Newsletters – January /
February / March 2009
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Newsletter – January 2009
Editorial – The Year of living dangerously?
So the year begins and the
skies darken. It seems that economists are predicting an even deeper
recession in the North than was expected and that the bail-outs are not going to
work out well. The worst weather in the northern hemisphere has caused
areas to be cut off – floods in Washington State and sub-zero temperatures in
Europe. Meanwhile, KZN has been hit by two devastating storms and there
are more on the way. Economists in South Africa are not exactly full of cheer
either.
On the bright side, we
have COPE versus the ANC; a strong statement by Minister Mtethwa on combating
crime and the Confederations Cup to bring us lots of tourists!
Without doubt, this is
going to be a challenging year, which will test our resolve and prove our
strengths. It is the environment in which new ideas will grow and new ways
of doing things find a root. We may well live dangerously, given the way
we drive on our roads alone!
Even so, I wish everyone
health and prosperity for the year ahead and look forward to working with you
all!
Green Tip
We have an opportunity to
re-evaluate how we do things. This is a pressing one, as we are under
pressure to change or suffer the consequences of not doing so. These
consequences could mean the end of life as we know it. Instead of asking
Eskom to develop more power stations, coal or nuclear, why don't we start to
pressurise our local government structures to insist that all new homes are
equipped with solar power. This micro development would significantly
reduce the need for increased electricity generation. We also need to put
pressure on Eskom or the government to directly assist households in existing
buildings to convert electric geysers to solar. The current subsidy
situation falls woefully short of being useful.
Labbie News
You may well be aware of Labbie, our program for Civil Engineering
Laboratories. Labbie handles all the data aspects of concrete cube
crushing, all the way from receiving the cubes and e-mailing the results to
exporting an invoice to Pastel. We now have the go-ahead from Roadlab,
with whom we are developing Labbie, to extend it to cover the most popular soils
tests too: For example grading curves, Atterberg Limits, MOD, CBR, and
classification of soils per AASHTO, COLTO, TRH14. For the less popular
tests we are providing a generic data storage facility.
Contact Rick to get a trial license for Labbie at your Lab!
Organise your Microsoft Outlook
Do you have an Inbox
containing 500+ items, many of them unread? (Including this newsletter?)
Here's a way to start getting organised for 2009. The principle is to
group things together in folders, using the same structure as you would use with
a physical filing system. You move items to these folders (leaving them
unread or re-marking as unread) and deal with them at the appropriate time.
You might create a folder
named "Customers" containing sub-folders for your regular customers, and use the
"Customers" folder for and customers that don't have sub-folders. I have
Inbox sub-folders for Company matters, Business enquiries, Microsoft, etc.
To create a new folder,
right-click on any folder in the tree view on the left of Outlook. From
the pop-up menu choose "New folder". Type the name; check below that the
new folder will be in the right place (if you right-clicked on the parent folder
it will already be correct). Click OK.
Next time we will see how
to use Rules to automatically move inbound items to the correct folders.
Excel Tip #61 – Matrix Functions: MMULT
Following on from last
time, we press on with Matrix mathematics in Excel. In previous issues we
looked at:
MDETERM: Returns the matrix determinant of an array (a number)
MINVERSE: Returns the matrix inverse of an array (an array)
Now we will consider
MMULT, which returns the matrix product of two arrays (an array). Next
time we will start looking at a practical application –using MINVERSE and MMULT
to solve a series of simultaneous linear equations.
In matrix multiplication
(unlike regular multiplication) the order of the items is important. If A
and B are matrices, A.B ≠ B.A.
Example: Consider two matrices, A
(3 rows x 3 columns, shown below in the range A1:C3) and B (3 rows x 1 column,
shown below in the range E1:E3). To demonstrate MMULT, type in matrices A
and B.
|
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
|
1 |
2.5 |
-0.5 |
-1.5 |
|
4 |
|
1 |
|
2 |
-1.5 |
0.5 |
1 |
|
15 |
|
2.5 |
|
3 |
1.5 |
-0.5 |
-0.5 |
|
1 |
|
-2 |
Now select cells G1:G3
shown in cyan above (our result will be a matrix with 3 rows x 1 column). Type =MMULT(A1:C3,E1:E3) and press,
NOT just Enter, but
Ctrl+Shift+Enter together for an array function. You
will see the result in the cells.
Maximizer 10.5 Released
Maximizer 10.5 focuses strongly on mobility and the web. It is the most
impressive release to date and interfaces with Blackberries as well as Windows
Mobile and Palm. For more information, go to
https://www.max.co.uk/mobile-crm/mobile-crm.html and see what this means.
Then, please phone Judith to obtain more details or e-mail her on
info@softwareafrica.co.za.
Khanya can set up an appointment with Judith so ring her on (011) 802-2685
Maximizer Tip
Can I access Entrepreneur remotely?
I was asked this question
recently, having set up a remote access solution some months before. The
answer is "Yes" if you can dial into your server and access Maximizer that way.
Ask your IT support person to set this up and away you go! It means that
you and all your staff can be mobile and your server can be kept in a secure
room behind a locked door marked "Beware of the Leopard" (to quote "The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy").
In addition, Maximizer has a powerful link to QuickBooks® accounting.
