Algebra Software

Algebra Software

by: Neven J

Algebra Software

Put an end to confusion in algebra with the revolutionary software AlgebraSolver that helps you solve all problems while making sure you understand each step while doing so. With the use of this software, algebra will never again be a frustrating exercise that leaves you totally baffled and at a loss for answers.

A product of the Softmath company, the algebra software AlgebraSolver is a godsend for math students like you. It will solve any algebra problem you give it. Itกs like having a resident algebra teacher in your PC, only better because it is always there when you need it and it can patiently explain each step in the process of problem solving.

This amazing software can be yours for just $67, assuring more than great value for money by significantly increasing your comprehension of algebra. With AlgebraSolver you will never again be left puzzled about how an algebra solution was reached. Not only can AlgebraSolver solve all the problems in your textbook, it gives you access to unlimited practice with its templatebased exam generation capability.

When you buy the algebra software AlgebraSolver, you can:

Enter your own algebra problems

Learn more easily with stepbystep problem solution

Understand better with context sensitive tutoring explanations

Practice endlessly with exams the software generates

Benefit from the interactive student solution checker

AlgebraSolver can tackle arithmetics and complex numbers; simplify algebraic expressions like polynomials, fractions and radicals; solve linear, quadratic and other equations and inequalities; tackle graphing; and solve a system of equations. It is the perfect aid for algebra students from high school through precollege. All you need to use it is a PC running any version of Windows.

AlgebraSolver comes with a detailed manual on what keys to use as commands for specific algebraic functions. So confident is Softmath about this software that you can return it for a full refund in case you feel AlgebraSolver does not help solve problems or does not lead you to better understanding of algebra. AlgebraSolver also brings with it unbeatable customer support. You are free to contact Softmathกs dedicated and friendly staff any time you need help.

Visit www.algebrasolver.com for more information on this amazing algebra software and to see what others who are already using AlgebraSolver have to say about it

About The Author

Neven J is a well known author in the field of education software and has a vast experience in writing articles regarding educational material. The articles written by this author has been acknowledged by reputed sites and portals over the internet.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 17

by Neven J

Microsoft Great Plains customization and developme

Microsoft Great Plains customization and development – overview for programmer

by: Andrew Karasev

When Great Plains Software was designing and developing Great Plains Dynamics/Dynamics CS+/eEnterprise it placed several fundamental principles into the system

1. Computer platform independence. If you consider the situation in the computer software industry those days (earlier 1990th) nobody knew which office computer platform will be the winner: IBM PC clones with Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh with Mac OS or something like Sun SPARC. This is why graphical multiplatform idea was popular among software developers. Also there was a myth about C/C++ languages, working similar on all computers.

2. Database platform independence there was the need for future surviving. Competition on the database market was also very tough: Oracle, Ingress, Sybase, DB2, Ctree/Faircom, Btrieve (Pervasive SQL 2000 later on)

In order to realize these two principles Great Plains Software created its own development environment and programming language Great Plains Dexterity (DYNAMICS.DIC, REPORTS.DIC, FORMS.DIC are Dexterity dictionaries).

At this point customization standards were clarified:

1. If you need seamless integration with Great Plains Dynamics, working in the realm of Dynamics security and database independent data access/modification you do it in Great Plains Dexterity.

2. If your customization should be light then you appeal to the customization tools coming with your computer platform. Very soon Microsoft Windows took the market, so VBA was the way to go.

3. As soon as Microsoft Windows kicked Mac OS from the office computers market, standard third party Microsoftfriendly tools were recommended good example is Crystal Reports

4. When Microsoft SQL Server won the database market Great Plains Software began migration campaign from Ctree/Faircom, Btrieve/Pervasive SQL to MS SQL Server 7.0 and later 2000

Finally, when Microsoft bought Great Plains Software, Microsoft Business Solutions turned to be more concerned about its ERP products migration and transformation into socalled suites: Microsoft Financial, Microsoft Logistics, Microsoft Manufacturing, Microsoft Human Resources and pretty much abandoned the promotion of traditional tools: Great Plains Dexterity, VBA, ReportWriter, Continuum, Integration Manager. As a temporary patch to enable .Net programming it released such tools as eConnect.

