Online investing is a method of investing in the financial market by placing orders for buying or selling the securities through the Internet. The development of the Internet has changed the way investing in shares is done today because every investment opportunity is just a click away. The conventional method of investing by calling a broker to place orders has changed because Internet investing is so simple and easy to do. Through online investment, it is possible to eliminate the need of meeting with a broker to decide what securities to buy. The three requirements for online investing is Computer, Internet and of course MONEY. It’s essential for you as an online investor to capitalize on the Web as a research tool.

Online investing is very simple to execute but the first step is to opt for a reliable online brokerage firm. Online brokers are also known as discount brokers since they are cheaper than the traditional brokers. The online investing solution begins and ends with you, the investor. Many online investors manage only a small part of their portfolio and leave larger portions in the hands of the investment advisor of the brokerage firm. Others manage all their investments themselves. But what’s crucial is that you manage your investments up to your level of comfort and expertise. Regular portfolio re-balancing and reassessment are also a must. To complement your own knowledge, you should determine to what extent you will need to lean on professionals for advice.

The Internet allows investors to access account information 24/7, initiate securities transactions from virtually anywhere and also the provision to quickly and inexpensively research investment opportunities. But the Internet is not fail-safe. To invest wisely online, protect your passwords for your online investment accounts and avoid sharing it. Use anti-virus and anti-spy ware software, and a firewall, and keep them up-to-date. Try avoiding public or other shared computers to access your financial accounts online. And finally, don’t believe everything you read in online newsletters, investing blogs, or bulletin boards.

For more detailed info on how you could start log on to Smart Start, the crash course for beginners to investing!

In what is perhaps the most shining example of obsession and geekiness I have ever seen, a fella by the name of Bradster has 36 World of WarCraft accounts that he plays on 11 computers simultaneously. He mainly seems to be doing it because he doesn’t like to rely on so many other people to get a raid going, which includes attacking the Alliance capital cities, and on that front I can totally see where he’s coming from.

I hate those Alliance douchebags too, but I’m not about to drop $5711 per year like Bradster is. The best way to get to them is to just live well, right? Well, Bradster doesn’t appear to be letting the Alliance off the hook so easily, as he plans on picking up 36 copies of Wrath of the Lich King on day one, spending around $1500, just so he can have a raid group of level 80 Shamans terrorizing Stormwind as soon as possible.

Read on to see how this crazy man manages to control all of these characters.

From the Bradster himself:

A lot have asked me, why create so many? The main reason is to invade Stormwind and Ironforge when they reach top level. I’m sure the Alliance will put up a big fight when that happens. We’ll see how it goes. If they don’t make level 70 before Wrath of the Lich King, then it will be at level 80. That is my main goal. That will probably happen after I’ve got some PvP gear from the battlegrounds. I’m also planning to do some 25 and 10 man raid instances but that is secondary to my PvP goal. Of course I’ll be doing arenas too to build up PvP gear but I’m not expecting to do that great there because I’m way behind in gear right now. I need to get to level 70 first, then level 80 and by then I will probably have all green gear while most others have been doing the battlegrounds and arenas.

It costs me exactly $5711 in subscription costs per year with 36 accounts on the 6 month pay schedule. Not bad considering I’m looking at it like it’s a hobby and there are more expensive hobbies out there than World of Warcraft.

32 of my shaman are level 61. One shaman that I had before I started the 32 is at level 70 along with 8 other level 70 classes that I had. My mage, priest and druid are in the center of the circle of shaman in the pictures but they are kind of hard to see. I’ve also got some mages and priests that I’m currently working on that are level 23. Once they are at level 31.9, I will stop working on them, get 16 of them to level 60 with the recruit-a-friend bonus levels and work on the shaman again.

When Wrath of the Lich King is released, I plan to be at the store when it opens and will purchase 36 copies of it. With tax, it should be about $1500 for all of them. Then the shaman are on their way to level 80 along with the priest, druid and mage.

By the way, I have 9 level 80 shaman created on the Murmur PvP realm in the Wrath of the Lich King beta. I mainly tried it out to see how well my computers would work as they are. With the exception of one my desktop computers, I should be fine with the hardware that I have.

