How to: A Car Stereo Installation Guide

Want to save some money? Ever wonder if you could do a car stereo installation yourself? Yes, you can do it yourself! Go ahead, spend that money on your hardware! Don’t spend it on labor. Besides, doing a car stereo installation yourself can be a very rewarding experience, not to mention you can learn a lot from it too. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing your “creation” in action, running smoothly and perfectly.

But be very careful, you really won’t want to damage your expensive hardware. Well, most car audio hardware are no-brainers to install, you’d find that most of the time the parts have specially shaped sockets and slots etc. and would only fit where it’s supposed to be installed. Still, it’s best to proceed methodically.

In a car stereo installation, you have to determine what kind of rig you’re going to put into your vehicle. If you’re a beginner, it’s best you do a car stereo installation if it’s just a simple system. You may want to leave the complicated stuff to the professionals, like installing delicate equipment like LCD panels, motorized parts etc. especially if it requires the creation of custom panels and such.

Head units are one of the easiest to do in a car stereo installation. Fortunately, most units follow the same size standards (DIN). In many cars, once the factory radio is removed the aftermarket radio will fit in the hole. In many other cars, a kit is needed if the factory hole is too big, or not deep enough. In some cases the dash has to be cut. Any car stereo store should have kits required for installation.

There are two types of mounting in a car stereo installation. ISO mounting is when the radio can be screwed to existing factory radio brackets, such as in most Japanese cars. Ring mounting is when an aftermarket radio comes with a metal ring that gets mounted to the factory radio hole or aftermarket kit via bendable tabs. In many cars, dash and trim rings have to be filed to enlarge the radio hole. Once the ring is installed, the radio slides in and is held by snaps. In most cases, special tools are required to remove the radio.

Speakers are very critical in a car stereo installation. No matter how expensive your speakers are, if they are not properly installed, the sound will not be up to par.

In a simple car stereo installation, you’ll probably be using speakers that fit into a factory location. Just make sure there are no gaps or holes. Sometimes building a wood or fiberglass baffle helps reduce holes and gives you much better sound. But always be careful when using power tools around speakers. Car stereo installation warranties usually don't cover holes in speakers.

For unconventional speaker locations, sometimes metal has to be cut. You might want to leave this to the professionals, tools like plasma cutters and pneumatics drills are required. But if you’re going to insist, a pair of metal snips (left and right cut) will do.

A car stereo installation has to put up with vibrations and other noise sources in its environment. Even though it is impossible to eliminate these completely, there are products that will greatly decrease the noise and rattling, particularly on non-luxury cars. Liners, sprays and adhesive strips and even carpeting applied onto the panels can make a world of difference.

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Arrests in Europe 'terror plot'

Officials arrest 10 suspects in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany for allegedly plotting an attack.
Ten people have been detained by police in three European countries for allegedly plotting an attack in Belgium, officials have said.

A spokesman for the country's federal prosecutors office said in a statement that the suspects were arrested in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany on Tuesday, as part of "an inquiry into international jihadist terror".

"In total 10 people suspected of preparing an attack in Belgium were arrested in Belgium, Holland and Germany," the statement said.

The target of the plot had "not been determined yet" when the raids took place.

The statement added that the suspects are from Belgium, the Netherlands, Morocco and
Chechnya. Most are said to live in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

The arrests followed a months-long investigation launched by authorities in Antwerp in
late 2009. The investigation focused on recruiters, would-be "jihadists" and the financing of a Chechen "terrorist organisation".

Previous arrests

Several other people have already been arrested in Spain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia as part of the probe, according to Belgian officials.

The investigation was conducted in collaboration with several countries and Eurojust, the European Union's judicial cooperation unit.

Europe has been on high alert for several weeks over heightened fears of attacks.

Western security officials have warned that al-Qaeda may be planning attacks in Europe similar to those that struck the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.

On October, the United States issued a travel alert for its citizens travelling in Europe, citing the risk of potential attacks on transportation systems and tourist attractions.

Similar alerts were issued by Japan, Sweden, Britain and France.

A plot to blow up cargo planes was uncovered at the end of last month after explosives-laden parcels were found at airports in Dubai and Britain.

