainting them for a fresh appearance. It the cabinet boxes are in good shape, you might want to replace only the doors, the drawer fronts and hardware.

However, if the cabinets need replacing, there are many attractive, reasonably priced materials that can offer the special appearance you wish to create. Keep in mind that it can become very expensive when you remodel large rooms with custom cabinets made of exotic woods.

Your appliances should be energy efficient and of good quality. However, if you do not want to spend a lot of money, you can choose appliances that are all white, black or beige since they are both less expensive and just as attractive as stainless steel. Remember, a purchase of professional or commercial appliances of stainless steel will increase your budget total once you have determined the amount you want to spend per appliance and whether your existing appliances are reusable.

Always being mindful of your budget, you should know that hardwood flooring is more expensive than some tile or vinyl flooring. As long as you do not use such materials as stone, marble, granite, concrete and stainless steel, keep in mind that back splashes and countertops of more common materials will be cheaper. Rather than using imported or hand painted tiles which are expensive, choose the other types of budget friendly synthetic tiles that are both durable and beautiful.

Kitchen islands are wonderful sources for extra storage and preparation areas, with or without a sink, or you may consider installing a cook top. Consider what the available space will be, since a kitchen island does need a certain amount of space to be work efficient. For instance, when working with a small 3′ x 6′ island, you will require at least 130 square feet of floor space for the traffic flow around the island to function well, depending upon the size of the room.

No matter how simple or complex your kitchen remodeling design is, the kitchen can be useful for working on the computer, doing homework or gathering around your family and friends for eating and drinking.

Before beginning to do any work, it is a good idea to learn as much as you can about kitchen remodel design. Since the kitchen is the heart of any home and a special area, you want yours to perform its best for you now and in the future.

David Lee Buster
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/kitchen-remodeling-design-ideas-and-considerations-316408.html

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improve XP performance: will registry cleaner work?

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

I’ve been told that using a registry cleaner will help speed up my computer and improve XP performance. Do you know if that’s true? Also, can you recommend the best registry cleaner out there?

Thanks in advance.

Do look at reginout. Works well for me.

Posted in speed cleaner | 10 Comments »

Should I tip the carpet cleaner?

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

WHUZZZ up peoples ??? Okay, I bought a home recently and the carpet needs cleaning. So should I tip the guy that is gonna come out and clean the carpets ? I am only gonna be charged $80. Whats your suggestion ?

.
Tipping is a custom that rewards exceptional PERSONAL service, which is why waiters and taxi drivers get tips. It is not customary to tip workmen/contractors of any kind.

In fact, I would highly recommend having a relatively stern "talk" with your carpet cleaner _before_ the job gets started. Let him know that you expect nothing less than a perfect job, and that you will not pay his asking price for anything less. Then watch him and make sure he is thorough, uses clean water, and so on. The $80 price is a come-on; they hope that you will ask them to do more than the agreed-upon area. Tell him that you’ll think about it if you’re happy with the work.

No tip. You gotta be fair but hard-nosed or you won’t get what you pay for.
.

Posted in carpet cleaning tip | 5 Comments »

How frequently do you clean your house? Why?

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Do you think it’s important to clean your house or you just don’t care about that?

Oh, I definitely care. In fact, I try to make sure that I have things on hand to make the cleaning easier. Everything from http://frigidaire.stores.yahoo.net/cleaners.html works wonders for my kitchen. I guess I’m a freak for a clean kitchen! I clean something in there every single day.

Posted in speed cleaning | 6 Comments »

What is the best software to speed up my computer and clean up my C drive?

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

I’m looking for software that will make my computer faster for gaming and that will also clean up unnecessary memory off my C drive. Is there any software that will help me do this?

Thanks!

Hey! A lot of people ask this question and after many years the one I think is best is Advanced SystemCare 3 by Iobit. This program is best for a long term solution as it contains programs that can optimize your registry, speed up network, find clone files on your drive, prevent attacks, clean junk files, etc.
If you want a nice quick fix but one that still can remove a lot of cluttered temporary junk that may exist in older PC’s than I would go for CCleaner by Piriform.
Heres the free version of SystemCare: http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html
And here is CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
Both are free sharewares and I recommend you download both to get your PC almost new again.
Hope that answers your question.

Posted in speed clean | 8 Comments »

Archive for August, 2010