Today, computer and video games outsell almost every other type of toy at toy stores. Most children play computer games or video games somewhere – if not in arcades and internet cafes, then maybe at home or at friends’ homes. The computer game industry is a billion dollar industry. In many homes, it is also a key point of tension.Should You Be Worried?Most child care experts and child education experts agree that parents should be worried about the computer games their children play. While most children enjoy playing computer games, these toys are not always useful or appropriate for children. In the best of circumstances, games take children away from school work and physical activities. At worst, many games give children less than ideal messages about violence, society, and advertised products. Many computer games simply have little educational value.Computer games also have been linked to some serious physical problems in children. Some experts have blamed computer games and video games for increased rates of obesity among children. Studies have shown that children also run a high risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI) when they spend time playing computer games.To reduce the risk of RSI, you will want to limit your child’s computer sessions to less than an hour. Keeping the computer in a visible area of the house will make it easier for you to enforce this rule.You will also want to create an ergonomically correct computer station for your child. Even if your child will be using the computer for less than an hour a day, make sure that your child has a comfortable, child-sized chair to use.What Can You Do?Experts suggest that educational games are not only a more age-appropriate alternative to violent computer games, but studies show that computer games with educational content can help build skills such as math, vocabulary, writing, geography, mapping, thinking, memory, science, and other skills needed for success in school. Some educators claim that computer games put play back into learning and encourage children to learn even after school and during playtime.Educational computer games in fact have many benefits. They are not very expensive, but can often help your child with difficult areas in school. For example, if your child is having a hard time learning to read, computer games can help improve your child’s reading skills as part of a game. Your child will not feel discouraged and may even come to see reading as fun.There are in fact few drawbacks to educational computer games. Some parents have noted that many educational titles are aimed at younger children, but many software manufacturer’s today also develop good instructional content for older children. One problem that many parents have is to get children – and especially older children – to even try educational computer games.If your children already love computer games, simply banning games can feel like a punishment. Children may resist having their entertainment taken away from them. A better alternative may be to make use of computer games to promote learning by selecting from the educational computer games available. Educational computer games are meant to develop skills such as math skills, reasoning skills, reading skills, and word skills. They are also designed to be fun so that children actually enjoy playing these games.In order to bring educational computer games successfully into your home, you need to set up a system that works. First, you need to find some educational software that your children will enjoy. Then, you will have to suggest these games to your children. Many parents have found that linking rewards to educational game works wonders. For example, if children are able to get a certain amount of points in a word game or are able to make a certain level of progress in a math game, they can be given small treats or prizes. This will help encourage children to enjoy the games more and stick with the games. For young children, having a parent play a game with them can be rewarding in itself. For older children, prizes and rewards often work best.

