The subject of whether or not it is acceptable to use advertising in email market is hotly debated with some Internet marketers being strongly in favor of placing advertisements in email marketing while others are strongly against the use of advertisements in email marketing. Still others take a more neutral stance and are not either firmly for or against the use of advertising in email marketing. This article will take a look at both sides of the argument and allow the reader to formulate his own opinions on whether or not this subject is worthwhile.
There are some Internet marketers who are strongly in favor of the use of advertisements in emails distributed for marketing purposes. Those who favor the use of advertisements view the sale of advertising space on email marketing materials such as emails or e-newsletters as a way to generate profit from the email marketing itself. They also believe this tactic puts less pressure on the Internet marketer to meet the expectations of the members of the email distribution list because the emails are already generating a profit even if they do not entice the email recipients to make a purchase.
Those who are firmly against the use of advertising in email marketing feel as though this makes the advertisements seem more like spam and less like marketing materials or useful information. Those on this side of the fence feel as though any advertisement in an email marketing campaign should be subtle advertising for the products and services offered by the distributor of the email and not advertisements for businesses who have paid for an advertising spot on the email. They believe the original emails are acceptable but additions to them are spam.
Still others are someone in between on the debate regarding whether or not advertising in email marketing is acceptable. In most cases these individuals believe it is acceptable for there to be advertising as long as it does not overshadow the original intent of the email. This middle of the road concept implies the Internet marketers are not firmly for or against the concept of placing advertisements on emails distributed fro marketing purposes.
The information in this article is rather vague by intention because it leaves more of an opportunity for the reader to form his own opinion. This is important because the subject is largely a matter of personal preference. Each reader must decide for himself whether or not he agrees with one side or the other or chooses to take a middle of the road stance. The opinions of readers of this article may be influenced by whether or not they are considered to be marketers or consumers. This is significant because it can impact the preferences. For example consumers may be less likely to appreciate advertisements in emails intended for marketing purposes because they feel it distracts from the original products. However, marketers may be more apt to be accepting of advertising because they can understand the financial gain which is possible. When evaluating opinions about the use of advertising, it is important to note whether or not the individual offering the opinion is involved in advertising. It might be more worthwhile to seek out opinions from consumers only as they are more likely to share the beliefs of your potential customers.
If it weren抰 for the constant upgrade of technology, we would still be stuck in the era of silent movies. Imagine being consumed in a black and white world, having to read text at the speed of light, trying to catch up with the story line. If film technology had not evolved, who knows perhaps reading marathons would have been a serious sport. However 慴leak?the medium was at one point it has always been a magical and more importantly revolutionary advancement. Inevitably what was known back then certainly had a significant role to play in the technology we are accustomed to today. Only this time round film/video technology is sophisticated and sharper. Although one must admit that silent movies bore a unique charm. Charlie Chaplin wouldn抰 quite be Charlie, if he was clad in full朾lown color, now would he? These days video production has upped the ante, continuing to capture the hearts and minds of the viewer and making cherished movie moments last. Perhaps even a lifetime. As a result the video production industry is rapidly growing and becoming increasingly successful. In fact, the industry offers various businesses valuable services that have a positive impact on not only their corporate image but their bank balances too. So, if you consider yourself a business fundi perhaps its time you invest in video production. It could be your answer to phenomenal success. And, there抯 research to back it up. It抯 been proven that potential customers are 72% more likely to purchase a product or service when video production is used. They also make their buying decisions faster. 89% of consumers will view a video the same day it is received, and 94% will pass the video tape/cd/dvd along to a friend or relative. Moreover, response rates for video production promotions are 6 times greater than those for printed direct mail. It抯 also a well-known fact in industry circles that Video production is more cost effective than any other generic medium. Are you convinced yet?
