What’s housekeeping software? It’s software that takes care of your PC and everything recorded on that hard-drive. If that’s what you need, make sure you consider these titles.

HandyRecovery 2.0 (SoftLogica LLC)

As you might expect, data recovery and undeletion software is a very popular thing. Next to antivirus software, a firewall and proper backups, a decent file recovery program is the most essential thing you can have on your system. Hard drives die eventually, of course, and worse than that, people make mistakes. HandyRecovery 2.0 is fairly easy to use, allows you to search for deleted files by name and comes with all the help support you’ll need to get you on your way. HandyRecovery 2.0 can discover and recover deleted partitions and quick formatted drives as well as undeleting files. It can also be used to make a drive image of a partition so that recovery can be attempted without further damaging a wonky hard disk.

My Registry Cleaner (PC Security Shield)

If your computer is slow and often crashes, My Registry Cleaner will help you. The application scans your entire computer and removes errors, speeds up your PC, and stops crashes. My Registry Cleaner comes with one year of free tech support and updates. My Registry Cleaner will make your system more stable, run quicker, and your operating system will boot faster. Registry problems can occur for many reasons, including references left behind after uninstallation; incorrect removal of software; missing or corrupt hardware drivers; or orphaned start-up programs. With a few easy steps, My Registry Cleaner will scan your entire registry for any invalid entries and provide a list of the errors found.

Win Undelete 2.1 (Jufsoft)

This program for recovering deleted files comes in near the top of its class in almost every area except download restrictions. Win Undelete 2.1 boasts a welcoming interface with buttons for all necessary actions prominently displayed - and since the program greets you with a step-by-step wizard, you may never need the tutorial or help info. The list of supported file types that Win Undelete 2.1 supports is extensive, and you’ll really appreciate the program’s ability to ignore temporary Internet files and junk files, which saves both time and effort. You can search for deleted documents by extension or filename, as well as sort the list of results.

Download Links

HandyRecovery 2.0 http://www.deprice.com/handyrecovery.htm

My Registry Cleaner http://www.deprice.com/myregistrycleaner.htm

Win Undelete http://www.deprice.com/winundelete.htm

David Deprice runs and operates http://www.deprice.com

Sometimes your PC will start acting strange for no apparent reason or a program which you use regularly will all of a sudden stop working as it should. This can be a frustrating experience especially if you have no idea where to go for help. If this happens to you, don’t panic! Here are some simple tips which may turn your frown upside down.

1. Don’t assume that your problem is unique. The chances are that someone else has had that problem and it has already been solved. Google is a great place for getting technical support help believe it or not. You may have to experiment with wording your problem and refining your search, but it’s worth a try. For example my Outlook email client stopped showing me the ‘Subject’ field when I was composing new email. As a result all of my email was going out without a subject. After a bit of experimenting with wording the problem I found the answer by searching on the phrase "Outlook subject field missing". Someone in an online discussion group had the same problem and the answer was provided. When you find good discussions groups bookmark them for future use. I have a bookmark I call Technical Support Help and it’s full of great web sites.

2. The Google trick is good for lots of software but you should always try the web site of the program’s manufacturer as well. Sometimes your problem is really a bug and there may be a new release or work around available. Many software web sites have FAQs, discussion lists, and help desks available that provide free support. Sometimes there is a telephone number that you can call but you may have to pay for live help.

3. There are companies that offer free general help for simple questions and then charge a sliding scale for more complicated ones. Support Freaks (www.supportfreaks.com) is a good one to try. Even if you have to pay, the rates are reasonable. Click on the "Freebies" link, under the "Quick Links" menu to see if your question is eligible for free help.

4. There are probably any number of local PC support groups that meet in libraries and other locations near your home. Some of these groups are very specific in nature and some are general. Try searching Google for "PC Support Group" or "PC User group" and the name of your town. Also check with your local librarian and computer stores. They often know of these groups.

