Enkay Blog

VocalCity Business VoIP

Lately the whole idea of VoIP has been catching on and when I received the review opportunity from VocalCity, I decided to give it a shot. Basically, VocalCity is a business voip service that is not only full featured but also offers great prices, meaning its not only got everything you need but its priced well as well as the fact that it requires no maintenance. Its a PBX business VoIP phone solution that takes only a few minutes to set up.

VocalCity keeps focusing on the business aspect and thats because most businesses frequently make phone calls that are not local – they may be statewide, nationwide and even global and VocalCity’s business VoIP service allows you to do all that and much more. All this with a low start-up cost and lower phone bills every month so that you won’t be scared to see your monthly invoice online.

I looked over the website and its very well designed, its got a really clean layout and the initial intro video footage is very amusing so even if you aren’t looking for a VoIP service you should atleast check out the website. They do have a 1-877 number that you can call as well which I do like.

The best thing I like is that they have Cisco phone equipment which as many of you will easily agree, is the best system out there. They don’t have you get any other additional equipment and the sign up process is fast and theres no contract. The savings also range from 50% to 85% which I thought was quite phenomenal. So why not give them a shot? Visit VocalCity!

Any tips on building a computer?

So, as I mentioned last week, my computer decided to die on me after 6-7 years of faithful service. It seems as though I have fried the motherboard and not having a desktop, per se, has meant that I have to use my netbook at all times. Don’t get me wrong, I love my netbook but using it for everything can be a pain sometimes because the keyboard and the lack of a full mouse can be an issue.

Well, I decided that instead of spending $2,000 to buy a brand new computer, that I’d go through and build my own computer from scratch so I decided to do some research and maybe you can guys can give me some pointers if you’ve built your computer before. Here is a list of all the parts I’ve ordered or already purchased:

1) Intel Core i5 Processor – This is one of the new processor systems by Intel and its the younger brother of the i7 system but apparently theres not much of a difference in performance so I picked up the i5. The price? $160. These usually sell for around $230 so I saved about $70 on this purchase by picking it up at MicroCenter which seems to have some good prices on the processors.

2) A-DATA Gaming DDR3 Low Voltage 4GB RAM – This is one of the requirements of the new chipset on the i5 processor units. It seems as though the mobo’s that support the 1156 socket for the i5 and i7 processors require DD3 and a voltage of 1.65 or less. With that said, the RAM usually runs about $90 for 4GB but I picked this up at the local Fry’s for $70.

3) MSI P55 CD53 Motherboard – The MSI Motherboard is all brand new for the i5 processor because its the 1156 socket motherboard. Most motherboards are 775 sockets and all that means is that these new motherboards are a bit on the expensive side, or atleast they can be more expensive. I paid around $105 for this motherboard through ZipZoomFly.

4) OCZ Technology ModXStream Pro 700W Power Supply - All my experience with Dell meant that I needed a better and more powerful power supply in order to provide juice to the system. The old power supply, provided by Dell, was a 350W and so I decided to double it up and move to 700W with the OCZ Power Supply. Best part is, that it comes with some wire management goodies so I can make sure things look organized inside. The Power Supply runs around $130 but I picked it up for $80 with a $30 rebate, so we’re looking at $50 after the rebate.

5) HAF 932 Full Tower Case – Now, this case was not something I was expecting to buy. I decided that a mid-tower case around $60 would have been perfect but the HAF 932 is definitely a full tower case with 4 fans. 3 of the fans are 230mm with one fan being 140mm. These fans are much larger than average and all that means is that the case will be super cool at all times. So in other words, firing up the motherboard, wont be an issue next time around. The case runs for $140, but I spent around $100 at the local Fry’s.

The total price of everything was around $485 since shipping was usually free and tax was eliminated on quite a few of the products. You might be wondering, what happened to the video card and such but I am actually using my video card, audio card, hard drives and dvd drives from the old computer. That allowed me to save quite a bit of money since I actually had a really good video and audio card and my hard drives were over a 1TB. I felt there was no need to upgrade those so lets hope that I can put all this together.

My first issue is, where some of the pins go on the motherboard and actually, how would I actually install the processor and although these seem like dumb questions, for someone who has never done this before, I think its actually not a bad place to start. Ive been doing my reading and I might even put a video up of me building the computer. Hopefully things work out just fine! Wish me luck! and if you have any tips or guides on how I can do this without ruining anything, I would appreciate it!

Securing Your House

I decided to look online to see how I could better protect my home. My neighborhood tends to be really safe but lately theres been a few break-ins and I wanted to see the possibility of installing a few cameras and connecting them to my computer in order to be able to record what is actually happening. Its just safer and I would assume that it helps with lowering your insurance costs as well.

Problem is that a lot of homes in my neighbor use these large Sony CCD cameras and it just makes it really obvious. Some even have the dummy camera system which obviously is no use. I wanted to install something that was more of a hidden camera system so I decided to do some hunting and came across Brick House Security.

