Personal Information Manager Software.

A Personal Information Manager (PIM) is a software program that allows user to keep track of their activities. PIMs are different from each other in the number of functions they provide, but usually they can have functions such as:

-Address Books
-List (Including task lists)
-Calender dates (Example; Birthdays, anniversaries, appointments and meetings etc)
-Reminders/notifications
-Email and/or instant messaging services (MSN,Yahoo etc.)
-Voicemail
-Notes/journals (keeping track of finance records)
-Project Management features
-RSS feeds
-Alarms

PIMs ensure it's user to store and retrieve important information easily. Most users use PIMs to handle work activities, scheduling and reminders to improve their efficiency. Users that are not working too can use PIMs to manage their social life. The aim of PIMs is to help users spend lesser time looking for information and thus free up more time to make creative and intelligent use of the information that hey have at hand in order to get things done swiftly with minor or no errors at all.

There are several PIM softwares on the market that satisfies most of the user's needs;



Microsoft Office Outlook 2007:



This software provides integrated solution for organizing and managing user's e-mail and instant messaging. It also manage daily information-- from calendars, contacts to task lists and notes. Microsoft Outlook is able to help users to manage appointments and scheduling tasks efficiently.


An example of calendar scheduling.


MyInfosafe:

Similar to Microsoft Office Outlook 2007; It comes with basic scheduling,calender,task management and contact list. But this software specialize in saving personal information. MyInfoSafe contains details such as the date and time of the information was inserted in the program. It also have special encryption security to prevent outsiders from having access into user's information fault (Such as hackers!). The best thing about this software is that its user-friendly and all information can be accessed by trusted individuals (with passwords) in case of emergency (such as accidental deaths). Therefore, some users may use this program to record their wills and power of attorney with attachment to the scanned documents.





-Posted by Alex Mak.

Spread Sheet Software

Spreadsheet applications (sometimes referred to simply as spreadsheets) are computer programs that let you create and manipulate spreadsheets electronically. In a spreadsheet application, each value sits in a cell. You can define what type of data is in each cell and how different cells depend on one another. The relationships between cells are called formulas, and the names of the cells are called labels.

Once you have defined the cells and the formulas for linking them together, you can enter your data. You can then modify selected values to see how all the other values change accordingly. This enables you to study various what-if scenarios.

A simple example of a useful spreadsheet application is one that calculates mortgage payments for a house. You would define five cells:

1. total cost of the house

2. down payment

3. mortgage rate

4. mortgage term

5. monthly payment

Once you had defined how these cells depend on one another, you could enter numbers and play with various possibilities. For example, keeping all the other values the same, you could see how different mortgage rates would affect your monthly payments.

There are a number of spreadsheet applications on the market, Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel being among the most famous. The more powerful spreadsheet applications support graphics features that enable you to produce charts and graphs from the data.

Most spreadsheet applications are multidimensional, meaning that you can link one spreadsheet to another. Athree-dimensional spreadsheet, for example, is like a stack of spreadsheets all connected by formulas. A change made in one spreadsheet automatically affects other spreadsheets.

by Hon keat

Word proccesing

Word proccesing isusing a computer to create, edit, and print documents. Of all computer applications, word processing is the most common. To perform word processing, you need a computer, a special program called a word processor, and a printer. A word processor enables you to create a document, store it electronically on adisk, display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the keyboard, and print it on a printer.

The great advantage of word processing over using a typewriter is that you can make changes without retyping the entire document. If you make a typing mistake, you simply back up the cursor and correct your mistake. If you want to delete a paragraph, you simply remove it, without leaving a trace. It is equally easy to insert a word, sentence, or paragraph in the middle of a document. Word processors also make it easy to move sections of text from one place to another within a document, or between documents. When you have made all the changes you want, you can send the file to a printer to get a hardcopy.

Word processors vary considerably, but all word processors support the following basic features:

insert text: Allows you to insert text anywhere in the document.

delete text: Allows you to erase characters, words, lines, or pages as easily as you can cross them out on paper.

cut and paste : Allows you to remove (cut) a section of text from one place in a document and insert (paste) it somewhere else.

copy : Allows you to duplicate a section of text.

page size and margins : Allows you to define various page sizes and margins, and the word processor will automatically readjust the text so that it fits.

search and replace : Allows you to direct the word processor to search for a particular word or phrase. You can also direct the word processor to replace one group of characters with another everywhere that the first group appears.

word wrap : The word processor automatically moves to the next line when you have filled one line with text, and it will readjust text if you change the margins.

print: Allows you to send a document to a printer to get hardcopy.