Nevertheless, what exactly does video production entail? And, more importantly, how does the technology help lucrative industries, as well as lesser known businesses achieve greater success? The notion is fairly simple really, but firstly, one needs to acknowledge that it takes specialised skill and professional know-how to generate maximum use of the medium. In a nutshell, production companies create videos for a wide range of demands, anything from safety videos for use in corporate environments and medical training videos for teaching purposes. An increasing amount of clients are using the medium in a wide range of commercial and government functions as well. Keep in mind that video is a highly visual media. Most companies need help in areas such as selling, training, promotion, public relations and safety. A well-executed, quality video can do wonders as far as showing potential investors the scope of your business, product or idea. How does it all come together? A video production company takes a brief, produces scripts, liaises with the client and puts a production team together. Notably experts range from camera staff to make-up artists. A classic team usually consists of a director, actors, lighting specialist, and other equipment specialists. The film is shot and initial footage is put on broadcast quality tapes, edited and presented to the customer in a draft, or guide form. Sound tracks, visual effects etc, are added in and the final video is presented to the client.
Perhaps you”ve seen it, maybe more than once ?your co-worker has resigned, and they”ll earn their last few paychecks getting on everyone’’s nerves. Negative or hostile remarks, projects left undone, an unwillingness to help, tardiness and truancy – they appear delighted to \”poison the waters\” before saying their final goodbye. It’’s known as \”Short-Timer’’s Syndrome\” and though they”re not doing themselves any favors, we can thank them for the lesson they leave us – don”t burn your bridges on the way out the door!
Hopefully, for most of us, leaving one job for another is a positive experience, one where our co-workers are sad to see us go but happy we are moving on to bigger and better things. There is no ill will and we will likely get a positive reference in the future.
However, if you are leaving your job with unhappiness and disdain, you need to set your hostility aside. Resign with dignity and professionalism. It’’s the best thing you can do for yourself, both personally and professionally.
Avoid the Leeches
There may be people who want to drag you down as you prepare to leave. As tempting as it may be to vent about all the unsavory aspects of your job, it’’s more important to remain professional. Leave on good terms; anything less is a professional black mark against you. Avoid gossip hounds. You certainly don”t want to be remembered for your spitefulness or for turning staff morale on its head.
Put it in Writing
Giving written notice is important. You don”t need to write a novel about your reasons for leaving, just keep it short and to the point. Be professional and courteous, and inform your supervisor of your resignation before you tell anyone else. Under most circumstances, you should give at least two weeks” notice, but in the case of administrative and managerial jobs, four weeks is more appropriate.
Be Helpful, not Harmful
Do everything necessary to complete outstanding work before you go. If you know who is taking over your duties, make a point to train them effectively, and offer to be available to answer questions even after your departure. If your replacement is not hired yet, offer to be available anyway. Chances are they won”t call you, but it makes an excellent impression if you”re willing to lend a hand.
Get Things Done
If there are outstanding projects that can”t be completed prior to your departure, prepare reports or lists of what needs to be done. Share names, numbers, and e-mail addresses of outside contacts or agencies critical to completing these duties. Clean out your desk and organize files, books, and supplies to help those replacing you.
Choose Your Words Carefully
If asked to complete an exit interview, resist the urge to bash the company. If there are concerns that should be addressed, mention them only if you know they”ve been brought up before. It isn”t the time to start stirring the pot. However, if you have critical information that you feel must be shared, you may want to find a way to cautiously divulge it. You can”t control if it gets acted on, but at least you know you told someone.
Title
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Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk
Can Easy To Use Software Also Be Secure
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Anyone who has been working with computers for a long time will have noticed that mainstream operating systems and applications have become easier to use over the years (supposedly). Tasks that use to be complex procedures and required experienced professional to do can now be done at the push of a button. For instance, setting up an Active Directory domain in Windows 2000 or higher can now be done by a wizard leading even the most novice technical person to believe they can \”securely\” setup the operating environment. This is actually quite far from the truth. Half the time this procedure fails because DNS does not configure properly or security permissions are relaxed because the end user cannot perform a specific function.
If It’’s Easy To Develop, Is It Also Secure
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One of the reasons why operating systems and applications \”appear\” to be easier to work with then they use to is developers have created procedures and reusable objects to take care of all the complex tasks for you. For instance, back in the old days when I started as a developer using assembly language and c/c++, I had to write pretty much all the code myself. Now everything is visually driven, with millions of lines of code already written for you. All you have to do is create the framework for your application and the development environment and compiler adds all the other complex stuff for you. Who wrote this other code? How can you be sure it is secure. Basically, you have no idea and there is no easy way to answer this question.