The thing is that sometimes cameras that are “hidden” are so small that their lenses and clarity is no good but apparently brick house knows what they’re talking about. Check out the options they have, everything from cameras in a tissue box to a coke can. Theres even mailbox cameras and bird feeder cameras, the possibilities are truly endless. I actually thought this would be great just to have as a safety net. Its not that I’d probably use this as my main camera system but just something I could use in the event that I needed it. Either way, pretty cool website and lots of great little gadgets. The prices are on the high side though but im attempting to find an actual youtube video to see how this actually works. In the mean time, you guys should check it out!

Reviewing a Money Making Tactic

This was an odd review that I was asked to do and I thought you guys would find this interesting. At first, I read it as Host Gator, which is actually a pretty popular hosting company based in Houston, Texas and located only a 20 minute drive away. Well, turns out, its about Host Monster but what this link is, is basically a review of the hosting service – host monster review.

You might wonder why I would be asked to review a review? Well, the basic idea is that theres an affiliate link for Host Monster on the blog and every time someone clicks the link and purchases hosting, the owner makes a certain percentage. Theres nothing wrong with this but that leaves me with barely anything to really review or talk about. Not really too fair, I dont think.

The problem is that when I get review offers like this, I really dont know what to say but I accept them because, well, to be honest, its fairly easy money and secondly this gives me a chance to show you a money making tactic.

Its a great idea, dont get me wrong. EVERYONE does it. John Chow, Shoe Money, they all do it. By having someone do a review of your work though isn’t going to help you much. I think affiliate links are awesome and if you can make money by advertising and promoting them, then why not. I don’t think I’ve made too much money from my affiliate links but it does help quite a bit, specially if youre hosted by the same company.

While I am talking about this, let me say that Host Monster is a good hosting company. They do offer lots of solutions and they are cost-effective – meaning that you get a good bang for your buck. Since this is a review, definitely check out the website and let me know what you think. Also, tell me what you think about having a blog review your review and include an affiliate link. I think its actually very smart but I wonder how effective it really is!

Flu, Midterms & Everything Else

I know its been a while since Ive had the chance to post but it seems as though things have been going downhill lately. Its Midterm season and all that means is that I have had 3 midterm exams and I have 2 more coming up. In fact, I actually have one today but that didn’t stop me from posting today. I have been doing great on my exams so far so I can’t complain but the lack of time for anything else, is disappointing sometimes.

Eric @ Clickbooth
Eric from Clickbooth sent over 2 shirts recently and they are just awesome. It definitely has a superhero theme to it and says “Where Super Affiliates are Made”. Great slogan, I think. I will post some pictures of me in the shirt whenever I am able to make some time to do so. I actually have the shirt ready to go, I just need to get my batteries recharged. So, Eric, I will definitely have those pictures soon!

Flu…Do you have it?
Aside from school, I actually have also caught the flu and I even had a fever the other day. All this with the classes I’ve had is no fun. I always tell people that I rarely ever get sick and usually when I do get sick its because I get too distracted and stressed with things going on so I’ve been trying to sleep a little better and get some rest and things of that nature. The flu seems to be going around though so I wonder if any of you seemed to have caught it? or is it just me?

Desktop Issues
In addition, last night a fiasco ensued when my desktop – with all my blogging and webdesign goodies decided to close its doors. I was in the middle of a 6-page paper when my desktop froze and then decided that it won’t boot up again. Maybe I can describe the issue and someone might be able to help me out. Every time I start the computer, the fan runs really fast but doesn’t boot the computer up. I think its because its getting quite a bit hot in texas and the computer isn’t getting enough cool air causing things to get over heated but thats just my theory. Any suggestions?

Follow me on Twitter
I also seem to be closing in on the 500 Twitter followers which makes me quite happy because about a month ago I only had a 100 or less. I think thats not too bad but I also have been trying to tweet quite a bit when I get time. I installed the Twikini App on my Windows Mobile cell phone and I have the TweetDeck app on my iPod as well as my ex-Desktop. I figure that way, even if I’m in class, or walking to get lunch, I am able to get online and send out a message really quick. It seems to be helping and actually, helps me still send out messages to my followers and readers. If you aren’t following me yet, you definitely should!

Reviewing UK Webhosting Company
I have also had quite a few review opportunities come my way and its no surprise as my Alexa Rank has been steadily declining which is a great thing. Recently, a UK based webSite hosting company asked me to give them a brief mention. I guess a lot of my readers are in the US based on my AwStats numbers (about 58%) but I seem to forget that about 20% of my readers are from the UK. Some might argue that web hosts in the US are cheaper and I actually do think they are. Lets consider this, the price for a .com domain on FreeZone is 8 pounds which is close to $15 in the US. Most webhosts in the US charge close to $9. In addition, all their hosting packages are 4 pounds or $7 or so a month and the maximum space is 10GB. That seems a bit low for most of us who have unlimited server space. I know a lot of people aren’t big fans of 1and1 but I use them and I pay around $5 a month for unlimited space. I think, that you can find better deals elsewhere but if you don’t want your server to be in the US, then maybe you can check them out.

I hope everyone is doing okay. I’ll probably have another post on Friday or so. I have my midterm in a few hours so wish me luck! Have a great rest of the week everyone!