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Original Post by Author: aniruddh / Published: November 18, 2009 at 12:37 pm

Today is an exciting day! The much awaited Microsoft Office 2010 is out now in public beta. Microsoft announced the availability of the public betas of Microsoft Office 2010, SharePoint Server 2010, Visio 2010, Project 2010 and Office Web Apps for business customers. If you’d like to be one of the millions of people who thrilled, try, test and give feedback on the latest and greatest, you can download the betas at www.microsoft.com/2010.

This is an exciting and significant milestone in Microsoft History because it means that for the first time, anyone can download Office 2010!

(New Microsoft Office Branding)

The Microsoft Office brand will sport a new look too, reflecting technology innovations in Office 2010. The re-design includes an updated Office logo, a new orange color palette for the Microsoft Office brand, and updated icons for Office 2010 applications that make it easier to quickly identify the Office products you work in.

So head on over to www.microsoft.com/2010, download the Beta. We’ll keep you posted on new Developments and updates of office 2010.

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According to research firm NPD Group, retail sales of boxed copies of Windows 7 are 234% higher than Vista’s were at launch, absolutely crushing the older operating system’s launch sales figures (which, admittedly, the older operating system pretty much deserves)……

Original Post “Windows 7 Retail Sales Extremely Strong” By boneinthefan published on November 06, 2009 at 12:46 pm. Read the original post here on Technorati.

I share the similar response to the success of Windows 7 launch in the fall quarter of 2009 as the original author does. Since I’m a full-time college student I was also qualified for the $29.99 upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional (Yes, I did a custom install and it is awesome to have Windwos 7 Professional for just $29.99) . After the upgrade about a week ago my system hasn’t failed or crashed other than the Firefox problem (a known bug exists in Firefox and it’s trying to fix it through numerous updates, you probably also noticed that). Before I purchased the upgrade I was also the Windows 7 beta and RC participant back in February, 2009 and experienced the Windows 7’s capabilities.

One thing I have to mention about the success of this system is its software-side hardware enhancements compare to Windows Vista and XP. When in Windows Vista, with 3GB of 800mhz memory, a mainstream grade ATI Radeon HD 4350 1GB DDR2 Desktop  graphic card and Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 Ghz with 2MB of L2 cache  I was able to get 2 1080p  videos running simultaneously and smoothly at 60 frames per second at full force with memory usage around 2.52GB and CPU at 90~100%. Now with Windows 7 Professional with the same hardware is able to get me 4 1080p videos running simultaneously at 60 frames per second with memory usage for around just 2GB and CPU constantly around 70%. During the Windows 7 beta there are boost in system performances but not as much as the RC version, which is pretty similar if not exactly the same as the released version of $29.99 that only differs in editions – Professional vs. Ultimate. This operating system speaks for itself in terms of ultimate efficiency from Microsoft Windows line up.

Not to mention the Windows 7 Ultimate  is still free until next year. Users are able to upgrade their Windows 7 directly to Ultimate after that date and they have plenty of time to think it through. Apple’s Snow Leopard also promised greater hardware resource efficiency and full-64bit support, a platform that dates back to Windows XP or prior Windows server platforms. The marginal changes from Leopard to Snow Leopard vs. the changes from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is pretty much the same in terms of what both Apple and Microsoft promised in its new systems. But in terms of marketing strategy Microsoft pawns & owns Apple because Microsoft not only has to promote what Windows 7 is, it also has to regain consumer confidence and trust lost in the not-so-successful Windows Vista era. The initial launch of Windows 7 is a great success and in the following winter quarter of 2009-2010 I expect the PC sales would go up tremendously due to positive reviews like this one surrounding our readers and prospective new computer owners.

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Question from Jack.S of New York, NY

Answered by Andrew.C.Lam – Chief Editor of TechBeavers

In Computer Networking, Router have the function of an Adapter, but a Router perform more duties than an Adapter. Adapter enable a computer to “Adapt” to the current network setting set by the “Router”, Router also adapts the network settings set by the modem or sometime by the computer. Yet there is a crucial difference between an Adapter & Router. I can demonstrate the simple difference of adapters & routers in wireless networks. Most Laptops have Wireless Network Adapter, not routers, because it can only connect to one network point (A Wireless Network Router or another computer). But routers can connect to multiple computers or act as a network point for multiple devices, so the almost all the Internet-Sharing “box-thingie” we have in home is named Wireless Network “Router”, not adapter.

