Welcome to www.minisinbox.com

Networking Know-How: How to Get Through to the Busiest of People When you are job hunting, sometimes the most frustrating part is just getting your foot through the door to let the right people know that you are out there and available for work. Companies can be like members-only clubs; they tend to be a little distrustful of cold callers and most executives advise their assistants to run interference for them on the phone so they do not get stuck having a protracted conversation with someone they just aren’t interested in doing business with. The thing is that to get an interview, these people can be the very same people you need to talk to. How do you get these busy people to clear some time off in their busy schedule to speak to you? First things first – you have to get the right attitude. If you want busy people to make time to talk to you, you have to present yourself in a way that makes them feel like you are worth the time investment. The trick here is that you have to do this by phone, and often, you have to first convince an operator or personal assistant that your call is one worth putting through to the boss. Your phone etiquette and vocal confidence will be the key here. Consider you basic phone manners first. Instead of launching right into what you want, respond to the greeting of the person who answers the phone with a hello of your own. Animate your voice and always remember that simply saying “please” and “thank you” can go a long way. Be the kind of caller that you would want to talk to if your job was answering the phone all day. People will respond to your positive attitude with a positive attitude of their own. Next, consider your confidence level on the phone. Do you tend to get tongue-tied and stumble over your words? That kind of delivery from you will set all the warning bells ringing on the other end of the phone, and you will find the person with whom you wish to speak always “out of the office.” Instead, work on sounding like you are confident that it is a forgone conclusion that you will get to speak that busy person you want to talk to. Be confident that what you have to say is something that is worth hearing. It may help to write out a framework of what you will say and practice a few times so you sound relaxed and composed when you make that call. Once your attitude is right to make the call, you can then employ a few tricks of the trade for getting through to those busy people. Instead of giving away too much up front, start your call by asking if the person with whom you need to speak is in. If the answer is yes, then you can remove on potential “excuse” for not putting your call through. If your call can’t be taken at that time, skip the message. Let the PA or operator know that you will call back again. That way you have a legitimate reason to keep calling. Of course, you might have to keep calling and calling, and that assistant might start knowing the sound of your voice. If you keep speaking to the same person, it’s time to open up with some person details. Let them know your name, why you’re calling, and if someone referred you, who that person is. Developing that personal relationship can help you get your call through to the boss. Last but not least, don’t give up. Busy people are, well, busy, and not necessarily avoiding your call. Persistence pays off, so keep on calling until you get through.

Web Hosting - Unix vs Windows-Based Hosting, Which Is Better? An operating system functions largely out of sight, or at least is supposed to. It doesn't matter to non-geeks how a file gets stored, or how memory is used, or how simultaneous processes share the limited resources available on a computer. These are among the basic functions of any operating system. Yet, you can find very passionate supporters - who offer very detailed lists of pros and cons - for every operating system. Why? Because, though the low-level functions of an operating system do their work out of sight, there are many other features that rise to visibility. Sometimes, they do so when they're not supposed to. Weighing the pros and cons objectively could consume a book. But to select a web host operating system, a manageable level of considerations apply. They can be weighed even by those who don't know a processor queue from a pool cue. Learning Curves For most web site owners, administering the site/server is just overhead. It's not something they take pleasure in doing and they have plenty of other things to worry about. Many wouldn't know how and have no interest in learning (rightly so, given their priorities). Consequently, ease of administration is paramount for such people. Whether a Unix-based site (usually Linux these days) is easier to administer than Windows depends on your current skill set and the type of tools and level of access the web hosting company provides. But in general Linux is more difficult to install and maintain than Windows and the learning curve is steeper. FTP and Control Panels Often, you don't have to care. For many, the operating system is fairly transparent. FTP file transfers to get a new web page up to a Windows server are very much like they are to a Linux-based site. The user/administrator simply doesn't see what's behind the curtain. Many companies provide other utilities that completely mask any awareness of the operating system underneath. When that's the case, the web site owner has no reason to care, until or unless they need or want to go 'inside the black box'. Performance Performance issues can be relevant in selecting which operating system host type to choose. But for the most part, that aspect is outside the web site owner's control. Overall performance can be good or bad on either system, depending on many factors that the publisher will rarely see. The issue is a wash, as far as tipping the scales is concerned. What is more likely to be seen by a web site owner, at some point in their (and their site's) development is the database product that can be used to store information. Databases Microsoft SQL Server is relatively simple to use, yet extremely powerful and can deliver great performance. But it doesn't run on Linux. At least, not without special software to emulate Windows, which usually kills performance. On the other hand, with a bit of time invested, MySQL isn't significantly more difficult to learn than MS SQL Server and there are many free installations. Cost may well outweigh other considerations for most on this issue. Programming Languages Last, but not least, there are differences in programming languages that can be (or at least typically are) used on Windows vs Unix. If you have programmers who are skilled in Visual Basic, ASP and other Microsoft technologies, then a Windows-based host will be your preferred choice. For Perl and PHP programmers, Linux is the more common platform of choice. No single factor can push you to one versus the other operating system. And, in the long run, it isn't the primary consideration, unless you just enjoy playing with operating systems.