Right now (20042005) we are in the transformation phase when old tools, such as Dexterity are still playing important role, but if you are thinking about customization, you probably better consider SQL Server scripts/views/stored procs, if you have customization budget make a research on eConnect. Try to make as much web publishing in Visual Studio.Net as possible. Use Crystal Reports design and our recommendation is to base Crystal Report on SQL View or Stored Procedure.

Good luck with installation, implementation, customization, development, upgrade and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job give us a call 18665280577! [email protected]

About The Author

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Washington, Minnesota, Colorado, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: [email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 23, 2004

by Andrew Karasev

Direct Mail Postcard Rules

Direct Mail Postcard Rules

by: Joe Niewierski

It’s a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. It’s also a fact that it costs far less money to keep a customer than it does to go out and get a new one. These are the two reasons that using direct mail postcards to keep in touch with your customer database is a must. There are a few rules to follow when marketing to contacts in your company database.

Rule #1: Collect all of their information.

It sounds like a nobrainer but you would be surprised. The more information that you have on your customers the more likely it is that you will be able to get in touch with them to let them know about specials or to remind them it’s time for their next service. Also, don’t neglect to ask for your customersก email addresses, everybody has one and most will give it up pretty easily.

Rule #2: Don’t treat your customers like prospects.

Make sure when you collect the information in your database you differentiate between people who have placed an order in the past and people who have not. Customers want to feel like you are paying attention to them and when they have placed a few orders with you and are still getting your ก10% for First Time Buyersก postcards they tend to feel unappreciated. Bottom line, if they don’t qualify for an offer you are sending out, don’t send it to them.

Rule #3: Don’t let your designs get stagnant.

When you are mailing to databases of people that you have never spoken to before it is OK to send them the same postcard multiple times. It helps to increase recognition and will eventually increase your response rate. Dealing with customers and prospects that you have already spoken to (meaning they already know most or all of the details of your business) you need to mix things up a bit. Your mailings should be attention getting and informative. If you have started offering a new service recently, a postcard designed to let your database know about it would be a smart move. The main point is to keep your company in the front of their mind and to keep them reading your postcards.

If the promo that you send to your database gets too repetitive your customers will lose interest and at that point you are just wasting your money on postage because your postcards won’t get the attention that you want.

One of your main goals should be to educate your customers about how your product or service works and this will in turn help them to get more use out of your entire line of products and services. Many times it is as simple as sending out mailings that make your customers aware of all that you can do for them.

Take, for example, a California based software company called Forté Systems. Not only do they use direct mail postcards to acquire new business, they know how to use them to effectively market to their current customer database as well. To fully understand how you will need a little background information.

Forté Systems is one of the current leading companies in Medical Practice Management and Billing Software. This means that their software that will essentially run an entire medical office. The software can be purchased in any one of four levels, depending on budget and number of doctors working for the practice.

Once a medical practice becomes a customer of Forté Systems the marketing strategy is changed to reflect the rules above. They are no longer trying to convince the doctor to become a customer, they are now educating them on how better they can be served by Forté Systems’ products. Now the customer receives direct mail pieces concerning:

Updates on software upgrades (example 1),

Notices when they are running specials (example 2) & information about Other Forté Systems products, such as

Software training tutorials on CD (example 3).

This enables them to continue to service their customers at the highest level and also helps to strengthen the customers loyalty to Forté Systems. Sometimes you lose customers because they either forgot who they dealt with last time they made a purchase or they received some kind of promo from one of your competitors and decided to check it out.

If the customer is constantly updated about what is available from your company they will not have to spend their valuable time doing research and will be less likely to กshop around.ก This will help to control the normal attrition of your database to other companies.

The pieces are all designed with the Forté Systems logo prominently displayed on the front and back the same general feel and most importantly the same color scheme. Picking a company color or group of colors and sticking with it will help to increase recognition and readership of your promo. Simply put, your customers will get to the point that they read what you send them. They need to know it is from your company before they read it because if it doesn’t look like what they are used to you sending it may go in the trash without a second look.

