Using Excel, VBA and Google Maps to Find the Distances Between Places

Introduction
My friend wanted to find out the distances between towns in South Africa. He asked me to give him a hand, as I used to do a lot of data processing in my first banking job. My buddy was going to use this to calculate transport costs, but the function I wrote could be used for any number of applications.
Preparation
There are many ways to skin a cat. This was an unpaid job, with no glory component, so I just did it in what I thought would be the quickest way possible.
Method
I knew Google Maps could calculate distances and directions. So I fired it up and looked for the distance between two towns. I then looked at the source HTML to work out how to extract the distance data.
Trying different towns, it soon became apparent that I needed to specify the state and country, as well as the town name. As town names are not unique.
I then opened up Excel, made a sheet to calculate the query URLs, and then wrote a function to piece all the parts together.
Results
The function seems to work most of the time. Sometimes it does not return anything, but that is because Google Maps does not return a distance, and that is because the place names are not specific enough.
Disclaimer
Use the getDistance function at your own risk. It might not work for you, but I won't be supporting it.
The Code:
Function getDistance(urlData As String)
Dim sHtml As String
Dim iStart As Integer
Dim iEnd As Integer
Dim lRow As Long
Dim searchStart As String
searchStart = "distance:"""
Dim browser As InternetExplorer
Set browser = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")
With Sheets("Soya")
lRow = 2
While Not IsEmpty(.Cells(lRow, 6))
urlData =.Cells(lRow, 6)
browser.Navigate (urlData)
browser.Visible = True
While browser.ReadyState <> READYSTATE_COMPLETE
Debug.Print Now, "waiting"
DoEvents
Wend
sHtml = browser.Document.DocumentElement.innerhtml
Debug.Print sHtml
i0 = InStr(1, sHtml, "distance:""")
If i0 > 0 Then
i1 = InStr(i0 + Len(searchStart), sHtml, """")
If i1 > 0 Then
getDistance = Mid(sHtml, i0 + Len(searchStart), i1 - i0 - Len(searchStart))
Else
getDistance = "Not Found"
End If
Else
getDistance = "not found"
End If
.Cells(lRow, 8) = getDistance
Debug.Print Now, getDistance
lRow = lRow + 1
Wend
End With
browser.Quit
End Function
Learn More!

Visit the Microsoft Office Section of Cheapskatemate.com to read more about interesting things that you can do with Microsoft Office.

What You Should Know About Computer Repair

One of the most common repair issues for all computer owners is the one of viruses. If you have had any experience with these things at all you know how insidious- and crafty- they can be. It is highly recommended that all computers new and old have some type of virus protection installed on them. If you have experienced a virus you also know that even the best software protection can be vulnerable to the "next generation" of virus. It seems inevitable.
What should be done if you discover a virus on your computer? Well the answer to that question will certainly vary every time according to who is being asked. Be that as it may, there are certain actions that should be taken no matter what the solution ends up to be. Here is a short list of "must do" actions to take if your computer has a virus:
• Trouble-shoot the computer thoroughly until the virus is located and identified.
• Be sure to remove all viruses to include spyware, root kits and malware.
• Repair any issues with the operating system to include blue screens, boot issues and software failure.
• Tweak and modify the system to your desired specifications.
• Perform any critical updates for your system.
• Test the system for appropriate functionality.
• Calculate the cost for repairs needed to provide a complete solution.
• Back up your data (ALWAYS).
If you find yourself needing to complete these steps and are not trained or experienced with all of the steps above, it is highly recommended that you seek the services of a professional.
What is included in backing up your data, you may ask? Here is the short list which includes securing an external hard drive to hook up to your system:
• Transfer all data to a new computer or other appropriate media.
• Configure online data backup system (requires subscription).
• Install and configure hard drive to your system.
• Create a back up schedule.
• Do the initial back up.
Be very careful of the emails that you open from people you do not know. There are websites that do not practice site security and they are not safe either. By being mindful of the places you go on the information highway and making sure you install your backups, your experience on the internet can be safe.