I use 3 addons in the game. CT_MapMod is used to give me locations for quests, etc. ClassIcons is another addon that I use to show the class of the target. It helps for PvP encounters. Then the last addon I use is SSPVP2 which is excellent for displaying timers and other things while in the battlegrounds.

For my keys to send to all instances of WoW on my 11 computers, I use Octopus 1.3.2. Maximizer in Octopus allows me to start up all WoW instances at the same time or any individual instance such as if a WoW instance has crashed. It also allows me to shutdown all of the computers at the same time.

Here is a picture of my computer set up:

Not shown to the right is another laptop which runs 3 copies that I just moved there. The keyboard on the right was moved to the top shelf there as I don’t really use that keyboard while playing. I have macros that set my main assist/cast/follow. Any of the eight screens to the front can be set to main assist/cast/follow as my mouse scrolls to them all using Octopus.

The two lucky winners are Trip Hoover from Texas, USA and Daniel Marinow from Germany who together spent almost $12,000 on these special notebooks. However the money will not take Blizzard’s or Dell’s direction as they will be a charity donation to America’s Second Harvest.

Ok I mean was it that difficult to guess what I’m talking about… of course I’m talking about Diwali, the festival of light and prosperity and actually lots more. So what’s important here is that we are Indians and we are bound to our cultures and traditions, and what about that? , fact is that as you would know, and if u don’t… around diwali also happens to be the time that we end up spending the most amount of money in the year, painting our houses for the nth time, gifting every one we know, distributing sweets, competing with our cousins as to whoz bought better crackers this year, buying Diwali Clothes (yea it’s actually a term now)… this list is endless but yea  what we also are likely to do amidst over flowing happiness is gift ourselves with what we couldn’t afford last diwali, so we go on a shopping rampage and usually end up buying practically anything or things ranging from something as simple as a mobile phone to a car.

Yea I know I can be rather cynical at times, it obviously can’t only be the happiness … there are billboards and tv commercials and every newspaper column screaming out messages which would most often read 50% Discount, or something to that effect, and this would obviously mean that we aren’t really spending all that much… rite? NO it’s wrong and simply because though we avail this discount on that particular product we will still compulsively shop till we end up paying if not as much or simply more than what that product would have cost at any other time of the year…

So yea what am I really getting at? … if that’s the question your asking you should guess by now that I’m definitely not going to talk about weight loss programmes and liposuction…  what I’m actually trying to get to is means and methods by which you could continue to keep these traditions and our culture .. And in all fairness the happiness and joy of this festive mood intact and hassle free… by that I mean ensuring that your pockets are deep enough not to let the fireworks burn holes in them.

In my opinion the best way to have the luxury of being able to celebrate your festive season, and not exactly only diwali, but also Christmas, Id, Dusserra and even the ones not on the calendar is by getting your investments in place. It’s obviously not a 2 day thing but it’s as easy as getting yourself signed up on a Systematic Investment programme.

And now we’ll get to the point shall we…

When I say systematic, I mean investing a fixed sum of money each week, month or year to achieve the targeted financial goal. In this article let me make you understand the different advantages of SIP investing. SIP as everyone knows is Systematic Investment Plan. Generally SIP relates to investing a fixed sum of money each month in mutual fund scheme. The rupee cost averaging and the power of compounding are two main advantages of SIP investments.

Rupee Cost averaging: If you wanted to buy units of a mutual fund you end up purchasing more units when the net asset values of the units are down, and vice versa. Here, it is the average purchase price that matters and not the purchase price of one unit as you will keep on purchasing each month on a particular date. The returns are based on this average cost. This way you average the cost of  your purchase and sell the units in future to achieve your financial goal. This helps in negating the volatility in the markets.

Power of compounding: It refers to returns earned on the principal as well as the interest amount unlike simple interest where you earn returns only on the principal amount. It also rewards investing at regular intervals and works best over long tenures. The larger the tenure of investment, more are the returns. Also, the earlier you start to invest, the more you benefit. For instance, if you begin investing at age 30 and invest Rs.10,000 a year for the next 10 years at 9 per cent per annum, and roll over the proceeds until you’re 60, you’ll end up accumulating Rs 9.28 lakh (your total investment only Rs 1 lakh). On the other hand, if you begin saving at age 40 and invest Rs 10,000 a year for 20 years at 9 per cent a year, you will end up accumulating Rs. 5.58 lakh (your total investment of Rs 2 lakh). This means that by keeping your money invested longer, you can get the benefit of compounding and can become richer by Rs 3.70 lakh (if you start investing from age 30), although your principal investment was just half of what you would invest by starting at age 40. Take a lesson from the above example and start saving as soon as possible. Remember, you will have to full-fill many goals in future for which you will have to start investing systematically from now.

