Article Presented by:
Quinton Becker
Unless you are an automobile mechanic or work around car parts, you probably do not know anything about oxygen sensors. Of course, the name itself gives a pretty big clue, but still leaves a lot to the imagination. The fact is, oxygen sensors are very important to the overall function of a vehicle. The following are what could be referred to as the three W's of oxygen sensors:
What is an Oxygen Sensor?
An oxygen sensor is actually a probe that is mounted inside a vehicle's exhaust. This device is used to measure the ratio of air to fuel inside the exhaust after the combustion process. The sensor sends out voltage information to the engine's computer every few seconds so that it can make adjustments as needed. If there is a perfectly balanced mixture of air and fuel, the output voltage will be around 0.45 volts.
If there is less oxygen in the mixture than needed, it is said to be a rich mixture. The oxygen sensor will report a higher voltage reading of 0.8 volts or above. When the sensor reports a reading of 0.3 volts or below, the mixture is considered to be a lean one. Upon receiving a too high or too low voltage reading, the engine's computer will command the mixture to go either lean or rich, causing it to become balanced again.
Why Replace the Oxygen Sensor?
The function of an oxygen sensor is to measure the air/fuel mixture. It is important that this mixture stay as balanced as possible because it affects the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. The air/fuel mixtures in today's fuel injected vehicles can go back and forth between rich and lean very quickly. Therefore, it is essential for the oxygen sensor to be able to respond appropriately.
Along with better fuel efficiency, having a fully functioning oxygen sensor is good for the environment. A more balanced air/fuel mixture leads to fewer emissions and helps reduce air pollution. If you care at all about the threat of global warming, this should be as great of an incentive for you as getting better gas mileage.
The oxygen sensor can also harm a vehicle's catalytic converter if it is not working properly or has failed. This cannot only cause a decrease in power and gas mileage, but lead to expensive repairs as well.
When Should the Oxygen Sensor be Replaced?
Because emissions from vehicles play such a big role in air pollution, oxygen sensors have become standard equipment. In most vehicles made after the mid 1990s, there is a dash light or check engine light that alerts drivers when their sensor or sensors may not be functioning properly. When this happens, it is best to have the vehicle checked by a mechanic to ensure which sensor (there can be between 1 and 4 sensors) needs to be replaced. For those who do not have a dash light, an emissions test may be necessary. If your vehicle doesn't seem to be performing like it used to, (not as much power or getting worse gas mileage) a faulty oxygen sensor may be to blame.
Depending on where the sensor is located, the replacement procedure can be easy or it could be quite hard. Do-it-yourself mechanics will most likely need to purchase a special socket with a slit in the side for the oxygen sensor wire. Of course, any professional mechanic can perform this procedure as well. Replacing an oxygen sensor will cost somewhere between $50 and $300 but may be well worth the money because of better fuel efficiency.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of what an oxygen sensor is, why it is important, and when it needs to be replaced. Pay attention to dash light warnings or other signals your car may be giving you through its performance or lack thereof. A properly functioning vehicle can save you money in the long run, and just might help save the environment.
About the Author:
Quinton Becker is an automotive writer. If you need an oxygen sensor or any other Honda parts, then please take a few moments to review the Drivewire.com auto parts catalog to see how much money Drivewire can save you. Most car owners will save as much as 70% on their auto part purchases.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Book Authors: How To Sell More Books & Get Your Publisher Active
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2006-2007 Bill Platt
It is an unfortunate reality that most people who write books believe that their publisher will always put their best foot forward, to promote their book. In the real world, it does not quite work that way.
Let me put this in perspective for you.
THE PROFIT-LOSS EQUATION IN BOOK PUBLISHING
It is a financial matter of profits and losses. The book publishing world is much different than what many of us believe it is or that we believe it should be.
The average publisher will only print 1,000 copies of a book. They do this because the average book will sell an average of 400 or 500 copies.
When a publisher takes on a new title, it is a real gamble. Publishers are gambling that the books they take on will generate sales of 1,000 copies, and on rare occasions, they can hope for a book to sell a full 5,000 copies.
The book that sells 100,000 or one million copies is extremely rare.
With more than 100,000 books being printed every year, fewer than one percent of those books will see sales in the range of 5,000 or more copies. Every publisher has hopes that one of the 1,000 books every year that will sell at least 5,000 copies is one of the books sold through their publishing house. These are the books that will help the publisher to make a real profit this year.
One publisher told me that he lets his editors take care of the full book editing and development process. And, he said that he will not even pay attention to the book, until the book sells 5,000 copies. Only then will he consider reading the book himself and cranking up his marketing department to try to sell the book to a wider audience.
So, here it is in a nutshell. If you are a new book author, and you would like to see your book get some serious attention from your publisher and the public, then you need to step up to the plate and promote your book in such a way, as you can ensure that your book will sell 5,000 copies or more.