What Gaming Laptop Should I Buy?

This is a question which is often heard in online forums and on many tech sites, potential buyers want to know which gaming laptop they should purchase? Of course, the answer would depend upon many factors but perhaps the most overwhelming factor would have to be price.
While laptop prices have steadily fallen in recent years, gaming laptops can still command a costly sum, especially if you want a maxed out system with all the latest components. However, if you shop around for online coupons and bargains, you can get a half-decent gaming rig for under $1500 or even under $1000. But regardless of what price you pay, your gaming laptop must have certain features if you want to play the latest video games.
A gaming notebook should have a good mid to high-end graphics card(s) or GPU with dedicated video memory, a fast processor(s) and plenty of RAM. Most gamers also look for a high resolution display capable of handling the latest HD 1080 images from a Blu-ray Optical Drive. Now if money is no object, many gamers go for a fully loaded gaming rig with multiple GPUs (connected by ATI CrossFire or Nvidia's SLI), quad processors and the largest display on the market. One of these fully loaded custom gaming rigs, such as those from Sager, Rockdirect and Falcon Northwest, could put you back 4 or 5 grand.
That's the main reason many die-hard gamers suggest a laptop for gaming is a totally ridiculous idea. They cost too much, they over heat, they are too noisy and worst of all - they are very hard to upgrade. These gamers argue you can buy a powerful desktop gaming PC for much less and have money left over for a small portable laptop which you can take on your trips and outings.
We will put this issue to one side for the moment mainly because most of us don't have that kind of money to spend anyway, since most of us will be on a tight budget when we're buying any laptop - gaming or otherwise. But if money is tight, the first thing you should consider is the graphics card in your gaming laptop. Try to get the best one you can afford and these days prices are coming down so if shouldn't be all that hard. Always check the online gaming forums for feedback from gamers on the different GPUs and whether or not they can handle the games you want to play.
You can also do the same for any gaming laptop you are considering buying, just check the forums to see what other gamers/users are saying about the laptop in question. Keep in mind, most mid to high-end cards and mid-range laptops for that matter, can play most games but you might have to settle for a lower resolution, especially if all you can afford is an inexpensive laptop.
Having a dedicated graphics card should be your first goal, one that will usually handle most games. Next, you should check for a fast processor with enough power to get the job done. They are some relatively new Intel based processors in the i3, i5 and i7 lines which look very promising for gaming. You should also check the amount of RAM you have and most gamers want a high resolution display with a Blu-ray Drive if that can be squeezed into your budget.
Lately, there are some novel features which have been introduced to gaming laptops, such as ATI's Eyefinity (three external displays) as seen on the HP Envy 17. There are also Full 3D gaming laptops such as the ASUS G51JX-3DE which has the 120Hz display necessary for true 3D images.
Regardless, of your price range, there are many good quality gaming laptops on the market. Most gamers suggest you go with the top brands listed above if you can afford them, but other less inexpensive brands could include the Asus Republic of Gamers line, MSI laptops if you can find them, and Toshiba's Qosmio x505 line with their large 18.4 displays and reasonable prices.
Of course, you're not limited to those brand names, just shop around and you will find many suitable gaming laptops in your price range to meet your needs. While you're looking, just keep in mind the points listed above and you should have no trouble finding the gaming laptop you should buy. Happy gaming.