Word processors that support only these features (and maybe a few others) are called text editors. Most word processors, however, support additional features that enable you to manipulate and format documents in more sophisticated ways. These more advanced word processors are sometimes called full-featured word processors. Full-featured word processors usually support the following features:

file management : Many word processors contain file management capabilities that allow you to create, delete, move, and search for files.

font specifications: Allows you to change fonts within a document. For example, you can specify bold, italics, and underlining. Most word processors also let you change the font size and even the typeface.

footnotes and cross-references: Automates the numbering and placement of footnotes and enables you to easily cross-reference other sections of the document.

graphics graphics: Allows you to embed illustrations and graphs into a document. Some word processors let you create the illustrations within the word processor; others let you insert an illustration produced by a different program.

headers , footers , and page numbering: Allows you to specify customized headers and footers that the word processor will put at the top and bottom of every page. The word processor automatically keeps track of page numbers so that the correct number appears on each page.

layout : Allows you to specify different margins within a single document and to specify various methods for indenting paragraphs.

macros : A macro is a character or word that represents a series of keystrokes. The keystrokes can represent text or commands. The ability to define macros allows you to save yourself a lot of time by replacing common combinations of keystrokes.

merges: Allows you to merge text from one file into another file. This is particularly useful for generating many files that have the same format but differentdata. Generating mailing labels is the classic example of using merges.

spell checker : A utility that allows you to check the spelling of words. It will highlight any words that it does not recognize.

tables of contents and indexes: Allows you to automatically create a table of contents and index based on special codes that you insert in the document.

thesaurus: A built-in thesaurus that allows you to search for synonyms without leaving the word processor.

windows : Allows you to edit two or more documents at the same time. Each document appears in a separate window. This is particularly valuable when working on a large project that consists of several different files. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get): With WYSIWYG, a document appears on the display screen exactly as it will look when printed.By Hon Keat

Accounting software

The whole point of using accounting software is to make your life easier by saving you time and money. Therefore, if it doesn’t and you can meet your legal requirements without it, you should question whether it’s worth the effort.

It should save you time because:

• the whole process of bookkeeping should be faster (although setting up a package can take an initial “time investment” at the start)
• you should be able to answer queries much quicker (such as “did you pay supplier A last month, and if so, how much)
• some things should be semi or fully automated, such as bank reconciliations, VAT returns
• your “year end” should be more straightforward

It should save you money because:

· you may be able to negotiation lower accountant’s and/or bookkeeping fees.

· indirectly, you should save money by freeing up your/your bookkeeper’s time.

· you may be able to make better financial decisions as a result of better and more timely information.

advantages:

· can semi automate the process of bookkeeping

· can build in some simple “error traps” to avoid things like arthmetic errors.

· your accountant may be able to provide you with some guidance and/or a simple spreadsheet template, and as a result you may be able to save on accounting fees.

disadvantages:

· you obviously have to be comfortable with Excel

· double-entry bookkeeping in Excel can be a bit labourious, therefore it’s better used for single entry bookkeeping. (Having said that, it’s probably still easier to do double entry bookkeeping in Excel rather than manually)

· it’s easy to delete entries and corrupt a spreadsheet (possibly without realising until much later), so it’s important to take backups and build in as much “protection” and error checking as possible.

Document Management

Why need document management software?

An efficient document management system transmits information with ease and convenience. It coordinates several types of departments of an organization at a level. You can manage easily the incoming documents, indexing, digitizing and organizing daily activities. Professionals outside the organization need to coordinate with the internal activities of the company. This enables you to produce quick and efficient results with the clients or customers of an organization. A person can get maximum productivity at a lower cost of the company. The employees can also increase the efficiency by using manageable and portable electronic files.

hese electronic files are Portable Document Format, Word file, Excel sheet, Power Point and much more. The PDF document is a portable format which can be used to transfer bulky information in the documents. A person can use this format for security purposes. In other words, one can encrypt the files using set of security features. One can lock the contents of the file from unauthorized hampering and misuse. You can encrypt the files using certificates, passwords or digital signatures. Organizations can save and transfer their confidential information using the PDF. The Word file allows you to store the documents in an editable file format. You can customize the data by using editable features of the documents. The Excel sheet enables you to perform mathematical calculations. Using all these types of electronic files you can archive, store and transmit information for collaboration purposes. For converting one file format into another like word to PDF, PDF to word , PDF to Excel any many more, you can use PDF converter as a conversion tool that will speed up the process of conversion and efficiency of the output of the company.

Wilet Ritz is an internet expert that suggests the importance of having the most excellent and valuable software for computers. He gives you tips on how to purchase economical, consistent and excellence software for Word to PDF & PDF converter conversion purpose.

prepare by

chi chou

Project Management Softw@re

Project Management software is a term covering many types of software, including scheduling, cost control and budget management, resource allocation, collaboration software,communication software quality management and documentation or administration systems, which are used to deal with the complexity of large projects.