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Blatter promises 'new Fifa'

World football chief vows a fresh organisation in selecting the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts following voting scandal.

Sepp Blatter, the world football chief, has promised that a "new Fifa" will choose the 2018 and 2022 hosts for the World Cup next month but admitted that changes would be needed in the future.

Blatter was speaking at a news conference in Geneva following his organisation's decision on Thursday to fine and ban two of its executive committee members following an investigation into allegations that they offered to sell their votes in support of a country bidding to host the 2018 World Cup.

The Fifa president said on Friday that he was satisfied with the outcome of the corruption investigation, which also punished four other senior officials.

"I am very satisfied, but I'm not happy, you cannot be happy when you have to sanction members of our family, it is not a pleasure, but I'm satisfied with the work done by the ethics committee," he said.

Reynald Temarii, a Tahitian, and Nigeria's Amos Adamu allegedly told Sunday Times journalists posing as lobbyists that they would endorse the bids to host the World Cup in return for large sums of money.

Adamu has been forbidden from engaging in any form of football activities for three years, and he will be fined about $10,000. Temarii has been banned from football activities for one year and fined approximately $5,000.

Both men were suspended temporarily last month pending the full investigation by the ethics committee.

Blatter admitted that the decision on punishments had not "found the total support of all of the members of the executive committee" but that the committee "abides by the decisions handed down by the ethics committee".

Blatter said all of those sanctioned would be able to appeal against the rulings.

Collusion claims

Andrew Simmons, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Geneva, said: "He [Blatter] didn't really seem to be in buoyant form but it was clear that he feels that this whole thing is now put behind Fifa. He's drawn a line under the whole affair.

"He described the Sunday Times expose, the sting operation, effectively as something he said was unfair ... and he was unhappy about it, he did not welcome what they did."

Blatter said he was optimistic and looking forward to the last few days before the bid decisions on December 2 but also said that collusion was difficult to avoid.

"You cannot avoid collusion, but if there is something wrong in such collusion, then somebody should intervene," he said.

"You find collusion in politics, in elections ... where two parties are enemies during the year but then they go together. That's collusion, this has not been banned."

The ethics committee found no evidence of alleged collusion between the Spain/Portugal and Qatar bids.

England, Russia, Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium are bidding to host the 2018 World Cup with Japan, South Korea, Australia, United States and Qatar the candidates for 2022.

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Small Business Owners: Are You Making These 3 Deadly Website Copywriting Mistakes?

It’s a common question. “What copywriting mistakes should I avoid?” There are many, but the 3 I chose might surprise you. Why? Because while these can potentially cause the greatest amount of damage they are not ones most copywriters talk about.

Why? Because these aren’t the “sexy” copywriting mistakes. They aren’t the quick-fix aspects. They require thinking and judgment and work! However, they are the ones that – when implemented correctly – can drastically boost the performance of
your copy and content whether that be a blog post, article, web page, email or other forms of text.

Copywriting Mistake #1 – Writing Without a Plan

Regardless of what you write, you’ll get better results if you perform due diligence with a little prior planning. In fact, if you go through the planning phase of copywriting, chances are the copy will all but write itself. How so?

Because research allows you the opportunity to get to know your target customer, organize your thoughts, outline features, benefits and end results, get your creative juices flowing, and much more. It also allows you to overcome what might otherwise become copywriting mistakes.

Take this article, for instance. When I started, I didn’t just lay fingers to keyboard and begin rambling on. I thought about the topic I’d like to approach. I looked into keyphrases that might be a good fit. (For this piece, I chose “copywriting mistakes” and “copywriting mistake.”)

Then, I gave some thought about what – specifically – I’d like to accomplish in the article. What, precisely, did I want to communicate to you? Those became the “3 copywriting mistakes” mentioned in the headline as well as the outline for my writing.

All that was left to do was fill in the blanks.

The same applies to writing website copy. When you follow a process for outlining features, benefits and end results, researching keywords, and creating a skeleton of what the page should accomplish, it all falls into place much easier.