5. Speaking of computer stores, you can often pick the brains of the more knowledgeable salespeople if you are lucky enough to find any. Many times these employees love computers so much that they will act as your big brother or sister if you need some quick help. Sometimes they moonlight as consultants at a good rate.

This ought to be enough information to get you started on the road to solving your next PC or software problem. If you are having Internet connectivity problems then your ISP is the first place to start. If you can’t get online at all, and you don’t think you know their phone number, think again. I’ll bet that it’s printed on every bill that they send you. You’ll also need your account number and you can bet that it’s printed on the bill as well.

Remember — When it comes to getting technical support help, the first rule is: Don’t Panic!

Copyright © 2004 Cavyl Stewart. Discover 52 Ways To Do More With Software by signing up for my exclusive Free ecourse. Get resources, tips, reviews and recommendations you can use right now to help you achieve more, easier, and cheaper! 100% Original content. Visit: http://www.find-small-business-software.com/52ways.html

Even with the standardized business processes and centralized data stores provided by SAP, much corporate data still resides in spreadsheets. Taking data in these spreadsheets and putting them into SAP remains one of the thorny challenges facing many corporate IT departments. Many business departments are wasting resources in manually reentering this data into SAP while introducing errors due to manual data entry. Functional and technical analysts in the IT departments are inundated with requests from business users to automate the upload of Excel data into SAP.

• Are you an SAP business user looking to reduce manual data entry for mass uploads or mass changes to SAP data, particularly when the data already exists in Excel?

• Are you an IT functional or technical analyst looking for ways to service the end-user requests for data uploadd more effectively?

• Are you looking for ways that your company can save time and resources in SAP data management?

If you answered “Yes” to any of the above questions, then this article is for you. This article describes 7 best practices in automating the upload of Excel data into SAP. Adopting these best practices will alleviate many of the pains that business users and IT analysts face in uploading Excel data to SAP.

1. Avoid Programming. With the several non-programming choices available to connect Excel and SAP, custom programming in ABAP or VB should be the absolute last resort for ad-hoc uploading Excel data to SAP. Not only programming is expensive and time consuming, a program that will be used only once or even once a year is particularly wasteful. Further, creating robust programs require a fair bit of testing and if a program has not been well-tested, it could be dangerous and cause irreparable data damage.

Use a scripting or a non-programming approach as much as possible. SAP provided tools such as BDC, CATT, LSMW, and third party tools such as Winshuttle’s TxShuttle will allow you to avoid programming to a large extent.

2. Do not Upload Directly to SAP tables. While this point is very obvious, it cannot be overemphasized. Writing directly to SAP tables avoids all the data validation and checks and balances that happen when creating data through the normal SAP transactions. So, avoid using any method that writes directly to SAP tables.

Always upload data via the pre-configured SAP transactions or BAPIs. Again, using tools such as BDC, CATT, or LSMW, or TxShuttle will allow the upload of data via SAP transactions instead of writing directly to SAP tables.

3. Choose a Record, Map, and Run strategy. A record, map, and run strategy generally involves first recording an SAP transaction where data needs to be uploaded. The recording step is followed by a mapping step where the SAP data fields captured during the recording are mapped to the Excel fields. Finally, the transaction is run over and over again with the different rows of data in the Excel file. A Record, Map, and Run strategy is similar to recording and running macros for automating routine tasks.

The advantages of choosing a record, map, and run strategy are that (a) it is very general and can work well for many different upload tasks and many different SAP transactions, even with custom transactions, (b) it is a very easy and intuitive approach and saves a lot of time making a mass data update, (c) it is something that even the business users can do themselves without requiring much IT support.

A record, map, and run strategy should be used for uploading data from Excel to SAP. Again, the SAP provided tools, such as BDC, CATT, and LSMW all support such a strategy and can work for many different upload applications. The TxShuttle tool simplifies the mapping recording and mapping tasks a lot and makes it even easier for business users. Also, for applications that require upload of transactional data containing header and line-items, such as journal vouchers, invoices, purchase orders, sales orders, etc., the TxShuttle tool has features that make it really useful.