These days, most publishers will put up single webpages offering each of their books to the public. As a writer of the book, you should not believe that this page will be a well-written, well-optimized page on the internet.
Don't fool yourself... The webpage where your book is offered generally will not get great rankings in the search engines for the keywords relevent to the topic of your book. Additionally, the sales copy will not be set up in such a way as to give much confidence to your potential buyers.
Print book publishers don't do a good job building online promotional materials for a book, until they put their best people on the job. And, the publisher will not put their best people on the job until they believe that they have a winner in their stable.
As a writer, if you want your book to be anything more than a dust-catcher on your own shelf, you need to learn to be a book promoter also.
HOW TO SELL YOUR FIRST 5,000 BOOKS
As a book author, there are three basic steps that you will want to undertake to promote your book online.
1. Set up a domain website,
2. Promote your book with articles,
3. Promote your book with press releases.
In this article, I am going to take a look at how and why you will want to consider each of these steps.
1. SET UP A DOMAIN WEBSITE
Yes, you need a "domain" website. A free page on Geocities.com or Freeservers.com will not instill confidence with your potential customers. Let's face it, the most important marketing consideration for any product or service to be sold on the internet today is to build the "trust factor".
A person, who is being asked to take out their wallet, wants to know that they will get what they have paid for. Free sites cannot be traced to anyone in particular, and commercial websites on the free servers are considered in general to be owned by the fly-by-night outfits on the internet.
We have to give our potential customers the confidence they need to buy products and services from us. And, in order to give our potential customers confidence, we must be willing to spend a few of our own dollars to set up a website.
You can actually register a domain for less than $20 in most cases. Hosting for that domain can be picked up from hundreds of web hosting companies for as little as $10-$20 per month.
On your website, you want to tell readers about your book and why your reader might want to buy your book. On your website, be certain to also ask your reader for the sale, and give them a link where they can buy your book.
Including testimonials and book reviews on your website, will also help you to build interest and trust with your readers.
Sometimes, it can pay dividends to hire a web designer to design the visual template for your website, and to hire a sales copywriter to write your sales copy for the book.
One thing to keep in mind is that not all web designers can write good salescopy, and few copywriters make good web designers.
When you can afford to do so, you should seriously consider hiring a professional to do the tasks necessary to build a nice website and to put good salescopy onto your website. Great web designers will also help you by building your e-commerce system, so that your readers can buy directly from your website.
The professionals do not have to be really expensive. Both can usually be found for a couple hundred dollars. Of course, you could pay more, but you can still find some good people at these rates.
2. PROMOTE YOUR BOOK WITH FREE-REPRINT ARTICLES
Free-Reprint Articles are informational pieces designed to educate the reader about something of interest to the reader.
In an article, your goal is to talk about some topic that is related to the topic of your book. You don't actually want to sell your book inside the body of the article. Instead, you want to use your article to introduce your readers to concepts that might be covered in your book.
When you reach the end of the article, you want to include your About The Author information (often referred to as your Resource Box). Keep your sales material in your Resource Box, but keep in mind that your goal is not to sell your book in your Resource Box. Instead, your goal is to use your Resource Box to get the reader to your website, then use your website to sell your book.
Many people ask if article promotion will work for them. This is what I tell them.
The ability of an article to produce results for you will depend on your article. The internet is still a democracy in that people will make the choice for themselves whether or not they want to use your article.
Some articles get lots of reprints, some do not. The average outcome is about 40-50 backlinks and multiple publications in ezines.
Poor articles still get an average of ten reprints. Exceptional articles generate in excess of thousands of reprints. The results really do rely upon the article.
(One client of mine has one article that generated more than 5,000 reprints in two years time. This same client has written more than 100 articles. He is a well-known article writer and this fact does help his ability to generate more mileage from a single article.)
Just as important as the article itself, is the author resource box. The article is the vehicle to get your resource box seen. A good resource box offers just enough information to inspire the reader to visit your website to learn more about your book. A good resource box also offers a strong call-to-action to get the reader to your website. Let your website do the selling, but use the resource box to get the reader to your website.
Also, you really should consider doing more than one article over a longer period of time. For example, six articles over six months. Each subsequent article puts your name in front of the publishers who will use your articles. Name recognition will help your overall ability for getting published.
3. PROMOTE YOUR BOOK WITH PRESS RELEASES
I always recommend a two-fold approach to any book promotion. 1) reprint articles related to the topic of the book. 2) Press releases distributed through a system such as http://www.prweb.com .
Press releases are different from an article. A good article will have an educational or informational slant to them. A good press release will be designed more as a news story. A good press release has the most noteworthy news in the first paragraph, the second most noteworthy information in the second paragraph, etc.