Secure Environments Don”t Exist Well With Complexity
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The reality is it may look easier on the surface but the complexity of the backend software can be incredible. And guess what, secure environments do not coexist well with complexity. This is one of the reasons there are so many opportunities for hackers, viruses, and malware to attack your computers. How many bugs are in the Microsoft Operating System? I can almost guarantee that no one really knows for sure, not even Microsoft developers. However, I can tell you that there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of bugs, holes, and security weaknesses in mainstream systems and applications just waiting to be uncovered and maliciously exploited.
How Reliable and Secure are Complex Systems?
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Let’’s draw a comparison between the world of software and security with that of the space program. Scientists at NASA have know for years that the space shuttle is one of the most complex systems in the world. With miles of wiring, incredible mechanical functions, millions of lines of operating system and application code, and failsafe systems to protect failsafe systems, and even more failsafe systems to protect other systems. Systems like the space shuttle need to perform consistently, cost effectively, and have high Mean-Time-Between-Failure(MTBF).
All in all the space shuttle has a good record. One thing it is not though is cost effective and consistent. Every time there is a launch different issues crop up that cause delays. In a few circumstances, even the most basic components of this complex system, like \”O\” rings, have sadly resulted in a fatal outcome. Why are things like this missed? Are they just not on the radar screen because all the other complexities of the system demand so much attention? There are million different variables I”m sure. The fact is, NASA scientists know they need to work on developing less complex systems to achieve their objectives.
This same principal of reducing complexity to increase security, performance, and decrease failures really does apply to the world of computers and networking. Ever time I here associates of mine talk about incredibly complex systems they design for clients and how hard they were to implement I cringe. How in the world are people suppose to cost effectively and reliably manage such things. In some cases it’’s almost impossible. Just ask any organization how many versions or different brands of intrusion detection systems they have been through. As them how many times the have had infections by virus and malware because of poorly developed software or applications. Or, if they have ever had a breach in security because the developer of a specific system was driven by ease of use and inadvertently put in place a piece of helpful code that was also helpful to a hacker.
Can I Write A Document Without A Potential Security Problem Please
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Just a few days ago I was thinking about something as simple as Microsoft Word. I use MS-Word all the time, every day in fact. Do you know how powerful this application really is? Microsoft Word can do all kinds of complex tasks like math, algorithms, graphing, trend analysis, crazy font and graphic effects, link to external data including databases, and execute web based functions.
Do you know what I use it for, to write documents. nothing crazy or complex, at least most of the time. Wouldn”t it be interesting that when you first installed or configured Microsoft Word, there was an option for installing only a bare bones version of the core product. I mean, really stripped down so there was not much to it. You can do this to a degree, but all the shared application components are still there. Almost every computer I have compromised during security assessments has had MS-Word installed on it. I can”t tell you how many times I have used this applications ability to do all kinds of complex tasks to compromise the system and other systems further. We”ll leave the details of this for another article though.
Conclusion
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Here’’s the bottom line. The more complex systems get, typically in the name of ease of use for end users, the more opportunity for failure, compromise, and infection increases. There are ways of making things easy to use, perform well, and provide a wide variety of function and still decrease complexity and maintain security. It just takes a little longer to develop and more thought of security. You might think that a large part of the blame for complex insecure software should fall on the shoulders of the developers. But the reality is it is us, the end users and consumers that are partially to blame. We want software that is bigger, faster, can do just about everything, and we want it fast. We don”t have time to wait for it to be developed in a secure manner, do we?
You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.
Original URL (The Web version of the article)
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http://www.defendingthenet.com/NewsLetters/WhyEasyToUseSoftwareIsPuttingYouAtRisk.htm
The Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) is Cisco’’s tech support center, and they”ve got some very talented people working there. Before you pick up the phone to call the TAC, though, you should do your best to resolve the problem and document each step along the way. One of the first things the TAC will do is ask what you”ve done so far to resolve the issue, and giving them an accurate answer is a huge step toward getting the problem resolved.
If you”re used to \”tech support\” where calls are prioritized by the order in which they come in, the TAC will open your eyes! Cisco’’s TAC uses four priority levels to determine which cases should be handled first:
Priority 1: The network is down, no workaround available, and business processes are at a critical stage.