This is the time to start, and I’d sincerely ask you start smart, check Smart Start.

http://kotaksecurities.com/smartstart/

If  your dream is to own a gaming set up which could possibly have more than just 47 pc’s .. i could give you a few hints on how to make to money to get there!

cheers

The problem with massive online games is that they’re full of other people. In order to bypass the need for interaction and reliance on outsiders, one gamer (and, get this, his girlfriend) decided to take on the responsibilities of an entire World of Warcraft guild himself. Gaze upon the 47 PC setup that allows two gamers to simultaneously control 23 independent accounts each. More info on the hardware after the jump.

This technological monstrosity was constructed in waves, consisting first of Shuttlesystems, followed by QPack and later AOpen small form factor PCs. To cut back on heat and the massive electric bill, most machines are diskless (i.e. no hard drive) and aren’t connected directly to monitors. Instead, programmable keyboards with KVM switches allow the duo to monitor and control everything from their six-monitor twin thrones.

Are you  J yet .. ahh im sure you are .. this is gaming paradise .. !

The modern Alliance is the successor to the Alliance of Lordaeron, which was created at the behest of King Terenas Menethil II ofLordaeron and Lord Anduin Lothar of the kingdom of Stormwind following the First War, five years after the reckoning. The human, dwarf, gnome, and high elf races allied together to fight off the orcish Horde.

Organization

The Alliance is not a uniform governmental body, but is a coalition of mutual military and economic aid. Housing the Alliance Assembly, Theramore can be considered the official home of the new Alliance, but both the people and the leadership of Stormwind find it hard to accept. The inability of Stormwind to act forced both Theramore and the night elves to step in, resulting in a growing gap of cooperation between the two continents. Effectively, today’s Alliance is in fact two Alliances not only working largely separately but also holding some kind of dislike against each other.

In the past, certain rules, customs, and regulations were a constant hindrance to mutual actions across the entire Alliance. This made cooperation sluggish, and considerably slowed the rate at which the Alliance was able to reclaim its former lands and glory. Despite the problems and intrigues within their leadership, all parts of the Alliance are steadfast in their desire to reclaim and rebuild, and all members share a distrust of the Horde. Approximately 800,000 souls belong to the allied races spanning two continents (based on membership numbers of the Church of Light). The Alliance is a great and peaceful body overall, their might being legendary, but their desire for peace, even stronger. Above all, where Jaina Proudmooreand Tyrande Whisperwind are good at coordinating their efforts on Kalimdor, Lady Katrana Prestor of Stormwind was doing a fine job of undoing the Alliance in the Eastern Kingdoms, however she has been slain in lore and King Varian Wrynn has now taken his rightful place as king.

Even now, as always, humans are the glue that hold the Alliance together, being the most numerous and diplomatic of the member races. However, the driving force of the Alliance is slowly but steadily shifting to the night elves, who today are a major aspect of the Alliance military forces — whereas the armies of Stormwind keep being held inactive within the city walls.Things may have changed with the return of King Varian Wrynn.

Technology

Technologically speaking, the Alliance is strong, with gnomish and dwarven inventions.

Heavily armored vehicles with massive guns often help take well-defended structures, or even serve to simply destroy an enemy’s morale. The appearance of three or four armored vehicles can often break an enemy’s morale without ever firing a shot. However, they are well armed in case they do need to fire.

All too frequently, war is the primary driver of technological advancements. The Ironforge dwarves spearheaded this trend, developing gunpowder and firearms as a way to achieve an edge against their foes in combat. Flying machines, originally just curiosities or at best scouting tools, are now being outfitted with flak cannons and bombs. Who knows where these advancements will lead? Technology is the system by which an entire society provides for the wants and needs of its population.

Thus, the dwarves of Ironforge are said to be more technologically advanced than the tauren of Mulgore, who are themselves far more advanced than, say, kobolds or troggs. The Alliance views technology as an extension of a new way of thinking. Humans view technology as a powerful tool, as gnomes and dwarves invent new weapons, devices, and vehicles of war that the humans can benefit from.

