Many renters don�t stop to think about what happens if there is a fire, someone breaks in and steals their new TV or stereo, or a visitor slips and falls on their property. The sad truth is; you will be responsible! While your landlord has insurance that covers the actual building, that coverage does not include your personal property or liability for injuries which occur in the space you rent ~ be it an apartment or a house and yard.
Because of the need to identify vital equipment quickly, the Military were naturally interested in technology that could help take the guesswork out of inventory and logistics. Wars fought in foreign lands create massive logistic problems; soldiers need bullets, food, etc when necessary, regardless of price or location. Battle readiness is key to military success.Know thy foeHowever, if you opt for Replacement Cost, you�re paid whatever it costs to go out and buy a new TV with similar features. Insuring for replacement cost raises the amount of your premium so it�s a good idea to get quotes for both ACV and Replacement Cost policies. Then you can decide which option fits your needs and budget.Soon we will have free community-wide broadband. Sweden last month gave free broadband access to all their citizens, with speeds 100 times faster than that available to us in the UK. Recently Milton Keynes followed suit, and The City of London promised free business broadband to everyone within the Square Mile. This emerging infrastructure is important as we start to realise that Broadband is not just a tool for Internet access and free VOIP, but an essential infrastructure for real world awareness.RFID is an infrastructure technology, which will have a impact on almost every business process. However RFID is still a new technology, and thus we are waiting to see where it will lead in many applications. The case for RFID is well documented within specific business scenarios, but the benefit to the consumer are still little known apart from Londoners with their Oyster cards and Parisians with their Navigo cards. However, most people have used RFID without realisation it in their key-fobs, and one or two have found this facility so convenient that their home doors are locked the same way.Inconsistency - Even at the drafting stage, you should ensure that all the elements used in your document are consistent. This applies as much to the 'tone' of the document as to the layout of it. Ensure you use consistent senses (first person, etc.) as well as page layout, pagination elements, headers and footers, and all other textual elements.As already identified, technical writing is called that because it is technical in nature. Part of being technical is to be precise, and part of precision is to be as detailed as humanly possible. Even if the documents you are creating are for an advanced and technologically sophisticated user group, your documentation must focus on the details of a process, or in using a product. This can be a difficult feat to accomplish, but not if you write to your audience. Never assume that the reader knows anything about the product or process be documented, but in the case of advanced / expert users at least have the common sense to recognise the fact that they probably do not need to be told how to use the equipment they operate on a daily basis. When describing how to carry out a particular activity or task, identify each stage involved (number them if this fits the conventions of the document type you are creating) and to ensure the accuracy of what you have written test it yourself, or even better, rope in a volunteer of the same skills level as the end user.RFID sensors are playing a big part in airline safety. Airbus and Boeing have endorsed RFID wholeheartedly and mandated their supply chains to incorporate this technology into their product offering. If you ever glanced at the first aircraft cockpit you will see a couple of dials on the dashboard. Early pilots required the help of flight engineers, navigators and radio operator to fly. Pilots flew �by the seat of their pants�, using their skill and experience. Look now at the latest Airbus 300 series! Around 600 sensors all automatically working in harmony to insure engines and aircraft are all in good working order. Risk are constantly being reduced. Pilots alone would not be able to deal with all the complexity currently handled by wireless sensors and onboard computers. To be able to identify a foreign object like a bird caught in an aircraft engine following a successful flight can also save massive amounts of fuel. Again, to identify a minor fracture on a rotor blade prior to a major crack can prevent a nasty accident. After every flight a full log of the aircraft engine activity is downloaded to a preventive maintenance crews who search for irregularities. This data is key to safety and efficiency in the airline industry.The American FDA have endorsed the use of RFID for item level prescription use. Now �Unit of Use� medicine can be automatically matched to patient at POC( point of care). The ability to insure the correct drug is dispensed to the correct patient is key. US hospitals record 7000 deaths per year on average because of medication error. In addition, 750,000 adverse medical events happen each year causing massive suffering and anxiety to citizens and caregivers. Counterfeit drugs are a major concern for everyone. How can technology remove this menace?Technical writing unsurprisingly enough, refers to writing that is technical. Although this may seem like a fallacious definition, it's an important one to remember. Too many technical authors make the mistake of creating documentation that is either too technical, or too 'literary'. A good technical author should be able to adjust the balance between the two to suit the end user of the documentation. Technical writing is a lot like fresh air, pervasive and yet pretty much invisible. In the weird wired world in which we find ourselves, technical writing is everywhere. Software manuals, user guides for home appliances, instructional leaflets, emails, letters, reports, technical news reports, statistics and biographies on television sports shows all are examples of technical writing to which people are exposed to on a daily basis. If you have ever tried to program the time settings on a home video recorder and flung the manual across the room in disgust, you threw a piece of technical writing (although obviously not a very good one!). Too many times technical literature is produced by writers with not a large enough grasp of technology, or technologists that lack an ability to write. As a prospective technical author you must tread the very delicate line of being technically knowledgeable in your specialist field(s) as well as being a 'good' writer (as opposed to 'bad' writers who can usually be found mugging sweet old ladies or something). Technical documentation is usually produced for two distinct user groups, namely expert level users, and naive users. As a technical author one of your first tasks is to sort out what audience you are writing for, which brings me deftly to:Technology however is not separate to Society. No technology exists outside the influence of people, culture, policy, and economics. Everyone �sees� according to their personal environment, their education, their family values etc. Increased awareness of our cultural mindset is important. We could look at this as a �prison mindset�. A self-locking mindset makes us think a certain way and thus creates our thoughts and confirms our reality. It is a cosy place to be and change is not always invited in!When creating technical documents there are a number of fatal flaws you can make. Although by no means exhaustive, this section details some of the more common mistakes new authors make, in the hopes that you will avoid making them too:Common Mistakes to avoid makingWith sensors creating real world awareness, it is possible to have a traffic light system on your PC which will flag up the occasion when Mr X did not get up or make a cup of tea at 7am or any major break to the natural flow of activity in their daily lives. Any change in social interaction, for example, may indicate a change in well being, or impending illness reflected early by failure to eat. Lights automatically coming on when a elderly person visits the loo at night, for example, can help eradicate the thousand of hip operations required per year in the UK!A number of RFID applications together with innovations such as EPCGlobal and standardisations around wireless spectrums are actually enabling cyberspace to interface with the real world. Concepts such as the expression �Internet of Things� will mean that every object in our physical environment can be identified and its status confirmed in real time. Soon everything that you own including your household assets will be aware that you own it! Theft is going to be difficult!
Rental insurance may be worth the investment just for the peace of mind it offers you.
Author: Kyle Thomas Haley
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