RSS Feeds
RSS also known as rich site summary or real simply syndication, arrived on the scene a number of years ago, but was only recently embraced by webmasters as a means to effectively syndicate content. RSS Feeds provide webmasters and content providers an avenue to provide concise summaries to prospective readers. Thousands of commercial web sites and blogs now publish content summaries in an RSS feed. Each item in the feed typically contains a headline; article summary and link back to the online article.
Benefit to the Webmaster
As the web has become more crowded webmasters have been striving to provide fresh and up to date content for their website visitors. Many webmasters have discovered they can easily utilize the information in RSS feeds to provide fresh web content.
RSS feeds are composed in XML, which is a very simple markup language. Similar to HTML, XML uses tags to identify fields. Webmasters can easily parse the RSS feed and dynamically create web pages that contain headlines and summaries. The feeds will continuously update, supplying a steady stream of automatically generated fresh content.
RSS allows webmasters to:
1. Provide fresh and relevant content on their website, which encourages users to return.
2. Constantly changing content means that search engine spiders will visit more frequently.
3. Automate content delivery.
The benefits of RSS feeds are not limited to webmasters, surfers too benefit from the technology as well.
Benefit to Web Surfers
The beauty of RSS is that readers can quickly scan headlines (titles) and read articles of interest. Because the information is condensed and provided in a single location users can generally review more information in a shorter time frame. Additional information is only a click away. Best of all readers choose the feeds they wish to see, there is no spam with RSS. If you are not completely thrilled with the content appearing in a feed simply remove it from the newsreader. The technology is a pull technology rather than push technology, meaning the content is not forced on the consumers, who pull the content they want to see.
RSS allows for users to:
1. Easily locate information.
2. Read condensced information or 'soundbytes' with clearly marked and dated topic material.
3. Classify and categorize information in an easy to navigate manner.
4. Maximize their time without having to deal with spam.
RSS feeds can be viewed in a news aggregator or reader, which constantly updates and shows unread feeds. I found the functionality of the newsreaders to be similar to a simple email client. Consumers generally enter the URL of any RSS feeds that interest them. Topics with a common theme can be segregated into related groups.
I highly recommend FeedDemon http://www.feeddemon.com by BradSoft as a newsreader. FeedDemon is extremely easy to use and allows for quick scanning and indexing of topics. FeedDemon allows users to quickly scan, sort and scroll through headline and article summaries, while viewing the actual content in a split screen web browser.
Finding Topic Specific Relevant Feeds
In order to find feeds that provide niche information users can search Feedster. Feedster http://www.feedster.com is a rapidly growing news search engine that indexes information contained within RSS feeds. Searches for topic specific feeds can be conducted and feeds can be retrieved for syndication.
Benefit to Content Developer
While the benefits to users and webmasters are clear the distribution opportunities made available to content developers should not be overlooked. Information contained in the RSS feed can be easily syndicated, increasing content distribution and reach.
RSS allows for content developers to:
1. Increase exposure in niche markets.
2. Communicate with user bases and reach potential customers via an alternate communication method.
3. Disseminate relevant information.
4. Define themselves as an industry expert.
5. Automate content delivery.
RSS has effectively standardized the format for content delivery and has effectively defined the accepted standard for content distribution and syndication. RSS will likely rival email as a means of content distribution in another few years. The shear simplicity makes the technology very appealing.
The distribution potential, while albeit difficult to measure, is still attractive to all parties making the likelihood that RSS popularity will only continue to grow.
RSS Feeds to Try
Feeds exist for almost any topic consider trying these feeds out by entering the url in your feed reader:
Small Business Feed - small business tips and news
http://www.small-business-software.net/blog-feed.xml
Software Marketing Blog Summary - software marketing and online news
http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog-feed.xml
SMS, Wireless Messaging Related News. - news related to telecom, wireless industry and NotePage's software
http://www.notepage.net/blog-feed.xml
Free Content Articles - collection of free content articles, updates when new article is released.
http://www.small-business-software.net/article-feed.xml
Software Marketing News - news related to software conferences, awards, software development and marketing
http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/feed.xml
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Guidelines for Printing Great Photos at Home
So you have this great digital camera and you’ve taken lots of great photos. Now what? Well you could go to a store and have them print your images for you, but isn’t that what you did with film? The point of all this great digital technology is that you can print your own photos at home without having to pay someone else to do it. Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. It’ll seem like a lot of money at first but spend the money to get a good printer. Six color at least. Ink jets are wonderful for printing snapshots. You won’t need more than that. Also look around at the computer brands that sell computer packages for digital printing, the printer that they recommend is perfect for printing photos at home.
2. Buy some photo editing software. There are lots of brands out there many of them for pros but you can easily find software under one hundred dollars that will have lots more options than you will ever use. Look for software that has automatic settings so that the computer can automatically color correct, auto focus, brighten, or darken, etc. At least until you learn number 3.
3. Learn your equipment. Take the time play with the settings. Don’t try to print perfect photos right away. Most people with a little time and practice can learn to do basic photo special effects. Give yourself the time to learn.
4. There is one place that you are going to have to spend some money and it’s on paper. You can have a great image but unfortunately you cannot skimp on paper. Get the nice thick glossy paper, it’s worth it. I’ve tried the cheaper paper, which is good for test prints, but you need the high quality stuff for good prints.
5. DPI, dots per inch. Depending on your printer and your software you may be able to print up to 1200 dpi which is probably unnecessary for what you’re doing. For up to a 4 by 6 inch print you only need about 300 dpi. Most people cannot see the difference between a 300 dpi an a 600 dpi at 4 by 6 inches. For 5 by 7 or 8 by 10 you can go up to 600 dpi.
These steps will help you on your way to printing great digital photos at home. Remember though make sure that you have fun printing all those memories.
FYI Just so that you have a frame of reference, I’m a professional photographer and I have a six color ink jet that I paid less than $300 for and photo editing software that I paid less than $100. I print my 5 by 7 images for shows at 600 dpi.
1. It’ll seem like a lot of money at first but spend the money to get a good printer. Six color at least. Ink jets are wonderful for printing snapshots. You won’t need more than that. Also look around at the computer brands that sell computer packages for digital printing, the printer that they recommend is perfect for printing photos at home.
2. Buy some photo editing software. There are lots of brands out there many of them for pros but you can easily find software under one hundred dollars that will have lots more options than you will ever use. Look for software that has automatic settings so that the computer can automatically color correct, auto focus, brighten, or darken, etc. At least until you learn number 3.
3. Learn your equipment. Take the time play with the settings. Don’t try to print perfect photos right away. Most people with a little time and practice can learn to do basic photo special effects. Give yourself the time to learn.
4. There is one place that you are going to have to spend some money and it’s on paper. You can have a great image but unfortunately you cannot skimp on paper. Get the nice thick glossy paper, it’s worth it. I’ve tried the cheaper paper, which is good for test prints, but you need the high quality stuff for good prints.
5. DPI, dots per inch. Depending on your printer and your software you may be able to print up to 1200 dpi which is probably unnecessary for what you’re doing. For up to a 4 by 6 inch print you only need about 300 dpi. Most people cannot see the difference between a 300 dpi an a 600 dpi at 4 by 6 inches. For 5 by 7 or 8 by 10 you can go up to 600 dpi.
These steps will help you on your way to printing great digital photos at home. Remember though make sure that you have fun printing all those memories.
FYI Just so that you have a frame of reference, I’m a professional photographer and I have a six color ink jet that I paid less than $300 for and photo editing software that I paid less than $100. I print my 5 by 7 images for shows at 600 dpi.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Increase in Customer Sales = Increase in Customer Service
One of the most popular questions asked in online business forums or even by my customers and subscribers is this :
“How the hell can I increase my sales?”
or
“I’ve got tons of visitors but nobody seems to be buying anything? What gives?”
FISHNETS WITH HOLES? ANYONE?
Getting traffic is not the be all and end all of a successful online business. It requires skills, specific online marketing strategies designed for your site and a robust customer service strategy.
So what if you have thousands of visitors per day! That does’nt amount to success, unless you close at least 5 to 10% of those visitors.
You see, when you get a lot of traffic from your advertising and marketing activities and nobody there to guide them, is like hauling a big fishing net in the water with a major flaw…..it has a sizeable hole in the middle. So you can say goodbye to eating fish…for now, at least.