Dwarves and gnomes are the true masters of steam and brass; for them, forge and artifice has always been a way of life. The ability to craft magnificent weapons of destruction appeals to the dwarven sense of war, and firearms have become a respected aspect of their culture. Dwarven riflemen are feared, and their steam tank crews are also given tremendous respect for their skill in guiding their magnificent weapons of war.

It is clear to all of the Alliance races that the battlefields are changing thanks to technology. Firearms are a tremendous equalizer, and a trained sniper can be as deadly to a knight as a dragon’s breath. The machines of war provide protection and weapons that level the field even against the mightiest of monsters. That the Alliance is aware of this bodes well for their future. Also, with the inclusion of the draenei into the Alliance, the advanced technology of the draenei is now available.

Weakness

Although the Alliance has built an impressive army in the past years, finding strength in its diversity and numbers, weak points still exist that the Alliance’s enemies can take advantage of when fighting. For example, some lackluster commanders exist within the ranks. Though through this they still maintain a very impressive army.

Pride: The Alliance is proud of itself. Their people are sophisticated and learned, and they excel in the intellectual pursuits such as arcane magic and engineering. Even after three bloody wars, they still view themselves as overall smarter than the Horde, and believe that greater brain power wins out over primal force. This is even after they fought alongside the Horde in the Third War and saw how they had changed. They underestimate the Horde, especially the new Horde under Thrall, and could easily be guilty of underestimating their enemies’ abilities.

Arcane Magic: Though their powerful command of the arcane is a point of strength in the Alliance’s arsenal, it also shows a weakness. The magi are weak and easy to kill, if an enemy can break through their protections. The benefits of these spellslingers in combat are very rich, causing destruction from a distance unchecked by the enemy.

Physical Strength: The front lines of the Alliance’s armies are always in danger against the physically stronger Horde, especially the orcs and tauren. Draenei are stronger then most of Alliance races, but not as strong as orcs or tauren. Only the arrival of Worgen inCataclysm will probably add a brute force to Alliance.

Territory: Though the Alliance has a vast amount of territory, its distribution is almost one sided, most of the Alliance territory is in the Eastern Kingdoms. The Alliance presence in Kalimdor is weak, confined mainly to Teldrassil, the islands of Azuremyst and Bloodmyst, and Darkshore (the only mainland Alliance territory in Kalimdor). Though they have also made a strong establishment in Dustmallow Marsh on Theramore Isle. It should be noted that there is a rapidly growing revanchist movement among the Alliance ranks, fueled increasingly now that Varian Wrynn has returned to Stormwind; should the Horde attempt to overwhelm any of the vulnerable Alliance holdings, then it would likely spark all out war, and thus this weakness would prove to be a strength.

Strengths

Tactical Mastery: Strategy in combat is the first step toward winning, and the Alliance uses to its fullest. They take advantage of their typical numerical advantage, to overwhelm opposition with shield and sword. They posses great Arcane spell casters which can be seen taking out many troops single-handedly from behind the front line. They have some great shock infantry with the dwarves and draenei, who prove very resilient on the battlefield. The Alliance is also known for its heavy cavalry where mounted human knights and paladins have more than once broken through ranks of Orcs, demons and undead. These mounted warriors have long symbolized the strength of the Alliance armies.

Typically they will utilize flanking tactics, night elven and high elven archery, combined with superior technology and maneuvers to turn battles in their favor allowing heavier troops like human knights and dwarven riflemen to finish their enemies off with the blade and shot. Their commanders are very smart, studying the art of war from a young age, and are able and adept commanders who will utilize their armies to the fullest, on the battlefield.

Holy Magic: Most Alliance races are well-versed in the ways of the holy light, making their paladins and priests formidable opponents. The power of the holy light is also advantageous against the Forsaken as well as other forms of undead due to their extreme weakness against the power with spells such as Exorcism.

Unified: The Alliance has strong unity between its races since its core members have been allied together since the beginning, excluding the night elves and the draenei. The humans, dwarves, high elves, and gnomes have been allies since the Second War and are often tied together. The Alliance has also never truly fallen apart, although there is often disagreements between the Alliance on Kalimdor, led by Jaina Proudmoore and Tyrande Whisperwind, and those traditionally based out of the Eastern Kingdoms, now led by King Varian Wrynn.