Copywriting Mistake #2 – Writing About Your Company/Product Instead of To Your Site Visitor

One of my biggest pet peeves – and one of the most common copywriting mistakes I see – is ignoring your site visitors. Indulge me for a minute as I climb on my soapbox.

If someone walked into your office, shook your hand and asked how you could help them, you would not immediately begin to rattle off everything you believed to be a strong point about your product or company. No. What would you do? You’d start getting to know the customer.

You would ask questions. You would find out what their problems/challenges are. You’d get details on specifically what they want to do/accomplish and then you would address their exact issues.

Instead of “we do this and we do that and our company, let us help, we, we, us, us, our, our, our, blah, blah, blah” you would speak to the customer who is seated in front of you. Instead of “we-ing all over yourself,” you’d say something like this:

“Mr. Smith, you can get to where you want to go. It’s not as hard as you think. You can improve the image others have of your company and help reinforce your brand with a system that offers 3 important advantages. First, you’ll find that ____________________________….” You get the idea.

Does that mean you can never use “us” or “we” or “our?” Certainly not! But keep it to a minimum. I’d venture to guess you should you those words less than 10% of the time. After all, it’s not about you. it’s about the ones who have the money: your customers.

Copywriting Mistake #3 – Thinking Copywriting Only Happens on Your Web Page

If you plan to write search engine optimized copy, you’ll have to understand that your copy actually begins in the search engine results pages (SERPs). The title tag and the META description tag create a little advertisement for you in Yahoo!, Google, Bing and the other engines.

Let’s say a surfer types in “black cowboy boots” (for example). The very first exposure that customer has to your web page is what they find in the SERPs. Which of these tag sets grabs your attention?

Black Cowboy Boots – Black Cowboy Boots
Black cowboy boots are manufactured by all of the major cowboy boot makers. This most popular boot comes in various styles depending on your needs.

Black Cowboy Boots – Free Shipping and Return Shipping
Buy cowboy boots with a price guarantee and top rated customer service. You can compare multiple … Dan Post Boots Eel Cowboy – Black (Men’s) $249.95 …

Western Spurs, Tshirts, Western Wear, Art, Posters Black Cowboy Boot with Spurs keychains . Black Cowboy Boot with Spurs Key Chain by White_Wedding. praying cowboy pet clothing praying cowboy dog shirt …

I don’t know about you, but I’d be clicking that free shipping one with the price guarantee!

You have to write your title tag and META description tag as an advertisement. Tell the surfer why they should click to your page as opposed to the other 10,000 in the SERPs. What’s in it for them if they click to you?

So, now you know. And now that you know, you can avoid making the 3 most deadly copywriting mistakes small business owners make.

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Website Legal Compliance for Blog Sites Now More Risky Than Ever

Unfulfilled promises by blog site personnel to remove objectionable materials from blogs continue to create headaches – and increased legal exposure – for blog site operators. A recent case involving craigslist.org teaches a critical lesson for blog site operators: be very careful what you and your personnel promise; be very, very careful.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

If you’re a blog site operator, you should have a clear understanding of the protections – and pitfalls – provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (Section 230).

Prior to the enactment of Section 230, a blog site could be held liable for defamatory posts by its visitors, even if the blog site operator had no knowledge of it. Think about it – posters to your blog often have an axe to grind; many believe that they can post almost any derogatory comment on the Web. Section 230 was passed by the U.S. Congress to provide relief for websites that allow visitors to post comments.

Section 230 was a significant breakthrough for websites that qualify as “interactive computer services.” Today, blogs and blog sites should qualify for protection under Section 230’s umbrella immunity.

Section 230 provides two immunity clauses:

* a website operator may not be treated as the “publisher or speaker” of any information provided by another;

* however, a website operator may be held liable for any good faith action it takes to restrict access to “objectionable” materials.

In 1997, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Section 230 immunity by ruling in the case of Zeran v. America Online, Inc. that Section 230 immunized America Online from suit regarding content posted by third parties, even if there was an unfulfilled promise to remove the offensive material.

Despite the fact that Zeran and other early cases ruled in favor of Section 230’s immunity for website operators, two recent cases show that the immunity is not bullet proof – the most recent one being Scott P. v. craigslist, Inc.