Music’s long struggle with the web has been well documented. As consumers shifted from CDs to digital media, music labels, artists, and the RIAA have struggled with how to cope. While some have decided to sue consumers for $22,500 per song, others have found ways to embrace the web.
Now Microsoft’s Director of Consumer and Online in the UK predicts that the same turmoil is going to hit the television industry in the next few years. And unless the TV business “aggressively move its content online” and builds “a critical mass of content that the traditional buyers of airtime will understand and buy into,” they will face an “iTunes moment” where their online business becomes dependent on Apple.

According to The Guardian, Microsoft’s Ashley Highfield believes that TV execs have just two or three years to adapt or be thrown into chaos the music industry is currently experiencing:

“So realistically I think the industry has about two to three years to adapt or face its iTunes moment. And it will take at least that long for media brands to build credible, truly digital brands. But, importantly, I do believe TV does have a small two to three year window in which to respond.”

More than anything, Mr. Highfield believes that TV needs to find ways to generate significant revenue from online video and to make it easy for advertisers to buy ads in bulk for online TV. He also strongly suggested that the TV industry aggressively move its content online, on its own terms.
It’s interesting that it is a Microsoft exec making these suggestions and mentioning Apple as the online enemy of the TV industry. We can see his logic though: you don’t want one company to dominate online sales like Apple does with music in the iTunes store. The music industry’s been between a rock and a hard place for a long time now.

However, we think there are a lot of flaws to Highfield’s logic. TV doesn’t make its revenues based on sales, as the music industry does, but by advertising – something that is both effective and measurable on the web. We’ve also seen TV more readily embrace the web successfully, most notably with HULU.

So yes, TV needs to embrace the online world or suffer losing control over its content distribution. However, the television industry is already light years ahead of the recording industry in that regard.

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What the heck is Motorola Droid? (Left)

Droid just landed with Verizon and from the outside its a slider with full QWERTY keyboard (a rather small),  a big touchscreen and a Verizon logo, nothing fancy. Well, you are missing some awesome specs hidden behind this contender.

I’m not saying this is the best phone around, certainly iPhone has a tremendous advantage of having “There’s an App for that” — network of more than 85,000 of useful, fun or sometime useless apps, but still Droid is the closest non-iPhone that came so close and in some cases better than the all-mighty iPhone in terms of specs.Both phones are prices at $199 with 2-years of contracts (Prices differs with monthly plans) so let me address the practical tech-oriented advantages from both phones.

Motorola Droid’s factual advantages (Constitutes what an Awesome camera-smart phone is)

- Application “Multi-runability”, With Android 2.0 OS and its processing chipset (OMAP3430 – 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 + PowerVR SGX 530 GPU + 430MHz C64x+ DSP + ISP (Image Signal Processor). iPhone 3GS ’s CPU is able to do the same, but the OS by Apple still hasn’t exploit the multi-app potentials yet.

- 16GB pre-installed memory and additional memory card slot allows for additional 32GB (total up to 48GB)

- Higher screen resolution on a bigger screen – 854×480 on a 3.7” display

- 5MP camera able to capture 640×480 at 60fps videos (DVD quality video recording) , Autofocus, Image Stabilization with dual LED flash.