4. Choose a Secure and SOX Compliant Method: Make sure the method you choose is secure and preserves SAP’s role-based security. In these days of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) audits, this point cannot be overemphasized. One key aspect of section 404 is checking that rights and duties are separately assigned to different individuals so that no individual has the power to divert business or transactions in a fraudulent manner. One of the most common open SOX audit issues is that users in the IT departments have very broad access to production data in SAP. Therefore to ease compliant with SOX, any mass changes or uploads should ideally be performed by the business users who are already authorized to make the change.

To allow business users to perform the upload via SAP-provided transaction-based tools, they would need extra authorizations to use these tools. If your company is not able to provide such authorizations, the use of Winshuttle’s TxShuttle product may be more appropriate since it lives outside the core SAP system and generally does not require extra authorizations.

5. Keep the data in native Excel format. If the data to be uploaded stays in the native Excel format, rather than being converted to comma-delimited or tab-delimited text file formats, it makes the upload process much simpler. One less step for the users to worry about.

The use of Winshuttle’s TxShuttle product allows the users to keep their data in native Excel format.

6. Select an outside-in approach: The two approaches to bringing outside data into SAP are: (a) an inside-out approach where the data import tools live inside SAP are used to bring outside data into SAP, and (b) an outside-in approach where the tools living outside SAP are used to bring outside data into SAP. An inside-out approach typically requires all the data import scripts and programs to live inside SAP and therefore need to be maintained as SAP versions are upgraded, even when the scripts are one-time-use only. Thus, these one-time use scripts clutter the SAP system when using the inside-out approach. An outside-in approach offers a cleaner alternative that can be used with the user’s existing security profiles.

The announcement of Microsoft and SAP’s joint product, Mendocinno, recently validates the importance that both companies give to an outside-in approach. Other add-on products such as TxShuttle also take an outside-in approach to connect to SAP.

7. Empower business users: On a final note, one of the best practices in uploading Excel data to SAP is to empower business users to do the upload themselves. The choice of the right tool for the business users which will enable them to easily upload data without requiring any programming will go a long way to freeing up IT resources for more mission-critical applications. Letting business users take control of their own data also makes SOX compliance easier.

An easy to use product such as Winshuttle’s TxShuttle which will let business users upload their own data from Excel to SAP allows the empowering of these business users.

In summary, the best practices in uploading Excel data to SAP proposed here involve choosing non-programmatic, easy-to-use approaches, and this will enable your company to save large amounts of time and resources in day-to-day SAP data management.

To learn more about SAP tools, BDC, CATT and LSMW, visit  http://www.sap.com.

To learn more about Winshuttle tool, TxShuttle, visit http://www.winshuttle.com.

At this site, you can download a FREE WHITE PAPER describing this problem and how the TxShuttle tool works at uploading Excel data to SAP. 

You can also download a FREE 15-day evaluation version of the TxShuttle software for connecting SAP and Excel.

Vikram Chalana is the SAP product specialist at Winshuttle, Inc. He has helped many clients automate their SAP business processes, in particular processes dealing with the connecting spreadsheets and SAP. He has been in the IT industry as a data minining, business intelligence, business process automation expert for over 10 years.

To learn more about Winshuttle, please visit http://www.winshuttle.com

Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the Windows XP operating system back in August (2004), representing significant improvements in many areas, especially system security. For those people that are still unsure whether they should update to it, the following five reasons may help make the decision easier.

1. Protects Against Unsafe Attachments / Downloads

Service Pack 2 provides Windows XP with a “Windows Security Center”, and other key tools, to help protect the user’s system from unsafe attachments and downloads. This type of protection is one step to prevent viruses and Trojans from slipping onto a user’s system and wreaking the type of havoc that has become an increasing problem in recent years.