Would you go and pick up items on display from a store that does not offer the least bit assurance of somebody manning it? Sure! Sure, we’re on the work smart, work less attitude but hey, humans prefer humans, and they most certainly will buy from somebody they’ve talked to before. You see, they need to feel some warmth and yes, especially on the internet where items are passed on in “cold” or “digital” means.
DOING THE BOTTOMLINE
It’s good that you have some or a lot of visitors to your website, but the bottomline is that you should have the best customer service and a lot of options for them to contact you, the soonest. The more the better!
Look around you. Take a look at the most popular sites on the net or even your favorite newsletter, they all have one common factor, customer service availability.
The most common or popular customer service strategy is through a form-to-mail which prohibits anybody from spamming your email account rather than having them email you directly, well unless you have a very good email filter software.
But you can offer them additional ways to contact you such as these options below.
PROVIDE MANY OPTIONS FOR CONTACT
Online business is a contact sport. You want to close more sales? Then increase your customer service availability and options.
Providing them with a lot of options would mean that you are always ready to receive their inquiries, or issues with a welcoming smile. It would make you more credible. It would create a halo of success to your already plumed hat.
Let us take a look at some of the free ways for you to interact with your website visitors:
CHAT SERVICES
Mostly, website owners would be the one manning these free chat services and if you’d like to be assumed as a pro-entrepreneur you can always advance anytime to a helpdesk solution or upgrade from your free account.
Bravenet.com - Free Webmaster Resources. Cut and paste services you can use for your site for free. They use LivePerson for their customer help service. (FREE AND PRO)
http://www.Bravenet.com
Chat-Forum.com – They offer free Java Chat Rooms & Advanced Custom Internet Chat Solutions (FREE AND PRO)
http://chat-forum.com/
Parachat.com - They’re solutios enable real-time communication on their own web site for a host of applications, including corporate interaction, moderated events, distance education, visitor retention, customer service, dating and romance, entertainment, and family fun. (FREE AND PRO)
http://www.parachat.com
Boldchat.com - Boldchat is a FREE live chat service for web sites to do live help and live support chats with visitors. They don’t have ads and their free account is for unlimited personal use. (FREE AND PRO)
http://www.boldchat.com
PHONE SUPPORT
If you want credibility then put your phone number up in your website. Make it more visible to the eye especially on your home page or on your product or service order page. This way, they’ll be more comfortable to see that they can call you anytime. You can ask your local phone company to provide you with a 1800 number so visitors all over the world can call you for free.
RULING IN VOIP
VoIp is certainly getting it’s share of the market right now as more and more softphones or internet phones are coming out of the market every month.
What is voip? Voice over internet phone which basically denotes that you can now make clear pc to pc calls worldwide.
Skype.com
Take a look at Skype for example. They’re definitely a new player against giants like Yahoo, and MSN but they say that they have 14 million downloads up to date. I’m not against them but hey, they’re software is ad-ware so you should be aware!
http://www.Skype.com
Buzzfon.com
There’s a new player in town and they call their pc to pc calling softphone, Buzzfonp2p. They’re giving away free 30 day trials and yes, the user surveys are in. They’re clear, the quality is amazing with no disruptions mind you even if you’re on dial up! So you can check them out. http://www.buzzfon.com and nope, they don’t have ads on them and you can even make pc to phone calls, phone to phone calls, phone to pc calls on their advanced version of Buzzfonp2p, aptly called, Buzzfon+.
GO BROADBAND FOR LESS
There are a lot of broadband services out there who would’nt charge you an arm and a leg for their services. One of them is Vonage and the newest player in town is Bonusfon.
Vonage.com
They have specific target packages for different market segments and they’re basically number one in terms of broadband user surveys.
http://www.vonage.com
Bonusfon.com
They are certainly getting their own share of the market, as what the energetic telecom owner Tam Sanchez said regarding distributing global broadband services. Their rates are highly affordable and they have a feature called pay –per-talk. Pay only for the services you need and you want. Yes, they’re lower than Vonage and more competitive and flexible in terms of packaging.
http://www.bonusfon.com
HELPDESK SOLUTIONS
Helpdesk solutions are web applications that you install on your own server or hosted on the provider’s server that includes most of the customer support solutions like FAQ, TICKET SUPPORT SYSTEM, and LIVE CHAT. Some even have phone in support.
There are a lot of helpdesk solutions out there which are free but then always has a drawback. It’s either, chatting service are slow on your server or it just freezes in the screen while you’re online or you can only try it if you have the latest language of php, and perl installed in your server.
There are particular helpdesk solutions we like that offers a lot more for less.
LiveHelp.Stardevelop.com – PHP Live Help Messenger is the new real-time, live chat, customer service software solution allowing customer support operators to chat to potential online customers browsing your web site. (Price : $89.00)
http://www.livehelp.startdevelop.com
DNAHelpdesk.com - DNA Helpdesk is a powerful yet user friendly module for the corporate helpdesk available on its own, combined with DNA Pack 1 (Inventory) or as part of our overall DNA management suite. DNA Helpdesk is a fully web based solution providing detailed recording and tracking of user Help Requests. (Price : Commercial)
http://www.dnahelpcenter.com/
IN CONCLUSION
There are a lot of ways to interact and create a more personalized service than your other competitors and that will surely depend on the ways and means that you want them to contact you. Provide them more avenues of interaction and they will certainly trust you more than your competitors. Help them to help yourself.
Happy Profitting!
“How the hell can I increase my sales?”
or
“I’ve got tons of visitors but nobody seems to be buying anything? What gives?”
FISHNETS WITH HOLES? ANYONE?
Getting traffic is not the be all and end all of a successful online business. It requires skills, specific online marketing strategies designed for your site and a robust customer service strategy.
So what if you have thousands of visitors per day! That does’nt amount to success, unless you close at least 5 to 10% of those visitors.
You see, when you get a lot of traffic from your advertising and marketing activities and nobody there to guide them, is like hauling a big fishing net in the water with a major flaw…..it has a sizeable hole in the middle. So you can say goodbye to eating fish…for now, at least.
Would you go and pick up items on display from a store that does not offer the least bit assurance of somebody manning it? Sure! Sure, we’re on the work smart, work less attitude but hey, humans prefer humans, and they most certainly will buy from somebody they’ve talked to before. You see, they need to feel some warmth and yes, especially on the internet where items are passed on in “cold” or “digital” means.
DOING THE BOTTOMLINE
It’s good that you have some or a lot of visitors to your website, but the bottomline is that you should have the best customer service and a lot of options for them to contact you, the soonest. The more the better!
Look around you. Take a look at the most popular sites on the net or even your favorite newsletter, they all have one common factor, customer service availability.
The most common or popular customer service strategy is through a form-to-mail which prohibits anybody from spamming your email account rather than having them email you directly, well unless you have a very good email filter software.
But you can offer them additional ways to contact you such as these options below.
PROVIDE MANY OPTIONS FOR CONTACT
Online business is a contact sport. You want to close more sales? Then increase your customer service availability and options.
Providing them with a lot of options would mean that you are always ready to receive their inquiries, or issues with a welcoming smile. It would make you more credible. It would create a halo of success to your already plumed hat.
Let us take a look at some of the free ways for you to interact with your website visitors:
CHAT SERVICES
Mostly, website owners would be the one manning these free chat services and if you’d like to be assumed as a pro-entrepreneur you can always advance anytime to a helpdesk solution or upgrade from your free account.
Bravenet.com - Free Webmaster Resources. Cut and paste services you can use for your site for free. They use LivePerson for their customer help service. (FREE AND PRO)
http://www.Bravenet.com
Chat-Forum.com – They offer free Java Chat Rooms & Advanced Custom Internet Chat Solutions (FREE AND PRO)
http://chat-forum.com/
Parachat.com - They’re solutios enable real-time communication on their own web site for a host of applications, including corporate interaction, moderated events, distance education, visitor retention, customer service, dating and romance, entertainment, and family fun. (FREE AND PRO)
http://www.parachat.com
Boldchat.com - Boldchat is a FREE live chat service for web sites to do live help and live support chats with visitors. They don’t have ads and their free account is for unlimited personal use. (FREE AND PRO)
http://www.boldchat.com
PHONE SUPPORT
If you want credibility then put your phone number up in your website. Make it more visible to the eye especially on your home page or on your product or service order page. This way, they’ll be more comfortable to see that they can call you anytime. You can ask your local phone company to provide you with a 1800 number so visitors all over the world can call you for free.
