Some new additions to AutoCAD LT 2010 include of the same PDF underlay and improved PDF output capabilities found in the full version of AutoCAD 2010. External reference commands formerly found only in AutoCAD, such as in-place reference editing, are now available to LT users too.

Other new LT capabilities include the ability to synchronize attributes to update all instances of a block when new attributes are added to block definitions and an enhanced attribute editor for changing the properties of individual attributes. LT also uses AutoCAD’s Align command.

AutoCAD LT 2010 uses an updated DWG file format, so if you work with people using an older version, you’ll need to use the SaveAs function to save to the previous DWG format.

Although AutoCAD LT is still a 2D program, it can display 3D models created in AutoCAD.

If you were driving from the East coast to the West coast, it would not be wise to just get in your car and start driving without any idea of where you were going. No. You would plan the trip out ahead of time. If you just got into your car and started driving, in the hopes that you would ultimatley arrive at your final destination, you probably would never get there, and you’d spend a lot of time wandering aimlessly about.

The same thing is true for taking a Cisco Certifcation exam. You will definitely slow your progress by studying for the exam without planning the trip. Schedule your study time as you would an appointment with a client, and keep that appointment. Make sure that your study time is quality study time – turn off your TV, iPod, and cell phone. If you hit a bump in the road and don’t get your certification the first time you take the exam, regroup and create another plan. Study until you get to the point that on exam day, you know that you are already a CCNA or CCNP and you’re just there at the testing center to make it official.

The journey to success is often not a straight line. Just as on the car trip, there are many bumps in the road, and your certification efforts may have many ups and downs, but the overall result is success. The path to your eventual career and certification exam success may not be a direct one, but the important part is to get started and create your own road map for a successful arrival at your destination.

Identity thieves employ a variety of methods to gain access to your personal information. They may get information from businesses or other institutions by stealing it; by bribing an employee who has access to records; hacking into records; or conning information out of employees. Once identity thieves have your personal information, they may use it to commit a fraud or theft in your name.

How can you tell if you have become a victim of identity theft? Some signs include unexplained charges or withdrawals from your financial accounts; bills or other mail stop being delivered (the thief may have submitted a change of address); a credit application is denied for no apparent reason, or debt collectors begin calling about merchandise or services you didn’t buy.

Your computer can be a goldmine of personal information to an identity thief. To protect yourself and your computer against identity theft consider:

• Updating virus protection software frequently. Consider setting your virus protection software to update automatically. The Windows XP operating system also can be set to check for patches automatically and download them to your computer.
• Not opening files sent to you by strangers, clicking on hyperlinks, or downloading programs from people or companies you don’t know.
• Using a firewall program, especially if you use a high speed Internet connection like cable or DSL that leaves your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.
• Not storing your financial information on your laptop, unless absolutely necessary.
• Deleting all the personal information stored on a computer before disposing of it. A wipe utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive is recommended.
• Checking with an anti-fraud education organization determine whether your credit card numbers may have been stolen. These organizations monitor Internet “chat rooms” where identity thieves illicitly trade and sell stolen credit card numbers.

As with any crime, you can not completely control whether you will become a victim, but you can take steps to minimize your risk by remaining diligent and by minimizing outside access to your personal information. There are online training programs to help you learn how to provide security for your computer, or learn about pc technician programs.

Have a clear purpose for the offsite – Define some clear business reason for having the offsite. Consider things such as developing strategic goals for the upcoming fiscal year, account planning for strategic customers, or generating solution alternatives for a key business problem. If you make the goal of the offsite “Team Building” then your team is likely to look at the offsite as a waste of time that will have no real business benefit. Do your team building under the guise of solving a problem or defining the future.

Balance work with play – All work and the offsite becomes too fatiguing. All play and it becomes a boondoggle. Balance your agenda with a combination of work sessions with some fun team-building events sprinkled in. Make sure the “play” events you define are something everyone can participate in and go beyond the overused catch-me-as-I-fall-backwards event. Better still, ask the team what types of things they’d like to do during playtime.

Provide plenty of time for networking – Give ample time during the day and evening for the team to have snacks, enjoy beverages, and just talk about whatever strikes them. Team building starts with building relationships, and building relationships starts with getting to know each other. Allow for networking time to be free and unscripted and let the team enjoy some casual conversation with each other.

Don’t hold the offsite during a crunch period – When you do hold your offsite, you don’t want your team members to be checking email every five minutes or constantly leaving to make important calls. Do your best to hold an offsite during a “slow” time in your business. As with most businesses, there will probably never be an optimal time to hold an offsite but do your best to avoid times when team members are already burning the midnight oil.

Make it an overnight event – Some of the best offsites are those where the team ate dinner together, enjoyed a couple of drinks, and stayed up late discussing major business problems or brainstorming on a radically new strategy. These late night sessions were valuable in that team members put their heads together to address some problem or opportunity. More importantly, team members built relationships which provided an outstanding foundation for strong teams.

Don’t make the team work overtime to “make up” the time spent at the offsite – If you’re going to have an offsite, allow the team to move some of their other commitments out a few days so they don’t feel the pressure of needing to get their work done while at the offsite. The last thing you want is your team thinking about working late because of wasted time at a dumb offsite. Relax some of the deliverables and let the team focus on the offsite, not on what work isn’t getting done.

Put together a follow-up plan to continue the work from the offsite – One of the most frustrating things often experienced with offsites is the lack of a follow-up plan to implement some of the great ideas which come out of the offsite. Put together an actionable follow-up plan with tasks, dates, and owners and you’ll keep the excitement going out of the offsite and will get some of the great ideas implemented. Neglect putting together a follow-up plan and you’ll have an offsite that the team sees as a waste of time.

Offsites can be a very effective means of getting things done and building outstanding teams at the same time. Just make sure to follow these simple steps and you’ll better ensure your next offsite is a huge success.

On the first day of the offsite only about half of the team had shown up; the other half were working on a hot project that needed to be completed later in the week. The remaining team members politely participated in the team building exercises, but didn’t seem very interested in the activities. Because the focus of the offsite was on team building, there was no clearly stated business purpose for the event. The brainstorming sessions were good, but no tangible actions were taken down for the team to follow up on. In short, the offsite was met with a resounding thud from the team and was a dismal failure.

Maybe this sounds like an exaggeration, or maybe it closely resembles an offsite you have attended or were responsible for planning. Offsites are a very effective means to getting the team focused on solving a business problem, defining a strategy, or creating a revolutionary way of doing things. A very key by-product of offsites, though, is the team-building that occurs while addressing business issues at hand.

Done well, an offsite not only puts great minds together to address a business issue but it also builds better teams that work more effectively together and gets more things done. Done poorly, an offsite will be viewed as a huge waste of time and will poorly reflect on you as a leader. Make sure your team building efforts are done with a purpose.