Being great at what you do is not always enough to keep the customers that you have earned. With all of the competition out there today you need to be constantly reminding your customers that you are the best at what you do. Direct mail postcards are the best way to give them that reminder.

Always remember to keep mailings that you send to your database informative, attractive and most of all current. Personalize everything that you can and make sure that what you are sending to a past client actually pertains to them or their company. Anything less and your customer may start to drift, and the only people that are going to be happy when that happens are your competitors.

About The Author

Joe Niewierski, the VP of Marketing & Promotion at PostcardMania, became a published writer after graduating with a BA in Advertising from the University of South Florida. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she’s sharing her marketing secrets with others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at www.postcardmania.com.

This article was posted on February 24

by Joe Niewierski

Microsoft Blues

Microsoft Blues

by: Tony Dean

With the advent of กService Pack 2ก for Windows XP operating system, Microsoft have really made the forums hum.

Every forum on computer problems is replete with complaints that since downloading and installing กSP2ก, many ‘third partyก applications don’t work.

This service pack was needed to keep viruses and trojans out of peopleกs computers when they are on the internet, but it has caused a world wide backlash against the software giant because peopleกs favored applications won’t work, or the computer crashes when they try to open them. Many people have said they will buy a Mac or try Linux instead.

What causes all this fury against Microsoft who are only trying to make surfing the internet safer?

Maybe there was an almighty rush to release this service pack before it had been thoroughly beta tested on all applications to see what the issues would be.

The complexity of this service pack is such that you really need to have a degree in I.T. just to set itกs parameters, instead of relying on itกs default settings, before you can successfully use it. It really needed a dvd movie to accompany it to visually show what you had to set before starting up any ‘third partyก applications, but this was not thought necessary because Microsoft were offering free technical support via a free phone number.

Some applications require that you open ports manually, but who would know that without clear instructions?

Some of the applications that need ports to be opened for them include the following: กVisual Studio.Netก, กSQLก, กBackup Exec 9ก, กGhost Server Corporate Edition 7.5ก, กSymantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 8.0ก, กSMS 2003 Serverก, กCuteFTP 5.0 xpก, กExceed 7.0 and 8.0ก, กKea! 340 5.1ก, กView Now 1.05ก, กMicrosoft Operations Manager 2000ก, กAutoCad 2004ก, กBackup Exec 9.1 4691ก, กWindows Scanner and Camera Wizardก, กCold Fusion MX Server Edition 6ก, กeTrust 6.0.100ก, กNetshield 4.5ก, กIBM Tivoli Storage Managerก …and the list goes on.

Many games won’t work. Games that need กDX9.0cก to run, are not supported by the กSP2ก, so games don’t run.

Virus scanning software by McAfee, Sourcenet, Sonic Wall, Command AntiVirus, either give error messages, or crash the computer.

Most scanners including Umax scanners may not work and give error messages, or continually reboot the computer.

Some of the features of Ebay Toolbar will cease to function. Users of Ebayกs Enhanced Picture Service are locked out.

Applications which may not work are programs that have to contact a server to work at all, some ftp, multimedia streaming software, กnew mailก notifications in some email applications. Some programs reported not working are webservers such as กInternet Information Servicesก (IIS), ‘remote Desktopก, กFile Sharingก.

Many large companies are so concerned about the applications incompatability issues that IBM have notified all staff not to install กSP2ก.

Complaints to ‘third partyก software suppliers are soaring as if it is their fault applications don’t work.

Even ebooks downloaded from the internet are refusing to fully open.

The only way to get these applications to work is to uninstall กSP2ก by going to กStartก then กControl Panelก then กAdd Remove Programsก.

Microsoft, as if to shove the blame on users, have warned that installing กSP2ก on a กspywareก infested machine is a กbad ideaก.

Summing up the proกs and conกs of installing กSP2ก, one forum poster stated it simply:

กWindows XP is incompatable with SP2ก.

