Business, Marketing, and New Technology
Business Tools
Software to Help Manage Your Warehouse
Apr 3rd
For years I was an eye witness to the advent of technology in the factory. Well, not exactly an eye witness, I was married to a computer geek who wrote the software that made the “robots” in the warehouse do their thing. What was happening was that state-of-the-art robotic machines could be given information to go out into the warehouse -unmanned- and find the product or supply needed, and bring it back to wherever it was wanted. My Ex did the software programming to make this happen, so I heard a lot about it. It was the first time I had heard about bar code scanning. (Remember, this was back in the 80′s)
In the course of events, I also learned a lot about how complex it is to run a warehouse, or any kind of business that has to intake, store, and then ship out product or materials to the customer. It can be quite a daunting task. However, the latest innovations in warehouse management software
have helped make this nightmare considerably easier. Now, you can fully customize the software for your needs, right down to your business logo. And you don’t have to pay for extra stuff you don’t need. The software is web-based, so there is no software to install, maintain, or update. You can keep your clients happy with real-time information, and you can add and in-activate customers on the fly right in the warehouse!
We’ve come a long way, Baby!
Quality Travel Tripod
Jan 23rd
Did you get any great presents for Christmas? I did. I got a new camera. Although I’m still getting used to all the new features, already I love it! It is the smallest camera I’ve ever had, even though it does a zillion things my older cameras never could. My kids picked it out very carefully with my needs in mind, which are not overly technical, and lean more towards the it-must-be-easy-to-use category.
It has fun features that let me take pictures that don’t even look like pictures, they look like pencil or pen drawings. One setting is called “punk”- it’s kinda strange, and I probably won’t be using that one very much. But other settings are more than useful. Of course, the camera takes video, and one setting actually stabilizes the picture! So if I’m a little shaky, or perhaps there is a wind, the video still comes out great- or at least better than it would otherwise.
I like to take pictures of landscapes and waterfalls. So, I have to travel around to get shots. Sometimes, I’m hiking a bit to get where I need to go, and I have to take my camera with me. The kind of videos that I need of waterfalls require a bit of time, and there is no way I can hold the camera still for that long, so I also have to take a tripod with me. This is where a good travel tripod comes in handy. I used to think that just anything that would hold the camera up would do, until a friend showed me his Benro. I guess you just don’t know what you’re missing until someone shows you. Anyway, I obviously needed a better tripod, so I spent some time cruising around the net, visiting sites with camera reviews and camera equipment reviews, and finally decided that the one I wanted was, indeed, from Benrousa.com because of the obvious quality.
If you have a need for a travel tripod, I suggest you check them out- you may not even know what you’re missing!
Keeping it all safe
Oct 11th
A few days ago, we had a really bad storm come through- lightning, and thunder and horrific down-pouring of rain, and more rain. The electricity here at my house is sometimes iffy, and sometimes for no reason at all we’ll have a brown-out. So, with this kind of electrical chaos thundering all around, I was reasonably worried about my electronics. I realized that the buffer that had caught the last lightening strike had blown itself up, and I had never replaced it. Since all my data had not been backed up in, well, an embarrassingly long while, I realized that I had been quite remiss in this area, and vowed to get it all backed up at the first opportunity.
Thank goodness, my data made it through the night, and I set about looking for a safe harbor for a backup of my data. I checked on extra hard drives, and storage systems, and automatic systems, and got advice from friends. Seems like there are lots of ways to back up your data, some easy, and some a bit more difficult. One of the best solutions, I think is online storage. Not only is it secure, but it is accessible from anywhere you are, like from your iphone while you’re vacationing in the Bahamas, and want to check just one last time on that report you just sent your boss. (OK now, cut that out, you’re vacationing, remember?) Anyway, with online backup storage, you can upload any kind of file, and just leave it there for safekeeping, or access it again whenever and wherever you want. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
Land Lines VS VoIP
Aug 15th
Just how expensive is your phone bill? If you’re still using the traditional land line for your phone service, it probably is much more expensive than you need to pay. VoIP, or Voice Over IP (the Internet) has improved significantly in the last few years, and now is a viable option for those who need land line service without the high prices.
Using VoIP used to be less More >
Extend the Life of Your Laptop Battery
Aug 11th
Laptop batteries are EXPENSIVE.
Here are several tips to extend the life of your lithium-ion battery.
One thing to remember is that heat is the enemy. So, whenever you are running your laptop from a cord, take out the battery, so it will stay cool. This includes avoiding hot places like a hot car.
Full discharges put a strain on the battery. Frequent partial charges with frequent recharging is much better. Although you should fully discharge and recharge about once every 30 partial recharges.
Here is a great video with more tips on extending your battery life from FrugalTech. More >
Snipping Tool Captures That Screen!
Aug 7th
Have you ever wished you could just take a picture of what’s right there on your computer screen? Well you can. There are actually many different ways to do this. No, I’m not talking about your good ol’ Nikon.
One way to capture exactly what’s on the screen is by using the “Print Screen” button on your keyboard. Every time you press this key, it will capture an image of the entire screen and place it on the clipboard. Then, you can paste it onto a Word document, or into Excel, or any other program you wish. Then, of course, you have to crop off the parts you don’t want. I used this method for years, before I found out that there are MUCH easier ways to get images.
I found that you could download software that would make the job a snap. I tried GreenShot Image Editor (free) , which does a great job. So does Snagit by Techsmith (not free).
But my favorite of all was found right under my nose! In the Program Files, under Accessories, there is a thing called the Snipping Tool. It came with the system. (I am currently using Windows Vista- yes, I know, thanks for the sympathy) Just click it open, and it will grab whatever part of the screen you shade. The image is on your clipboard, and you have the option of saving as a jpeg, or sending it via email as an attachment. Or, of course you could just paste it onto whatever program you need it in.
Happy Snipping!
Making Videos is not all that Difficult
Jul 18th
Videos are hands down the greatest way to communicate with your customers. But many people think they are too difficult to attempt. While there is a learning curve, and perhaps a few tools to get as you begin, learning to make videos and get them online is not as hard as you might think.
Here is a video by my friend Simon, with some tips on making a good video. More >
Need Camera Equipment in Miami?
May 29th
Are any of you guys professional photographers in the Miami, Florida area? Would you happen to need specialty equipment for a shoot, that you just don’t have? Well, I know of an equipment rental company that can most likely supply any kind of support you need. They’re called Splashlight Miami, and they are well aware that in order to create the stunning visuals that you have in mind, it will take the latest equipment and up-to-date technology.
They have everything from lighting to grip equipment, to cameras. If you can imagine it, they can supply whatever you might need to make it happen. Check out this incredible Miami Bridge that they helped with:
The equipment is More >
Cyber Crime Super Hero
May 9th
If you’re online, you’re constantly in danger of being hacked. Just yesterday, I was cruising for a hosting account, and suddenly, there was porn on my screen. Ok, I don’t think this was a malfunction of my protection software, it really was a miss-type on my part (who would have thought that one single letter could have such diverse results?) but it worried me for an instant, thinking that my computer had been invaded. Have you researched your More >
How Safe Is YOUR Data?
Apr 7th
I have often wondered how secure my information is, when I leave it on an unknown server somewhere, out in cyberspace. Where is cyberspace anyway? It seems like all my bits and bytes are just floating out there in the ethers like space dust, only smaller.
But I do know that it’s not so. Somewhere on the planet is a machine, a server that is holding on to the code, so that I may retrieve it at my liesure. Still, since it is a machine in a physical location, just how secure is that? We are all too aware that disaster can happen. More >