Additonally, the press release will provide a telephone number for news reporters to contact you for more information concerning your story, so that they can build their own news story from your information.
Although the premise of a press release is so that a reporter can learn enough to build their own news story, you have to remember that their schedule is tight as well. Build your press release in such a way that it can be used as THE news story. Many people will take your press release verbatum for their own use. They might take only the first paragraph, and then they might take the whole thing.
Build your press release with the hope that it will be used in full. Build your press release with the thought that the reporter may only use the first paragraph.
Be prepared to receive phone calls to answer questions about your topic. And, be prepared when no one calls.
I have sent out more than a dozen press releases myself. I have seen those press releases read thousands of times and used hundreds of times. And yet, no one has ever called me for more information.
IN CONCLUSION...
Book promotion should not be viewed as a one-time event. If you take the idea that I will try this once to see if it works, then you might as well save your time and money and not even try at all.
Promotion is an ongoing process. Nothing will happen until you do something. And then you will need to keep doing something to keep open the possibility of something happening to your benefit.
You need to build up a momentum, and then just keep on running.
You are more likely to get published and to sell books if people recognize your name. And, one-time out will not allow anyone to get to know you.
Book authors who can build up a promotional momentum for their book are very likely to find their first 5,000 sales. And as a general rule, once you have crossed that threshold, your publisher will be more than happy to help you to keep that momentum going.
About the Author:
Bill Platt is the owner of <a href=http://thePhantomWriters.com target=_blank>the Phantom Writers at: http://thePhantomWriters.com</a> He specializes in distributing free-reprint articles to help his clients to promote their online businesses or their books. Bill can be reached by phone at (405)780-7327, from 9:30am to 6pm, Monday through Friday.
Copyright © 2006-2007 Bill Platt
It is an unfortunate reality that most people who write books believe that their publisher will always put their best foot forward, to promote their book. In the real world, it does not quite work that way.
Let me put this in perspective for you.
THE PROFIT-LOSS EQUATION IN BOOK PUBLISHING
It is a financial matter of profits and losses. The book publishing world is much different than what many of us believe it is or that we believe it should be.
The average publisher will only print 1,000 copies of a book. They do this because the average book will sell an average of 400 or 500 copies.
When a publisher takes on a new title, it is a real gamble. Publishers are gambling that the books they take on will generate sales of 1,000 copies, and on rare occasions, they can hope for a book to sell a full 5,000 copies.
The book that sells 100,000 or one million copies is extremely rare.
With more than 100,000 books being printed every year, fewer than one percent of those books will see sales in the range of 5,000 or more copies. Every publisher has hopes that one of the 1,000 books every year that will sell at least 5,000 copies is one of the books sold through their publishing house. These are the books that will help the publisher to make a real profit this year.
One publisher told me that he lets his editors take care of the full book editing and development process. And, he said that he will not even pay attention to the book, until the book sells 5,000 copies. Only then will he consider reading the book himself and cranking up his marketing department to try to sell the book to a wider audience.
So, here it is in a nutshell. If you are a new book author, and you would like to see your book get some serious attention from your publisher and the public, then you need to step up to the plate and promote your book in such a way, as you can ensure that your book will sell 5,000 copies or more.
These days, most publishers will put up single webpages offering each of their books to the public. As a writer of the book, you should not believe that this page will be a well-written, well-optimized page on the internet.
Don't fool yourself... The webpage where your book is offered generally will not get great rankings in the search engines for the keywords relevent to the topic of your book. Additionally, the sales copy will not be set up in such a way as to give much confidence to your potential buyers.
Print book publishers don't do a good job building online promotional materials for a book, until they put their best people on the job. And, the publisher will not put their best people on the job until they believe that they have a winner in their stable.
As a writer, if you want your book to be anything more than a dust-catcher on your own shelf, you need to learn to be a book promoter also.
HOW TO SELL YOUR FIRST 5,000 BOOKS
As a book author, there are three basic steps that you will want to undertake to promote your book online.
1. Set up a domain website,
2. Promote your book with articles,
3. Promote your book with press releases.
In this article, I am going to take a look at how and why you will want to consider each of these steps.
1. SET UP A DOMAIN WEBSITE
Yes, you need a "domain" website. A free page on Geocities.com or Freeservers.com will not instill confidence with your potential customers. Let's face it, the most important marketing consideration for any product or service to be sold on the internet today is to build the "trust factor".
A person, who is being asked to take out their wallet, wants to know that they will get what they have paid for. Free sites cannot be traced to anyone in particular, and commercial websites on the free servers are considered in general to be owned by the fly-by-night outfits on the internet.
We have to give our potential customers the confidence they need to buy products and services from us. And, in order to give our potential customers confidence, we must be willing to spend a few of our own dollars to set up a website.