- Actually has a physical keyboard

- Google Stuff that’s not in an iPhone

• ANDROID MARKET™
• GOOGLE CALENDAR™
• GOOGLE CONTACT SYNC™
• GOOGLE LATITUDE™
• GOOGLE MAPS STREET VIEW
• GOOGLE MAPS™ NAVIGATION ^BETA
• GOOGLE SEARCH™ BY VOICE
• GOOGLE TALK™
• YOUTUBE™

- Apply to U.S Residents : Verizon visual voice-mail (As of Nov.09 AT&T still incapable for doing anything with that, not iPhone’s fault really)

Apple iPhone 3GS’s factual advantages (Constitutes what an Awesome music-smart phone is)

- Features the most popular music store – the iTune store

- Thousands of apps ready for disposal in whatever need (Although some might say Google’s open-source apps are catching up, I would have to agree, but currently Apple’s app store still wins in volume and popularity)

- Accelerometer for gaming

- Better battery life

Well that’s all I know about these two Phone when come head-to-head against each other. Try one out at your local AT&T for iPhone 3GS and the Droid at Verizon and see how they feel for you. I personally think the Droid has some serious potentials as in hardware when comparing to 3GS, because honestly the hardware is the stuff that last, not software or apps. Clearly the Droid has many hardware upsides (The 5MP camera, larger screen, slide-QWERTY keyboard). I can only hope that the Google Open-source phone OS get as big as the Linux community so in the future end-users and download & install whichever OS they want online (free or charged) on whichever smart-phone.

Open-source is the way to go for the future. Got Comments? Feel free to express them, correct me if I’m totally wrong on some of the specs.

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Enjoy your favorite movies and videos in crystal clarity on this laptop’s 13.3″ CCFL widescreen via the power of its built-in NVIDIA 9400M graphics. An Intel Core 2 Duo processor provides advanced dual-core multitasking with breakthrough power efficiency.Windows 7 Home Premium preloaded Which Windows 7 edition is best for you? Compare.Learn more about Intel processors. Information provided by Intel.

The new black Dell Studio XPS 1340 from Bestbuy now increased its price from $899.99 from last quarter to $929.99 along with some essential changes to internal components. Changes are in red. The major change is the new $929.99 model now features Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 clocked at 2.53GHz instead of the 2.4GHz with the $899.99 model, otherwise everything is pretty much the same — which is great because Dell Studio XPS 1340 is a pretty solid-line performance & ultra-portable PC laptop. Bestbuy claims it has a longer battery life with the same 6-cell Li-ion battery, I assume that’s because of the operating system – Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The major reason why PC Laptop running Windows 7 is much more efficient compare to Windows XP or Vista is the current operating system uses the system resources much more efficiently – with almost a 33% boost in energy saving and that made this beastly Dell Studio XPS 1340 a Energy Star Qualified PC Laptop. This is a great accomplishment from Microsoft since the release of Windows 7.

Still there are downside to this new Dell Laptop. This laptop still isn’t quite top of the line when comparing with the newly released Macbook with its uni body polycarbonate case and its new 7-hours worth of battery life. But consider for $929.99 you are getting a much, in fact way more powerful and efficient laptop (If you buy an extra 9-cell battery, which will extend your laptop battery life to up to around 10 hours (4 hrs + at least 5 hrs), that cost would made up the price difference to an $999.99 Macbook)

Here is a full specification (Content Provided by Bestbuy). Changes are in Blue

Enjoy your favorite movies and videos in crystal clarity on this laptop’s 13.3″ CCFL widescreen via the power of its built-in NVIDIA 9400M graphics. An Intel® Core™2 Duo processor provides advanced dual-core multitasking with breakthrough power efficiency.

• Windows 7 Home Premium preloaded

What’s Included

• Dell Studio XPS Laptop with Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor
• 6-cell lithium-ion battery
• Power cord/cable
• Software: Microsoft Works, Napster 1 year unlimited streaming plus 60 free music downloads and more
• Owner’s manual

Product Features

• From our expanded online assortment; not available in all Best Buy stores
• Intel® Core™2 Duo mobile processor P8700

  Features 2 processing cores, a 1066MHz system bus, a 3MB cache and 2.53GHz processor speed per core.

• 2 high-performance processing cores

  To run multiple demanding applications simultaneously without hesitation.

• 4GB DDR3 memory

  For multitasking power, expandable to 8GB.

• Slot-loading multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive

  Watch DVD movies and create custom DVDs and CDs.

• 13.3″ CCFL-backlit WXGA edge-to-edge widescreen display

  With TrueLife technology and 1280 x 800 resolution delivers intense detail and clarity.