...
If you're in the market for an Alienware gaming laptop check out this whole page of Alienware Coupons, Discounts and Deals: alienware coupons Or try here: gaming laptops Copyright Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Things to Know About Battery Chargers

Battery chargers are one of the best ways to be able to reuse the batteries that you use daily. There are so many different ways that you can easily charge batteries. By choosing these rechargeable batteries, you can actually make sure that you never have to purchase another set of batteries again.
One example of these chargers is that are used to recharge mobile phone batteries. These chargers are specifically designed for each specific mobile phone or brand. The charger can charge the batteries while they are in use as long as the mobile phone remains plugged into the charger.
It is important that you have the right battery chargers for products. For instance, a mobile phone battery should never have a charger that is larger than twelve volts. You can have a charger that plugs into a cigarette lighter or a wall outlet both.
The batteries that are used in chargers can be many different sizes and shapes. There are batteries that can charge quickly as well. In addition, there are batteries that take some time to charge very slowly.
You should know about chargers as well some safety things. One of these is that you should not ever allow this kind of charger to be within the reach of children. Another thing that you should do is to keep the battery charger away from any different types of water or other liquids.
These sorts of chargers can actually be able to omit some dangerous gases that could cause problems for everyone. You could very sick or have a medical condition if you were to ingest some of the chemicals or gases that are inside of the batter charger. Also make sure that you always connect chargers in the proper way to be able to ensure that you do not damage the battery, this is most important when you are using chargers on things like automobile, boat or motorcycle batteries.
Keep in mind that there are many different types of battery chargers that you should be familiar with. Simple ones work from being plugged into DC outlets. There are the trickle chargers, which work at a very slow speed and charge things in more time than some of the more popular chargers. Another type of charger is the timer based or intelligent charger, which can actually shut itself off when the charge is complete.
If you want something with speed then you should get a fast or pulse charger, which should make your time of charging faster. There is also the inductive charger, which actually uses the electromagnetic induction. Finally, you have the USB and solar charged chargers, which can actually charge batteries through your computers or through power from the sun. You can actually find battery chargers to meet any of your personal needs. You just need to spend some time in searching the best quality, price, and brand names. If you think you, have short of time then search them online.

Help to Protect Your Computer With Data Recovery Software

It has happened to almost everyone at some point; losing important data stored on their computers either due to deleting something by mistake or because of a system failure which was beyond the control of the computer's user. If you have lost important data, then it is likely that the only thing you have on your mind is data recovery. However, to make this possible, you need to find a reliable solution for data recovery.
Fortunately, getting back what you've lost is not normally a particularly difficult task, especially once you have the right solution to do the job for you. Regardless of what sort of file it is, there are no doubt files which you simply cannot afford to lose, such as an important document for work or school or simply a favorite photo from a family vacation. Many people assume that once they delete a file, and then empty the recycle bin afterward, that the file is gone. Fortunately, this is not the case, and with the right tools, you have a high chance of getting back your lost files intact. When a file is deleted from the recycle bin, Windows simply marks the disk space previously occupied by that file as free space, meaning that another program or file can overwrite it at any time. Because of this, the faster you take action to recover your data, the higher the chance of success is.
However, there are also cases where you may not be interested only in data recovery. In some cases, you may want to permanently remove a file so that there is no possibility of recovering it. In the majority of cases, a separate tool is needed for this. However, not many people want to install so many programs on their computers, and it also ends up costing considerably more.
Smart Data Recovery - the Solution You Need
Smart Data Recovery (smartpctools.com/data_recovery) is the ultimate solution not only for data recovery, but also for data removal. Using this software, you can retrieve files that have been emptied out of the trash bin from your computer.
Smart Data Recovery is also extremely easy to use, regardless of your level of computer knowledge. You don't even need to know the file extension of the file you are trying to retrieve. You can simply search for different categories such as pictures or documents and the software will do the remaining work for you. There is also a built in preview feature which will tell you whether or not a file is recoverable.
If you are using Windows XP, this software is also able to completely remove unwanted files from your hard drive, making recovery impossible. This is especially useful If you need to eradicate any personal or financial information, such as in the case where you are selling your computer or giving it to someone else. So, whether you need a solution for data recovery or complete data removal, Smart Data Recovery provides you with the features that you need in a powerful all-in-one solution.