You can actually register a domain for less than $20 in most cases. Hosting for that domain can be picked up from hundreds of web hosting companies for as little as $10-$20 per month.
On your website, you want to tell readers about your book and why your reader might want to buy your book. On your website, be certain to also ask your reader for the sale, and give them a link where they can buy your book.
Including testimonials and book reviews on your website, will also help you to build interest and trust with your readers.
Sometimes, it can pay dividends to hire a web designer to design the visual template for your website, and to hire a sales copywriter to write your sales copy for the book.
One thing to keep in mind is that not all web designers can write good salescopy, and few copywriters make good web designers.
When you can afford to do so, you should seriously consider hiring a professional to do the tasks necessary to build a nice website and to put good salescopy onto your website. Great web designers will also help you by building your e-commerce system, so that your readers can buy directly from your website.
The professionals do not have to be really expensive. Both can usually be found for a couple hundred dollars. Of course, you could pay more, but you can still find some good people at these rates.
2. PROMOTE YOUR BOOK WITH FREE-REPRINT ARTICLES
Free-Reprint Articles are informational pieces designed to educate the reader about something of interest to the reader.
In an article, your goal is to talk about some topic that is related to the topic of your book. You don't actually want to sell your book inside the body of the article. Instead, you want to use your article to introduce your readers to concepts that might be covered in your book.
When you reach the end of the article, you want to include your About The Author information (often referred to as your Resource Box). Keep your sales material in your Resource Box, but keep in mind that your goal is not to sell your book in your Resource Box. Instead, your goal is to use your Resource Box to get the reader to your website, then use your website to sell your book.
Many people ask if article promotion will work for them. This is what I tell them.
The ability of an article to produce results for you will depend on your article. The internet is still a democracy in that people will make the choice for themselves whether or not they want to use your article.
Some articles get lots of reprints, some do not. The average outcome is about 40-50 backlinks and multiple publications in ezines.
Poor articles still get an average of ten reprints. Exceptional articles generate in excess of thousands of reprints. The results really do rely upon the article.
(One client of mine has one article that generated more than 5,000 reprints in two years time. This same client has written more than 100 articles. He is a well-known article writer and this fact does help his ability to generate more mileage from a single article.)
Just as important as the article itself, is the author resource box. The article is the vehicle to get your resource box seen. A good resource box offers just enough information to inspire the reader to visit your website to learn more about your book. A good resource box also offers a strong call-to-action to get the reader to your website. Let your website do the selling, but use the resource box to get the reader to your website.
Also, you really should consider doing more than one article over a longer period of time. For example, six articles over six months. Each subsequent article puts your name in front of the publishers who will use your articles. Name recognition will help your overall ability for getting published.
3. PROMOTE YOUR BOOK WITH PRESS RELEASES
I always recommend a two-fold approach to any book promotion. 1) reprint articles related to the topic of the book. 2) Press releases distributed through a system such as http://www.prweb.com .
Press releases are different from an article. A good article will have an educational or informational slant to them. A good press release will be designed more as a news story. A good press release has the most noteworthy news in the first paragraph, the second most noteworthy information in the second paragraph, etc.
Additonally, the press release will provide a telephone number for news reporters to contact you for more information concerning your story, so that they can build their own news story from your information.
Although the premise of a press release is so that a reporter can learn enough to build their own news story, you have to remember that their schedule is tight as well. Build your press release in such a way that it can be used as THE news story. Many people will take your press release verbatum for their own use. They might take only the first paragraph, and then they might take the whole thing.
Build your press release with the hope that it will be used in full. Build your press release with the thought that the reporter may only use the first paragraph.
Be prepared to receive phone calls to answer questions about your topic. And, be prepared when no one calls.
I have sent out more than a dozen press releases myself. I have seen those press releases read thousands of times and used hundreds of times. And yet, no one has ever called me for more information.
IN CONCLUSION...
Book promotion should not be viewed as a one-time event. If you take the idea that I will try this once to see if it works, then you might as well save your time and money and not even try at all.
Promotion is an ongoing process. Nothing will happen until you do something. And then you will need to keep doing something to keep open the possibility of something happening to your benefit.
You need to build up a momentum, and then just keep on running.
You are more likely to get published and to sell books if people recognize your name. And, one-time out will not allow anyone to get to know you.
Book authors who can build up a promotional momentum for their book are very likely to find their first 5,000 sales. And as a general rule, once you have crossed that threshold, your publisher will be more than happy to help you to keep that momentum going.