• 500GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 rpm)

  Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times.

• Built-in facial recognition technology

  Allows secure access to the laptop for enhanced data security.

• Integrated NVIDIA 9400M graphics

  For crystal-clear image quality. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV or HD monitor.

• Built-in 2.0MP webcam

  Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends.

• 8-in-1 digital media reader

  Supports Secure Digital, Hi-Speed Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Secure Digital IO, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Card formats for transferring digital media.

• 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface and 3 high-speed USB 2.0 ports

  For fast digital video, audio and data transfer.

• Built-in Dell 1510N Wireless-N mini card (802.11n)

  Lets you connect to the Internet without wires.

• Built-in 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN

  With RJ-45 connector for quick and easy wired Web connection.

• Weighs 4.9 lbs. and measures just 1.4″ thin

  For easy portability.

• Long battery life

  Of up to 4 hours and 40 minutes to give you more time away from an outlet.

• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system preinstalled

  Provides a stable platform for word processing, Web navigation, gaming, media storage and more.

• Software package included

  With Microsoft Works, Napster 1 year unlimited streaming plus 60 free music downloads and more.

• ENERGY STAR qualified

  Designed to use less energy and meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy.

Intel, Pentium, Celeron, Centrino, Core, Viiv, Intel Inside and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

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I heard about the deal a while ago but today I finally checked it out. I assumed there would be thousands of applications for some sort of wait-listing or confirmation procedure behind that deal but all turned out to be great. Microsoft only asked for my valid student e-mail at my college (University of California, San Diego) and asks you to confirm your e-mail account by clicking the confirmation link in your inbox. Simple and fast, and definitely a great buy. Offer started back in September 3rd and it ends next year on January 3rd, 2010. The ultimate steal for students who doesn’t have Office 2007 already is also priced at $59.99 (Not Office 2007 Student Edition, Office 2007 Ultimate Edition with everything included). The website is here Looks like a fake/spam website but it is not, trust me.

For $29.99 you get a one-time only downloadable upgrade file (sized around 2.2GB).

I strongly recommend those college students who purchased their Windows Vista or Windows XP based laptop prior to June 18th, 2009 to take this great student offer. My Dell Studio XPS 1340 is eligible for the Windows 7 upgrade and the 64-bit Home Premium Version is schedueled to ship from Dell on November 5th, 2009. The reason I’m purchasing this $29.99 Windows 7 upgrade is to upgrade my older Dell XPS 410 Desktop from Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit to Windows 7 Professional 32-bit.

My Recommendations and Things you got to know before you upgrade.

Although it’s only $29.99, it’s still money and time, so don’t screw around fellow college students. This $29.99 deal on Windows 7 offers two options for the same price for students to choose from. One is Home Premium Edition and another one is Professional Edition. The Professional edition offer a little bit more function than Home Premium but they primarily concern secure school networking infrastructures (Domain Join) and Windows XP mode. If you are not aware of those functions then there are no difference between Home Premium and Professional. I choose Professional edition because I actually uses many software  that runs great with Windows XP (in fact almost all programs will run faster in Windows XP compare to Windows Vista). I was a Windows 7 Ultimate beta and RC participant and tried out the Windows XP mode with my softwares and I would have to say: Nice, Way nicer than Vista.

The additional functionality offered in Windows 7 Professional Edition comparing to Home Premium Edition are stated in the comparison chart below:

Question:

Wait! What is the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit edition?

There are huge differences between 32-bit edition and the 64-bit edition of Windows 7. Within this article I would only touch on the practical differences that you should be aware of – upgradability & Max Memory

Upgradability difference:

Check to make sure your Windows XP or Windows Vista is 32-bit before you purchase the 32-bit versions. Same applies to the 64-bit versions.

For example, if you have a 32-bit Windows XP you can only upgrade to 32-bit Windows 7  because the 64-bit won’t install (Unless you do a Clean-Install where the system will reformat your system hard drive and I am not even sure if the $29.99 version allows for a Clean-Install).