Data recovery and forensic technologies analyst.

Complex Event Processing - Becoming the Keystone for Application Performance Management

An explosion of event traffic has appeared in the business sector since the late 1980s. In electronic terms, an event occurs whenever:

• A message is sent from one person to another.
• A message is sent from one application to another. 

The complexity of processing events is enhanced by the fact that there are so many IT layers through which events pass. There are networks to facilitate the distribution of information, not only between people, but computers. Typically, the business has a middleware layer so it can integrate information from discrete applications both in-house and from external sources. Add the enterprise service bus, the standard messaging software engine and data flowing in from website, and you face a business environment that is buried in event information, but without an overall comprehension of how these events impact the business.
Ultimately the question becomes, "How do I know what I should pay attention to?" There is a way. Complex Event Processing. This technology is able to rapidly scan enormous quantities of data for patterns and is able to discriminate the events that will have business impact from the ones that only have import to IT staff.  That is why complex event processing (CEP) is such an important core component of application performance management.
When all the network administrators were looking at was network loads and flows, event processing was quite simple. Once the internet exploded on the scene in the late 1980s that all changed. Events began coming into a business from all over the world. Keeping track of messages and transactions and not losing an order could make or break a business. Timely execution could make the difference between closing a deal and losing it to another business. The failure of the business processes comprising these transaction to both run correctly and on time, could result in non-compliance to government rules -- and result in severe penalties.
Complex event processing began as a way to extract patterns from a veritable cloud of events  which quickly turned to vapor once they were processed by existing IT toolsets. While initially used in algo trading, it has since found a home elsewhere, most notably as the correlation engine for business transaction monitoring.
For financial businesses, complex event processing provides a way to identify when financial transactions are running with business normal efficiency or veering toward business abnormal. It can also be used to identify suspicious transactions, verify that accounting processes remain in compliance with government policies, etc.
For manufacturing businesses, CEP can assist with smooth assembly-line upgrades, for example, or help track down bottlenecks that delay the receipt of orders from customers. CEP of course helps these same businesses also manage the financial aspect of their business more efficiently as well.
CEP's greatest potential is in the area of developing application performance and business transaction monitoring capabilities within an enterprise. Because a CEP engine can take thousands of real-time events and make them visible and traceable, it is possible to evaluate the performance of multiple applications within the IT structure.  Unlike custom coded programs that are designed to focus on a single problem, CEP engines can be designed to focus on multiple problems.
CEP is so vital to the management of multiple applications from a central location. This has brought about what one the major developers of CEP technology, Nastel Technologies, has coined as one of their slogans "360° Situational Awareness."
Having a centralized view of the entire IT enterprise allows IT to quickly find and fix problems. AutoPilot M6 and AutoPilot MQ WebSphere provide this view. The CEP engine at the center of Nastel's AutoPilot allows IT to evaluate the health of the entire IT enterprise from one central dashboard. Not only is problem identification enhanced, the Auto Pilot complex event processing capability predicts and prevents problems.
Data collection is automatic. Real-time analytics make tracking normal versus abnormal simple. Compliance to business rules (policies and SLAs) is assured. These are just some of the benefits AutoPilot promises through its complex event centered designed. This is a technology that is worth investigating.

Denise Rutledge enjoys researching and writing about technology products. She writes on many financial and business topics, including software solutions that impact business performance in the financial industry. Denise also works with clients to develop website content, with a focus on writing materials that develop brand and trust through valuable, easy to read information. Learn more by visiting her website at http://writingasaghost.com.