About the Author:
Bill Platt is the owner of <a href=http://thePhantomWriters.com target=_blank>the Phantom Writers at: http://thePhantomWriters.com</a> He specializes in distributing free-reprint articles to help his clients to promote their online businesses or their books. Bill can be reached by phone at (405)780-7327, from 9:30am to 6pm, Monday through Friday.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Family Road Trips Go Hi-Tech: Discover the Rocky Mountains
Article Presented by:
Travel Alberta, All Rights Reserved Written by: Travel Alberta
It's a new take on traditional family road trips that just might save your sanity. As you tour the Rocky Mountains, you'll no longer find yourself fighting about who lost the driving maps, or who doesn't know how to read them. Or who refuses to stop for directions. Or who missed that once-in-a-lifetime scenery a few miles back. You can leave all the road trip planning and maps in the capable hands of your new best friend: the GyPSy.
The GyPSy Tour Guide is the first of its kind in North America, featuring breakthrough technology and programming. Bred in Alberta, it's now offering an up-close-and-personal way to tour the Rocky Mountains, while learning all the interesting tidbits and factoids that turn road trips into memorable family vacations.
Here's how this tour-guide-in-an-electronic-device works. A calculator-sized handheld device attaches to the inside of your car windshield with a suction cup, and is wired into the dashboard with a few easy connectors. As you drive along, your location (monitored with GPS or Global Positioning System technology) triggers the GyPSy Guide, which speaks to you through your radio.
When you enter an area of interest, the device plays audio commentary of information specific to that location interesting facts and stories, quirky tales and an array of tips and advice on how to best enjoy that area. It's really that simple. With this ultimate Canadian road trip planner, what you see on your family road trips (outside your car window) is what you get (with the audio you hear).
All the information lives in the PDA-like device, though the GPS signal comes from satellite. There are two cords: one for power and one for the FM transmitter. The OS (Operating System) is Pocket PC.
The scripts are interesting and engaging, providing the perfect commentary for your family road trips. "Immediately to your right is the scratching tree. It may even have some blue tape on it. If you look up this tree you will see distinct claw marks from the bear as it climbed up 10 metres or so. Can you notice the four-claw pattern of the front and back claws? This is probably a black bear because grizzlies don't often climb trees. Black bears have hooked claws which make them excellent climbers and they tend to scamper up trees at the first sign of danger."
Thanks to the GyPSy, you can enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Rocky Mountains, all from the safety of your family car, truck or RV.
For instance, as you drive near the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, you will be told: "Straight through...almost there..." Besides the driving directions, it will tell you the travel tidbits and highlights of where you are, in an engaging voice that is not computerized, but rather features recorded scripts written by bonafide tour guides. At the Banff Springs, for example, you'll learn the geology and history and characters of the hotel.
Once there, as you drive in a semi circle around the imposing statue of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, the GyPSy Guide tells you, just in case you missed it, "Van Horne, the statue guy back there..." and fills in the guy's background. Long story short, he presided over the expansion of the CPR in Canada and spearheaded the luxury hotel business in the Canadian Rockies.
Your Tour Guide Fits In Your Hand
So using this Canadian road trip planner is like having your own tour guide, but instead of them taking up a seat in your vehicle during your family road trips, or you having to tag along with them in a bus, you determine the time and place and pace of your journey. Not only does it relieve the burden of driving maps and planning guides, but it makes sure you don't miss any of the spectacular scenery on your Rocky Mountain vacation. And it's small enough to fit in your hand.
Rick Bulich, Director of Business Development for GPS Tour Guide, is part of the team that developed this unique device. "Our GyPSy guide allows you to travel at your own pace, visit the places you want to see and learn much more than a tour guide would be able to share with you,' he explains. "Think of it as a local friend, who will share interesting stories and entertain you along the way."
This is the new world of 'Location Aware Touring' which is more than just the navigational directions of a regular GPS. The usefulness goes far beyond just the road trip, and goes with you are you meander through the scenic towns and take in the beautiful surroundings. When you take the GyPSy out of the car, it transforms into a portable travel guide to help make decision-making easier. The Vacation Assistant can provide you with information about upcoming points of interest, towns, cities and entire regions to help you plan ahead and save precious vacation time.
In addition to providing a fascinating tour of the Rocky Mountain National Parks, the GyPSy has been programmed for other scenic routes, including Jasper to Banff (including the Icefields Parkway), Banff and Lake Louise, Calgary to Banff, Calgary City, and Edmonton. The most popular independent travel itineraries through to the National Parks in Alberta are all covered.
If you're going to stay in Banff, a great, centrally located hotel is Brewster's Mountain Lodge. It's a western style, 77-room lodge with hand-craft log furnishings and western décor, along with great historical photographs that detail the Brewster Family. The rooms provide mountain views but the best feature I believe is its heart-of-Banff location, putting you in walking distance to anything in this cosmopolitan and authentic mountain town in Banff National Park.