If you have a 64-bit version of Windows XP or Windows Vista, Great, you can upgrade to 64-bit Windows 7. It wouldn’t make sense to buy the 32-bit Windows 7 first because you can’t downgrade to 32-bit operating system from a 64-bit operating system, and second reason is 64-bit systems are actually better equipped for the future in terms of utilizing system resources.

Max Memory difference:

For Home Premium Edition

The difference is a 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium Edition can only address up to 4 GB of memory  but its 64-bit counterpart can address up to 16 GB of memory.

For Professional Edition

The difference is a 32-bit Windows 7 Professional Edition can only address up to 4 GB of memory  but its 64-bit counterpart can address up to 192 GB of memory.

To read on more about max memory limit on Windows operating system please visit here

How do I know which type of operating system I have? (32-bit or 64-bit?)

For Windows XP and Vista users, just goto My Computer and click on System Properties, You should see which type of operating system you have.

In the end, this deal is great and for those who need Microsoft Office 2007 you should also check out the $59.99 deal. It’s amazing and there aren’t this much of stuff you have to worry about. The Microsoft Office 2007 is 32-bit software, which can be executed in both 32-bit or 64-bit operating system environment.

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Step 1: Uninstall unused programs

Image via Wikipedia

Step 2: Delete unused files using a shredder/Back Up Important unused files to a remote back-up drive

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If your computer is 2 years or older and you are noticing your computer is not performing as fast or responsive as it used to, or the computer is getting nosier and nosier, or if your have a laptop and its bottom is getting hotter and hotter almost to a point that its unbearable. Well beside malware, excessive junk in your Temporary Files and next-gen program / muti-tasking, a big factor that slows down / heat up your computer is the DUST.

Most people don’t realize computers are part of your household “Appliances” and like all others in your home, it too collects dust. In fact it collect dust a lot faster because almost all computer has a fan that cools the computer itself. So essentially the fan acts as an active vacuum sucking up the dust in the air. Imagine 2 years or more worth of junk inside your computer! To demonstrate this horrific I have a picture of one of my friends’ laptop Acer Aspire 5100 that she had for 3 years without maintenance below:

How awful!

As I took apart the computer and then the fan…you see how clogged-up it is (at the right). The heat exhaust is completely blocked by filaments of dust! That’s the reason why her laptop will get very hot after couple of minutes and becomes very slow as time progresses. The dust on the fan is another story…

Question Time:

Beside that disgusting look, why does all that slow down my computer?

Computer’s CPU needs a way to cool itself because it radiates heat as it processes your computing instructions. It cools itself by having a heat sink connected to a piece of metal, and rely on a fan to blow cool air onto the metal from outside.When the computer is new the heat sink and fan are new, so the computer operates at optimal speed. But as time goes on, the computer’s fan collects excessive amount of dust and debris, and all the junk builds up in-between the metal sheets in the heat sink (The reason why there are many tiny sheets of metals is to have the maximum area exposed for maximum cooling). With all the build-ups the CPU can’t function at it optimal level because the heat is not exhausted efficiently, so your computer will become slower, and for laptops you will feel the heat actually radiates to the back/bottom of your laptop, make your laptop not longer suitable as a “Lap-top”.

Knowledge Tip: Every CPU on the market are engineered not to fail, and one of the safe-fail mechanism is to have an on-board temperature sensor that would decide how fast the CPU should run (So your computer wouldn’t burst into flames). If the internal case of a computer is getting too hot the CPU automatically slows down its clock rates (measured in GHz or MHz) and even Bluescreen of Death shows up because the CPU shut itself down.

Solution:

Very straightforward, just clean the junk out using semi-wet cloth / paper tissue. Some Computer Repair Shops charges you around $25 ~$75 just for servicing your PC. I prefer DIY so to clean-out the junk, get your screwdriver and get ready to take apart your computer. Most laptops and desktop built in the past 2 or 3 years are very easy to take apart for maintenance

Important! Before you take apart your computer, If your computer is still under warranty (let say a 3-years warranty), contact the respective maker and find out more if opening up your computer would void the warranty.

