Monday, April 28, 2008

Astrological Software

I have been a big fan of astrology divination for years, but when I first found out about astrological software, I did not believe that it could deliver results. You see, an astrological reading gives you a whole lot of information, but it does not function alone. A good astrologer also has to look at their client to determine how to interpret the astrological chart. With the astrology software, however, this would not be an option. An astrology program would give everyone with the same astrological reading the exact same interpretation. This was not real astrology!

Nonetheless, I was curious enough to try the astrology software. I figured that, at the very least, it could probably give someone a pretty accurate astrological chart. What they did with that astrology chart was another matter, but I thought that it might be helpful for the average layman without too much knowledge of the stars. You see, astrology is a much more complicated matter than most people believe. It is not just a matter of what month you were born in, but what phase the moon was at, what time it was, what day it was, and much more. Usually, determining some of this information is kind of hard. I figured that the astrology software might give a little help to someone who was not quite familiar with all of the ins and outs of divination astrology.

It turns out that the free astrology software that I tried was even better than I had imagined. There were many astrology programs that I saw, but the one that I found came especially highly recommended. Not only can the software give a standard astrological reading, but it was also supposed to be useful for astrology matchmaking as well.

I had doubted that this astrology software could deliver on all the promises, but it surprised me. In fact, it was one of the most useful astrology tools I ever discovered! Although the astrology software was probably still not as good as getting a reading from an experienced astrologist, it still was remarkably accurate. It is amazing how much you can see from the star signs alone. I never realized quite how good a system astrology was, although I had been using it for years. I would recommend an astrology program for anyone who is inexperienced with divination, or who wants a little bit of extra help in compiling their own astrological readings.

DVD Copy Software

Copying DVDs can be a little bit tricky. You see, the industry has been working hard to find ways to protect their intellectual property rights. Fortunately, DVD copy protection software is not very good. Most DVD burner software can get around it, however a lot of it can not. DVD copy software is a little bit risky, because there are so many different DVD protocols. If you do not get free DVD copy software, you are taking a risk. You might be spending money for something that cannot even copy the DVDs that you own. It may be defeated by the most basic DVD copy protection.

There are many different kinds of DVD copy software. The one that most people think of is DVD burner software. DVD burning software basically takes a DVD and rips an identical copy of it onto a blank disc. This is a great way to copy DVDs. For most people, it is the best kind of DVD copy software. You see, DVDs take up a tremendous amount of storage room on hard drives. The video is in such high resolution that a full-length movie can fill up half of your hard drive! This is why you really need to burn it onto another blank DVD. Otherwise you will have no room on your computer at all.
Of course, there is another kind of DVD copy software. A lot of people do not like the idea of having a huge and ever growing stack of DVDs sitting around. They would rather have a few choice movies on their hard drive and be done with it. These people use another form of DVD copy software, one which actually burns the DVD onto their hard drive.
Some of them do this without even compressing the DVD. This can take up a tremendous amount of space, as I have mentioned before. Other DVD copy programs, however, compress the DVD. There can be a significant loss in digital video quality, however the movie takes up much less room. For many movie fans, it still looks good enough to be worth keeping, and you can fit hundreds of them onto a reasonably large hard drive. This is the DVD copy software of choice for people who do not have a lot of space to keep a library. A lot of dyed in the wool computer hackers like to keep their DVDs on their hard drives. That way, they can have a copy of them whenever they want.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Software Systems And Solutions For The Computers

Do you know how the windows registry system works? Would you know how to manually open the registry editor and correct errors if they were there? Most of use wouldn't, and for us there is registry clean up software. This article is going to be a crash course in how registry cleanup tools work, and what you can expect. By the end of this article you should feel confident to download a free registry scan tool, and run a scan on your own computer to check for errors.

The Registry Scan

Registry repair software always starts with a scan of your current registry settings. After all how can you fix anything if you don't know if there are any errors to repair. Most programs will scan through all your registry files looking for preset items that are known to more often then not cause troubles with PC performance. Sometimes clean up software will think an item is an error, when in fact it isn't. In the last part of this article you'll find out how to ensure you don't delete or repair any items that shouldn't be touched on your computer.

Always backup before changing or repairing anything

One of the best features all registry clean up software should have is a backup option. When you're working with files that are as important to your computers functionality as the registry it's important that you always keep a recent backup of the files handy in case anything was to go wrong.