RULING IN VOIP
VoIp is certainly getting it’s share of the market right now as more and more softphones or internet phones are coming out of the market every month.
What is voip? Voice over internet phone which basically denotes that you can now make clear pc to pc calls worldwide.
Skype.com
Take a look at Skype for example. They’re definitely a new player against giants like Yahoo, and MSN but they say that they have 14 million downloads up to date. I’m not against them but hey, they’re software is ad-ware so you should be aware!
http://www.Skype.com
Buzzfon.com
There’s a new player in town and they call their pc to pc calling softphone, Buzzfonp2p. They’re giving away free 30 day trials and yes, the user surveys are in. They’re clear, the quality is amazing with no disruptions mind you even if you’re on dial up! So you can check them out. http://www.buzzfon.com and nope, they don’t have ads on them and you can even make pc to phone calls, phone to phone calls, phone to pc calls on their advanced version of Buzzfonp2p, aptly called, Buzzfon+.
GO BROADBAND FOR LESS
There are a lot of broadband services out there who would’nt charge you an arm and a leg for their services. One of them is Vonage and the newest player in town is Bonusfon.
Vonage.com
They have specific target packages for different market segments and they’re basically number one in terms of broadband user surveys.
http://www.vonage.com
Bonusfon.com
They are certainly getting their own share of the market, as what the energetic telecom owner Tam Sanchez said regarding distributing global broadband services. Their rates are highly affordable and they have a feature called pay –per-talk. Pay only for the services you need and you want. Yes, they’re lower than Vonage and more competitive and flexible in terms of packaging.
http://www.bonusfon.com
HELPDESK SOLUTIONS
Helpdesk solutions are web applications that you install on your own server or hosted on the provider’s server that includes most of the customer support solutions like FAQ, TICKET SUPPORT SYSTEM, and LIVE CHAT. Some even have phone in support.
There are a lot of helpdesk solutions out there which are free but then always has a drawback. It’s either, chatting service are slow on your server or it just freezes in the screen while you’re online or you can only try it if you have the latest language of php, and perl installed in your server.
There are particular helpdesk solutions we like that offers a lot more for less.
LiveHelp.Stardevelop.com – PHP Live Help Messenger is the new real-time, live chat, customer service software solution allowing customer support operators to chat to potential online customers browsing your web site. (Price : $89.00)
http://www.livehelp.startdevelop.com
DNAHelpdesk.com - DNA Helpdesk is a powerful yet user friendly module for the corporate helpdesk available on its own, combined with DNA Pack 1 (Inventory) or as part of our overall DNA management suite. DNA Helpdesk is a fully web based solution providing detailed recording and tracking of user Help Requests. (Price : Commercial)
http://www.dnahelpcenter.com/
IN CONCLUSION
There are a lot of ways to interact and create a more personalized service than your other competitors and that will surely depend on the ways and means that you want them to contact you. Provide them more avenues of interaction and they will certainly trust you more than your competitors. Help them to help yourself.
Happy Profitting!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Net Novice No More
A relative novice when it came to the Internet, not too long ago I didn’t have a clue where to start when trying to create a website or why I had the need for one. Luckily though, with time and practice, it became apparent.
Having a website has advantages, providing solutions to a wide range of everyday problems. Websites can be used as a personal identity to promote you or what you offer, to the world, be it global, local or personal.
Web hosting, where one puts a web presence and stores it along with pictures, pages and 'tricks'. As a novice I felt the need to have things explained to me in the simplest of terms and I know I’m not alone.
For all those out there who quietly sink into their seats when friends or colleagues start discussing the "Net", I am going to explain to you, what web hosting is. Simply.
The web page. This is a document file, created by a web Editor software such as FrontPage or DreamWeaver. It is your first step, this is the page you will view. It will hold your pictures, your logos, your text, your links to other places and your Internet 'tricks and fancies'.
You then need to create your content, as above, pictures, logos, text etc. Once compiled, as you have with other computer design programs, you need to take the images and web pages and find a web host. This a service provider that offers space for your 'Net presence'.
Now ...once you have negotiated a 'rent' for your presence on the providers land (his servers), you will need to "move in". You will be given the key, a secret password and ID that only you will know, which will unlock your "plot" of web presence.
Once you are here, then it is only time you will need for unpacking your gear, and nestling into your web presence. You will be faced with a space to put up your web pages; drag and drop your created web pages; and you will be advised to create a folder called "Images", where you will double click to open, and you will place your pictures, logos, and other images in.
A good tip: take note of the web address, path, http://www.yourdomain.com/images/pic1.gif as you will need this to direct your picture (pic1.gif) from the images folder to your web page. Also note, that you can direct the image off to another page by applying a hyperlink address to it in your web page-creating software.
This is basically it, once you have gotten this far, you are more advanced than the majority of the world. You have a web presence, you have a folder which looks and acts like any other folder on your computer's desktop; in which you have web pages and a folder called "Images"; and finally the images are in the "images" folder. Web hosting is really the selling of virtual space for you to store your websites. There’s really nothing too complicated about it.
Now the decorating is up to you, you can adorn it with pictures and text or in time add automated and smart features; and to provide invitations to your 'presence' warming, (promotion of your site) you can find help with by searching the Net for "Online Promotion".
Having a website has advantages, providing solutions to a wide range of everyday problems. Websites can be used as a personal identity to promote you or what you offer, to the world, be it global, local or personal.
Web hosting, where one puts a web presence and stores it along with pictures, pages and 'tricks'. As a novice I felt the need to have things explained to me in the simplest of terms and I know I’m not alone.
For all those out there who quietly sink into their seats when friends or colleagues start discussing the "Net", I am going to explain to you, what web hosting is. Simply.
The web page. This is a document file, created by a web Editor software such as FrontPage or DreamWeaver. It is your first step, this is the page you will view. It will hold your pictures, your logos, your text, your links to other places and your Internet 'tricks and fancies'.
You then need to create your content, as above, pictures, logos, text etc. Once compiled, as you have with other computer design programs, you need to take the images and web pages and find a web host. This a service provider that offers space for your 'Net presence'.
Now ...once you have negotiated a 'rent' for your presence on the providers land (his servers), you will need to "move in". You will be given the key, a secret password and ID that only you will know, which will unlock your "plot" of web presence.
Once you are here, then it is only time you will need for unpacking your gear, and nestling into your web presence. You will be faced with a space to put up your web pages; drag and drop your created web pages; and you will be advised to create a folder called "Images", where you will double click to open, and you will place your pictures, logos, and other images in.
A good tip: take note of the web address, path, http://www.yourdomain.com/images/pic1.gif as you will need this to direct your picture (pic1.gif) from the images folder to your web page. Also note, that you can direct the image off to another page by applying a hyperlink address to it in your web page-creating software.
This is basically it, once you have gotten this far, you are more advanced than the majority of the world. You have a web presence, you have a folder which looks and acts like any other folder on your computer's desktop; in which you have web pages and a folder called "Images"; and finally the images are in the "images" folder. Web hosting is really the selling of virtual space for you to store your websites. There’s really nothing too complicated about it.
Now the decorating is up to you, you can adorn it with pictures and text or in time add automated and smart features; and to provide invitations to your 'presence' warming, (promotion of your site) you can find help with by searching the Net for "Online Promotion".
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
How To Become A True CCNA
I've worked my way from the CCNA to the CCIE, and along the way I've conducted job interviews and casual conversations with dozens of CCNAs and CCNA candidates. Believe me, people who "sneak by" the CCNA exam by braindumps, memorization, and never touching a router or switch are QUICKLY found out in job interviews and on the job.
The field will always need qualified CCNAs. The key word is "qualified". How can you make sure you're truly qualified? It's actually pretty simple.
1. Use routers and switches in your study, not simulators. Simulators are OK to start with, but when you're in the interview room and you're taken to the network room, that simulator's not going to be there. Real routers and switches are. With all due respect to the simulators on the market, they're not routers and switches. Don't fool yourself.