One way it does this is through warnings in Internet Explorer’s “Information Bar”, which alert a user to potentially unsafe downloads. The suspect content is blocked automatically, and no action is taken until the user manually addresses the warning. Unsafe file attachments are now also blocked in a similar manner via Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, thus protecting not only web based content, but also items received via e-mail.

Another way it protects from unsafe files is by monitoring the system’s anti-virus software and alerting the user if the system is at risk due to the software being out of date. Although Microsoft does not offer any virus protection themselves, this feature makes sure that whatever program the user has decided to use stays current and as effective as possible.

2. Windows Firewall

A software based firewall is included with Service Pack 2, intended to protect the system from access by unauthorized individuals on the internet or local network. The firewall is activated automatically by Windows, but users have the option to disable it, as well as to create exceptions to bypass the security in certain situations.

When utilized, the protection is active from startup to shutdown, providing a simple firewall solution to any computer with SP2 installed. Small pop up style windows are generated to alert the user of possible attempts to access the system from the outside, as well as when programs try to go out onto the internet. These pop ups are approved/denied by the user before anything is allowed to happen, and can be done so that a pop up will appear again next time this event occurs, or so that the pop up will never appear again for that particular event.

Many users with broadband internet connections have a hardware firewall in their router, but a software firewall such as this is still a good idea. It can protect where the hardware firewall can not, and is particular useful in preventing the system from launching any attacks from Trojans that may have slipped in.

3. Internet Pop Up Blocker

With Service Pack 2, Internet Explorer now features an integrated pop up blocker to help reduce, if not fully eliminate, the presence of those nuisance ads. Configurable from Internet Explorer’s “Tools” tab, users can customize their preferences and even turn the pop up blocker off. Considering most pop up blockers require a special toolbar or other application be installed, this one is extremely convenient and easy to use.

4. Increased Privacy Protection

Your privacy is protected more so than ever with Service Pack 2 in a few different ways. If items 1, 2, and 3 above weren’t enough, there is more… For example, Windows XP with SP2 now applies security settings to further guard your PC and your private information from exploit via Internet Explorer.

Another way your privacy is protected is by Outlook Express blocking images within e-mails that allow spammers to validate your address. Spammers use images that are tagged with unique bits of code, and once the URL of the image sent to you is viewed, the spammers know that they have a valid address, which makes that address more susceptible to future spam.

5. Simplifed Wireless Networking

The popularity of wireless networking has exploded as the hardware has becoming increasingly simpler to operate and relatively inexpensive. Now the way a user connects their system to a wireless network has been greatly simplified via enhancements found in SP2. The “Wireless Network Setup Wizard” will lead a user of any expertise through the installation process, and the “Microsoft Broadband Network Utility” will help them monitor and maintain the network just as easily. Application of security settings is obviously a main component of these improvements, insuring that the user’s system is protected from this angle of attack as well.

Final Words

The release of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP brought about many more changes to the operating system than the five listed above, all of which have to be seen as welcome improvements. With a focus on protecting the end user’s computer system and data, there are enough good reasons to persuade a user to take the plunge and let Windows Update install SP2

Computer Geeks tech tips and computer advice

Here are some tips and useful features that will help you get the most out of LimeWire 4.9.

1. LimeWire is written in Java programming language and will run on any computer with the ability to run Java version 1.1.8 that is connected to the Internet.

2. It’s best to use different P2P programs to get certain files. LimeWire is best suited for songs and video files, especially recent ones. For CD images and programs, I use BitTorrent/Azureus. I only use WinMX if I can’t find the files I want on those first two, and I don’t even have Kazaa installed (too many viruses and trojans!).

3. When searching for files, first do a general search and find the specific file you want. Then do a more targeted search on that file, and you will get more results, and thus, a faster download.

