by Jeff Herder

Free-to-air satellite technology is a modern way of free televiewing that transmits broadcasts without necessitating subscription. Free-to-air programs are transmitted to satellite dishes, however, receivers and file supports are necessary. This is to ensure that you will be able to view the programs clear.

To be able to enjoy FTA programs, there are various things you need to know, such as:

� Which satellite supports the channel you wish to view � The frequency of that FTA channel � Symbol rate used by that FTA channel. � The format of the broadcast from the FTA channel

Of course, knowing this is not the only thing you need, you will also need equipments. The gadgets or equipments you need to have include:

� Satellite dish (C Band or Ku Band) � FTA Receivers and its corresponding file support � If you want more than one satellite, you will need a rotor or antenna motor.

Satellite dish

You do not need a plate atop your roof that is bigger than you house, C Band or 6-foot satellite dish is a good choice. However, new FTA programs now moved to the Ku Band system, which is an FTA receiver with a remote control and a small dish (less than a meter).

FTA receiver and file support

Depending on the source of the FTA receiver, your file support may be necessary. You will need to ensure that your FTA receiver will provide for file support system that is available on a 24/7. This is to ensure that should any problem surfaces, you will be ready and able to arrest the problem.

Rotor or antenna motor

The Ku Band system only points to one satellite, thus you will need a rotor that will allow you to point to more than one satellite. Of course, having a small satellite dish, you will need a good file support and thus the choice of FTA receiver provider is a must.

I may need to mention at this point that given the right satellite dish, FTA receiver and file support, you may be able to connect to as much as two hundred FTA satellite and digital channels and these channels comes from various parts of the world including Australia, India, Europe and New Zealand.

All the programs received via free-to-air channels are unencrypted, it is broadcasted as it is and thus, the language will be the same at it is.

No monthly fees to endure with your viewing, but you will need to watch it with lengthy introduction and some promotional gimmicks.

One particular FTA channel will give you FTA programs but will have interruptions that requests for donations. This works like the television commercial you hate receiving. Anyway, what is a commercial if you do not need to pay monthly subscription dues?

Of course, this depends you your preference. I, for one, wanted free-to-air technology.
About the Author FTA Satellite Source offers satellite technology for free-to-air TV, and FTA receivers. Sign up at FTA Receiver Files. and receive the most techical support available today! Come and see which membership is right for you!

by: Matthew Bredel

The MP3 and MP4 generation was generated mostly due to advances in data compression. Let us first take a step back and focus on digital music. There are two types of data in the world: Analog and Digital data. Analog data is real time data, and it is essentially how we perceive the world. As you listen to any music, you are listening to an analog signal. Everything we see and hear is analog. So what is the significance of digital? Digital is a way of storing and transferring this data. Think of a twelve inch ruler. With this ruler, you can measure any distance between between 0 and 12 inches. Depending on how good you are at reading the ruler, you can probably measure to a resolution of 1/16 of an inch. Even though there is measurable distance between these 1/16 inch marks, the distance is rather insignificant to you. At this point, you can record the distance two ways:

1) You can mark the ruler with a pencil and store it in its true “analog” value

2) You can round the value to the nearest 1/16th and record it. This could be referred to as a “digital” value.

Digital is a collection of zeros and ones that represent a number. Because there are two values, the system is base 2. Our normal system is a base 10 system. For example:

The number 1456 is really:

6x(1) + 5x(10) + 4x(100) + 1x(1000) = 1456

Where the number in parentheses are 10^x power.

Let’s try a base 2 number of 100110:

0x(1) + 1x(2) + 1x(4) + 0x(8) + 0x(16) + 1x(32) = 38 (decimal)

Where the number in parentheses are 2^x power.

In this base-2 example, the number is referred to as “6-bits”. A typical “byte” is normally “8-bits”. So instead of storing the number 38, computers would store the number 100110.

So why would you want to do that? There are 6 digitals in base-2 versus two digitals in base-10. The answer is simple! Ones and zeros are much easier to store (It is like a light switch, either ON or OFF). Further, in a base-2 system, there are only 2 possible solutions. In a base-10 solution, there are 10 solutions per digit. The more solutions you have, the more chance to make errors.

Now let’s revisit the the analog signal. In this type of data, there are an infinite number of solutions. Mind you, the error won’t be great, but you ARE guaranteed some error every time. Every time you recall a analog signal, the results will be varied to some degree.

Think about your cell phone. About 5 years ago, all cell phones were analog. When you entered areas of poor reception, you received static, distortion and noise. Now, most cells phones are digital. As long as a portion of the ones and zeros are transmitted, you will receive a perfect signal every time. (If you transmit the number 1.2 or 1.5 or 0.8, it will always be read a one! i.e., the signal is immune to noise!) If you cannot even read these simple ones and zeros, you drop off completely. The clarity of the signal is perfect and repeatable, as long as the data is present.

Music works in the same manner. Old-school records and cassette tapes are analog signals. These media will product static and noise and will degrade over time. CDs are digital signals. As long as the compact is readable, the CD player will provide you with the exact sound as it was recorded. The CD itself might degrade over time, but the data will always be stored in its original form.

Since the inception of digitally stored music, the quality of music has remained high and to the same standard as it is today. Compact discs still offer the highest form of music available. The problem with compact discs is that the amount of bits required to store a song is high. That leads us to the modern use of data compression and MP3. (And another article for another day!)

About The Author

Matthew Bredel is a 31 year old online entrepreneur and engineer currently living in San Diego, CA.

Visit http://www.MP4nMore.com for iPod and portable media reviews and resources!

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By Gijo George

Software testing assumes a very important role in Software life cycle. Without proper testing software is incomplete. Testing should adhere to some general standards. To help a software tester, a test plan is prepared. This test plan broadly describes the approach towards testing particular software, the tools that can be used and scripts to help the tester to perform his work in an orderly fashion. Another document that is generated for testing is the test plan is test case. A test case contains various inputs and expected results.

A good testing team not only helps eliminating serious errors but also contributes lot of additional features to the software. A tester first look for the common errors which can normally appear in any software. Then he move forwards for data validation errors. Finally he goes for functional testing. Software tester should have some functional knowledge before he begins functional testing. For this, he can sit with functional experts in order to better understand the functional aspects the tested software is intended to accomplish. A software tester also looks for logical errors during the functional testing phase.

Code review is also a part of testing. Code review has to be done by another programmer or a tester who have some knowledge about coding. Code review involves ensuring proper comments in place before a block of code begins. The comments should be clear and easily understood. Apart from this, code review involves looking for proper arrangement of coding. Using white space properly, minimizing the number of character in one line of code etc. also has to be taken care. A proper code review ensures that the software is easily maintainable in future.

Releasing software without proper testing is like sailing in a ship without enough resources. It will be abandoned immediately.

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