Priority 2: The network is badly degraded, business processes are impacted, and no workaround is possible.
Priority 3: Network is degraded, but business processes are working for the most part.
Priority 4: Basic support call for installation or configuration, or information on Cisco products.
Once you open a case with the TAC, you can check the status of your cases online with the Cisco TAC Case Query tool. This is an interactive tool which allows you to update the status of the case from your end without placing additional phone calls to TAC. It’’s also a faster way to let your TAC engineer know how your cases are proceeding.
Gather all the information you can BEFORE you call tech support. Don”t just pick up the phone without investigating the issue.
This goes double for opening TAC calls. Some good practices to follow before calling TAC:
Document changes made before the issue arose.
Document changes made to configs AFTER the trouble occurred.
Document ping and traceroute results.
Make sure the log is large enough to keep errors and console messages that are resulting from the issue.
Depending on the technology, test everything you can before calling tech support. For Frame Relay, for instance, check everything between your site and the DCE closest to the site. (Trust me, that’’s the first thing they”re going to ask you to do.) For ISDN, check the configurations carefully, and again check everything between your site and the provider.
Kharkiv, Ukraine ?February 10, 2006 ?QArea, offshore outsourcing company, also being the leading developer of applications for PDA and smart phones and provider of automated testing solutions for PDA applications, is announcing its attending 3GSM World Congress 2006 in Barcelona, Spain.
3GSM World Congress will take place in Barcelona 13-16 of February 2006.
3GSM Congress is a dedicated event covering mobile technologies, wireless networks and mechanism of their providing, starting with basic communication and network operability support systems through wireless handhelds users utilize in their everyday life, as well as personified content which makes PDAs and mobile phones ever convenient tools for business and leisure.
\”Without a doubt, 3GSM World Congress 2005 has been the most well-attended, most exciting and most important gathering ever for the mobile industry,\” explained Bill Gajda, Chief Marketing Officer at the GSM Association. \”We look forward to welcoming everyone to Barcelona in 2006, where we”re sure that we can transplant the best of Cannes?”village” atmosphere into the Fira de Barcelona’’s vibrant space.\”
3GSM Congress is the largest conference and exhibition event of its kind. This year alone the event attracted over 32,000 of the most senior executives with a vested interest in the wireless industry. 2006 is said to be bigger than the one of 2005 and is a not to be missed for any executive serious about the opportunities that lie ahead in this business.
This year, 2006, the world’’s premier mobile event is making 3GSM World Congress history with record breaking pre-registrations. 962 companies have signed up as exhibitors, showcasing their latest mobile products, services and solutions – a massive 40% increase from last year! 50,000 visitors are also expected in Barcelona.
The keynote speakers are: Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, President & COO, (CEO Elect), Nokia, Arun Sarin, CEO, Vodafone Group, Sanjiv Ahuja, CEO, Orange Group and others.
Among mainstream topics are: innovations in GSM, delivering of multimedia through handsets, mobile TV and Radio content, gaming content and opportunities for service providers and players, 3G and WCDMA technologies, mobile security and others.
Offshore software development company QArea will present its extended experience in software development and testing services for PDA & Mobile. Since 2001 QArea is a key company in Ukraine professionally and full time engaged in PDA & Mobile application development, porting and testing. Being committed to providing custom software of the highest quality QArea contributed to success of many well-known companies mainly located in the US and West Europe.
PDA & Mobile domain in QArea is presented by Windows CE/Windows Mobile, Symbian, J2ME. QArea develops and ports software for entertainment and business providing standalone, client/server and WAP applications and WAP portal solutions engaging a vast variety of wireless connection technologies as GPS, WAP, GPRS, Bluetooth, IrDA, or Wi-Fi.
About QArea: QArea is the one of the largest offshore software development companies in Eastern Europe since 2001. Its primary focus is brought upon application development for handheld devices, (j2me development), Symbian, WinCE (Windows Mobile), Palm devices and related. Also, QArea cultivates strong .NET and Java development teams performing standalone and web-application development services.