4. If you’re like me and fetch download speeds from 30 kb/s up to 200 kb/s per file, downloading more than 4 files at once may put a strain on your computer. If this happens, your computer will get extremely sluggish, and it will become difficult to do anything else on it. Because of this, I recommend choosing your downloads in the morning or at night, and leaving the computer to do its hard work while you sleep or away during the day.

5. LimeWire has a cool “Recently Added” button that lets you search for new files. Also, there’s a place that lets you see what other users are typing in their search boxes. Both of these features help when you are bored but you don’t know what to download.

6. When you remove a download from the transfer list, it isn’t deleted; it’s actually in a folder called “Incomplete”. If you are tight on hard drive space, it’s a good idea to check this folder (found in the library screen) and delete its contents every so often. Make sure you empty the trash bin too!

Come check out my software blog to find more awesome software and advice to use them!

Colin is a college freshman in Vancouver. Please take some time to check out his websites. You’ll find them quite useful and interesting!

The Heart of Blogness: A blog with the latest articles on blogging. There is extremely valuable weblogging and web site management information here!

Zzz: I never seem to get enough: We spend one third of our lives in sleep. This blog is dedicated to slumber, products related to sleep and other related topics such as dreams and relaxation.

The Best Software Anywhere: Being a technophile, I’ve used and tested a lot of software over the years. I post the most useful and interesting software I come across, and advice that will help you get the most out of it.

Passwords protect your most sensitive personal, financial and business information. They are the key to accessing membership, financial, and other web sites that you are a member of. All sorts of havoc can occur in your life if some unauthorized person discovers your password. Here are some tips for making that event less likely:

1. Don’t use easily guess passwords like a date of birth, spouse, child’s or pet’s name. In fact, don’t use any word or phrase that even remotely relates to you or your world. You need to use a password which is difficult for anyone to guess but is not so difficult for you to remember.

2. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols and numbers to make the password harder to guess. Some web sites do not allow symbols so you may not be able to always use them. Almost all web sites treat passwords as CaSe SeNsItIvE so mixing case is a good idea.

3. Make your password at least eight characters long. Longer is even better. The more characters there are the harder it will be to guess.

4. Use a different password for each account or web site. That way if one gets compromised you’ll still be protected elsewhere.

5. Change your passwords frequently. Pick a period, like the 15th of each month, and change all of your passwords on that date.

6. Do not write your passwords down anywhere. You never know who is checking your drawers or file cabinet when you’re not around. Also, do not store your passwords in an electronic filing device like a PDA. That’s just as insecure as a piece of paper if you lose the device and someone who is less than honest finds it.

If you have too many passwords to keep track of then consider using a password manager program. There are a lot of them on the market but be careful: some of them contain "adware" which will pop up ads every time you are online. Most of the free password managers contain some degree of adware. Here’s one that doesn’t: http://www.roboform.com/

7. Never share your password with anyone else. If you have to, then change it immediately afterwards.

8. Avoid using "dictionary" words. There are password-cracking programs that will check every word in the dictionary. If you want to use words then break them up with non-word characters. For example: BuIlT*99$APPlE is difficult for anything other than the most sophisticated password-cracking program to guess because it is combined with non-alphabet characters and it is in mixed case.

9. Don’t use "password" or "none" as your password! Don’t even use "PaSsWoRd"!

10. If someone calls or sends you e-mail claiming that they are from your bank, or credit card company, or anywhere else that you have a password with, NEVER give them your password or PIN no matter what story they tell you. It’s a scam. No one will ever ask for your password. Legitimate administrators of your password-protected accounts do not need your password to access your files during the normal course of their business dealings with you.