By having a backup you can always undo changes you've made and revert back to the way things were at the time of the last backup. Since most registry repair tools handle this for you they make it very easy to ensure you're doing things the right way.

It's time to scrub that registry clean

The last step registry clean up software will do is to actually repair or remove the items it found during the scan. There are two alternatives for you as a user in this step. You can allow the software to automatically repair the errors found, or you can manually check each item found in the scan one by one. I always suggest that people take the manual approach. even if you're not a computer guru this will allow you to double check items before their removed or repaired, just to ensure that their not part of a current program of piece of hardware installed on your PC.

The process of cleaning up the windows registry can be very daunting if you have no computer tech experience. How ever software makes the process a lot easier, and saves you money, by keeping your computer out of the repair shop. The easiest way to get started is to download a free scan utility from one of the registry repair software websites. This way you can check to see if you have any registry items that need cleaning, and determine if you like that piece of software before you buy.

Software Applications And development Projects For Outsourcing

Offshore software application development outsourcing has led to vegetative industry growth around the globe. Software needs to undergo a step-by-step process before it is available for general use to leverage best industry practices at minimum cost, meeting international standards and industry norms. Nowadays, everyone of us, an individual or an enterprise wants to be at the top, but just gaining the top positioning won’t do; retaining and maintaining that position is of utmost consideration. Outsourcing software applications to offshore companies has strong impulse to monetize spending of business players.

Software outsourcing gathered strength with increasing number of sources available in present IT-edge, requirements delivery in possible least time, less skilled personnel available, discrete communication and inefficient management of various modules within a large enterprise. These corporate players started looking and relying on third party for better management at lesser cost and remain competitive in the global marketplace. These are the few factors that led big companies to outsource their software application development to offshore companies where they find time zone difference from eastern countries most attractive, cheaper human capital, rich resources, and skilled professional and low processes cost. Market analysis shows gradual penetration of investors in Indian market and other developing countries. We find increased productive, managed easy solutions where full control remains in the hand of outsourcing companies.

40% of the Fortune 500 companies including GE, Lucent, Oracle, Microsoft, Motorola are leveraging the outsourcing model. The list is growing depending upon the onsite and the outsource resources available. Offshore Software Outsourcing is the most leading area of outsourcing. Cost saving by adopting this model can vary from 40% to 70%.

Manipulating overall strategy (considering failure and success) we find overall the offshore outsourcing campaign is a success. Objective is to maximize the ROI, remain competitive and reduce upbringing cost.

Remember offshoring software outsourcing is not always the solution, so before moving to it, the best approach is to find the niche requirement and then find solution to the root problem. Proper synchronization between onshore and offshore team members, improved processes, and better time management and growth opportunities for both developed and developing countries are among few benefits that offshore software outsourcing companies are enjoying.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Barcode software

Barcode software is a complete solution for all advanced designing, labeling, and printing needs of barcodes. They print barcodes on any installed printer type, without any additional hardware.

Two factors need to be considered when choosing barcode software solutions. The software selected must be easily installed in the operating system. It must satisfy the computer proficiency level of the person using it. All the necessary barcode components, required for industrial and business applications, can be accessed with barcode software. Some barcode software solutions are multi-functional; they can automatically generate barcodes according to the requirement or download the barcode types to the relevant device.

Generally, barcode software solutions can be classified into three categories: out-of-the-box software solutions, pre-packaged software solutions, and customized software solutions. The out-of-the-box solutions are more flexible and require little customization; they enable printing of barcodes easily. Pre-packaged barcode software solutions are easy to implement and are affordable. However, pre-packaged solutions are designed typically for common application needs and cannot be customized. Customized barcode software solutions are the best choice. Though costly, these solutions can run for a longer time. Whatever the application is, customized barcode software solutions can be easily tailored to meet the requirements.

Any type of barcode can be processed with good barcode software. There are mainly three types of barcode software: barcode production software, barcode data collection software, and database and inventory control software. Barcode production software is intended to generate quality graphic barcode images, which can be easily imported into other applications. Barcode data collection software is designed to be used in handheld barcode scanners. To manage and control the inventories of business applications, barcode database and inventory control software is used.

Barcode software solutions are flexible in order to handle all labeling applications. They improve the efficiency of operations and reduce the cost of managing the inventory. Further, a barcode software solution is fully compliant to both desktop and enterprise labeling.

