Windows 8 coming soon

Microsoft says its new operating system may be on the market by fall of 2012.

Windows 8 has a dramatically different look and feel. It will be flexible enough to accommodate new tablet devices as well as more traditional PCs that use keyboards and mice. The system will compete with Apple's iPad. Microsoft says it has sold nearly 450 million copies of its previous operating system, Windows 7.

Microsoft's "Metrointerface" streams a continuous selection of news, photos, emails and headlines in a mosaic of square and rectangular tiles,

The company is calling for app developers to work with the new software. It gave 5,000 Samsung-made tablets, running an early version of Windows 8, to developers attending a recent San Francisco conference.

Windows 8 applications will be distributed through an online app store.

Map Listing HSS Members

Have you visited our member's map from Google Maps? See the current members of our team and where they are located. See who is near you. Click on link or graphic below...

http://homesecretary.com/hssmap.html

Click-to-call website buttons bring sales

One big health products company spent millions annually for online marketing. But the results weren't great. Less than 3 percent of those who clicked on the online ads went on to place an order.

They discovered that the percentage went up considerably if the prospective customer spoke with a person who could explain a product and how it was used. Those calls resulted in 20 percent of clients placing an order. The company signed up with Marchex, an organization selling mobile advertisements that automatically connects smartphones to a call center.

With this program, and others like it, cellphone customers can instantly go from an online search engine ad to a human being. With the human connection, browsing customers turn into paying customers who order more in the future.

Google also has an ad program for cellphones. The click-to-call program evolved from a stepchild project into a major initiative. An estimated 500,000 customers now use it, say technology experts at Bloomberg Businessweek.

When a smartphone user visits a website with advertising, or searches Google, the ad or website can include a phone number. When the user clicks the number, their phone dials the seller. Marchex and Google only charge advertisers for calls that are of a certain length, filtering out telemarketers and wrong numbers.

Some companies are increasing their number of such ads, but the plan doesn't work out for everyone. Other companies didn't like it and quit.

Both Google and Marchex sell similar ads for desktop PCs, but customers have to pick up the phone and dial instead of clicking. The companies are working on a way to route PC-based calls so callers speak directly through their computers.

Protect your hearing for a lifetime,
no matter what your age may be

Whether a person is 10 years old, 40, 60 or older, it's not too soon, or too late, to protect hearing, one of the vital five senses.

These are some easy ways to do it:

* Get some quiet, if only for a short time, and give your ears a rest. Whether you're working with loud equipment, listening to music or watching TV, turn off the noise and have a few minutes of quiet time.

* Check your headset. High volume can cause permanent hearing damage. Turn it down if you can't hear people speaking to you. Never turn volume up to block out noisy surroundings. Seriously limit high-volume listening.

* Move back from the stage. At a concert, music club or karaoke bar, take a seat that is a safe distance away from amplifiers and speakers.

* Spend less time in loud environments. Whether it's a construction zone, a party with loud music, or a stock car race track, the longer you stay, the harder it is on your hearing. Any time you have to shout to be heard, it's too loud. Avoid loud music in the car.

* Wear hearing protection. When you know an event will be loud, wear foam, silicone or premolded earplugs. They are all effective because they must have a noise reduction minimum of 9 decibels.

Wear them while using the garden tractor, chain saw, air compressor or any loud equipment.

* High fidelity protections reduce all frequencies equally. Though there are several brands available, Hearos High Fidelity Long Term Use lets you hear all the highs and lows in an entire jam session while your ears receive up to 20 decibels of noise protection, and they are comfortable to wear. Users say the music is more enjoyable.