Copyright © 2004 Cavyl Stewart. Discover 52 Ways To Do More With Software by signing up for my exclusive Free ecourse. Get tutorials, tips, reviews and recommendations you can use right now to help you achieve more, easier, and cheaper! 100% Original content. Visit: http://www.find-small-business-software.com/52ways.html

Here at M6.Net we’ve just released our new control panel software, allowing for easier and better control over our clients’ website accounts. It was my task to write the documentation for this new software. After working through it in a traditional word processor application and subsequently producing a final product that was of little use, we came to realize that there needed to be a better way to write a manual, and to release it in multiple formats. One of the lead developers sent a link my way and after trying the evaluation copy of the software I realized that it was the package that we needed. ‘Help and Manual 4’ turns manual writing and distribution into a very simple affair.

The Help and Manual (hereafter known as H&M) homepage (http://www.helpandmanual.com/) states that “Help & Manual makes producing help a pleasure” and this is a fairly accurate little catchphrase. When I first tried the evaluation version or edition 3 a while ago, it frustrated me that I had to copy and paste every page of the manual from the word processor into H&M. This was a daunting task even for our modest sized manual that runs just over 50 pages. With the newer version however, all I had to do was export the document to Rich Text Format and use the import feature in H&M. The software went off and did its thing, returning to me with a nice manual file broken into sections based on the various headings in the document. While there were a few minor layout glitches these were easily solved, and the overall benefit of being able to directly import the manual was a huge timesaver. While it took me 3 shifts (about 4 hours a piece) to import and format the manual manually, with the new version of H&M, I had it all looking and working nicely within a single shift and still had time to edit and modify the document.

The second feature that impressed me greatly was the sheer number of output formats available to the manual writer. The formats include HTML Help, Classic Winhelp, VStudio help, Browser based help (HTML pages), Adobe PDF, MSWord manual and eBook. There’s bound to be an option or two that are right for your manual. For us it was perfect. We could create an HTML file for online help, and a downloadable PDF version of the document for offline perusal. Each output style is fully customizable, particularly the document outputs which can be modified with a handy tool called the “Print Manual Designer”. This comes included with H&M and allows you to design the overall look of your manual in an easy and self-affirming way.

I’ve spent a while talking about the input and output options, but not the functionality. I’m pleased to say that the interface is straight forward and all the expected options (or at least all the options that I expected) are included. You control the layout in a tree structure on the left hand side of the screen. This determines the numbering of your sections in the final exported manual. Then there are the many standard formatting options like font attributes, tables, character insertion, image insertion etc, but there are also more unique media options. It’s possible to embed movie, sound, flash, and other files straight into your manual. This allows you to make a demonstration video illustrating the point the manual is trying to make and include it as part of the documentation. Obviously the viability of this depends upon your chosen output format.

There are a few unique tools that I thought were exceptional concepts. The first is the Syntax Highlighter that allows you to highlight code in your manual to look much the same as code in a development environment. I didn’t actually have reason to use it and test it, but I think the idea is a great one.

The second is the Screen Capture tool. This useful little gadget hides the H&M window and allows you to capture an image of any control or window in an open program by simply holding the Ctrl key and then clicking the window. This image is saved into your images folder and inserted into the manual. It’s quick and easy to use and saves a lot of time when compared to the alternative method (opening the program, hitting print screen, cropping the image to a desired size, and importing it into the H&M software).

Overall I was very impressed with ‘Help and Manual 4’. Beyond being a basic conversion tool, it makes it very easy to write your entire manual using just the functionality of the software. Once your information is all inputted there are many customization and layout options to get it looking just how you want it. When you’re done you can output it to many different formats. Help and Manual made writing and distributing our manual quick and easy. Check it out at http://www.helpandmanual.com

Pros:

- Excellent output options
- Comprehensive formatting tools allow complete control of a project’s look
- Screen capture tool
- Good import options

Cons:

- There can be some formatting errors when importing from a document.
- You can’t select a network folder for your images folder. It is limited to your local hard drive(s).

Score: 4/5

Daniel Punch
M6.Net Web Helper
http://www.m6.net

In the real world a "fire wall" is a fireproof wall that is built to stop the spread of fire from one part of a building to others. In the Internet world a firewall has a similar purpose in that it stops the spread of harmful viruses and attacks from entering your home or office network.