Did you know that you can watch TV on your personal computer for free? You can even watch hundreds of digital satellite TV channels using software that is available online. In fact, you do not need any additional hardware or a tuner card in order to start watching TV on your pc. It’’s very easy and extremely popular nowadays to watch TV over the internet. But if you want to watch some serious TV shows, movies, programs and sports, you may need to purchase software that will make it possible for you to watch satellite TV channels from around the world.
Some providers will let you watch free-to朼ir channels for free and charge you for other channels such as movie channels. But there is software that you can download online that will let you access hundreds of TV channels including many satellite TV channels.
If you have a high speed internet connection or broadband, you may have noticed that you can watch video on many websites. On Google Video and YouTube, for example, you can watch all sorts of videos and movies that are streamed to your computer. Advancement in these and similar technologies has made it possible for software developers to design programs which you can install on your home computer that will instantly enable you to start watching TV. These types of software will allow you to watch hundreds or even thousands of channels from different parts of the world. In the past, you could only be able to get access to some of the digital satellite TV channels if you had a subscription with one of the providers. But now you can watch movies, TV programs, news, documentaries and many other types of TV shows.
If you search for free digital satellite TV on any search engine such as Google, you will find many websites offering to show you how to get free TV on your computer. Some of these sites are not genuine because they may only offer you one or two channels for free but then ask you to pay a monthly subscription fee if you want to watch more channels. Also some of the software that is available for free online is loaded with spy ware and other viruses that could bring your pc to a halt and make it crash. You need to be careful when you download free software online.
To get started, you need a very good broadband connection and a good pc. The pc doesn”t have to be top of the range but the better the pc the better the viewing experience. TV channels require high bandwidth especially if you want very good picture quality so a broadband connection is a must. If you prefer to watch TV on your TV instead of your computer monitor then you”ll need a pc with video out. The video output will make it possible for you to connect your pc to your TV so that you can watch the TV channels on your TV.
Some of the minimum requirements for you to watch TV or access digital satellite TV channels on your pc include:
– Pentium II 333 MHz processor or above
– An operating system such as Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP etc.
– Sound card
– CD Rom drive for installing software/Software can also be downloaded direct from the internet to your pc.
If you want to find out more information about how to watch satellite TV channels on your pc and where to find the software that you need, you can find a detailed article and information at
A real estate investor is a person who is engaged in the transaction of buying and selling of real estate property. When a person is interested in the real estate property, surely then he will engage in this transaction. Dealing in a real estate transaction makes the real estate investor more knowledgeable and experienced. When the investor is engaged in the transaction of the real estate, he has to follow some necessary steps and techniques to makes his transaction a successful transaction. It is in the hands of the investor to make his transaction a successful or unsuccessful one. Other than the changes of the real estate investing market, the investor can make other criterions a successful criterion.
Commitment
The important factor to be noted by the investor is to analyze the deal carefully. The investor is to focus mainly on this issue. The investor is to make inspection on the transaction whether it gives more profit and it is a legal one. The investor is also required to collect information relating to the transaction. The information collected and the inspection made on the transaction will be useful to the investor to determine any further proceeds in the transaction. Only after collecting the adequate information needed for the transaction, the investor can engage into the dealing of buying and selling of real property. The investor is to make his commitments very carefully and legally, because once commitment is made its difficult to come out from the transaction.
Evaluation
When the investor enters in to a transaction, he has to analyze whether the transaction will fetch him a high cash flow. The investor has to evaluate the real property at the time of buying and selling of the real estate property. Evaluation is the important factor to be noted, because the investor may buy or sell the property even in a loss. To avoid or overcome this problem evaluation is to be done on every property the investor dealing. This investigation not only helps the investor to overcome the problem, but also helps realize the fact.
Adequate knowledge and experience
The other main factor needed for the real estate investor is the adequate knowledge and the experience on the real estate investment. When the investor gains this knowledge then it becomes the easier task for him to make his buying and selling transaction a profitable venture. When the investor does not make use of this information, he may also suffer a loss.
Market changes
The real estate property dealing must have enough cash flow, leverage and equity. Every investment made will have uncertain risk. It is difficult to predict the real estate market, because it may have changes at any time. The property market may find boom or depression at any time. When it is a boom the investor can sell the property at a profitable rate but buy the property at an unprofitable rate. While at the time of depression the property can be sold out at an unreasonable rate and buy at a fair rate.