Have a Desktop? Well it should be easy, follow the steps:

(A laptop is similar but it is more complicated in some cases, more screws generally)

1. First you need to ground yourself and drain your static electricity out of your body, you can do so by touching the metal part of your computer case and should avoid taking apart your computer on a carpet.

2. Take out all Power, USB, or any other wired connections from your desktop’s back, not internals

3. Use your common sense to open up your computer’s case using a screwdriver, most desktop don’t have screws instead they have a lock, just pull that and your case will be out.

In case you forget how to re-assemble your desktop, use a digital camera to take multiple-pictures of the internal connections for later reference.

4. Locate and plug out the fan(s) in your Desktop and the fan’s power source, the cord is connected to the motherboard and it should have an adapter that looks like the one on the right (With four wires attached to it)

5. The heat sink should be the metallic part that sticks high up from the motherboard’s perspective, proceed to take it off the CPU. If you haven’t done this in 2 or more years the fan and the heat sink should look very disgusting.

6. Once the fan(s) and the heat sink(s) are out take them to a sink and rinse them thoroughly and dry them. (Caution! Do Not whip-out the gel-like substance at the bottom of your heat sink, they are part of the cooling system, its meant for the CPU’s heat to melt it first)

7.Leave them for about 2 hours or blow-dry it. Make sure they are completely dry before you put them back. Reconnect all the power and connections and boot-up. See the speed & temperature difference.

How often should I clean out my heat sinks and fans?

In order for your computer to perform at the optimal level, I recommend rinsing out the heat sink and fans every 2 to 3 months. And I also recommend every time your vacuum your carpet that you stick the vacuum hose into the air-intake to clean some of the stuff out.

Summary:

Hope this can improve the performance of your computer, if it looks disgusting when you took your computer apart, I assure your computer will be cooler, faster & quieter once you clean all the stuff out.

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Today when I tried to login to facebook as I usually do by going to http://www.facebook.com, but somehow I mistyped the address which leads me to http://www.facebok.com, a site that poses that it wants to reward facebook members with great prizes. This leads me to think of identity theft or spam issues we face now on facebook.

(Notice there is a “o” missing, DO NOT go onto that site, http://www.facebok.com is a pseudo-facebook site that uses the facebook name in order to solicit users to submit their name, e-mail, phone or possibly real mailing addresses)

That site seems unusally odd to me as of yesterday’s facebook main page. I understood pretty well that facebook is so under radar that a lot of publishers want to get a piece of that golden domain and targets those like me who are in a rush and mistyped the web address. My post here is not necessarily reporting on such issue, rather I want to focus on the why such phenomena occur in the first place.

Well I was in need of facebook but the staff hasn’t respond on the web yet — sometimes there are hacking issues that facebook “faces” all the time. And this goes to remind people “Do not post any information that’s trictly personal”  – such as identification number, social security number, personal e-mail address or even your real phone number to the public walls. Beware of spams coming your way if you did.

Many people believe facebook is somehow better than Myspace as a social networking site and that the problem, this general notion brought facebook under hacker’s radar as a site with tremendous personal information. A lot of people that I know of spent hours of updating their profiles because facebook provide so much networking opportunities, such opportunities are people in the same school, people graduated from the same school, from the same area code, from the same country, having the similar interest and more and etc. Those connection possibilities drawn us to put everything we want people to know about us without discretion and sometime way too much.

If you are on facebook because you to present yourself in some way, I recommend that  you do it the professional way. There are  professional and safe profiles sites online such as LinkedIn, which is the site I have an professional profile account on and you can visit my profile at the right of my blog page. (I’m not affiliated with them, see I don’t even provide you guys with a link, I think it’s a really good and clean way to present yourself without putting your sensitive profile at risk)

If you have facebook strictly for social interaction purposes, then for you I believe there are no better alternative than staying with facebook. Just be cautious of what you put up and beware of there as many hackers, along with other imposers, are waiting to tap into your personal information. Identity theft issue is definitely debatable and I hope I can get some feedback from various points. I’d switch without looking back to my point of view because I want to be right and I care much more that someone can be.

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