Attend a CCNA class that gets you plenty of time on real Cisco equipment. Used Cisco equipment is cheaper than ever. Look at it this way -- you can put together a true CCNA lab that you can also use for CCNP study for less than $1000. When you choose to sell it, you can get half of that back. A small investment like that pays huge dividends in your future.
2. Know binary math. Some leading CCNA books tell you to just memorize a chart to get by the exam. I wish I had a nickel for every CCNA that hasn't been able to solve a simple subnetting problem in a job interview. Someone who doesn't know binary math is not going to go far. Who's going to remember that chart they memorized for the exam six months ago?
3. Run plenty of "show" and "debug" commands when running labs. These are the commands that show you what's going on "behind the command". You need to know what is really happening when you put in a command when you get asked about it in an interview.
These three simple points separate the real CCNAs from the ones who got lucky or braindumped their way to success. By constructing a solid foundation of Cisco knowledge at the CCNA level, you build the bridgework for a lifetime of career success. You don't have to have a lot of job experience to get a CCNA job, but you do have to really understand the subject matter.
It worked for me. I went from the CCNA to the CCIE in this manner, and the habits I developed at the CCNA level followed me all the way to the top. It can happen for you, too!
Good luck!
The field will always need qualified CCNAs. The key word is "qualified". How can you make sure you're truly qualified? It's actually pretty simple.
1. Use routers and switches in your study, not simulators. Simulators are OK to start with, but when you're in the interview room and you're taken to the network room, that simulator's not going to be there. Real routers and switches are. With all due respect to the simulators on the market, they're not routers and switches. Don't fool yourself.
Attend a CCNA class that gets you plenty of time on real Cisco equipment. Used Cisco equipment is cheaper than ever. Look at it this way -- you can put together a true CCNA lab that you can also use for CCNP study for less than $1000. When you choose to sell it, you can get half of that back. A small investment like that pays huge dividends in your future.
2. Know binary math. Some leading CCNA books tell you to just memorize a chart to get by the exam. I wish I had a nickel for every CCNA that hasn't been able to solve a simple subnetting problem in a job interview. Someone who doesn't know binary math is not going to go far. Who's going to remember that chart they memorized for the exam six months ago?
3. Run plenty of "show" and "debug" commands when running labs. These are the commands that show you what's going on "behind the command". You need to know what is really happening when you put in a command when you get asked about it in an interview.
These three simple points separate the real CCNAs from the ones who got lucky or braindumped their way to success. By constructing a solid foundation of Cisco knowledge at the CCNA level, you build the bridgework for a lifetime of career success. You don't have to have a lot of job experience to get a CCNA job, but you do have to really understand the subject matter.
It worked for me. I went from the CCNA to the CCIE in this manner, and the habits I developed at the CCNA level followed me all the way to the top. It can happen for you, too!
Good luck!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Great Plains Dexterity History and Programming Overview
As of now - Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise is transformed/renamed into Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Business Solutions is in process of merging all its accounting applications: Great Plains, Solomon, Navision and Axapta into somewhat granular: Microsoft Financials, Microsoft HR, Microsoft Distributions, Microsoft Project Accounting, etc. So the original design of Great Plains should be deemphasized. But even now - Great Plains is written on the programming language and technology, created in early 1990-th, named Great Plains Dexterity. And the graphical interface looks very user friendly and nice - these are all Dexterity forms and screens.
The original architect of Dexterity, Tim Brookins, pursued several goals, the main are these:
1. Engine, supporting graphical interface, which is computer platform independent - if you remember those days - the main competition was between Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. Mac was graphical and very popular, but Windows, backed by IBM cloning/platform openness was very dangerous competitor. The new engine was targeted to work on both: Mac and Windows. On the other hand - nobody could look at the future far enough to be sure that other competitors from both Hardware and Operating Systems sides not going to take over. This is why the graphical platform independent engine was required for the new type - Graphical accounting/ERP system: Great Plains Dynamics.
2. Database platform independence - initially Great Plains used Ctree (available for both PC and Mac) and Btrieve, later on with Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 Great Plains relatively easy introduced it as a new alternative: Dynamics C/S+ on SQL Server. Again - nobody could guarantee which DB will be a winner. Technically Dexterity could easy provide DB switch. Unfortunately - the necessity to support "cheap" databases, such as ctree forced Dexterity architect to use cursors or loops instead of providing aggregation, available on all SQL blends.
To resolve these goals, and following popular those days believe that C programming language is platform independent, C was chosen as the low level language to write dexterity itself.
This was the story, now to the practical side. You can install Dexterity from Great Plains 7.5 or 8.0 CD #2. Obviously it requires a lot of learning / training, but it allows your custom piece be seamlessly integrated with Great Plains interface.
1. Native Dexterity Cursors. Dexterity was designed as platform independent programming language and so if you want your code to be operable on all currently supported databases – you use Dexterity ranges and loops to manipulate the records
2. Great Plains Dexterity with SQL Stored Procs Nowadays, most of Great Plains installations are moved to SQL Server – so you can use Dexterity for custom forms drawing only and make the buttons run SQL stored procedures.
3. COM Objects calls. Beginning with version 7.0 Dexterity supports COM objects – you register them as libraries in Dexterity. Refer the manual. This technique allows you to call such nice things as web services across the internet.
4. Dexterity Forms – if you like VBA and are comfortable to do all the business logic in VBA – you can use Dexterity as new forms creator/editor. This is OK – but you have to purchase VBA/Modifier and Customization Site Enabler from MBS.
Some restrictions. Great Plains is actually integration of multiple dictionaries: DYNAMICS.DIC, ADVSECUR.DIC, EXP1493.DIC, etc. In your Dexterity customization you can deal with one dictionary – DYNAMICS.DIC. If you need cross dictionaries customization – consider using SQL Stored Procs for crossing dictionary borders and pulling data/making changes in the other dictionary.
Happy customizing! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
The original architect of Dexterity, Tim Brookins, pursued several goals, the main are these:
1. Engine, supporting graphical interface, which is computer platform independent - if you remember those days - the main competition was between Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. Mac was graphical and very popular, but Windows, backed by IBM cloning/platform openness was very dangerous competitor. The new engine was targeted to work on both: Mac and Windows. On the other hand - nobody could look at the future far enough to be sure that other competitors from both Hardware and Operating Systems sides not going to take over. This is why the graphical platform independent engine was required for the new type - Graphical accounting/ERP system: Great Plains Dynamics.
2. Database platform independence - initially Great Plains used Ctree (available for both PC and Mac) and Btrieve, later on with Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 Great Plains relatively easy introduced it as a new alternative: Dynamics C/S+ on SQL Server. Again - nobody could guarantee which DB will be a winner. Technically Dexterity could easy provide DB switch. Unfortunately - the necessity to support "cheap" databases, such as ctree forced Dexterity architect to use cursors or loops instead of providing aggregation, available on all SQL blends.
To resolve these goals, and following popular those days believe that C programming language is platform independent, C was chosen as the low level language to write dexterity itself.
This was the story, now to the practical side. You can install Dexterity from Great Plains 7.5 or 8.0 CD #2. Obviously it requires a lot of learning / training, but it allows your custom piece be seamlessly integrated with Great Plains interface.
1. Native Dexterity Cursors. Dexterity was designed as platform independent programming language and so if you want your code to be operable on all currently supported databases – you use Dexterity ranges and loops to manipulate the records
2. Great Plains Dexterity with SQL Stored Procs Nowadays, most of Great Plains installations are moved to SQL Server – so you can use Dexterity for custom forms drawing only and make the buttons run SQL stored procedures.
3. COM Objects calls. Beginning with version 7.0 Dexterity supports COM objects – you register them as libraries in Dexterity. Refer the manual. This technique allows you to call such nice things as web services across the internet.
4. Dexterity Forms – if you like VBA and are comfortable to do all the business logic in VBA – you can use Dexterity as new forms creator/editor. This is OK – but you have to purchase VBA/Modifier and Customization Site Enabler from MBS.
Some restrictions. Great Plains is actually integration of multiple dictionaries: DYNAMICS.DIC, ADVSECUR.DIC, EXP1493.DIC, etc. In your Dexterity customization you can deal with one dictionary – DYNAMICS.DIC. If you need cross dictionaries customization – consider using SQL Stored Procs for crossing dictionary borders and pulling data/making changes in the other dictionary.