Software Solution for PC FAX

Are you still using old fax machines? Stop going time after time to the machine and start using fax software from the comfort of your own PC!

PC Fax software is used widely today, even with the appearance of e-mail and instant messaging. It is a great solution for small and big businesses, why? Because when sending documents via online faxing, you avoid the risk of making your documents either unreadable or incompatible.

Modern fax programs not only serve to send faxes, but instead they aim to provide a full communications centre where you can manage, e-mails, calls, messages and more, and lets you automate your whole communications process in an easy and affordable way, compared to past communications solutions.

The most basic PC fax program will let you see any document without needing to print and invest on extra hardware. This is useful, especially if you are required to travel a lot and need your faxes while working with your laptop.

The other features of fax software are great too, they let you broadcast your faxes (sending them to dozens of individuals) and the ability to send long-distance faxes, at the same price. You'll also have a complete log of all your communications which will help you improve your business.

If you are interested in acquiring fax software you'll have to make sure you have a fax modem and that your computer is prepared to send your faxes. Nowadays this is easier than ever and the prices for the needed equipment are way lower than years before. You may have to invest a little today, but the cost will be way cheaper when you compare it of the cost of getting and maintaining a fax machine.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Benefits For The Use Of Business Software

There are many reasons for a company to outsource their business solutions software, to improve efficiency, streamline processes and to help improve operations within the scope of the business. Here are some of the top 10 benefits of implementing an innovative solution such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

1) Turns Microsoft Office Outlook into the ONE place where you can manage both customer data and communications. Microsoft Dynamics CRM extends the reach of Microsoft Outlook by turning it into a tool to manage customer information.

2) Microsoft Dynamics CRM extends the reach of Microsoft Outlook by turning it into a tool to manage customer information. Microsoft Dynamics CRM features an always-on connection to Excel that enables you to quickly turn customer information into dynamic snapshots or PivotChart dynamic views. These views can help you understand in seconds how a sales increase or company expansion can benefit the business.

3) Improves operational efficiency through the standardization and streamlining of processes. Business solutions software can relieve your staff of mundane but vital work. It can automate time-consuming repetitive tasks, warn staff of open customer issues, and automatically send important e-mail messages to customers and partners. So customer requests and orders don't fall through the cracks.

4) Works the way your business works with point-and-click system customization. Business solutions can be tailored to work the way your business already works. Microsoft Dynamics CRM forms, relationship links, and customer views can be designed and modified without complicated programming.

5) Gives the right information to the right people. Certain employees need certain information. System administrators will have the tools to make sure the right information is delivered to the right people- whether they are using Outlook or the Web.

6) Targets your marketing campaigns so you're always in touch with the right customers.

7) Simplifies service scheduling to keep customers satisfied. One of the most challenging aspects of delivering great customer service is ensuring you never let customers down by missing a service call or appointment. Dispatchers can quickly and easily match the right service personnel to a particular customer or type of service call.

8) Integrates with your existing systems to help break down information silos.

9) Enhances offline communications so everyone can be productive regardless of location. It is designed so your staff can be productive both in the office and on the road-even if they aren't connected to a network. Information can be filtered so that people receive only the information they need such as meeting updates and sales figures.

10) Builds on the power of SQL Server Reporting Services to create insightful business reports.

These are just a handful of the many benefits that implementing a software solution can provide to a company regardless of the size and the scope of the business. There are many different types of applications that can be integrated into current businesses, whether it is a CRM model, retail management system, non profit solution or one of several Microsoft Dynamics solutions.

Developing Software For Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) can be defined as management of the whole value-added chain, starting from the supplier, manufacturer, retailer and the final end-user. It can also explained as a collection of assets like components, manpower, relationship between customers and suppliers; an entire process that take place between delivering a customer's product from raw material to finished product as proficiently as possible.

For any business firm, developing and having a proper supply chain plays a vital role for smooth business transaction process and it is SCM that further helps in streamlining the interaction of all participants down the supply chain.

Today the importance of SCM solutions is growing gradually and many organizations are using this technology to manage supply chain more effectively. Emerging as backbone of service economy, it makes a business run more effectively by enabling mutual aid across different well-designed departments in an enterprise environment that further includes the organization and it's suppliers. SCM software contains features that also help companies in managing inventory, tracking sales and handling payments successfully and see where their shipments are. Apart from this, SCM also aid in reducing the waste out of supply chains by facilitating trading partners share supply-demand forecasts, production schedules, and inventory reports.

