Not Far From It Now

Cell phone towers have come in for a lot of flack since the inception of mobile technology. People who live near them have a long list of complaints ranging from a continuous buzzing or humming noise, which is annoying, to an increased risk of cancer, which is dangerous. Lately, however, a new danger has been brought into the spotlight, as a number of cell phone tower workers have plunged to their deaths.

In April, 5 workers died within 12 days, and in May another worker fell to his death. Craig Lekutis is the president of the online newsletter Wireless Estimator, and has 27 years experience in the communications construction industry. He says that these kinds of accidents often occur in spurts, which is strange enough, but that a concentrated run of deaths such as this one is extraordinary. Last year 10 people died from falling off "elevated structures" including water towers and electricity pylons, which makes the fact that 6 people have died from cell phone towers all the more remarkable.

The strange cluster of deaths has been attributed to AT&T's push to upgrade its network so that it will be able to support the new 3G iPhone that is to be released soon. So far only three of the six people who have died have been identified as AT&T employees. Nevertheless, people are claiming that in its quest for speed, AT&T has thrown safety concerns out of the window.

AT&T denies that there is any connection between the deaths and their tight upgrade deadline. A spokesperson claims that the upgrade only requires workers to adjust the software at the base of each tower and that climbing the tower is unnecessary. Others contend, however, that workers may need to climb the towers to test the upgrade or remove redundant and out-dated equipment.

Regardless of whether the events are related, AT&T has taken steps to try and address the issue. After the death of the first two AT&T employees, they called for a halt to all construction projects and ordered all subcontractors to hold a safety refresher training course. They added that they expected their subcontractors to conduct random safety checks at all construction sites to ensure that the safety measures are being enforced.

AT&T says, "We consider the safety of our contractors and our employees to be our first priority."

Recommended sites:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/28/3g-iphones-at-any-cost-cell-tower-deaths-on-the-rise/

Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers MediaVision Interactive ZA SEO marketers leading SEO marketers and experts in the field of search.

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posted by treehkczc  # 9:26 PM 0 comments

According to some sources, one third of all Xbox 360 consoles will be affected by a general hardware failure (aka "Red Ring Of Death") at some point. Thats a whole lot of broken Xbox! So where do most of these malfunctioning machines wind up? On eBay and other online auction websites, in classified magazines and websites such as Craigslist, at flea markets and even at garage sales. Now imagine that you were able to buy these "broken" consoles for a massive discount, fix them and then sell them as normally functioning secondhand Xbox 360s to a hungry market, making a handsome profit on each one. Wouldn't that be great? Of course it would! Today I'm going to help you get started in the lucrative market of Xbox 360 refurbishing, a venture that has been highly successful so far.

The first step is to find a reliable source of malfunctioning Xbox 360 consoles that will provide you with an adequate supply. eBay has a good number of such consoles available but as the Xbox 360 repair industry grows in popularity the price and supply of consoles bought from eBay has increased quite markedly. If you're a good online auction buyer then it is still a great place to look as there are always plenty of bargains to be found and is still a good starting point for the beginner. Other online auction websites are also worth a look at (such as Yahoo! Auctions) but it is important to note that the number of consoles on these alternative sites will probably be lower.

Classified magazines are another good avenue to find faulty Xbox 360 consoles that have suffered a red light problem. People who list these in classified magazines will often be happy to see the "darn thing go" and will generally take a lower price than what market value on online auctions is. Also, because the listings will generally be found in local areas, shipping costs are therefore removed (although there are costs associated with traveling back and forth to collect consoles) Don't just limit yourself to classified magazines, try local newspapers and newsletters as well as many bargains often turn up.

Flea markets and garage sales are another potential source of relatively low cost, faulty Xbox 360 consoles. Search on websites such as Craigslist for local swap-meets, garage sales, flea markets and car boot sales and then make a plan to visit some of them. It cannot be guaranteed that any Xbox 360s will even be offered for sale at these events. However, there is still the potential to pick up other bargain items during your search that can be re-sold online for profit (refurbishing other types of electronic goods is a good example of this)

So now you've got your hands on a faulty Xbox 360 that has been subject to the "Red Ring Of Death". How exactly do you go about making money from it then? Firstly, you need to repair the console! Instruction manuals for Xbox 360s can be found all over the internet, some being better than others. In general, it should take about an hour to fix a console that has suffered from a general hardware failure (the cause of the "Red Ring Of Death") and this process does not usually require any prior knowledge of electronics or any special tools - everything required comes with the downloadable instructions and the tools needed can usually be found around the home.

Once the console has been fixed, you need to find a place to sell it. eBay is an obvious choice and is probably the best if you are good at creating effective auction listings. Those who are heavily into the electronics refurbishing industry often recommend eBay as the best place to maximize profit potential. Other options include classified magazines, newspapers and online services such as Craigslist. Finding a suitable method of selling is one of the main issues when it comes to beginner Xbox 360 refurbishment for profit, but as you become more experienced the process will become much easier.

In this article I've shown you the basic steps to making money from Xbox 360 repair and resale. The next stage is to take what you've seen and work on it, learning to increase your profit margins and decrease your buying costs. With enough work it is possible to make money from the Xbox 360.

Now that you've learned the basic steps, discover how to maximize your profits and become a "big player" in the Xbox 360 refurbishment world. Click Here to visit James Phillipson's information page about the Xbox 360 and how to fix it from home. Also, read reviews on the top Xbox 360 repair manuals and learn about the latest news and technical info in the Xbox 360 world for free!

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posted by treehkczc  # 9:09 AM 0 comments