People are talking about useful stuff over on them boards...

What happens when you wrote a good piece but it turned out badly edited? Should you include it in your portfolio? Ask an impartial observer to read it. If they don't notice the errors, then you might be safe. Another good idea, if it's online, is to copy the piece and edit it yourself in a word processing program. But if it's not salvageable, it might be best just to mention the piece in your resume or list of publications but not include the actual clip.

Can you get anything if you write a piece for a magazine with no contract and then the pub goes belly-up? You can try. Or you can re-sell it somewhere else: with a contract.

Some tips on where to find a cheap desktop printer, but even better, tips on how to keep it running.

Can you make the switch from trade publicatiosns to commercial? Yes, as long as you stay persistent. It helps if you can translate your own personal expertise int something with mass appeal.

Something I know very little about but the folks on this board can help: Quark or InDesign? The consensus seems to be that InDesign is the wave of the future, along with copy editors performing a lot of design work.