Happy customizing! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Great Plains Dexterity History and Programming Overview
As of now - Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise is transformed/renamed into Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Business Solutions is in process of merging all its accounting applications: Great Plains, Solomon, Navision and Axapta into somewhat granular: Microsoft Financials, Microsoft HR, Microsoft Distributions, Microsoft Project Accounting, etc. So the original design of Great Plains should be deemphasized. But even now - Great Plains is written on the programming language and technology, created in early 1990-th, named Great Plains Dexterity. And the graphical interface looks very user friendly and nice - these are all Dexterity forms and screens.
The original architect of Dexterity, Tim Brookins, pursued several goals, the main are these:
1. Engine, supporting graphical interface, which is computer platform independent - if you remember those days - the main competition was between Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. Mac was graphical and very popular, but Windows, backed by IBM cloning/platform openness was very dangerous competitor. The new engine was targeted to work on both: Mac and Windows. On the other hand - nobody could look at the future far enough to be sure that other competitors from both Hardware and Operating Systems sides not going to take over. This is why the graphical platform independent engine was required for the new type - Graphical accounting/ERP system: Great Plains Dynamics.
2. Database platform independence - initially Great Plains used Ctree (available for both PC and Mac) and Btrieve, later on with Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 Great Plains relatively easy introduced it as a new alternative: Dynamics C/S+ on SQL Server. Again - nobody could guarantee which DB will be a winner. Technically Dexterity could easy provide DB switch. Unfortunately - the necessity to support "cheap" databases, such as ctree forced Dexterity architect to use cursors or loops instead of providing aggregation, available on all SQL blends.
To resolve these goals, and following popular those days believe that C programming language is platform independent, C was chosen as the low level language to write dexterity itself.
This was the story, now to the practical side. You can install Dexterity from Great Plains 7.5 or 8.0 CD #2. Obviously it requires a lot of learning / training, but it allows your custom piece be seamlessly integrated with Great Plains interface.
1. Native Dexterity Cursors. Dexterity was designed as platform independent programming language and so if you want your code to be operable on all currently supported databases – you use Dexterity ranges and loops to manipulate the records
2. Great Plains Dexterity with SQL Stored Procs Nowadays, most of Great Plains installations are moved to SQL Server – so you can use Dexterity for custom forms drawing only and make the buttons run SQL stored procedures.
3. COM Objects calls. Beginning with version 7.0 Dexterity supports COM objects – you register them as libraries in Dexterity. Refer the manual. This technique allows you to call such nice things as web services across the internet.
4. Dexterity Forms – if you like VBA and are comfortable to do all the business logic in VBA – you can use Dexterity as new forms creator/editor. This is OK – but you have to purchase VBA/Modifier and Customization Site Enabler from MBS.
Some restrictions. Great Plains is actually integration of multiple dictionaries: DYNAMICS.DIC, ADVSECUR.DIC, EXP1493.DIC, etc. In your Dexterity customization you can deal with one dictionary – DYNAMICS.DIC. If you need cross dictionaries customization – consider using SQL Stored Procs for crossing dictionary borders and pulling data/making changes in the other dictionary.
The original architect of Dexterity, Tim Brookins, pursued several goals, the main are these:
1. Engine, supporting graphical interface, which is computer platform independent - if you remember those days - the main competition was between Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. Mac was graphical and very popular, but Windows, backed by IBM cloning/platform openness was very dangerous competitor. The new engine was targeted to work on both: Mac and Windows. On the other hand - nobody could look at the future far enough to be sure that other competitors from both Hardware and Operating Systems sides not going to take over. This is why the graphical platform independent engine was required for the new type - Graphical accounting/ERP system: Great Plains Dynamics.
2. Database platform independence - initially Great Plains used Ctree (available for both PC and Mac) and Btrieve, later on with Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 Great Plains relatively easy introduced it as a new alternative: Dynamics C/S+ on SQL Server. Again - nobody could guarantee which DB will be a winner. Technically Dexterity could easy provide DB switch. Unfortunately - the necessity to support "cheap" databases, such as ctree forced Dexterity architect to use cursors or loops instead of providing aggregation, available on all SQL blends.
To resolve these goals, and following popular those days believe that C programming language is platform independent, C was chosen as the low level language to write dexterity itself.
This was the story, now to the practical side. You can install Dexterity from Great Plains 7.5 or 8.0 CD #2. Obviously it requires a lot of learning / training, but it allows your custom piece be seamlessly integrated with Great Plains interface.
1. Native Dexterity Cursors. Dexterity was designed as platform independent programming language and so if you want your code to be operable on all currently supported databases – you use Dexterity ranges and loops to manipulate the records
2. Great Plains Dexterity with SQL Stored Procs Nowadays, most of Great Plains installations are moved to SQL Server – so you can use Dexterity for custom forms drawing only and make the buttons run SQL stored procedures.
3. COM Objects calls. Beginning with version 7.0 Dexterity supports COM objects – you register them as libraries in Dexterity. Refer the manual. This technique allows you to call such nice things as web services across the internet.
4. Dexterity Forms – if you like VBA and are comfortable to do all the business logic in VBA – you can use Dexterity as new forms creator/editor. This is OK – but you have to purchase VBA/Modifier and Customization Site Enabler from MBS.
Some restrictions. Great Plains is actually integration of multiple dictionaries: DYNAMICS.DIC, ADVSECUR.DIC, EXP1493.DIC, etc. In your Dexterity customization you can deal with one dictionary – DYNAMICS.DIC. If you need cross dictionaries customization – consider using SQL Stored Procs for crossing dictionary borders and pulling data/making changes in the other dictionary.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
What to Do if All Screensavers Fun is Grayed Out?
Finally, you have some time to personalize your desktop with an interesting screensaver. But wait... What's that? Why in the world the system prevents you from doing that? The screensaver controls are grayed out or, even worse, the whole Screensaver tab is missing from Display Properties. Don't panic! This article will help you change things for the better.
I've found that people who use Windows 2000/XP often can't enjoy screensavers because their system is configured in a way that prevents them from doing that.
Unless you are very experienced in administrating Windows, you may stuck with the problem. If you ever found yourself or your friend in a situation like this, add this article to your arsenal of screensaver tips.
Most of the time people encounter the problem with office computers. I should warn you, though, that some companies have a strict screensaver policy. Usually they allow only certain or no screensavers at all to be used on office computers.
If you are not sure how your company treats screensavers, I recommend you to consult your system administrator before applying any of the changes described below to your system.
So why can screensavers be inaccessible on your system?
As you know, Windows 2000 and Windows XP had many improvements over Windows 95/98 and Windows Me that made lives of many users easier and more comfortable.
But that's not all that made these operating systems so popular. Their developers also haven't forgotten about people who are responsible for administrative tasks when it comes to computers shared by different users and large computer networks.
Windows 2000 and Windows XP introduced a lot of new features needed specifically for their administration. Controlling/disabling screensavers was among them.
No matter whether it was their intention or an accident, your system administrator or the person who configured your PC could use this feature to your disadvantage. Now you'll have to use it once again and regain control over screensavers.
Here's what you should do:
1. Click Start and then click Run...
2. Type "gpedit.msc" and press Enter.
3. A window will open with a tree on its left. Expand the User Configuration node, then expand Control Panel and click Display.
4. Now look at the policies in the list to the right. Make sure that the policies starting from Hide Screen Saver Tab and ending with Screen Saver Timeout all have their state set to Not Configured.
5. If any of them has a different state, double click the line with the policy, select Not Configured and click OK.
6. Now close the Group Policy window.
Now you can open Display Properties and see whether screensavers are back. If they aren't, step back and check if you carefully followed all the steps described above.
Note that you can see a window saying you don't have permission to access Group Policy window when doing the step 2. That will happen if you are working under a restricted user account. You will have to log under an account with Administrator's rights or contact your system administrator.
With a little creativity, you can use the information in this article to prevent your kids and other unauthorized users from messing with your screensavers. The procedure is basically the same. The only difference is that you should specify meaningful values for screensaver related items instead of Not Configured.