About The Author

Tony Dean is a published author and runs a web site selling ebooks and software for immediate download:

http://www.ebooksales.com

To subscribe to his weekly ezine กEbookSales Ezineก send blank email: [email protected]

This article was posted on November 06, 2004

by Tony Dean

Regain Internet Privacy from Spyware

Regain Internet Privacy from Spyware

by: Mitch Johnson

The majority of computers connected to the internet today are infected with some sort of spyware. The prevalence of internet use has made the growth of spybot, adware, spyware, Trojans, keyloggers and other malware fast and easy.

Each form of surveillance software invades users’ privacy through numerous methods so they can gather information about people’s internet and computer activities. Users must learn to deny spyware access or remove any current infestations in order to maintain a private internet experience.

The consequences of spyware can include identity theft, loss of system control, PC slow downs, pop up ads and browsers crashes. Without a spyware removal tool you are continuing to invite spyware in to invade your privacy. Your antivirus and firewalls cannot catch most spyware applications because they are installed by piggybacking in on legitimate downloads that you approve such as freeware programs as well as music and game software.

Once on your computer the spyware works silently, beyond the user’s knowledge to gather private information. Spyware and adware software are stealthily embedded in your system, making them difficult to remove manually, which is why it is vital for internet users to find a spyware scanner. Spy scan tools search through the hard drive for spyware infected files. It then removes the detected files so your computer can be restored to it normal working capabilities. Several spyware tools actively protect you from spyware infections while you are working online.

About The Author

Mitch Johnson is a successful freelance author that writes regularly for http://www.1stinremovespyware.com/, a site that focuses primarily on spyware detection software, as well as tips on how to avoid spyware from popping up on your computer. His articles have also been featured on related spyware sites such as,

http://www.bestinspywaredetection.com/ as well as http://www.bestsypwareremovalreviews.com/

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 31

by Mitch Johnson

Almost A Misconception: Corel Draw

Almost A Misconception: Corel Draw

by: Blur Loterina

Corel Draw Version 4.0 is said to be the most ambitious computer software. What makes it ambitious is that it promises to be the ultimate tool for any computer graphics design and that it claims to be a bugfree software. The promotion was impressive but it appeared to have disappointed many CorelDraw users.

Many thought that Corel Draw version 7 will not be of any difference. Surprisingly, it gave them another dose of hope, a new and better software to give them professionalquality logos, special effects and illustrations.

This version focuses on interface, speed and maintenance. It is composed of Corel Photo Paint 7 and Corel Dream 3d7. One of the features included is the Template Wizard script. This allows you to create templates from saved files, reducing the time wasted in making templates. It also enables you to work on templates you created on other Corel draw versions, just add the templates on your template wizard. New template samples as well as templates for Paper Direct papers are included.

There is the Welcoming Screen that explains how vector images differ from bitmap images and how you can export them. Customizing keyboards and tools are also discussed. The purpose of the color manager is to instruct user how to manipulate color producing devices so that it will work well with Corel software. Also, there are shortcut keys and management tools for saving and organizing files.

Corel Draw 7 offers a much better scripting tool. You can use these tools to set styles and dimensions. You can set up your page using the property bar.

A scrapbook feature, which gives access to Draw 7, was included. Draw 7 is a collection of fills, cliparts, photos, designs and outlines. Use the Options Dialog Box for instructions on how to nudge or duplicate drawing options or adjust backups.

A new version was created, an upgrade from PhotoPaint and Corel Draw, the Select version. It contains a full version of the two programs. It’s not just a drawing program; it is also used for desktop publishing and professional photo image editing. It has a built in thesaurus and spell checker as well as 450 readymade professional looking templates. However, this version does not have other features included in the original Corel 7. The graphics library is limited and has fewer fonts as compared to the latter.

With Corel Draw 7, you can create realistic shadows and fix text inside objects or closed path.