Tasks or activities of project management software

Scheduling

One of the most common purposes is to schedule a series of events or tasks and the complexity of the schedule can vary considerably depending on how the tool is used. Some common challenges include:

• Events which depend on one another in different ways or dependencies
• Scheduling people to work on, and resources required by, the various tasks commonly termed resource scheduling
• Dealing with uncertainties in the estimates of the duration of each task

Providing information

Project planning software can be expected to provide information to various people or stakeholders, and can be used to measure and justify the level of effort required to complete the project(s). Typical requirements might include:

• Tasks lists for people, and allocation schedules for resources
• Overview information on how long tasks will take to complete
• Early warning of any risks to the project
• Information on workload, for planning holidays
• Evidence
• Historical information on how projects have progressed, and in particular, how actual and planned performance are related
• Optimum utilization of available resource

Approaches to project management softwareDesktop

Project management software can be implemented as a program that runs on the desktop of each user. This typically gives the most responsive and graphically-intense style of interface.

Desktop applications typically store their data in a file, although some have the ability to collaborate with other users, or to store their data in a central database. Even a file-based project plan can be shared between users if it's on a networked drive and only one user accesses it at a time.

Web-based

Project management software can be implemented as a Web application, accessed through an intranet, or an extranet using a web browser.

This has all the usual advantages and disadvantages of web applications:

• Can be accessed from any type of computer without installing software on user's computer
• Ease of access-control
• Naturally multi-user
• Only one software version and installation to maintain
• Centralized data repository
• Typically slower to respond than desktop applications
• Project information not available when the user (or server) is offline
• Some solutions allow the user to go offline with a copy of the data

Personal

A personal project management application is one used at home, typically to manage lifestyle or home projects. There is considerable overlap with single user systems, although personal project management software typically involves simpler interfaces. See also non-specialized tools below.

Single user

A single-user system is programmed with the assumption that only one person will ever need to edit the project plan at once. This may be used in small companies, or ones where only a few people are involved in top-down project planning. Desktop applications generally fall into this category...

Prepared by,

Tian Jen

Presentation Software

A presentation software is a computer software package used to display information, normally in the form of a slide show. It typically includes three major functions: an editor that allows text to be inserted and formatted, a method for inserting and manipulating graphic images and a slide-show system to display the content.

A presentation program is supposed to help both: the speaker with an easier access to his ideas and the participants with visual information which complements the talk. There are many different types of presentations including professional (work-related), education, entertainment, and for general communication. Presentation programs can either supplement or replace the use of older visual aid technology, such as Pamphlets, handouts, chalkboards, flip charts, posters, slides and overhead transparencies. Text, graphics, movies, and other objects are positioned on individual pages or "slides" or "foils". The "slide" analogy is a reference to the slide projector, a device that has become somewhat obsolete due to the use of presentation software. Slides can be printed, or (more usually) displayed on-screen and navigated through at the command of the presenter. Transitions between slides can be animated in a variety of ways, as can the emergence of elements on a slide itself. Typically a presentation has many constraints and the most important being the limited time to present consistent information.

Many presentation programs come with pre-designed images and/or have the ability to import graphic images. Custom graphics can also be created in other programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator and then exported.
Certain presentation programs also offer an interactive integrated hardware element designed to engage an audience or facilitate presentations across different geographical locations.Other integrated hardware devices ease the job of a live presenter such as laser pointers and interactive whiteboards.

By,
Tian Jen

Database Software

A Database Management software is a software that allows its users to store information. It then allows any user in the network to search,obtain, organize, revise, research and order data. This program is perfect to keep company's library organized to running a business website smoothly. Due to it's various functions, there are few database software programs available, offering more functions which the options had outdone the basic Database management software like Oracle or Microsoft Access. Few database software programs that offers various functions are FileMaker, Avanquest, Delicious Monster Software for options that are custom made to satisfy a variety of needs.




File Maker Pro:
File Maker Pro is one of the sophisticated database management software that offers most of the functions for database management. Yet, it is user-friendly. The extra functions that this software provide are as follows:

*P2P (Peer to Peer)
Networks that allows user to share a database up to 5 people at a time.

*File Maker Server:
Allows 250 user connections and 125 database to be shared at the same time, though the first time security settings could be a hassle.




This software also comes with integrated backup features, server performance statistics and enhanced security.

Avanquest MyDataBase

Smaller company will look into this as it is not heavily-featured like FileMaker since they don't need most of those features. They have limited database and will only require a simple database software to handle it. This is where the Avanquest MyDataBase software comes in play. It offers features that small company/home offices will be using.


*Predesigned Templates
These templates are designed by the software company to help it's user to save time. It is very convenient as users are able to enter,organize and summarize important information swiftly

*Customized Functions
This software provides customized reports, address list,envelopes, Rolodex cards and anything else that wanted to be printed out filled with user's desired database can be printed from MyDataBase and users are able to send modified e-mails to a recipients registered in a database right inside the software.






-Prepared by Alex Mak.

Topic: Business Software

Week 2 Topic: Business Software. Business Software information search distribution.

-Word Processing Software * Hon Keat
-Spread Sheet Software * Hon Keat
-Database Software * Alex Mak
-Personal Information Manager (PIM) * Alex Mak
-Presentation Software * Tian Jen
-Project Management Software * Tian Jen
-Accounting Software * Chi Chou
-Document Management Software * Chi Chou

Informations will be compiled into one post with different sections provided by the members in the list above.