Taking Advantage of a Free Service to Find Great Grocery Deals Are you interested in saving money on your groceries? Are your grocery bills getting you down? With the rising cost of food staples, it is becoming more important than ever before to choose carefully and shop smart. Fortunately, if you are willing to do the research and homework, you can find many great deals that can save you hundreds on your monthly grocery bill. Here is a free service that can help you find great grocery deals. This new grocery service is known as mygrocerydeals.com. Here is a brief run-down of what this new system can do for you. What Can MyGroceryDeals.com Do For You? There are many web-based services, and while many offer fine free services, very few can help you save actual money on your grocery deals. It is a good thing that mygrocerydeals.com came along, then. What can this web-based service do for you (and your grocery food bill?). Mygrocerydeals.com is directed at those savvy food shoppers that rifle through the weekly circular ads on a regular basis, and those that spend their long Sunday mornings clipping coupons with a cup of coffee in hand. If you are tired of this dull ritual, fear not—mygrocerdeals.com is here to save you from this routine. Discovering the Scope of MyGroceryDeals.com Basically, this fine web-based service saves you the trouble of having to rifle through all that newsprint and coupon circulars. This web-based service is basically a giant database of local grocery store offers and specials. By using this easy web-based service, you can build your very own grocery list and even build shopping lists for the store that you prefer to shop at. You can also choose to browse the various deals and steals at your local grocery stores. Furthermore, you can even get information about the products you are shopping for. With this easy to use web-based service, you can even check out the nutrition database, food allergy alerts and other pertinent information. You can create your own virtual shopping list and then print it out for when you are ready to hit the store. Even better, you can download special deals and coupons for foods on your shopping list. How You Can Use MyGroceryDeals.com If you are ready to use this free web-based service, you can begin by registering a new account. You will need to enable pop-ups in order to get the full scope of the website. Most links will show up in a pop-up, so be sure that you check your Internet preferences before you begin. The website allows you to compile grocery lists and even save lists for future reference. You can try the 'try us now' link in order to browse your local store and select your closest location. You can even browse the stores in your surrounding areas. Before you submit your registration, note that there is a small check box asking you whether you would like to receive a free copy of Taste of Home Magazine. Make sure that the box is checked or unchecked accordingly. Get a Taste of the Printable Coupons One of the best things about using the mygrocerdeals.com web-based service is that you can gain easy access to a large collection of printable coupons. Make certain that your printer is ready to go before you log on. Also, be forewarned that in order to print out many of these coupons, you will need to install a browser plug-in from Coupon.com if you don't already have this driver installed on your computer. If you have already printed coupons from the World Wide Web before, chances are that you already have this plug-in installed. You can test this by attempting to print out new coupons.