About The Author

Blur Loterina

You may wonder why I write articles. Besides from the fact that it’s my job, I used to write short stories when I was younger. I think it would be helpful if I said I’m a big fan of Zach de la Rocha and Rage Against the Machine. This would explain my own views about a lot of things. Their songs were about national issues, politics and human rights. They support the American Indian Movement and Che Guevara, the face you see on tshirts. Not that it concerns me. I only like their music and idealism.

I like to read anything that contains words in the old English form, though I can’t understand it. You know, the King James Version of the Bible with words like thou, thy, thine, wilst, etc. The words used are different. The construction of the sentence is different, too, which makes sentences sound artistic. I also like gothic metal, a music genre, because most of the lyrics contain such words. It is not only the words that fascinate me; it’s the hidden meaning it contains. It’s like an abstract painting; you don’t get the real picture until you see through it.

I’m not an artist, I’m not a poet. I just love writing anything I want. I wasn’t born a genius, I just want to know and understand something I don’t. I like to find the difference between similar things. It’s like counting birthmarks on each identical twin.

Additional Information about the articles can be found at http://www.catalogprintingexperts.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 09

by Blur Loterina

Is there a shortcut to successful online business?

Is there a shortcut to successful online business?

by: Richard Grady

Copyright 2005 Richard Grady

There has been quite a discussion in my forum this week regarding the latest online กcrazeก to generate fast money….

In fairness, this method of earning quick cash has been around for quite a few months but it is just starting to trickle out to the masses as more and more people realize the potential and jump on the bandwagon.

In case you have missed the forum chat, the overall concept of this opportunity involves using software products such as Traffic Equalizer ( http://www.thetraderonline.com/trafficequalizer.html ) to create websites. Traffic Equalizer and similar programs work by taking a keyword that you input and then building a website around this keyword. The end result is a directory or portal of related links to other websites/articles that are relevant to the keyword that you chose. Because of the way in which the automated site is structured, these pages have a very good chance of achieving high rankings within the search engines, which of course can mean lots of free traffic.

So, take things one stage further and add some affiliate links or Google Adsense adverts to the automated pages and suddenly these automated websites become sales tools which potentially can earn money from every visitor, which you will recall are all coming from search engines for free 🙂

Now the fact is that each site may or may not earn you any money and the vast majority of sites will probably be doing well if they bring in $5 of Adsense income each day but hereกs the thing it only takes a couple of minutes to build a site and once built, it requires absolutely no maintenance. Can you see where I am going with this?

Basically the speed at which sites can be built means that you can build lots and lots of sites and if each one can, potentially, earn you $5 or more a day, this soon adds up to a reasonable income.

So what is the downside I hear you cry?

Simple. In my opinion, this กloopholeก (or whatever you want to call it) to get free traffic is not going to be around forever. Search engines hate to have their results manipulated in any way and as more and more people fill the Internet with these directorytype sites, the search engines are likely to find a way of excluding them from their results.

I know for a fact that people are making thousands of dollars a month using these automated portal sites and they continue to upload new sites every single day (sometimes as many as 50 or more in a day!) and quite frankly, I don’t blame them for taking advantage of this opportunity while it lasts. What worries me however is when people build their entire income around something like this without any form of backup plan in case the good times come to an end.

Letกs look at a similar situation that arose a couple of years ago. Stephen Pierce (who was unknown at the time in Internet marketing circles) released an eBook about his online success. One chapter of the eBook covered something that he called กSmart Pagesก. There were, quite simply pages which had been designed in a certain way to rank well in search engines. They were completely different to the directory pages I have mentioned above but the concept was the same fast, free traffic to your site from the main search engines.

Smart Pages were big business for, I guess, a year after Stephenกs eBook was published software was written to create them, more eBooks were written, I even tested them and wrote about them myself.

Gradually though their effectiveness started to reduce and nowadays, I doubt that any serious Internet marketer would even consider using Smart Page technology. I am sure however that for that period of a year, a lot of people made a lot of money from the Smart Page concept.

Just to illustrate this point further, I did a search on Google today for the term กSmart Pagesก and not one person is paying to advertise using Adwords for this search term not one! How often does that happen?