How To Get It
The GyPSy Guide is available this year for the busy Western Canada summer touring season. Initial pricing for the GyPSy is $49 for one day, $84 for two days, $119 for three days, $154 for four days, $179 for five days, $204 for six days and $229 weekly. Additional days beyond will be $15.
With the ultimate Canadian road trip planner, you can say goodbye to cumbersome driving maps and stop worrying about driving distances and planning guides. Thanks to the GyPSy, family road trips will never be the same again.
About the Author:
Copyright © 2006 Travel Alberta, All Rights Reserved
Travel Alberta is the destination marketing organization for the Province of Alberta. Guided by the Strategic Tourism Marketing Council, Travel Alberta is the steward for the effective delivery of tourism marketing programs. For information about our organization, please visit our Travel Alberta industry web site at http://www.travelalberta.com
Travel Alberta, All Rights Reserved Written by: Travel Alberta
It's a new take on traditional family road trips that just might save your sanity. As you tour the Rocky Mountains, you'll no longer find yourself fighting about who lost the driving maps, or who doesn't know how to read them. Or who refuses to stop for directions. Or who missed that once-in-a-lifetime scenery a few miles back. You can leave all the road trip planning and maps in the capable hands of your new best friend: the GyPSy.
The GyPSy Tour Guide is the first of its kind in North America, featuring breakthrough technology and programming. Bred in Alberta, it's now offering an up-close-and-personal way to tour the Rocky Mountains, while learning all the interesting tidbits and factoids that turn road trips into memorable family vacations.
Here's how this tour-guide-in-an-electronic-device works. A calculator-sized handheld device attaches to the inside of your car windshield with a suction cup, and is wired into the dashboard with a few easy connectors. As you drive along, your location (monitored with GPS or Global Positioning System technology) triggers the GyPSy Guide, which speaks to you through your radio.
When you enter an area of interest, the device plays audio commentary of information specific to that location interesting facts and stories, quirky tales and an array of tips and advice on how to best enjoy that area. It's really that simple. With this ultimate Canadian road trip planner, what you see on your family road trips (outside your car window) is what you get (with the audio you hear).
All the information lives in the PDA-like device, though the GPS signal comes from satellite. There are two cords: one for power and one for the FM transmitter. The OS (Operating System) is Pocket PC.
The scripts are interesting and engaging, providing the perfect commentary for your family road trips. "Immediately to your right is the scratching tree. It may even have some blue tape on it. If you look up this tree you will see distinct claw marks from the bear as it climbed up 10 metres or so. Can you notice the four-claw pattern of the front and back claws? This is probably a black bear because grizzlies don't often climb trees. Black bears have hooked claws which make them excellent climbers and they tend to scamper up trees at the first sign of danger."
Thanks to the GyPSy, you can enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Rocky Mountains, all from the safety of your family car, truck or RV.
For instance, as you drive near the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, you will be told: "Straight through...almost there..." Besides the driving directions, it will tell you the travel tidbits and highlights of where you are, in an engaging voice that is not computerized, but rather features recorded scripts written by bonafide tour guides. At the Banff Springs, for example, you'll learn the geology and history and characters of the hotel.
Once there, as you drive in a semi circle around the imposing statue of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, the GyPSy Guide tells you, just in case you missed it, "Van Horne, the statue guy back there..." and fills in the guy's background. Long story short, he presided over the expansion of the CPR in Canada and spearheaded the luxury hotel business in the Canadian Rockies.
Your Tour Guide Fits In Your Hand
So using this Canadian road trip planner is like having your own tour guide, but instead of them taking up a seat in your vehicle during your family road trips, or you having to tag along with them in a bus, you determine the time and place and pace of your journey. Not only does it relieve the burden of driving maps and planning guides, but it makes sure you don't miss any of the spectacular scenery on your Rocky Mountain vacation. And it's small enough to fit in your hand.
Rick Bulich, Director of Business Development for GPS Tour Guide, is part of the team that developed this unique device. "Our GyPSy guide allows you to travel at your own pace, visit the places you want to see and learn much more than a tour guide would be able to share with you,' he explains. "Think of it as a local friend, who will share interesting stories and entertain you along the way."
This is the new world of 'Location Aware Touring' which is more than just the navigational directions of a regular GPS. The usefulness goes far beyond just the road trip, and goes with you are you meander through the scenic towns and take in the beautiful surroundings. When you take the GyPSy out of the car, it transforms into a portable travel guide to help make decision-making easier. The Vacation Assistant can provide you with information about upcoming points of interest, towns, cities and entire regions to help you plan ahead and save precious vacation time.
In addition to providing a fascinating tour of the Rocky Mountain National Parks, the GyPSy has been programmed for other scenic routes, including Jasper to Banff (including the Icefields Parkway), Banff and Lake Louise, Calgary to Banff, Calgary City, and Edmonton. The most popular independent travel itineraries through to the National Parks in Alberta are all covered.