I've found that people who use Windows 2000/XP often can't enjoy screensavers because their system is configured in a way that prevents them from doing that.
Unless you are very experienced in administrating Windows, you may stuck with the problem. If you ever found yourself or your friend in a situation like this, add this article to your arsenal of screensaver tips.
Most of the time people encounter the problem with office computers. I should warn you, though, that some companies have a strict screensaver policy. Usually they allow only certain or no screensavers at all to be used on office computers.
If you are not sure how your company treats screensavers, I recommend you to consult your system administrator before applying any of the changes described below to your system.
So why can screensavers be inaccessible on your system?
As you know, Windows 2000 and Windows XP had many improvements over Windows 95/98 and Windows Me that made lives of many users easier and more comfortable.
But that's not all that made these operating systems so popular. Their developers also haven't forgotten about people who are responsible for administrative tasks when it comes to computers shared by different users and large computer networks.
Windows 2000 and Windows XP introduced a lot of new features needed specifically for their administration. Controlling/disabling screensavers was among them.
No matter whether it was their intention or an accident, your system administrator or the person who configured your PC could use this feature to your disadvantage. Now you'll have to use it once again and regain control over screensavers.
Here's what you should do:
1. Click Start and then click Run...
2. Type "gpedit.msc" and press Enter.
3. A window will open with a tree on its left. Expand the User Configuration node, then expand Control Panel and click Display.
4. Now look at the policies in the list to the right. Make sure that the policies starting from Hide Screen Saver Tab and ending with Screen Saver Timeout all have their state set to Not Configured.
5. If any of them has a different state, double click the line with the policy, select Not Configured and click OK.
6. Now close the Group Policy window.
Now you can open Display Properties and see whether screensavers are back. If they aren't, step back and check if you carefully followed all the steps described above.
Note that you can see a window saying you don't have permission to access Group Policy window when doing the step 2. That will happen if you are working under a restricted user account. You will have to log under an account with Administrator's rights or contact your system administrator.
With a little creativity, you can use the information in this article to prevent your kids and other unauthorized users from messing with your screensavers. The procedure is basically the same. The only difference is that you should specify meaningful values for screensaver related items instead of Not Configured.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Putting Screensavers Under Control
No matter how much you enjoy your favorite screensavers, sometimes they can be rather annoying. Don't like them interrupting your presentations? Hate them disturbing you watching movies? Look no further. This article will show you how to gain full control over your screensavers in no time.
There's no doubt screensavers bring a pleasant variety to your desktop. Not to mention they prevent your monitor from burn-ins. Still there are times they had better sit quiet and hadn't interfered with your work.
Demonstrating a slideshow, watching a movie, reading an article - all these activities and many others may leave your computer with no keyboard and mouse input for a few minutes. Depending on your preferred settings, two or three minutes of inactivity may be enough for a screensaver to start and interrupt your work when it shouldn't.
The obvious solution to the problem is disabling screensavers right before any of those activities. However, it's very likely you'll forget to do it. Furthermore, it's even more likely you'll forget to turn screensavers back on later, thus leaving yourself without their benefits for indefinite time.
Thankfully, we are not the first people who encountered this problem. Quite many different tools already exist to help you. They range from simple support for screensavers in some applications to universal and powerful tools to control them.
If screensavers interrupt you often when you watch movies, but otherwise don't bother you, you may find it sufficient to use a media player that has a built-in support for screensavers. For example, Winamp and The Playa have an option to prevent screensavers from starting while they play a movie. Consider using one of them or another media player having that option unless you are looking for a more versatile tool.
For those of you who'd like to have full control no matter what you do, there are many universal applications. This time we will talk about two of them.
If you want a program that is easy to use and that would allow you to disable screensavers quickly and then easily enable them, Hot Corners is right for you. It's a small tool letting you control screensavers in three ways:
* by moving the mouse into one of the screen corners
* by pressing a combination of keys on your keyboard
* by clicking an icon in the system tray
You can set one screen corner for disabling screensavers and another for starting them. This way moving the mouse into the first corner will prevent any screensaver from starting. Moving the mouse into the second corner will start your default screensaver. Holding the mouse in any other place of your desktop will make screensavers behave in the usual manner. For you convenience, Hot Corners allow you to vary the size of the corners. This way you won't waste too much time positioning the mouse precisely.
Alternatively, you can set a pair of keyboard shortcuts to quickly disable or activate a screensaver. You may prefer this method if you extensively use the keyboard while working.
Another useful feature of Hot Corners is Power Management control. Not only it can prevent screensavers from starting, but it also won't let your monitor to go in power saving and power-off modes.
Hot Corners were created by South Bay Software, and are available for download from
http://www.southbaypc.com/HotCorners/
Another interesting tool is Galt Screen Control by Galt Technology. It definitely lacks the variety of screensaver control methods available in Hot Corners. Nevertheless, it has many other features you may find useful.
There is only one way to disable screensavers using Galt Screen Control. You will have to right click the application icon in the system tray and select the corresponding option.
But there's more in it than simply disabling screensavers. You can select an option that will disable them for 1/2, 1, 2, or 4 hours, giving you even finer control. This way you will never forget to enable screensavers back later. Galt Screen Control provides an easy and convenient way to launch or configure any installed screensaver. It requires you just two menu clicks. Furthermore, the tool can select a random screensaver when you ask it. Alternatively, it can do it on each program startup or on an hourly basis.
There's no doubt screensavers bring a pleasant variety to your desktop. Not to mention they prevent your monitor from burn-ins. Still there are times they had better sit quiet and hadn't interfered with your work.
Demonstrating a slideshow, watching a movie, reading an article - all these activities and many others may leave your computer with no keyboard and mouse input for a few minutes. Depending on your preferred settings, two or three minutes of inactivity may be enough for a screensaver to start and interrupt your work when it shouldn't.
The obvious solution to the problem is disabling screensavers right before any of those activities. However, it's very likely you'll forget to do it. Furthermore, it's even more likely you'll forget to turn screensavers back on later, thus leaving yourself without their benefits for indefinite time.
Thankfully, we are not the first people who encountered this problem. Quite many different tools already exist to help you. They range from simple support for screensavers in some applications to universal and powerful tools to control them.
If screensavers interrupt you often when you watch movies, but otherwise don't bother you, you may find it sufficient to use a media player that has a built-in support for screensavers. For example, Winamp and The Playa have an option to prevent screensavers from starting while they play a movie. Consider using one of them or another media player having that option unless you are looking for a more versatile tool.
For those of you who'd like to have full control no matter what you do, there are many universal applications. This time we will talk about two of them.
If you want a program that is easy to use and that would allow you to disable screensavers quickly and then easily enable them, Hot Corners is right for you. It's a small tool letting you control screensavers in three ways:
* by moving the mouse into one of the screen corners
* by pressing a combination of keys on your keyboard
* by clicking an icon in the system tray
You can set one screen corner for disabling screensavers and another for starting them. This way moving the mouse into the first corner will prevent any screensaver from starting. Moving the mouse into the second corner will start your default screensaver. Holding the mouse in any other place of your desktop will make screensavers behave in the usual manner. For you convenience, Hot Corners allow you to vary the size of the corners. This way you won't waste too much time positioning the mouse precisely.
Alternatively, you can set a pair of keyboard shortcuts to quickly disable or activate a screensaver. You may prefer this method if you extensively use the keyboard while working.
Another useful feature of Hot Corners is Power Management control. Not only it can prevent screensavers from starting, but it also won't let your monitor to go in power saving and power-off modes.
Hot Corners were created by South Bay Software, and are available for download from
http://www.southbaypc.com/HotCorners/
Another interesting tool is Galt Screen Control by Galt Technology. It definitely lacks the variety of screensaver control methods available in Hot Corners. Nevertheless, it has many other features you may find useful.
There is only one way to disable screensavers using Galt Screen Control. You will have to right click the application icon in the system tray and select the corresponding option.
But there's more in it than simply disabling screensavers. You can select an option that will disable them for 1/2, 1, 2, or 4 hours, giving you even finer control. This way you will never forget to enable screensavers back later. Galt Screen Control provides an easy and convenient way to launch or configure any installed screensaver. It requires you just two menu clicks. Furthermore, the tool can select a random screensaver when you ask it. Alternatively, it can do it on each program startup or on an hourly basis.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Falling in Love With More Than One Screensaver: The Fun Part
Having from five to ten and more favorite screensavers is cool. But how do you enjoy them all in a straightforward and convenient way? Draw the power you need from the little yet useful tools discussed in this article!