As I say, the directory sites that TE and other software products create are completely different to Smart Pages and do at least have some content but the fact is that they are being massproduced and in many cases people are not even bothering to change the standard page templates that come with the software. If Google (or any other large search engine) wanted to exclude the results of such pages, in most cases it would be pretty easy for them to do and if your only traffic comes from these very search engines, any income could stop overnight.

So what is the point of this article? Am I telling you not to use this technology?

Absolutely not I have been testing the various software products available myself to see how well they work so I am certainly not saying กDon’t do thisก. What I am saying is that you should be aware of the risks. You should be aware that you กmightก wake up one morning and find that as far as the search engines are concerned, your automated pages no longer exist and therefore don’t rely on methods such as these for your entire income. In other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket make hay while the sun shines but be prepared when it eventually goes in 🙂

Plenty of people make a good living jumping from one fad or craze to the next but it can be a risky business. Just make sure you are aware of the risks.

About The Author

Richard Grady has been helping ordinary people earn online since 1998. He writes a free newsletter which is published every two weeks. To subscribe (and claim your free gifts), visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html.

This article was posted on March 17

by Richard Grady

You Lost Your Data… Don’t Panic!

You Lost Your Data… Don’t Panic!

by: Emanuele Allenti

Inability to access your data stored on the data storage device could be caused by many reasons, from those that are easy to fix to those which are completely impossible to fix. If the damage is irreversible then data loss will occur. The causes of the failure of your hard drive or CDROM drive could vary from a bad connection due to a loose wire (which is easily recoverable) to damage to the media itself, which could still be recoverable in many cases.

As in the medical profession, the first principle of data recovery is: กdo not harmก.

If you are facing a data loss situation, what not to do is very important!

Do not power up a device that has obvious physical damage.

Do not power up a device that has shown symptoms of physical failure. For example, disks that make กobvious mechanical fault noisesก such as ticking or grinding, should not be repeatedly powered on and tested as it just makes them worse.

Activate the writeprotect switch or tab on any problem removable media such as tape cartridges and floppies. (Many good backups are overwritten during a crisis.)

Do not use free software. This is very important. Free data recovery software can be extremely dangerous and ruin your chances for a successful data recovery. Many companies offer free data recovery software also called DoItYourself (DIY) data recovery software available for download on their website.

Even the best programs only work in very specific situations. While these free tools that are available may help, they usually only help if you are encountering one of a very few specific data loss situations.

Some programs may cause further or permanent data loss. While these programs are provided with good intention, even when carefully used these utilities may cause recoverable data to be permanently lost and may cause the loss of additional data.

Anyway, there is something you CAN do; if you are having data access problems and your media has no symptoms of physical failure or damage, try and check some obvious issues before deciding if you need data recovery:

Are the power and disk cables properly connected?

Is configuration or disk information correct?

Try the defective unit with a different adapter/controller interface or on a different computer.

Is there an experienced technician at a local store or the company help desk that you can consult, if these steps are beyond your capabilities? (Make sure whoever is in contact with your data loss situation is fully aware that they should do nothing during their troubleshooting that will risk hurting your data.)

Doesn’t work? Don’t panic; if the damage occurred to the driveกs electronics, it most likely could be fixed. If the damage occurred to the, for example, system areas of the disk, leaving the data zone intact, those data could be theoretically, and (in some cases) practically, recovered by a professional.

Look on the Net for data recovery companies, ask them questions, explain them your situation. In most cases they will be able to understand your problem and fix it for a fair price.

About The Author

Emanuele Allenti is the owner of http://www.harddiskdatabackuprecovery.com a website containing tips and useful information written by experts for those interested in backup and data recovery

This article was posted on September 27, 2004

by Emanuele Allenti

Scrap Booking Online: Word Perfect or Corel Graphi

Scrap Booking Online: Word Perfect or Corel Graphics Suite?

by: Grannyกs Mettle

Scrapbooks are very popular these days. I think that almost everyone wanted to capture family histories and stories in any which way they can. And with the onset of digital technology, scrap booking has even extended to newsletters and journals with photos and illustrations online and in the email. Theyกve become so popular that itกs not surprising to receive an entire scrapbook from your relatives and friends and loved ones even across the globe.