Scott P. v. craigslist, Inc.

Scott claimed that his supervisor was harassing him due to sexual orientation. Scott even alleged that his supervisor created false ads about his sexual orientation and posted them on craigslist.org.

Scott called craigslist and complained about the alleged false ads requesting craigslist to not post future ads that would identify him. According to Scott, craigslist personnel promised to “take care of it.”

About a month later the supervisor successfully posted six new ads on craigslist that identified Scott. Scott then sued craigslist.

Craigslist moved to dismiss Scott’s suit on the grounds of Section 230 immunity, but the motion was rejected based on the doctrine of promissory estoppel, and the rejection was upheld by the California Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Promissory estoppel allows a plaintiff to recover damages from a defendant who makes an unfilled promise on which the defendant reasonably relies to the defendant’s detriment. The significance of promissory estoppel is that plaintiff may recover damages for an unfulfilled promise even in the absence of an enforceable contract.

Conclusion

Scott P. v. craigslist, Inc. and the 2009 case of Barnes v. Yahooo!, Inc. both hold that despite the statutory immunity of Section 230, a website operator may waive the immunity by promising to remove objectionable materials and then failing to live up to the promise.

The lesson for sites with blogs and blog sites – in order to avoid this major pitfall involving promissory estoppel, be careful to avoid promising to remove objectionable material. Don’t even make statements that could be construed to be a promise such as “we’ll take care of it.” The best course of action is to state explicitly that you are “not promising” to remove objectionable content, but that you will “take it under advisement.”

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twitterjoketrial: Stephen Fry defends Twitter joke in the innocence of the lost

twitterjoketrial is one of many currently trending topics on Twitter, on how the UK justice system is convicted people for tweeting. The Guardian wrote last week that arrests, convictions and libel claims look like tweeting has lost its innocence.

First up is a conviction passed to Paul Chambers, for “menace” after he made a joke on Twitter about blowing up an airport. This is what he said: “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!” This was sent to a mother in Northern Ireland he met online. It was said to be a “menacing threat to security”.

For those that don’t know, Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore, known for “robbing from the rich and giving to the poor”. And no, there is no airport named after him. To my knowledge Sherwood Forest, where he is supposed to have lived in Nottinghamshire, is far too remote to warrant an airport. He may have been a menace to the Sheriff years ago, but a threat to national security?

Then earlier last week, the high court in the UK was uncomfortably discombobulated with the question of whether a tweet about match-fixing in cricket was defamatory. Libel judge Mr Justice Tugendhat was said to have “needed the help of two experts” to understand what a tweet actually is, how it is “distributed” and exactly what to call “individuals who have received in the jurisdiction a direct and automatic communication of the tweet from the defendant”, which is long-winded legalese for “followers”.

In this case, an influential man in Indian cricket accused a New Zealand cricketer of match fixing. He was sued and the Indian cricketer argued in court that “the case could not proceed because no one in England had actually read his tweet”.

In the former case, Stephen Fry was first on the scene to decry the verdict of Paul Chambers and tweeted the offer to pay his fine, which stands at £3,600 when combined with prosecution costs. “My offer still stands,” he said. “Whatever they fine you, I’ll pay.”

Again, early last week, a Conservative councillor tweeted what he only admits to as “a glib comment”: “Can someone please stone Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to death?” This was in response to the writer’s criticism of Prime Minister David Cameron’s performance in China.

A party spokesman then said the rogue councillor had been “suspended indefinitely” over the alleged tweet and that “language of this sort is not acceptable and as a result Gareth Compton’s membership of the Conservative party has been indefinitely suspended pending further investigation.”

For the rather timid joke about Robin Hood airport, a comedian was said to be “rendered gag-less” at the news and commented: “An astonishing, ludicrous result in #twitterjoketrial. A victory for crushing literalism and scaremongering by the judiciary…So that’s the banning of sarcasm, irony, sub-text and any of the other subtleties of language that we use…” Another comedian said of the trial, with which I agree: “Flippancy is important”.