When the investor notes the changes in the market conditions, then he can easily make his decision. The investor has to evaluate the information, transaction and market changes to make his deal an effective source. Involvement and business spirit makes the real estate transaction a successful transaction.
There are a couple of ways to turn blogging into a profit making machine. One way is to contact different companies to buy advertising space on your blog, so that they can reach a niche audience. Another way of making money through blogging is to help a single brand or company improve or sell its image by talking and writing about it in your blog. There is a lot of money to be made either way, especially if you are good at marketing and sales.
Feature advertisements ?Bloggers can choose from a number of viable advertising options. One of the most popular advertising programs for blogs has been Google’’s AdSense program. Google AdSense is a fast and easy way to display relevant text-based, context-relevant advertisements next to the content on a site and thereby earn money. This is done automatically and you really do not have to do too much work except put a small-sized code inside each of your Web pages. Each time a visitor clicks these advertisements, you get paid. Apart from Adsense, there are many other options available to you as a blogger ?Blogpads, Tagword, CrispAds, Text Link Ads, Intelli Txt to name a few. A more profitable advertising route to making money through blogging is to recruit companies to put their advertisements and links on your blog yourself. You might find this easy to do especially if you have contacts in different companies that may be interested in advertising on your blog. This approach will work only if you have a sizeable readership and for this you may have to complete several months of blogging before you begin to see the money trickling in.
Create a buzz about something ?Companies, today, are trying to find a way to get into the lucrative business of blogging to talk about, promote or cover specific products and issues. They realize that blogs attract a lot of readers who can generate profitable 搘ord-of-mouth?advertising. A blog allows them to put forward a friendly 揻ace?of the company, and helps create a positive buzz about their business. One way of doing this is to get talked about on an independent third party blog, as this brings higher credibility. If your blog can do the job of creating that buzz, there, that抯 another way of making money through blogging!
Apart from these two options, other channels offering commercial opportunities are also emerging. Some of these include ?RSS feeds, affiliate marketing, selling merchandise like e-books and accepting donations.
Blogging is still an evolving phenomenon but it is here to stay. And with an ever increasing audience, the opportunity of making money through blogging will only keep growing. You just need to learn about the ways to make money so that you will become more knowledgeable about the process.
The best thing for you to do is to blog without worrying about making money in any particular way. Money will come in as you become more visible and showcase your ability to review, explore or analyze issues and products. It is the best way to market yourself, network with people in your area of interest and eventually earn big bucks too!
Laptop Travel Tips
Nov 14
Travel laptops require more consideration on top of the usual factors involved in buying a laptop, such as performance, price and warranty. Getting a system that is light is critical. With widescreen models becoming more popular, whilst great for viewing, it just adds weight to the system. If you are not into watching movies or complex graphics, a smaller screen should be fine.
While the price of laptops compared to desktops has shrunk recently, you will still pay slightly more for a laptop. With laptops reasonably difficult to expand or upgrade, it抯 a good idea to add more memory or get a bigger hard drive at the time of purchase. Your system should have at least two USB 2.0 ports, as this will be the main way of connecting to external devices.
If you are a frequent traveler and want to use your laptop while flying, there are some other design issues you might want to consider. Widescreen laptops can be a hassle if you are in the coach section, as there is hardly enough room to open the machine. A system with external controls for volume and Wi-Fi can also be good, to avoid annoying other passengers or interfering with the aircrafts navigational system. For really long flights, a second battery is probably the most cost effective way of keeping your system powered up.
As laptops are more likely to be damaged or stolen while on the road, it is a good idea to have a backup plan. Do a regular backup so if something bad does happen, you don抰 lose too much data. The easiest way to do this is to buy a laptop with a built in DVD burner. One DVD disc should be more than enough to store your work data. You could also use a CD burner, but you would probably need to carry multiple discs. If you only have a small amount of files you need to backup, a USB flash drive would also do the job.
Laptops that are on the road regularly are more likely to break down. So invest in a good quality carry case to limit any potential damage in transit, and always keep your backups up to date.
Most warranties these days are only twelve months, so if there is an extended warranty available, it may be worth taking up if you are constantly on the road.