Tradition: The Alliance represents older bonds of brotherhood than the Horde, especially between the Humans, Dwarves, High Elves, and Gnomes. And while the Draenei are new to Azeroth, the other races retain ancient holdings. This stands in stark contrast to the Horde, all of whom, with the exception of the Blood Elves, have undergone significant migrations in the past decade. This gives the Alliance more established infrastructure and generally more territorial control, if not a higher level of dedication – Orgrimmar and Thunder Bluff, and the Forsaken squatting in Lordaeron’s sewers and ruins, stand in stark contrast to the strong walls of Stormwind and Ironforge.

History of the Horde

In the past, the Horde referred to the orcs and their battle thralls from both Draenor and Azeroth, such as trolls and ogres. Following its utter defeat at the end of the Second War, the Horde’s dark power was broken, allowing Thrall to awaken the dormant spirituality of his people and free them from the Burning Legion’s control.

During the events of the Third War, Thrall has made lasting bonds with the tauren chief Cairne Bloodhoof and the troll shadowhunter Vol’jin of the Darkspear clan. The ties between the three races is very close, as both share many similar cultural views. With the help of the tauren, both the orcs and the tribe of trolls have established a place for themselves in Kalimdor. Since then, certain ogre tribes, as well as the Forsaken and blood elves have chosen to affiliate themselves with the Horde.

The present Horde is mostly about surviving in a land that has come to hate them. The orcs are hated because, much like the Forsaken, they were formerly mindless, controlled beings. Though redeemed, they are not forgiven by the Alliance who believe them to be their old selves still. The trolls, taurenand their other allies are the ones who understood them, and so they are hated for that. An interesting fact is that every prominent Horde leader has been allied with certain members of the Alliance in times of war.

Organization

Although its name would imply otherwise, the Horde may actually be viewed as a more centralized body than the Alliance, as Orgrimmar is the obvious center, Thrall is the undisputed leader, and he stands as Warchief over the entire Horde, holding dominion over the Darkspear Trolls and tauren tribes alike^[12] (though he treats his fellow racial leaders as equals^{[citation needed]}).

Like the old Alliance of Lordaeron, Thrall accepts ambassadors and advisors from all the different tribes and members of the Horde and makes sure their voice is heard in the running of the fledgling empire. Although unavoidably possessing the characteristic militarism of the orcs, Thrall has also proven himself to be a compassionate, idealistic, and enlightened individual, and commands a great deal of respect within the Horde.

Though the Horde could quickly become a formidable war machine once again, in formal terms they are a peaceful nation deciding to try for peace and help the world rather than savage rampaging like the early history of the Horde. More informally however, a state of Cold War still exists. The Orcs’ attempts to drive the Alliance out of Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley are ongoing, as is the Forsaken’s expansionistic advance in Arathi and Hillsbrad.

Equal in size, the Horde also has its complexities, much like the Alliance. The main five races of the blood elves, tauren, undead,trolls and orcs have countless friends among the races of Azeroth: the Revantusk forest trolls of the Hinterlands, the Stonemaul Ogres and various individuals like the Mok’Nathal beastmaster Rexxar.

In the Third War, before the liberation of the Forsaken from the Scourge and the defection of the blood elves, the Horde allied themselves with the Alliance to rid Azeroth of the Burning Legion. Since then old animosity has risen again, resulting in open conflict on several battlefields. However, the two factions still officially kept a truce until the Battle for the Undercity, when KingVarian Wrynn, tired of constant backstabbing from various factions within the Horde, has officially declared war.

Despite their somewhat monstrous appearance, the majority of the Horde is not evil; much like the Alliance, it is comprised of diverse factions and individuals who possess a wide range of values and virtues.

Culturally, orcs and tauren believe in redemption more than most other races on Azeroth and are willing to give almost anyone a chance, regardless of reputation. The Revantusk seem to have even accepted, (if not at least tolerate) their ancient enemy the blood elves. Largely because of these beliefs, a number of mortal races and many diverse factions can be found in service in the Horde.

Weakness

The Horde may seem to be an unstoppable juggernaut, but like the best-laid walls, they have their weak points. In the past, these weak links kept the Alliance from losing the Second War.