Now this is where it all gets very messy. While freedom of expression groups, like Index on Censorship, say the law is being used to “stifle [online communication] through unsuited legislation”, the legal profession is sending its senior lawyers to a “Tweet School” where they can learn how to use it. Alibhai-Brown said she regarded the “stoning” comments as incitement to murder.

Meanwhile, back in the “real world”, The Sun newspaper published a story about “fanatical Muslims” burning a giant poppy in an Armistice Day “outrage” when a 40-strong radical group Islam4UK screamed insults about Britain’s war dead during the nation’s two-minute silence last Thursday, demanding Sharia law be imposed in the UK.

And that’s the point where flippancy, libel and lawyers attending “Tweet School” all get lost in the legal haze of Twitter trials — the alleged innocence of the lost.

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Aston Villa 2 - 2 Man Utd

Manchester United came back from two goals down to salvage a point against a youthful Aston Villa.

James Collins and Gabriel Agbonlahor each struck the United woodwork before Villa went ahead when Ashley Young scored from the penalty spot.

Marc Albrighton slotted in from close range as he added to Villa's lead.

But Federico Macheda gave United hope with a powerful shot and Nemanja Vidic stooped to head in a Nani cross to equalise for the visitors late on.

United's comeback provided a thrilling finale to the match but manager Sir Alex Ferguson must have been left wondering why his team waited until they were 2-0 down before sparking into life.

Ferguson took off misfiring strikers Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov and sent on Gabriel Obertan and Macheda with his side looking beaten but they raised themselves for a late rally to earn a point that had appeared out of reach following the stirring efforts of Villa.

It was the sixth draw in seven Premier League outings for United on their travels this season and, although they kept up their unbeaten record for the campaign, they have now dropped 12 points away from home.

United had the motivation of knowing a win at Villa would close the gap to one point on league leaders Chelsea, who will be playing on Sunday, but the visitors lacked urgency.

They were almost caught napping early on when Barry Bannan slid a ball inside right-back Wes Brown to find Stewart Downing and it needed centre-back Rio Ferdinand to come across and clear out the danger.

United briefly threatened when Hernandez's pass released Berbatov but his early season confidence in front of goal was missing as the Bulgarian sidefooted disappointingly wide.

The visitors' lacklustre play was epitomised when a well-worked free-kick saw Nani play in Evra on the left only for his low whipped ball to fly across the Villa goalmouth without a team-mate showing a desire to get to it.

United needed a creative player in the same mould as the suspended Paul Scholes, whose ability to spray the ball around and get forward from midfield was badly missed.

Hernandez and Berbatov were well-marshalled by a resolute and experienced Villa defence, but the rest of the home side was predominantly made up of up-and-coming talent and the more their opponents struggled the more they grew into their task.

Albrighton was a threat on the right flank, while the central midfield pairing of Bannan and Jonathan Hogg, the latter making his league debut, showed plenty of youthful zest.

Young had a half-volley saved by Edwin van der Sar and Downing saw a shot deflected narrowly wide off Ferdinand as the home side sensed United's fragility.

Not even a half-time teamtalk from Ferguson inspired United to positive action and they looked increasingly vulnerable after the break.

Albrighton sent a far post shot wide as Villa pressed and he then headed an inviting Downing cross across goal and wide.

A fleet-footed Villa full of energy and verve were piling on the pressure and United were rescued by the woodwork when Downing sent in another threatening ball from the left and Collins rose highest to plant a header against the crossbar.

United were rocking and when the ball broke loose after a Vidic tackle on Young, Agbonlahor crashed a shot off the United post.

Villa were finally rewarded when a counter-attack ended with Brown felling Young, who picked himself up to score emphatically from the spot.

And it got even better for the home side after Macheda gave the ball away and a swift and clinical Villa break ended with Albrighton slotting in Downing's perfect cross to the far post.

But United are renowned for their ability to keep fighting until the final whistle and Macheda drilled in an 18-yard shot to give them a renewed belief.

When Vidic met a Nani cross at the far post and nodded in an angle header, the visitors suddenly felt victory was within reach.

Villa held on for a point but a home league win over United, last achieved in 1995, continues to elude them.

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