It’s a tired way to start a modern article by referring to the speed with which the world has been revolutionized by the computer but, in this instance, it’s highly appropriate. When the first green shoots emerged in the late 1960′s and early 1970′s, computerization was all about automating in-house processes like the accounting system. The software to replace labor was still a few years ago. But, once it arrived, two things happened. The employers cut their costs and improved their profits by terminating the employment of tens of thousands. Second, by removing many of the people who used to deal with customers, the businesses began a slow decline in the quality of the services they provided. Today, corporations hide behind call centers and e-mail systems, rarely providing real people we can talk through our problems with.

Instead of using the Internet and automated systems as a smokescreen to suggest a reasonable quality of service, the new technology should be used to improve the customer experience. At some point, the quality of this aspect of service will come back into focus as a way of distinguishing between faceless corporations. Take the world of car insurance as an example of what can be done. If your vehicle is involved in an accident, what you want is a smooth system for handling your claim. This involves the minimum fuss in submitting the claim online, the identification of suitable bodyshops for performing the repairs, getting quotes with the least delay, and agreeing which bodyshop will actually do the repairs. All this administration needs to be fast because, if your vehicle is off the road, there are storage charges mounting up and rental charges for a substitute vehicle. Multiply this across all the policyholders and the cost to the insurers is higher than it needs to be. If this loss is controlled, premium rates can be stabilized if not reduced. It’s good for all.

That’s why it’s important to support a new website and mobile app for Android and the iPhone that will improve the current situation. They allow you to upload photographs of the damage using your cell phone or hand-held device with a camera, and circulate those pictures to bodyshops approved by your insurer near to where you live. The repair shops keep the site updated on whether they have spare capacity and offer an estimate of the cost of repairs within 24 hours. Because the site works with insurers to limit the list of repairshops to those preapproved by the insurers, there’s a minimum of delay in processing the claim and costs are kept to a minimum. At present, this is still at a beta stage with five insurance companies in a limited number of states. But, assuming the trial is a success, we could see this rolled out across the country. If it genuinely does reduce administrative delays and associated costs, we will see stable car insurance rates. It may not be the cheap car insurance we all want to see, but it’s a good step in the right direction. It should also act as a wake-up call to the other slumbering giants on both sides of the fence. There are creative software people and insurance companies who would benefit the customer by getting together.

If you listen to the commentators, they all sing the same song. We’ve now entered the internet age. This is supposed to convince us something new and wonderful has happened. It’s such a complete break with the past it heralds the beginning of a new information age in which, somehow, we can all get ahead and do things never possible before. This is, of course, pure rubbish. The only difference between the digital age and the hard-copy age that went before it is the ease of access. Having a PC or some other online device gives you access to a vast library with a search engine to help you find the pages you need more easily. But, when you have the right page on the screen in front of you, it’s the same words you could have found in a book or some other written material. All that’s changed is the way the words are presented to you.

So, if you go back in time, printed words have always been used to manipulate people. They sell ideas to you. This means real power lies in the power to control access the means of publication. If a group can control what gets printed and distributed, the words can always tell the same story. But if the means of publication is open to other voices, this can give a completely different view of the world. This is why reputations can be made or unmade depending on who has the power to publish.

The problem for modern companies is anyone today can start up a blog or website. Many internet services are free to use. Similarly, the networking sites like Facebook allow people to write their opinions and describe their experiences. In the past, we would never get to hear Anne from Denver bought a steam cleaner that sprayed boiling water over her hands. Now she can write it and thousands of people can tweet it. It makes it very difficult for manufacturers and service providers to protect their reputations. This explains, in part, why insurance companies very rarely allow interaction on their sites. Since they cannot control what sometimes angry customers may say, they try to deny them a voice. Except there are now some very high profile sites on which people can complain about bad products and services. This movement is not yet sufficient to damage the vast insurance industry, but individual companies are finding it more difficult to prevent their reputations from slowly washing away.

This makes the recent announcement of a new online forum all the more encouraging. The intention is to allow people from both sides of the insurance relationship a chance to ask questions and have their say. Instead of a blank screen on which insurers give you the news they think you should hear, you can now ask about how to get more affordable car insurance rates, what to do if a claims adjuster low-balls the fair market value offer, and so on. This does not mean everyone on the forum will be an “innocent” consumer. There will inevitably be anonymous industry experts giving balancing views and opinions. But this is a hopeful sign of change. You may even get cheap car insurance quotes because of pressure through forums like this.

When it comes to insuring ones health there’s no denying the fact that this form of insurance is a must for everyone even though it’s not legally required and is purely optional. It’s hard to imagine the current healthcare system without insurance because otherwise people couldn’t afford most medical services and doctors wouldn’t get their high salaries, which are among the highest all over the world. Thanks to insurance both customers and service providers are pleased, and everyone’s getting the thing they want. Among many types of insurance available managed care plans are the most widespread, so let’s take a closer look at some of the most common forms of insurance offered by insurers:

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO)

This is the most common form of managed care plans as it provides the lowest price and a wide range of services included. It’s main drawback is the lack of flexibility in what concerns the places you get care from. Under HMOs you are limited to a network of facilities and specialists you may get care from and covered to the full extent. If you choose to get your services from someone outside the network your costs won’t be covered at all. Moreover, you are required to choose a primary care physician who will refer you to all the required specialists, so there’s more paperwork involved with this type of plans. Yet, you usually pay lower premiums for that so it’s really worth the effort.