Savagery

Perhaps its greatest weakness, as a whole the Horde is a group of primitive savages bound together by extreme circumstances. Subtlety is a four-letter word to these guys, and most prefer to talk with their fists. Even the Forsaken are bloodthirsty and prone to violent rages, as well as an inherent distrust in anyone else.^[49] While the bloodlust of the sin’dorei is less overt and more contained by a veneer of elegance and refinement, in truth they can also revel in death and cruelty to the same degree as any of the Horde’s other member nations.

A cunning Alliance general can incite rages in a warband and laugh as the Horde’s best laid plans fall apart while the savages fly mindlessly into combat.

Orcs connect with their legacy as mighty warriors, as barbaric, demon-bred savages, and as shamanistic spiritualists. Despite the fact that they are no longer under demonic influence, orcs can still enter bloodthirsty frenzies. When engaging in combat, bloodlust flows over orcs; they fly into blind and frightening rages, cleaving through foes with axes.Although Thrall gradually learned to control it, the novel Lord of the Clans depicts him at times experiencing the bloodlust himself.

The Darkspear jungle trolls are steadfastly loyal to the orcs. Though they practice voodoo and many retain their savage natures, Thrall lets them live in his borders and generally do what they want.

The Trolls are about as prone to rages as orcs. The Ogres are some of the most powerful creatures the Horde can muster, they are even less subtle than the orcs. Ogres care little for well-laid plans and strategies, charging into combat and swinging clubs with the smallest provocation. Forsaken culture is colored by white-hot rage toward the Lich King and an almost equally intense devotion to their queen.Although the fury of the Forsaken is generally more intellectually inclined and controlled, and while this certainly is not true of all of them, at their heart they are capable of being exactly what they appear; a raging, voracious army of cannabalistic zombies, intent on the eradication of (at least human) life.

Small forces

Despite their power, the Horde lacks the numbers it once enjoyed. They are the underdogs now, and it becomes easy to simply overwhelm their forces with greater numbers. Strength is good, but the many are stronger than the few.^[49] The tauren used to roam Kalimdor in great numbers. The constant skirmishes with the centaur tribes have whittled away at their numbers. The war with the Burning Legion diminished their population even more. Their alliance with the orcs and their spiritual strength are what saved them from extinction. Their populations are too low; one of their main goals — now that they are not looking over their shoulders every instant for a centaur attack — is to build their population back up

Horde Technology

Similar to their savage weakness, the Horde severely lacks in technological prowess since the goblins left their alliance. The Horde’s reliance on divine magic and beasts has proven a downfall due to their unpredictable and exhaustible nature. And technology still baffles the Horde. Enemy forces can overwhelm a Horde warband with a single siege engine; most warbands are simply ill equipped to handle a strong technological presence. Members of the Horde rarely take up the tinker’s calling; the faction largely views the use of technology with disdain, stooping only to use goblin technology when they can afford to pay goblins to handle it. Members of the Horde are more likely to rely on shamanic or druidic magic. Relying on goblin innovation has served them well, and often goblins aided the orcs in times of need. Tauren are the least likely to use technology, seeing it as a disturbing disharmony with the natural order. Orcs prefer the rewarding feeling of axe and spear through flesh. For an orc, firearms have little tangible reward in battle other than hurting the enemy; most find the weapons impersonal and lacking in honor. The majority of the Horde (those found on Kalimdor) either do not care to have the same kind of advanced technology as the Alliance, or chooses to destroy it due to its impact on the environment, among other factors. The Horde does have Forsaken that continue to use some human technology, and a mix of dark necromantic technology. The extent of blood elf technology is unknown, although as high elves they disdained technology.

Strengths of the Horde:

Physical strength: If you put an orc, a tauren, a human and a dwarf in a room with no weapons, most everyone can make a good guess as to who would come out alive. The front lines of the Alliance’s armies are always in danger against the physically stronger Horde. The Horde can boast of many strengths in its army; what it lacks in mobility it makes up for in sheer power.

Leadership: Unlike the Alliance, the Horde has clear leaders for every race represented in its ranks. The clearer hierarchy makes things a bit more organized for the Horde, although the Horde has the disadvantage of having at least one race that is only interested in looking out for its own, the Forsaken. A wise general learns to balance the orcs’ battle rage with cunning tactics.