As you remember, earlier in my article What to Do if You Fall in Love With More Than One Screensaver we discussed the standard way of switching between multiple screensavers. Having that possibility is a pleasure indeed. Just imagine that your operating system doesn't let you easily vary screensavers to suit your mood. You'd be forced to uninstall the installed screensaver, and then install a new one. Avoiding this effort would lead you to a fabulous triumph of utter boredom! Thankfully, it's not the case. Furthermore, as you will see, there are tools that make switching between your favorite screensavers a breeze.
As strange as it may sound, computers were created to make our lives easier. Really, they are very good at automating repeating and boring tasks. And now is the very moment to remind them of that.
Imagine your innermost dream. You just sit doing nothing and your computer, your dutiful servant, takes care of your problem without your slightest intervention. All what is left to you is to enjoy the fruits of its labor. Nice, huh? Ta-da! Enter Random Screensaver!
If you have never heard about Random Screensaver, fear not! "Random" here has nothing to do with a random and unpredictable mess on your screen. It's the first little tool that will help you drive away the boredom of manually switching between your favorite screensavers.
The idea behind the tool is simple yet very useful. Random Screensaver is not a screensaver in the first place. It wears this disguise to take control each time the operating system says it's a perfect moment to start the screensaver. Once in control, the tool looks at the list of available screensavers and asks a random performer from the list to start its show.
That's it! If you install Random Screensaver, you will never have to switch your savers manually. Each time a different screensaver will start. All your favorites will get a regular outing!
Oh! I've forgotten to tell you the most important thing. Random Screensaver is completely free, and you can download it from this page:
http://www.clearnight.com.au/random.htm
There you will find two different versions: "Quick download" and "Full installation." The first one is a bare screensaver file and is very small. The second is a self-extracting installation package that will do all the installation work for you, but it's much bigger. If you don't want to waste your time downloading the bigger package, it's time to recall my previous article What You Should Know About Installing Screensavers. There you can get the knowledge needed to install the bare screensaver file.
Now that we have solved our primary problem, I can hear some of my readers start grumbling. If you are one of them, I know what's bothering you. Remember in the beginning of this article I said how bad it would be if you could not match your mood with running screensavers? But Random Screensaver knows nothing about your feelings. It simply runs a random screensaver. Well, there still is a cure for those of you who can't stand this disease.
The second tool I would like to tell you about is AllSaver! Although not free, it's a perfect cure for the second problem. It works much like Random Screensaver, but in addition to running a random show, it lets you tell exactly which screensavers you would like to see. So, if you feel today is a good day for just five of your favorite savers, and other twenty of them should rest, you can have it this way! Simply add those five to the list, and it's done!
But wait, there's even more to please you! AllSaver! has one unique feature. It makes it possible to run two or four of your favorites at the same time! You select how many screensavers to run, and AllSaver! splits the screen as needed, providing the space for all running screensavers.
If you can't wait to see it in action, you can download this amazing tool using this link:
http://www.e-motional.com/AllSaver.htm
Use these tools, and say "no" to the boredom of seeing one and only screensaver! Variety is a good thing. Have fun!
As you remember, earlier in my article What to Do if You Fall in Love With More Than One Screensaver we discussed the standard way of switching between multiple screensavers. Having that possibility is a pleasure indeed. Just imagine that your operating system doesn't let you easily vary screensavers to suit your mood. You'd be forced to uninstall the installed screensaver, and then install a new one. Avoiding this effort would lead you to a fabulous triumph of utter boredom! Thankfully, it's not the case. Furthermore, as you will see, there are tools that make switching between your favorite screensavers a breeze.
As strange as it may sound, computers were created to make our lives easier. Really, they are very good at automating repeating and boring tasks. And now is the very moment to remind them of that.
Imagine your innermost dream. You just sit doing nothing and your computer, your dutiful servant, takes care of your problem without your slightest intervention. All what is left to you is to enjoy the fruits of its labor. Nice, huh? Ta-da! Enter Random Screensaver!
If you have never heard about Random Screensaver, fear not! "Random" here has nothing to do with a random and unpredictable mess on your screen. It's the first little tool that will help you drive away the boredom of manually switching between your favorite screensavers.
The idea behind the tool is simple yet very useful. Random Screensaver is not a screensaver in the first place. It wears this disguise to take control each time the operating system says it's a perfect moment to start the screensaver. Once in control, the tool looks at the list of available screensavers and asks a random performer from the list to start its show.
That's it! If you install Random Screensaver, you will never have to switch your savers manually. Each time a different screensaver will start. All your favorites will get a regular outing!
Oh! I've forgotten to tell you the most important thing. Random Screensaver is completely free, and you can download it from this page:
http://www.clearnight.com.au/random.htm
There you will find two different versions: "Quick download" and "Full installation." The first one is a bare screensaver file and is very small. The second is a self-extracting installation package that will do all the installation work for you, but it's much bigger. If you don't want to waste your time downloading the bigger package, it's time to recall my previous article What You Should Know About Installing Screensavers. There you can get the knowledge needed to install the bare screensaver file.
Now that we have solved our primary problem, I can hear some of my readers start grumbling. If you are one of them, I know what's bothering you. Remember in the beginning of this article I said how bad it would be if you could not match your mood with running screensavers? But Random Screensaver knows nothing about your feelings. It simply runs a random screensaver. Well, there still is a cure for those of you who can't stand this disease.
The second tool I would like to tell you about is AllSaver! Although not free, it's a perfect cure for the second problem. It works much like Random Screensaver, but in addition to running a random show, it lets you tell exactly which screensavers you would like to see. So, if you feel today is a good day for just five of your favorite savers, and other twenty of them should rest, you can have it this way! Simply add those five to the list, and it's done!
But wait, there's even more to please you! AllSaver! has one unique feature. It makes it possible to run two or four of your favorites at the same time! You select how many screensavers to run, and AllSaver! splits the screen as needed, providing the space for all running screensavers.
If you can't wait to see it in action, you can download this amazing tool using this link:
http://www.e-motional.com/AllSaver.htm
Use these tools, and say "no" to the boredom of seeing one and only screensaver! Variety is a good thing. Have fun!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Microsoft CRM Development: SDK, C#, SQL, Exchange, Integration, Crystal Reports overview for programmer
Microsoft CRM is new player on the CRM software market. The whole conception behind CRM seems to be different. In case of traditional CRM software (Siebel, Oracle) - the application was designed with platform independence in mind. Microsoft CRM is dedicated to Microsoft technology and so deploys all the Microsoft tools: Windows Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange 2003/2000, SQL Server, Crystal Reports Enterprise, Biztalk server, Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Great Plains as backend, etc.
If you are software developer, database administrator or web designer who is asked: how do we customize Microsoft CRM we are giving you directions in this article.
1. Microsoft CRM SDK this is software development kit with C# and partly VB.net code samples it is supported by Microsoft Business Solutions technical support. It is based on web service calls, if you are C# .NET developer you are excellently positioned to do this type of customizations. This is the preferred modification scenario and this should be easily upgradeable customization. VB.Net examples will be available soon.
2. Legacy SQL Data integration. This is also easy and safe. If you have SQL database, sitting on the same or linked SQL Server you can create ASPX .Net application and simply integrate it into CRM. You can place it on the navigation bar or menu in isv.config please refer to MS CRM SDK
3. Legacy ASP integration this is somewhat more sophisticated. You have to deploy HTTP handler to be a middle party between CRM which is .Net based and ASP which is legacy IIS. The trick is you have to have INI file with security settings to penetrate into MS CRM with proper credentials, calling web service.
4. Microsoft Exchange Programming. Microsoft CRM has Exchange connector which moves CRM incoming email to MS if it has GUID in its subject. You can alter this logic (for instance - move email to CRM if it doesnt have GUID but it is from the sender who is contact or account in MS CRM). Refer to MS Exchange SDK onsyncsave event handling. Then simply apply some MS CRM SDK programming - you need some COM+ objects creation and VB programming experience.