If you're going to stay in Banff, a great, centrally located hotel is Brewster's Mountain Lodge. It's a western style, 77-room lodge with hand-craft log furnishings and western décor, along with great historical photographs that detail the Brewster Family. The rooms provide mountain views but the best feature I believe is its heart-of-Banff location, putting you in walking distance to anything in this cosmopolitan and authentic mountain town in Banff National Park.
How To Get It
The GyPSy Guide is available this year for the busy Western Canada summer touring season. Initial pricing for the GyPSy is $49 for one day, $84 for two days, $119 for three days, $154 for four days, $179 for five days, $204 for six days and $229 weekly. Additional days beyond will be $15.
With the ultimate Canadian road trip planner, you can say goodbye to cumbersome driving maps and stop worrying about driving distances and planning guides. Thanks to the GyPSy, family road trips will never be the same again.
About the Author:
Copyright © 2006 Travel Alberta, All Rights Reserved
Travel Alberta is the destination marketing organization for the Province of Alberta. Guided by the Strategic Tourism Marketing Council, Travel Alberta is the steward for the effective delivery of tourism marketing programs. For information about our organization, please visit our Travel Alberta industry web site at http://www.travelalberta.com
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Avoid Flooded And Wrecked Autos Without Leaving Home
Article Presented by:
Raymond Nelson
Whether it's a matter of one hundred year or five hundred year floods occurring more frequently than that, more water damaged and wrecked vehicles than ever are being cleaned up ,repaired and resold without the buyer being informed of the autos history. In 2005 about 5 million autos were totaled by insurance companies, how many of that number have been resold to the unsuspecting public is undeterminable.
High water in or around any vehicle not designed and especially constructed to operate in such will wreak havoc on its major components: the engine, transmission, computer, electrical wiring,, entertainment systems, cell phone and navigation electronics etc.. The insidious thing about water damage to these and other parts are the problems caused by water may manifest themselves immediately upon exposure or possibly years later. Why such a variation? Among the primary reasons : how high the water came, how contaminated it was, how long the components were exposed , how long did it sit before repairs were made?
If an advertisement for a used vehicle is answered the first contact will likely be by telephone. Make the best of this conversation and it could save time in going to see the vehicle in person. During the conversation point out that only the owner on the title can be negotiated with, the auto will need to be inspected by a mechanic, and a car history report will be ordered. Some lending institutions may suggest if not require a history report. Also, before the transaction can be made the lending institution will need to see the title and if any terms such as rebuilt, salvaged, reconstructed, reconditioned are on the title the vehicle can not be purchased. If the seller can not comply with all of the above stipulations it should be suspected that even though the auto may not have been near high water it may have serious problems . The seller may decide to save himself time and energy by saying he can't comply with all your requirements. When the discussion ends draw a line through the adertisement as null and void.
The seller may want to save face and cause aggravation for someone knowing more than what they should by saying yes to the prerequisits, make an appointment to show the vehicle and fail to keep the apppointment. So be mindful to make the place to view the vehicle convenient and safe. Take a cell phone along to call back to find out what has happened. Don't expect to contact him. If someone does answer, he will have just recently received an offer he couldn't refuse and could not call back or some other lame excuse for not canceling the meeting.
There are good reasons for each of the above matters of concern (1) If the seller claims to be a close friend or relative of the owner on the title and the owner is unavailable for contact, the seller may actually be a representative of a used car dealer attempting to sell a vehicle that may have a list of issues that's made the auto unsaleable on the car lot and is now being advertised as a sale from an individual as is (2) If a seller has any problems whatsoever with having the vehicle inspected by a professional before the buyer agrees to purchase--warning sirens, bells, horns, should be heard in your head loud enough for the seller to be startled (3) Although an outlay of money on a car history report should only be made if serious consideration is being given a particular auto, the seller is informed the mechanics inspection will not be the sole source of information on the vehicle(4) Rebuilt,salvaged, reconstructed, reconditioned and such like terms on the title essentially means that for one reason or another this vehicle has been damaged to the point that an insurance company has deemed it a total loss and is sold as is. Extensive repairs may have been made and if it were test driven on city streets determining it had been in a wreck, or flood might be difficult and not worth the time to look at much less thousands of dollars to buy.
It should be noted some sellers have been deceived into buying a flood damaged or wrecked vehicle that has been repaired superficially and the title fraudulently cleaned. After buying the vehicle the seller experienced problems such autos exhibit and now wants to get rid of it. Most states require designations on titles that indicate significant damage and /or repairs made, but because of conflicting and confusing laws in some states its possible to get a fraudulent but clean title that has no mention of salvage/rebuilt, reconstructed, reconditioned etc. indicating a history of being totaled by an insurance company.