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)

Preferred Provider Organizations offer more flexibility but for a higher price if compared to HMO plans. You are still limited to a network of providers to get care from, however if you choose to go out of network there will still be some part of your bill covered only to a lesser extent compared to in-network services. And you aren’t obliged to choose a primary care physician so there’s not so many office visits to do under this type of managed care plans. If you have the additional money and want more flexibility with your health insurance this plan type will definitely appeal to you.

Point Of Service (POS)

Point Of Service plans are often referred to as a mix of HMO and PPO plans as they provide the benefits of both these forms of health insurance. You gain the flexibility of PPO in what concerns the places you get services at, yet you still have to choose a primary care physician and have a network of providers to work with. One of the greatest benefits is that you may choose your family doctor as a primary care physician even if he or she doesn’t make part of the insurer specified network, which is definitely appealing to those who have long term relations with their family doctors. PPO plans may vary in price so it’s really recommended to shop around if you want to get the best rate possible.

As you see, managed care plans come in different forms with the sole purpose of giving you exactly what you need. So it’s really important to assess your individual health insurance needs before choosing the plan type to address them adequately.

Apple has made much of iCloud’s launch – and while it’s easy to be wary of hype, Apple’s past successes have made the world take notice of cloud services. So what does it herald for businesses?

iCloud embodies everything that Apple excels at: it’s user-friendly and seamlessly integrated into Apple’s product range. Microsoft’s SkyDrive provides a similar service, yet despite being older, it may become just another challenger. However, like Google Android’s open ethos in the mobile OS market, SkyDrive could become a more inclusive, business-friendly platform for data sharing than iCloud, which is likely to retain the ‘barbed-wire fence’ approach reminiscent of Apple’s App Store, iTunes service and iPod digital media format.

Following typical technology trends, both iCloud and SkyDrive are set to be rapidly adopted by virtue of the wide compatibility of product ranges, from Apple’s iPhone integration to the cross-platform flexibility of Microsoft’s sprawling business and consumer product range. To this extent, according to a 2010 IBM survey, thanks to the success of iPhones, iPads, Windows Phone 7 and Google’s Android operating system, cloud computing is on the cusp of mainstream domination. So, with mobile cloud computing set to explode in popularity, its advantages and challenges are more relevant than ever.

Advantageously, it enables cost-effective, flexible, on-the-go access, so staff will become more productive on the move, building relationships and sharing data online. Easy data manipulation via mobile devices will also allow businesses to react rapidly to customer demands. Furthermore, cloud computing will see businesses reduce costs by eliminating dedicated IT requirements and downtime on physical servers. And most importantly, the translation to mobile will make cloud computing’s advantages more widely available.

Of course, it also carries its share of challenges. Foremost is security. Hosting sensitive data off-premises inevitably poses risks. Coupled with the problem of mobile device theft, many businesses are understandably reluctant. It remains to be seen what security measures will be taken, but once these are addressed, IBM found that 91% of businesses expect cloud services to become the dominant feature of IT.

Cloud computing can expect a huge surge in attention from consumers and businesses thanks to iCloud. The relentless drive for mobile innovation, alongside the launch of Google’s ChromeBook, will further emphasise the clouds importance for business. However, businesses still need to adapt to survive. Cloud services mean IT is going mobile. It’s those businesses that unlock its potential that will thrive.

Rules and regulations have been placed into football to make it a fun enjoyable sport for all generations. Many rules within football are there to make the game flow simply and others are there to prevent injuries.
In this article you will find the basic rules and regulations of football that allow the sport to be played safely and correctly.

Equipment:

The basic equipment needed to participate in a football match consists of the team shirt, shorts, shinguards with socks and studded boots or trainers depending on the surface. The goalkeeper is also permitted gloves and a different coloured jersey for identification purposes.

The Football Pitch:

Football is a game with two teams of eleven players and is played over the course of 90 minutes. This period is split into two 45 minute halves. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposition. Football can be played on a natural or artificial surface such as astroturf. However, the shape of the field must be rectangular, with the dimensions of 90-120 metres long by 45-90 metres wide.

Referee:

The referee along with his two linesmen is the one who enforces most of the rules in football. The referee’s tasks include keeping the time for the match in play, awarding free kicks and penalties when needed and dealing with anything requiring a ruling. The referee can also choose to allow play to proceed in case of a foul providing there is an advantage to be gained by the team which the foul has been committed on.

Offside Rule:

The offside rule within football is hard to understand as it can occur when a player is closer to the opponent’s goal than the last opposition outfield player. However to commit an offside offence is to have the ball played forward towards to you while in that position.

Misconduct:

Misconduct within football is taken very seriously by the referee and if a player has committed a serious offence the referee can punish them by giving them a:

Yellow Card – A caution given to a player. If two of these cards are shown to the same player it means a red card is issued. Red Card – Showing a red card to a player means they are expelled from the match. A straight red card can be shown for extreme offences such as a serious foul, violent conduct, spitting, deliberate hand-ball and insulting language.