Because of the ever-increasing threats that are appearing on the Internet you no longer have to be in business to need the protection of a fire wall. In fact, every computer that is connected to the internet should have one installed. You’ll be a lot happier once you know that you have protected your personal files, information, and financial data, such as credit cards and bank account numbers, from being shared with every crook on the internet.

Here are some questions that you should consider before you choose a fire wall for your PC:

1. What features do I need?

2. Do I want to be protected from viruses, Trojan horses and worms?

3. Am I at risk because I use programs that access the Internet automatically?

4. How much am I willing to spend on a firewall solution?

Here are the common features that are available in almost any software-based fire wall program:

Inbound filtering - protects unknown users or programs from accessing your PC

Outbound filtering - Protects your PC from sending information to the Internet without your permission

Application integrity verification - Verifies that any program you are running aren’t sneaking around behind your back and doing things that they shouldn’t be doing.

Data encryption - Automatically scrambles any sensitive data that you do allow to be transmitted.

Stealth mode - Hides that fact that your PC is even connected to the Internet so that hackers can’t see you.

Pop-up ad blocking - Stops those annoying ads.

Cookie blocking - prevents web sites from sending you cookies without your permission Spyware protection - Blocks dangerous spyware from operating on your PC

There are many software-based firewall programs that can be downloaded from the internet. Most of them come with free trials so you can test each one and choose what’s best for you. Although you won’t have to be King Geek to install and set up your firewall, there are some adjustments and settings that will have to be tweaked. All of the better firewall programs come with decent instructions and many of the products have help available at their web site.

If you notice that some program that used to work stops working after you install a fire wall then you’ll have to make a change in the fire wall’s configuration that will enable the program to operate freely. If you find that there is no way to let your previously operating program pass through the firewall then that might be a good indication that you need to try a different fire wall. Be sure to check with the makers of both the software program and the firewall before you give up and change.

Copyright © 2004 Cavyl Stewart. Discover 52 Ways To Do More With Software by signing up for my exclusive Free ecourse. Get resources, tips, reviews and recommendations you can use right now to help you achieve more, easier, and cheaper! 100% Original content. Visit: http://www.find-small-business-software.com/52ways.html

Humans often communicate with each other via email and computer communication correspondence. They take thoughts and turn them into the words of a limited human language and put them onto another medium in this case a computer. Surely that is a very archaic way to communicate and in the future we will use thought transfer to collaborate. But before this transition to the faster and unlimited communication of thought transfer and combined brains or collective of minds, we will be communicating with other humans through electronic devices. We will also be communicating with computers or Artificial Intelligence in this way.

Although humans collaborate in words, the mind doesn’t and one would believe that intelligent people communicate past the words themselves. Words only set the mind in motion on a concept and keep the mind somewhat focused temporarily on that line of thought or reasoning. Humans should not be controlled by the directions posed in the written words as it limits them, but should use them as a basic theme so that the conversation does not go buggy off on a million different directions, as every set of words lead to every other one you see? Like roads? Or frequency, or time, or energy, you dig? You find?

Did you know that computers now used in surveillance are programmed to make common errors to look like they are more human, which makes a lot of sense? They will mimic common mistakes, even mirror the mistakes of the target. But they often fail in their Artificial Intelligence programming because the do not allow for tangents of thought within the words and instead move the conversation into the abyss. This typically loses the interest of the subject and causes suspicion and thus the surveillance is blown or the target no longer chooses to communicate.

In the future these programs will also be used with real language in Voice IP to assist people in actual human conversations through electronic synthesized voice. There are currently projects to program Instruction Manuals to talk a human through a repair or procedure. Imagine the time saved in Virtual Reality Training or the possibilities of removing stress during a critical mission while your artificial instructor talks you through the important operation.