5. Direct SQL touch in #4 above I described you the scenario with MS Exchange handlers this would be ideal world if MS CRM SDK does the job. But in real world this is not always true you have to do direct flags correction in CRM database (like making Activity closed, moving email attachments/octet streams, etc). This is not supported by MBS technical support but you can rescue to this technique if you have to get job done.
6. MS CRM Customization tool this is rather end-user tool and we dont describe it here read the manual. Weve described above the options to use when this tool doesnt do the job
7. Crystal Reports - feel free to create Crystal report - tables and views structure is self explanatory. Try to avoid the temptation to create your own SQL view or stored procedure in MS CRM database, instead - create custom database and place your view and stored proc in it.
If you are software developer, database administrator or web designer who is asked: how do we customize Microsoft CRM we are giving you directions in this article.
1. Microsoft CRM SDK this is software development kit with C# and partly VB.net code samples it is supported by Microsoft Business Solutions technical support. It is based on web service calls, if you are C# .NET developer you are excellently positioned to do this type of customizations. This is the preferred modification scenario and this should be easily upgradeable customization. VB.Net examples will be available soon.
2. Legacy SQL Data integration. This is also easy and safe. If you have SQL database, sitting on the same or linked SQL Server you can create ASPX .Net application and simply integrate it into CRM. You can place it on the navigation bar or menu in isv.config please refer to MS CRM SDK
3. Legacy ASP integration this is somewhat more sophisticated. You have to deploy HTTP handler to be a middle party between CRM which is .Net based and ASP which is legacy IIS. The trick is you have to have INI file with security settings to penetrate into MS CRM with proper credentials, calling web service.
4. Microsoft Exchange Programming. Microsoft CRM has Exchange connector which moves CRM incoming email to MS if it has GUID in its subject. You can alter this logic (for instance - move email to CRM if it doesnt have GUID but it is from the sender who is contact or account in MS CRM). Refer to MS Exchange SDK onsyncsave event handling. Then simply apply some MS CRM SDK programming - you need some COM+ objects creation and VB programming experience.
5. Direct SQL touch in #4 above I described you the scenario with MS Exchange handlers this would be ideal world if MS CRM SDK does the job. But in real world this is not always true you have to do direct flags correction in CRM database (like making Activity closed, moving email attachments/octet streams, etc). This is not supported by MBS technical support but you can rescue to this technique if you have to get job done.
6. MS CRM Customization tool this is rather end-user tool and we dont describe it here read the manual. Weve described above the options to use when this tool doesnt do the job
7. Crystal Reports - feel free to create Crystal report - tables and views structure is self explanatory. Try to avoid the temptation to create your own SQL view or stored procedure in MS CRM database, instead - create custom database and place your view and stored proc in it.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Bios Term
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
The central processing unit of a computer needs to communicate with the many hardware devices installed in your computer.
The BIOS of a computer contains a piece of software that enables the CPU to communicate with the many devices a computer has installed. The BIOS is normally installed in a ROM and is normally stored on a chip located on the motherboard of a computer.
When you turn on your computer, the bios is the firs thing to load up, you can enter this program by pressing a certain key on your computer keyboard. The BIOS uses the CMOS memory to store all set configuration for your computer. You can change and alter settings in the BIOS and then save it to the CMOS memory.
There is now the flash bios, which enables you to update the bios information with updates etc. Many manufactures provide bios updates on their websites. This can help your computer stay updated and keep performance running smoothly.
The central processing unit of a computer needs to communicate with the many hardware devices installed in your computer.
The BIOS of a computer contains a piece of software that enables the CPU to communicate with the many devices a computer has installed. The BIOS is normally installed in a ROM and is normally stored on a chip located on the motherboard of a computer.
When you turn on your computer, the bios is the firs thing to load up, you can enter this program by pressing a certain key on your computer keyboard. The BIOS uses the CMOS memory to store all set configuration for your computer. You can change and alter settings in the BIOS and then save it to the CMOS memory.
There is now the flash bios, which enables you to update the bios information with updates etc. Many manufactures provide bios updates on their websites. This can help your computer stay updated and keep performance running smoothly.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
IT Department Skills to Support Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft CRM
Microsoft Great Plains as ERP and Microsoft CRM as Client Relation Management system is very robust combination and could serve midsize to large corporation as Business System. Being VP IT or IT Director you need to foresee the positions to have in your IT department to do internal MS Great Plains and MS CRM support.
Let us give you the directions, based on our research and consulting practice.
1. Microsoft SQL Server Specialist – we specially do not name this position as MS SQL DBA, because both Great Plains and MS CRM are not very complex from the database administration side, they do not use indexes optimization, referential integrity, probably do not require complex transaction log backup/recovery scenarios. On the other hand this position requires Great Plains and Microsoft CRM tables structure analysis and some primary Great Plains data fixing skills via SQL queries, described in MBS Customer source techknowledge database. The best candidate should have some accounting background - to be able to address ongoing issues to MBS technical support.
2. Network Administrator with good Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory skills. Microsoft CRM uses all the newest Microsoft technologies, and Exchange is a workhorse here. In order to install and upgrade MS CRM this guy needs to understand the under-laying Microsoft technology. In the best case - she/he should know Exchange security structure and probably program Exchange handlers, due to the fact that CRM/Exchange connector is not a perfect tool yet.
3. C# or VB.Net programmer with excellent SQL Skills– if you are midsize or large company - you should have this position - you will need web publishing and MS CRM customization and its support. Currently Microsoft CRM SDK has C# examples - so C# programmer would be the best fit, it may have more VB code in the future, so the C# - VB balance maybe restored.
4. Crystal Reports Designer/Programmer - Crystal Reports is the best tool available on the market to address both Great Plains and MS CRM reporting needs. This position maybe merged with one of the above.
These people should be probably cross-trained in both Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, Crystal Reports, SQL and C# programming, so you do not depend on the unique skills of one person. In our opinion, which is based on our long term consulting practice - these skills will allow you to keep the cost of IT support reasonably low and avoid paying high consulting price to your Microsoft Business Solutions Partner.
Happy hiring and training! But in any case you need to select Microsoft Business Solutions Partner/Var/Reseller to be your official representative. This is how MBS has its channel working - it assures that Microsoft Business Solutions products are properly implemented. If you want us to be your Microsoft Business Solutions Partner - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
Let us give you the directions, based on our research and consulting practice.
1. Microsoft SQL Server Specialist – we specially do not name this position as MS SQL DBA, because both Great Plains and MS CRM are not very complex from the database administration side, they do not use indexes optimization, referential integrity, probably do not require complex transaction log backup/recovery scenarios. On the other hand this position requires Great Plains and Microsoft CRM tables structure analysis and some primary Great Plains data fixing skills via SQL queries, described in MBS Customer source techknowledge database. The best candidate should have some accounting background - to be able to address ongoing issues to MBS technical support.
2. Network Administrator with good Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory skills. Microsoft CRM uses all the newest Microsoft technologies, and Exchange is a workhorse here. In order to install and upgrade MS CRM this guy needs to understand the under-laying Microsoft technology. In the best case - she/he should know Exchange security structure and probably program Exchange handlers, due to the fact that CRM/Exchange connector is not a perfect tool yet.
3. C# or VB.Net programmer with excellent SQL Skills– if you are midsize or large company - you should have this position - you will need web publishing and MS CRM customization and its support. Currently Microsoft CRM SDK has C# examples - so C# programmer would be the best fit, it may have more VB code in the future, so the C# - VB balance maybe restored.
4. Crystal Reports Designer/Programmer - Crystal Reports is the best tool available on the market to address both Great Plains and MS CRM reporting needs. This position maybe merged with one of the above.
These people should be probably cross-trained in both Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, Crystal Reports, SQL and C# programming, so you do not depend on the unique skills of one person. In our opinion, which is based on our long term consulting practice - these skills will allow you to keep the cost of IT support reasonably low and avoid paying high consulting price to your Microsoft Business Solutions Partner.
Happy hiring and training! But in any case you need to select Microsoft Business Solutions Partner/Var/Reseller to be your official representative. This is how MBS has its channel working - it assures that Microsoft Business Solutions products are properly implemented. If you want us to be your Microsoft Business Solutions Partner - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
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