Back in 1996, the explosion of online casino gambling swept the world. The United States had been a large part of this, and many gamblers had turned to online casinos for all of their gaming. For many years, these casinos continued to be played unabated. Unfortunately, back in 2006, legislation was passed that made it slightly difficult for online casinos to continue to operate. This legislation, sneaked in by piggyback through the Safe Port Act, would be named the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and it became a thorn in the side of the online gambler, the online casino, and all payment processors there in.The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, or the UIGEA, had, in a nutshell, prohibited banks and payment processors from processing transactions that would correlate to online gambling. This has not only complicated loading accounts, but also withdrawing. While USA online casinos have continued to operate, they have had to use payment processors that would circumvent these restrictions. Sadly, the UIGEA was not even set to go into effect until December of 2009, thought the implications of the legislation had fall out that would be nothing short of catastrophic for many online gambling companies, especially those that relied heavily on the United States market.The UIGEA had hamstrung many of the operations around the world that utilized the American market in order to stay ahead in profits, all the while keeping losses to a low. The implications ran deep, damaging many companies operating these casinos. Not only had some of the larger, publicly traded online casinos taken a major hit to the price per share, which in turn hurt the shareholders of those companies, but also cost the companies profits from the United States Market. PartyGaming comes to mind specifically, though other large gambling firms had taken a hit. Additionally, many executives in charge of several of the online casinos, including Anurag Dikshit, one of the early founders of PartyGaming, had been indicted and fined for their involvement in online gambling – despite the fact that these companies had been based outside of the United States. Payment processors had also been significantly impacted, as many of these financial companies had taken a blow from federal persecution, which, in some cases, amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in seizures. Sadly, the UIGEA had not even been invoked in many of these seizures. Rather, the Wire Act of 1961, a law that had been passed years before the Internet was even beginning to develop into what we see today.Despite the laws that had begun to inhibit online casino gambling, many online casinos continued to accept USA players. While several of the larger brands of online casino had been stripped from the United States market, many others had remained steadfast in their dedication to delivering casino gaming to the American market. Though there are online casinos still operating in the USA, the choice has become limited. In order to focus on a marginal market, online casinos accepting American players had to provide a service of higher quality. That having been said, those online casinos have had to outclass the older forms of casino software that had removed themselves from the American market.There are currently three major brands of casino software that have yet to cease operating within the United States. These brands have no intention on leaving the American market, and still out perform those that have already left USA players high and dry. Real Time Gaming, or RTG, Rival Gaming, or simply Rival, and Odds On, also known as Vegas Technology, are the three types of casino software still accepting Americans. Each carries its own unique features, though they universally out perform those who have left the United states behind, including Microgaming, Playtech, and others. While some of the individual casinos operating under these brands have decided not to content with the contention of the United States government, nearly all of them continue to supply USA players with high quality casino gaming.Casinos powered by RTG are one of the superior three. Real Time gaming has brought high quality gaming to players throughout the United States. Their superiority comes through the digital eloquence of their games. Rather than delivering tired, bland tables games and slots, they have taken steps to ensure that each player will enjoy the smooth graphics and game play of their casino. Real Time Gaming casinos supply their players with enough diversity to remain entertaining, as well as huge bonuses for their players. Casinos outside of the United States, particularly Microgaming casinos, will almost always fall short in terms of bonuses. Through integrated security, these casinos under the RTG brand also remain the most secure.The second brand of casino gaming comes through Rival Gaming. Rival Gaming has created and subsequently distributed a unique series of games. These games, the Interactive Slots, have brought a whole new level of entertainment to slot games. Rather than the standard spinning of the reels, Rival has raised the bar to the pinnacle of casino gaming. Their table games have also been a huge hit, bringing in players who seek simply to play cards, dice, or other table based casino games. Though players outside of the United States may enjoy the Interactive Slot, there is no international online casino that blocks American IP addresses that offers anything remotely similar to the power and variety of the I-Slot.Finally we come to Odds On. With Odds On Casinos, players are entitled to use one of the original types of online casino software. Odds On has revolutionized the way games are played, particularly slots. The Odds On bonus slots have brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to their winners. Additionally, these bonus slots are backed by the large, multiplayer slot tournaments that have become a staple for many gamers around the world. The size and popularity of these tournaments are almost exclusive to Odds On. Slot tournaments provide players with the ability to enjoy slot gaming without an overwhelming financial risk, while providing easier access to large winnings. Though other types of casino software will periodically provide players with the chance to enjoy slot tournaments, none will be as versatile or commonplace as those found through Odds On – proving once again online casinos accepting USA players are superior to those found open only to European players.Though casinos accepting Americans have had a bumpy road, particularly in 2009, hope lies on the horizon. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which held a deadline of December of 2009, has been delayed. This delay bought time, six months to be exact, that would enable legislators to reconsider the law’s passing. Several legislators, particularly Congressman Barney Frank, have been pushing for a change in legislation. In order to aid in the push for regulated Internet casino gambling, any individual may contact their senators and representatives in order to express their opinion. There are also political action committees, such as the Poker Player’s Alliance, that are trying to bring casino gaming into the homes of players throughout the United States. Despite these laws, the casinos still operating for American players are ranked far above those who have decided against continued operation Stateside.

If there were only two reasons for a business to fail they would be poor financing and poor management or planning. You can’t over-emphasize the importance of financing your business. Financing the business is not a one time activity as some might think. It is necessary whenever the need arises such as when expanding, modernizing etc. At this stage you need to understand the importance of exercising extreme caution and plan the utilization of capital. A wrong decision here can haunt your for the life of your business.

Are You Sure You Want To Raise External Funds?

For start-ups, it’s understandable that you need to raise capital through loans. But what about expansions and upgrades? Make sure that external financing is an absolute must before you apply. It is critical that you organize your finances at transitional stages but only after you make sure that you can’t do it yourself, either permanently or for some time. Equally important are the criteria of risk, the cost of not financing and how well it contributes to specific and overall goals of the company.

FINANCING TYPES

Equity Financing: Equity financing involves selling off of your shares (mostly partially) in return for cash and giving away that portion of ownership and rights to profits. Equity financing can be sought from private investors or venture capitalists. This brings about proper capitalization opening access to debt financing. Equity finance doesn’t need to be returned like loans unless your partner wants to withdraw.

Debt Financing: Debt financing is loan financing against some kind of guarantee of repayment. The guarantee can be collateral, a personal guarantee or a promise. Lenders restrict the use of debt finance to inventory, equipment or real estate. You need to properly structure the debt and the rule of thumb for doing so is giving long term debt for fixed asset loans and short term for working capital. The reason is that fixed assets generate cash flow over their lifetimes and have the benefit of lower interest rates as opposed to working capital loans.

Sources of Finance:

You can choose finance sources depending on your circumstances and the amount required.

1. Family and Friends: Small and short-term working capital requirements can be financed quickly through your own resources or through family and friends. The benefit here is the absence of the interest component (mostly.) This method of raising finances is handy even in early stages of business. You should be mindful, though, that disputes over money are the main reason that close relationships turn sour.

2. US Small Business Administration: This is the most prominent source for debt financing. The SBA doesn’t lend money directly but organizes and guarantees loans through various lenders and sources under its umbrella. Local governments, banks, private lenders, etc. disburse loans immediately to businesses approved by the SBA. SBA loans are available for various business purposes and at the lowest interest rates available.

3. Venture capital: Raising venture capital is organizing financing through selling shares whose value equals the finance you require. Essentially this means selling a portion of the ownership and control rights. It is essential that a proper valuation of your business’s worth is made before the deal is done.

Financing a business shouldn’t be hard provided you have established your credentials as a good manager, have collateral/assets, a convincing cash flow statement, genuine need, a proven track record, good credit history and a robust plan. This should not just save your business from collapsing but also allows it to grow and succeed.