Computers are interesting, but the idea of computers communicating with people or interfering with the communication of people is an unfortunate eventuality in this present period as we learn better programming techniques and teach computers to program themselves and learn how to best serve us. Well that is the intellectual thoughts and concepts of it, in the future we will see the computers better themselves, but doubt expect perfection for a while, there is a lot of work to do still. The Future of Computers Serving People or People Serving Computers is still up in the air. I hope you have enjoyed this topic, please think on it.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

If you are in the market for new staffing software, I suspect that one of the most daunting of tasks will be to sift through the many vendors that are now servicing the staffing industry.

You will find many very qualified companies with good staffing software products. These products will utilize different technologies and different approaches to how they implement and train your company. The choices will be many, the approaches varied, and the results in some cases may be very good and in other cases you may find yourself with a staffing software solution that was over hyped and under delivered.

What can you do to insure the best possible result? Below are our six suggestions for evaluating staffing software and the companies that are providing those solutions:

1. Know what you want.

Spend time with the different players in your company and solicit their input on what your new solution should contain. Develop a decision matrix that you can use to evaluate the different staffing software solutions. Understand that no solution will match all of the requirements, at some point you will find that you may have to make a decision to exclude some desired features for the benefit of the total solution.

2. Evaluate the company.

Do they have a solid track record servicing the industry? How long have they been around? Do they have a large, established customer base with companies varying in size that use their products? If at all possible, plan a visit to their offices to see how their staff interacts with you and their environment. This will communicate volumes.

3. Evaluate their services.

Do they put their customers first? How is that demonstrated? Do they ask for feedback on their products and services? Do they regularly communicate with their customers? Do they have an annual users meeting? Do you have access to their top executives if needed?

4. Evaluate their technology.

Do their products use solid, reliable technology so you focus on your staffing needs versus technology bleeds? Do they provide regular enhancements to their products? How many versions have been released, and how often? Are they still on the original product platform released or have they taken advantage of better, more advanced technology as it has become available?

5. Evaluate their software.

Do they offer a way to objectively evaluate their software over a competitive solution? A matrix should be available that can be used to evaluate each feature and compare side by side with the other solutions. Can you ‘test-drive’ the software so that you can get a hands-on feel for how the application will be utilized in real-life? Make sure that you can do this on your own, away from the sales person.

6. Evaluate the total package price.

Once you determine the solution you like and you are talking about pricing, ask yourself if you are comfortable that all of the costs are outlined and easily understandable? Will the sales rep guarantee you that the actual costs will not exceed the quoted price?

These are just some things to consider. If you want independent help in evaluating the different staffing software solutions, there are consultants available that can help you work through the different choices. Selecting new staffing software can be a great experience for your company. You can learn things about the operations of your business that you haven’t thought about in years. Don’t just choose something to replace what you have, choose something that will help you to manage and grow your business more effectively than ever before.

Good Luck.

For more information visit VCG Software

VCG Press Contact:

Phil McCutchen
Marketing Manager
Toll Free: 800-318-4983, ext. 112
Direct: 770-246-2319

Steve Taylor is President of VCG, Inc., he has over 8 years experience in the staffing industry. Phil McCutchen is Marketing Manager of VCG, Inc., he has over 13 years experience in the industry.

About VCG

Our focus is your success. Since 1976 staffing firms have counted on VCG, Inc. for staffing software solutions that help them improve the productivity and profitability of their operations. Founded by staffing professionals and technologists intimately familiar with the business of staffing, VCG is the staffing industrys largest and most experienced dedicated staffing software development firm. VCG solutions today power hundreds of successful staffing companies and 12,000-plus staffing professionals throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

For more information regarding VCG, or our WebPAS and StaffSuite products, visit VCG Staffing Software or call 800-318-4983. VCG, C-PAS, StaffSuite, TempWare-V, WebPAS, StaffSuite WorldLink, and WebPAS WorldLink are registered trademarks of VCG Inc.