If there's reason to believe that prior to a vehicle being purchased it was flooded or wrecked, and the condition was not disclosed before purchasing , also there is no indication on the title of being previously damaged, call the state department of motor vehicles where it was purchased or the state that issued the title. Inquire about what legal recourse state laws make for victims who purchase such autos. Keep in mind that different states may have time limits during which victims must act to remedy being defrauded. The time may start from the day the vehicle was purchased or some other time that makes it important to find out immediately.
About the Author:
An e-commerce webmaster with many years experience making cell phone deals selling and buying anything legal. His website http://www.webdiscountdeals.com is a wholesale store with over 3,500 brand name products, 97% electronic.
Raymond Nelson
Whether it's a matter of one hundred year or five hundred year floods occurring more frequently than that, more water damaged and wrecked vehicles than ever are being cleaned up ,repaired and resold without the buyer being informed of the autos history. In 2005 about 5 million autos were totaled by insurance companies, how many of that number have been resold to the unsuspecting public is undeterminable.
High water in or around any vehicle not designed and especially constructed to operate in such will wreak havoc on its major components: the engine, transmission, computer, electrical wiring,, entertainment systems, cell phone and navigation electronics etc.. The insidious thing about water damage to these and other parts are the problems caused by water may manifest themselves immediately upon exposure or possibly years later. Why such a variation? Among the primary reasons : how high the water came, how contaminated it was, how long the components were exposed , how long did it sit before repairs were made?
If an advertisement for a used vehicle is answered the first contact will likely be by telephone. Make the best of this conversation and it could save time in going to see the vehicle in person. During the conversation point out that only the owner on the title can be negotiated with, the auto will need to be inspected by a mechanic, and a car history report will be ordered. Some lending institutions may suggest if not require a history report. Also, before the transaction can be made the lending institution will need to see the title and if any terms such as rebuilt, salvaged, reconstructed, reconditioned are on the title the vehicle can not be purchased. If the seller can not comply with all of the above stipulations it should be suspected that even though the auto may not have been near high water it may have serious problems . The seller may decide to save himself time and energy by saying he can't comply with all your requirements. When the discussion ends draw a line through the adertisement as null and void.
The seller may want to save face and cause aggravation for someone knowing more than what they should by saying yes to the prerequisits, make an appointment to show the vehicle and fail to keep the apppointment. So be mindful to make the place to view the vehicle convenient and safe. Take a cell phone along to call back to find out what has happened. Don't expect to contact him. If someone does answer, he will have just recently received an offer he couldn't refuse and could not call back or some other lame excuse for not canceling the meeting.
There are good reasons for each of the above matters of concern (1) If the seller claims to be a close friend or relative of the owner on the title and the owner is unavailable for contact, the seller may actually be a representative of a used car dealer attempting to sell a vehicle that may have a list of issues that's made the auto unsaleable on the car lot and is now being advertised as a sale from an individual as is (2) If a seller has any problems whatsoever with having the vehicle inspected by a professional before the buyer agrees to purchase--warning sirens, bells, horns, should be heard in your head loud enough for the seller to be startled (3) Although an outlay of money on a car history report should only be made if serious consideration is being given a particular auto, the seller is informed the mechanics inspection will not be the sole source of information on the vehicle(4) Rebuilt,salvaged, reconstructed, reconditioned and such like terms on the title essentially means that for one reason or another this vehicle has been damaged to the point that an insurance company has deemed it a total loss and is sold as is. Extensive repairs may have been made and if it were test driven on city streets determining it had been in a wreck, or flood might be difficult and not worth the time to look at much less thousands of dollars to buy.
It should be noted some sellers have been deceived into buying a flood damaged or wrecked vehicle that has been repaired superficially and the title fraudulently cleaned. After buying the vehicle the seller experienced problems such autos exhibit and now wants to get rid of it. Most states require designations on titles that indicate significant damage and /or repairs made, but because of conflicting and confusing laws in some states its possible to get a fraudulent but clean title that has no mention of salvage/rebuilt, reconstructed, reconditioned etc. indicating a history of being totaled by an insurance company.
If there's reason to believe that prior to a vehicle being purchased it was flooded or wrecked, and the condition was not disclosed before purchasing , also there is no indication on the title of being previously damaged, call the state department of motor vehicles where it was purchased or the state that issued the title. Inquire about what legal recourse state laws make for victims who purchase such autos. Keep in mind that different states may have time limits during which victims must act to remedy being defrauded. The time may start from the day the vehicle was purchased or some other time that makes it important to find out immediately.
About the Author:
An e-commerce webmaster with many years experience making cell phone deals selling and buying anything legal. His website http://www.webdiscountdeals.com is a wholesale store with over 3,500 brand name products, 97% electronic.
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