As per present circumstances, it has become very essential for every firm to have timely and precise supply chain management information as it help firms in manufacturing and shipping only as much product as there is demand in the market. It further helps companies in reducing the amount of inventory they keep. Looking at the current picture the competition is tough and to be a frontrunner in the competition many organization big or small have started concentrating on supply chain procedure. An increased competition has forced many firms to have a thorough look on demand & supply chain, and sales forecasts. It is very important to understand that higher the forecasts, lesser will be inventory and when this information flows along the chain, automatically increases the competence of the system.

Thus the SCM software allows better clarity by connecting the system with that of the vendor's and allowing document exchange. Moreover the most essential point to notice is the success of SCM software solution directly depends upon its implementation. As a result the execution of supply chain system must involve tactical planning, system examination and supply chain coordination.

Installing an SCM solution that provides the projected return on investment also requires that the servers and enterprise network infrastructure work together flawlessly. Finally, it also requires integration of data across several geologically detached supply chain associates and effective deployment of end-to-end dedicated bandwidth that has the potential to deliver quality service.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Online Data Recovery Software

The incredibly rapid growth of digital technology especially with reference to digital media such as music, software, video and photos, combined with similar growth in digital communications, makes protecting data files essential for small business and consumers alike. Only about 25% of small businesses currently have files backup in some remote location. Consumers will also benefit from online backup capabilities as their data files and e-mail continue to grow.

Backup Software that is online is a web-based service where small business and consumer customers can store their files in a secure location such as a remote data center. In this way, customers achieve a second set of all their important files which can be used as a backup if some unforeseen event or catastrophic occurrence wipes out their primary file set. Most of the services that offer this capability do so by having customers subscribe to their service. Some target consumers and small businesses as majority customers; other web-based providers concentrate on corporate servers and PC's. The technique is to offer managed or utility storage agreements to corporate customers as part of an outsourcing agreement and to serve the storage administrator or IT manager in lieu of individual PC users.

Today, the internet is a key tool of home-based businesses with more than 28 million firms online. Moreover, they are utilizing faster broadband speeds with DSL already in use at half the home-based business sector. Along with the steady increase in broadband internet services, there has also been a very-big increase in the rise of digital data thanks to the influx of digital photos, music, video and e-mail. Consumers in part and a large percentage of small businesses are now coming to understand the importance of having reliable, trustworthy backup software for their data files.

Enter the fully-automated remote backup services that perform backups automatically. These companies scan their customer's hard drives via the web for files and applications necessary to produce an exact copy and then stores the data safely away as insurance against customer file loss.

There are a growing number of file backup and protection software services in business. They can readily be located on the internet and frequently have detailed information of what they do and how they do it for prospects to read and consider. Pricing is also available based primarily upon amount of storage required. Regardless of the amount of storage capacity you need now or how much it may increase in the future, you will find numerous providers who stand ready to meet your needs.

The Perfect Software Demo

Whether you need to close a sale, gather end-user feedback, show progress to your customer, or simply explain how your product works, sooner or later, you will need to demo your software product.

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to perform hundreds of demos to audiences of various sizes. I've also had the chance to attend demos hosted by others. The following represent the top 5 tips I've learned over the last decade regarding demos.

Manage Your Audience's Expectations

Have you ever gone to see a movie everyone raved about and walk out totally disappointed? More often than not, moviegoers feel let down not because the picture was bad, but rather because it was worse than they anticipated. It didn't meet their expectations.

Similarly, if people show up to a demo thinking they're about to see a finished product, they expect it to be virtually defect-free, aesthetically pleasing, and user-friendly. They wouldn't be impressed for example with a Web-based application that contains typos or JavaScript errors if they're under the impression it's going live in a week. However, if they know beforehand that you're presenting a throwaway prototype, this same audience will be much more lenient. And they will gladly provide much-needed feedback to help you with your work in progress.

Managing your audience's expectation is critical to a successful demo. If you want them to walk away from your presentation pleased, make sure you set the right expectations beforehand. Be honest with them. Don't try to oversell your demo. Just sell it, and try to over deliver.