Become A Certified Virtualization Expert With Professional Training

As Virtualization technology continues to grow, it makes utter sense to train in the field of virtualization even if you are or if you are not already a virtualization technology expert. VM Training, a global technology and training expert is known to be the best in its field for offering Virtualization training and can offer you those ever important steps forward to becoming a Certified Virtualization Expert (CVE).
A certificate in the CVE is worth a significant amount in the work place, as you not only can say you have the passed one of the hardest virtualization tests out there, you've actually learnt more than you ever thought you could. With in-depth training focused on virtual design, maintenance and infrastructure management, you'll get all the information ever needed to complete any task in virtualization technology. Not only that, but the training will be current and relevant, making sure that you can always complete what is required of you in the work place.
This certificate is certainly not for the beginner in the I.T field. Labeled as one of the most difficult certifications out there, it is more appropriate for those who have experience with virtualized servers such as VMware ESX, ESXi or the VMware Virtual Centre, but have not yet certified. Valid experience should be in the implementation and configuration of these servers for a period of at least 6 months in a medium sized business, in order to be an appropriate candidate for the CVE.
CVE candidates often already understand the processes involved in virtualization technology, from the planning up to the process of securing the VM Virtual infrastructure, which is built up of the already mentioned servers. Moreover, a perfect candidate will understand the advantages for virtualization too, including the reduction of physical servers, which saves on server space and business running costs.
A certification can really improve your prospects. In the competitive work place these days, it is not considered enough to have years of experience or a University degree, and to be even considered for a jump up the career ladder you will need to show your commitment to the job and demonstrate your abilities through experience and certification.
The Certified Virtualization Expert is made up of a 2 hour exam, which requires you to answer 80 questions upon current and relevant virtualization technologies used in the business world today. To pass, you will need to get 75% - a very high pass rate! Most professionals in order to pass the CVE attend a boot camp or use the boot camp computer based training. Both options are jam packed with information, but computer based training is less intensive and you can learn in your own home.

How to Experience the Benefits of a Clean Registry

There can be a multitude of reasons your PC encounters errors, crashes, and slows down but most of these have something to do with a corrupt registry. It is therefore necessary to clean your PC registry to stop and prevent these problems. There are a lot of benefits you can get from a clean registry and here's how to experience these benefits.
The Frequent Problems with a Corrupt Registry
Here are the most frequent problems you can encounter when you have a corrupt PC registry:
• Windows Errors. You'll be getting a lot of pop-up messages that tell you that windows encountered an error and needs to shut down. This is because the files or settings that your windows operating need from the registry may be missing or corrupted.
• Inability to install and uninstall a program or application. Ironically, frequent installing and un-installing of software in your PC leaves traces to the registry that accumulate overtime and become obsolete or junk. Especially when you do not properly un-install the program, the registry files become corrupted.
• Blue screen of death. The dreaded PC issue that can render your PC useless. If you encounter this problem, it tells you that your system has experienced a critical error that requires immediate action.
How to Solve PC Problems
The above problems and most other registry-related PC problems can be easily and immediately solved by cleaning the PC registry. When you clean the registry, damaged and missing files are repaired or restored and unnecessary files are deleted from your system. As soon as the registry becomes clean, your operating system can effortlessly locate the files it needs to run the programs and applications smoothly and quickly. You experience significant improvement in the speed and performance of your PC and you'll no longer have to deal with the annoying PC errors.
How to Clean the Registry
There's only one recommended way to clean the registry effectively and safely. This is to use a registry cleaning software that automatically detects errors, fix them, and restore the original speed and performance of your PC like new. However, you must also understand that not all registry cleaners can do their job well. Some are just better than the others; while the rest are only nuisances that can cause more harm than good. It is important to choose your registry cleaning software wisely.
How to Choose the Right Registry Cleaner
Choosing the right registry cleaner is easy when you use the internet to your advantage. Online, there are several registry cleaner reviews that you can access to evaluate and determine the capabilities of the best registry cleaners and choose one that is the closest match to your specific needs.
Even the best registry cleaners may carry unique features so it helps to check out the reviews and see how these features can benefit your PC. Your choice now depends on how much you can benefit from the best registry cleaners to ensure that you can maintain your PC clean registry. That's the bottom line.