With the advanced technology, people have been using graphic design and desktop publishing software to help them create wonderful and creative scrapbooks. Two of this wellknown software is CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 12 and WordPerfect Office Suite 12.

Each of the software has their own endearing qualities. Both applications are used to create newsletters as far as I know. But what software to choose? It all depends on what you want to create.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 12

For graphicallyrich family history newsletter or time capsule, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 12 would be the ideal software as it is the easiest graphics suite available in the market today.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is a vector editing program. This software is definitely for illustration, page layout, and vector drawing. It has the Corel PhotoPaint for bitmap editing of photos and images for that professional digital imaging look. It has hundreds of clip art photos and images to choose from, which you can overlay your own family photos on top. It also has Corel R.A.V.E. 3 for motiongraphics creation.

With the softwareกs features and vast collection of photos, clipart and fonts, you can create and design a professionallooking newsletter or a family history time capsule, and even a memorable album where you and your family will find the highlights of your life in wonderful and elegant designs made by you.

Corelกs WordPerfect Office 12

And if you’re the simple type, and you don’t want too much clutter, you can use Corelกs WordPerfect Office 12 to create a novisual and textbased newsletter. The software has an array of newsletter templates you can use to help you start right away with your newsletter. This so far, is the best alternative to Microsoft Office.

Better yet, why not use both software to help you create your scrap book? One freelance newsletter designer who specializes in genealogy utilizes both software because the combination makes him complete his design tasks twice as fast. กI can create graphics in CorelDRAW 12 and quickly pop them into all my textbased WordPerfect 12 office documents because switching between files is very easy,ก he relates. This is made possible by the tools in both the software that reduce the number of steps required to finish his jobs.

He adds that what makes it more worthwhile is that aside from saving time, finger movements on the mouth is also reduced, thereby reducing cramps and strains from the fingers to the wrist.

About The Author

Grannyกs Mettle is a 30something, professional web content writer. She has created various web content on a diverse range of topics, which includes digital printing topics, medical news, as well as legal issues. Her articles are composed of reviews, suggestions, tips and more for the printing and designing industry.

Her thoughts on writing: กWriting gives me pleasure… pleasure and excitement that you have created something to share with others. And with the wide world of the Internet, it gives me great satisfaction that my articles reach more people in the quickest time you could imagine.ก

On her spare time, she loves to stay at home, reading books on just about any topic she fancies, cooking a great meal, and taking care of her husband and kids.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.losangelesprintingservice.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 11

by Grannyกs Mettle

Software Promotion

Software Promotion

by: Sharon Housley

Software Announce

Creating amazing software is only half the battle. Telling the world about your software is the other half. With working capital, consider employing someone who specializes in software promotion. To work with an established reputable firm can esure success when marketing software. Two promotional companies that know the software industry, and can provide valuable marketing advice and insight are:

Shareware Promotions http://www.sharewarepromotions.com

Dr File Finder http://www.drff.com .

Outside of hiring professionals to market software, there are still a number of options for marketing software, in most cases, the only investment will be time.

1. Post Press Releases to Online Resources

If press releases or product announcements are sent out, consider posting the announcements to websites, there are a number that allow for press release posting free of charge. The releases on these sites are occasionally picked up by publications looking for information or filler content. Another side benefit to these listings is increased link popularity, which helps with search engine ranking. A list of sites that allow for press release posting can be found under กpress release postingก A number are available at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/pressreleases.html

2. Post Announcement on Usenet

A number of Usenet groups allow for posting of announcements or press releases. Most of the announce groups in Usenet contain กann.ก in the domain address. To locate topic specific announce groups consider searching Newsguy.com. A list of common software announce groups are listed below.