One Bad Apple Spoils The Whole Bunch

All it takes to screw up a demo is one person. If someone starts negatively critiquing every single widget in your application or constantly interrupts you simply because he/she likes to hear the sound of his/her own voice, your demo will be a disaster. It is your job to ensure that these bad apples don't show up to your presentation.

Unless you're hosting a closed-door demo, it's very hard to control who will attend it. Omitting someone from your invitation list doesn't guarantee they won't hear about your demo through word-of-mouth and simply show up.

Here are a couple of ways to trick bad apples into not attending your demo:

  • Create a scheduling conflict for those bad apples. Make sure they are busy, or better yet, out of the office when your demo takes place.
  • Book two separate demos. Invite the people whose feedback you truly value to the first demo and the bad apples to the second. More often than not, each group will show up to the demo they're respectively invited to. When it's time for the second demo, go ahead and give it your best shot, or if you don't have time, simply cancel it.

I'm well aware that these two tips sound like an excerpt from Scott Adams's Dilbert And The Way Of The Weasel, but unless you feel comfortable telling your peers, superiors or customers not to show up to your demo, these two options are pretty much all you're left with.

Do A Practice Run

I attended a demo last week hosted by the CEO of a local start-up. After meeting with him at a trade show, he managed to convince me that his company had developed a technology that could solve one of my client's needs. I therefore agreed to give him 30 minutes of my time so he could demonstrate his product's capabilities.

I didn't need 30 minutes to realize I didn't want to do business with him. All I needed was 30 seconds.

This guy couldn't even log in his own Web-based application! He spent the first 10 minutes of the demo looking for a password.

Always do a practice run on the system that you're going to use during the actual demo. You might know the application like the palm of your hand, but if someone else has access to your demo system, who knows what shape it's in. They might have removed services, upgraded components or, as was the case with this CEO, changed the user credentials without informing you.

Unless you don't mind looking like a fool, always do a practice run on your demo system before presenting to your audience.

Pay Attention To Details

The hundreds of demos I've performed over the years have taught me that people pay more attention to how the application looks than what it does. You software might be the solution to world-hunger but if a member of your audience notices a typo in your GUI, he/she will point it out!

Readers are especially distracted by readable content – and that's a fact. Deal with it by carefully reviewing the text on your interface and in your graphics. If you don't have the time to review and finalize the text, use Lorem Ipsum.

Lorem Ipsum has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, thereby making it look like readable English yet not distracting your readers. I now develop new prototypes strictly with Lorem Ipsum and add actual text when and only when I have time to write content that I know won't become a subject of discussion at my next demo. I strongly advise you to do the same.

Point Out The (Obvious) Bugs

Software contains bugs. It's that simple. Anyone who doesn't agree with that statement clearly hasn't worked in the software industry for long. Although we sometimes strive for defect-free products, reality is complex systems always contain defects – even when they're generally available.

Doing a practice run before your demo will allow you to identify and resolve the showstoppers, and using Lorem Ipsum will deal with the nitty-gritty details that would otherwise distract your audience. But what about the other defects attributed to Murphy's Law?

In the event that an obvious bug does display itself during your demo, point it out!

In all likelihood, your audience will have already noticed the bug. Any attempt to hide it will give them the impression that you're not being honest. Consequently, they'll start to wonder what else you're trying to cover up.

Point out the bug, explain that you have a solution, confidently state that the fix will be implemented by a specific date, and move on. This sincere behavior will reassure your audience that (a) you're not trying to sweep one under the rug and (b) the defect will be resolved by the time they deploy your system.

I'm not advocating that you go hunting for bugs during your demo. If you can circumvent them by any means, please do so. But if a defect does surface during your presentation, don't pretend it doesn't exist. The only person you'll be kidding is yourself.

Conclusion

There you have it. Five tips for a great software demo.

  1. Manage your audience's expectations
  2. Ensure that bad apples don't ruin the bunch
  3. Do a practice run
  4. Pay attention to details and use Lorem Ipsum
  5. Point out the obvious bugs

Do these 5 tips represent all I've learned over the hundreds of demos I've hosted? Absolutely not! The hardest part about writing this article was probably limiting it to 5 tips. I could have easily thrown in 5 more tips such as (a) control the situation, and (b) always have a plan B. But the goal wasn't to point out all the tips that can help you out. Only the very top five!