comp.software.shareware.announce

fm.announce

3. Post to Forums

Forums also contain sections in which you can post announcements. If the application is niche product, consider searching for topic specific forums in addition to the general software announce forums listed below. Be sure to post any announcements in the appropriately marked กannounce forumก

http://www.smallbusinesssoftware.net/forum/

http://forum.mypdacafe.com

http://forums.digitalsea.com/

http://download.net/forums/index.php

http://www.developersforum.com/

http://v2.tlab404.com/forum

Topic specific software announce forums are also available, such as http://www.messagingsoftware.com/forum only messaging related announcements are welcome

4. Search Usenet

To determine if there are recent inquiries regarding related software or your products and to post appropriate responses search Googleกs Forum directory (by date): http://groups.google.com/

5. Present to Local User Groups

User groups are filled with technically savvy individuals who have an interest in technology and software. Consider attending and presenting software at a local user group meeting or a SIG (special interest group). The targeted audience will often share information, about software that impresses them, with friends or other user groups. To find local user groups search the database located on the Association of Professional User Group (APCUG) website at http://www.apcug.org or post an inquiry to the user group forum on http://www.smallbusinesssoftware.net/forum/

6. Partner with Other Developers

Consider a developer newsletter exchange. Complimentary products often do well when presented properly. Provide a discount or affiliate exchange to sweeten the offer of a mention.

The extra effort expended to make potential customers aware of products can go a long way to ensure the success of a well designed application.

About The Author

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.smallbusinesssoftware.net

This article was posted on April 20, 2004

by Sharon Housley

How Podcasting Works

How Podcasting Works

by: Sharon Housley

It has been said that in October of 2004 a Google search returned less than 6,000 results for the term กpodcastingก. Today, a similar search yields more than 857,000 results. Like the blogging phenomenon, podcasting has come out of nowhere and attracted an enthusiastic following.

While some traditional radio talk shows have begun providing podcasts of their regularlyscheduled broadcasts, the bulk of the podcasts that have cropped up tend to be independent broadcasters who have a fascination with technology. As a result, some podcasts are a little rough around the edges. Nonetheless, it is clear that the technology provides a significant opportunity and potential. Even naysayers believe that podcasting is more than a passing fad.

Podcasting is RSS that is used to syndicate and distribute audio files. Podcasting contains an audio file in the RSS feedกs enclosure tag. An enclosure tag is used in RSS feeds to include certain types of files. The file contained in an enclosure tag can be: an image, a data file, a video file, or an audio file. Podcasting specifically refers to RSS feeds that contain audio files in their enclosure tag. The RSS version that currently supports enclosure tags is RSS version 2.0. All podcasts are currently created using this specification.

The benefit to podcasting is the fact that users can sync content with their media player and listen at a time and a place of their choosing: radio on demand. And while this technology is not limited to music, it seems to be the area that has received the most attention.

Podcasting is generally inexpensive to implement. Investment in a good quality microphone will ensure that the recording is audible. Depending on knowledge and experience, some podcasters invest in audio conversion, compression and audio editing software applications. Also, web space bandwith and software to create the feed for the podcast is needed. All in all, the initial expense is relatively small.

Publishing Podcasts

In three simple steps, independent broadcasters can have their voice heard:

Publishers create audio content, posting it on a website for listeners.

Create or edit an existing RSS feed including a link to the audio file in the กenclosureก field of an RSS 2.0 feed, uploading it to a website.

Tell the world that a podcast is available.

Listen to Podcasts:

In three simple steps web surfers can listen to podcasts:

Download a news aggregator or RSS reader that supports podcasting or sync a wireless device like an iPod with your computer.

Enter the URL of the podcast feed into the news aggregator or podcast management software.

As new items appear in the aggregator, review the podcastกs description and listen to those that are of interest.

As popularity increases it is likely many voices will be drowned out, but for now, an independent broadcaster with a microphone and unlimited bandwith can make a name, create an image and change the world.

Useful Tools for Podcasting:

Create podcast feed http://www.feedforall.com

News aggregator supporting podcasts http://www.feeddemon.com or http://www.primetimepodcast.com

See also Podcasting Tools http://www.smallbusinesssoftware.net/podcastingtools.htm

Copyright 2005 Sharon Housley

About The Author

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.

This article was posted on April 13

by Sharon Housley