For a young business, this gives a complete solution to growing soundly even in
tough times.
A New-Year's Gift for You
We make amends for not
reminding you at the end of last year! There are seven free spreadsheets
you can order from our website: Bank Account Reconciliation, Fuel Consumption,
Rainfall Spreadsheet with Statistics, Water Meter Readings, Electricity Meter
Readings, Quotation System with Bill of Materials, and even a Mattress Turning
Schedule. All come with detailed instructions.
Click here
to go to Software Africa's Free Spreadsheets page.
Remember: We can make your business run better by:―
- Automating your in-house processes with a custom program or database.
- Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word, Visual Basic, and even Lotus
123 problems.
- Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows (all
levels from beginners to Programming).
- Supplying software: We re-sell and support various CRM, timesheet, scheduling, and
productivity programs.
- Promoting your corporate image with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to
your address list.
All
the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick
Directors, Communication in Action CC t/a Software Africa
PO Box 987, Gallo Manor, 2052 South Africa.
Tel: 011 802-2685. Fax: 011 802-4576 and 086-635-7902/3. Cell: 082
389-3481/2. E-mail: info@softwareafrica.co.za
This entire newsletter is
Copyright© 2008 Communication in Action.
Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it
is left intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice.
To Subscribe to the newsletter, Click here and SEND the resulting e-mail.
Your data will not be provided to a third party without your permission.
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Newsletter – February 2009
Editorial
After all the rain, it is
pleasant to see the sun again! However our lives have been brightened up
recently by a 100 basis points drop in interest rate and a potential
personal tax downgrade for everyone. Seems like these are things that we
needed to have sooner rather than later.
With growth estimated at
1.2% for this year, we are not totally unharmed by the global situation, so
perhaps it is time to look specifically at supporting our home grown products.
This will have the effect of boosting business and creating jobs. There is
also an expectation of many emigrants returning home as their jobs in their new
countries disappear. This may result in a skills influx.
What I would like to
canvas for strongly is the return of the apprentice system. It should
replace the SETAs which have only been a drain on the economy and fallen far
short of providing people with the skills they require. Companies,
providing on the job training of this nature, should then be rewarded with
incentives to encourage them to continue.
Green Tip
This is aimed at anyone
thinking of buying in a new complex! You may have seen the pictures of the
destruction being caused by the recent heavy rains in Craigavon on the Radio 702
website. If not, go to www.702.co.za
and click on David O'Sullivan to find them. This destruction is caused by
paving over the open ground in complexes and leaving nowhere for the water to
go. Lack of storm water reticulation is causes walls to be sodden and
suffer from rising damp which weakens their structure as well. Roads
become flooded and dangerous to drive on. Vast potholes develop and
destroy tyres and axles.
So if your complex
developer wants wall-to-wall paving, please draw this fact to his attention and
stop it happening!
Think of places for water to
sink slowly into the ground so that the underground aquifers are replenished,
ensuring that we have water into the future. South Africa cannot afford to
waste water and high levels of paving are wasting water!
Organise your Microsoft Outlook with Rules
In the last edition we
suggested that you organise your Inbox using sub-folders to mimic your physical filing system.
We talked about how to create these folders. Now we will set up Rules to automatically move inbound items to the correct folders.
Click Tools > Rules and
Alerts. Click the button New Rule. The Rules Wizard pops
up. The radio button "start creating a rule from a template" is selected.
In the list below it ("Step 1"), choose either "Move messages from someone to
a folder" or "Move messages with specific words in the subject to a folder". In
Step 2 below, click on the underlined blue hyperlinks and fill in the data or
select the folder. Click Next > and make any changes or additions.
Click Next > for the actions, and Next > for any exceptions.
Give it a name, set it to run on existing items if you want, and click Finish.
The rule will appear in the list, where you can change the order of processing.
Finally, having set up all the rules you want, click OK to save.
Click "Send/Receive"
and watch your Inbox fill up, and then magically empty again as your e-mail is
filed according to your system! Unread items remain unread so you can find
them when you are ready.
Outlook can handle about
20 such rules before it starts ignoring them, so you might need to make some of
the less-frequent moves manually.
Excel Tip #62 – Using Matrices to Solve Simultaneous Linear Equations
Before we look at using MINVERSE and MMULT, let us discuss simultaneous linear equations and how to solve them using
matrices:
Simultaneous linear equations are sets of equations of the form ax + by + cz = d.
They are linear because the variables x, y, z, etc. are always to the power of
one. If there are two variables, then two equations are needed for a solution. For three variables we need three equations,
and so on. The term "simultaneous"
refers to the fact that we need several equations for a solution.
Let us see how inverting
and multiplying a matrix can be used to solve a matrix equation.
Given the matrix equation AY = B,
we want to find the matrix Y.
If we multiply each side of the equation by A-1 (inverse of A), we get
A-1A Y = A-1B
Hence IY = A-1B ( AA-1
=
I, where
I is the Identity Matrix)
Thus
Y = A-1B because
IY = Y (any matrix multiplied by the
Identity Matrix
will be unchanged).
So, to solve our
simultaneous
linear equations, we:
- Write the equations in matrix form as
AY = B (A is the matrix of coefficients, Y is the matrix of variables, B is
the matrix of constants).
- Invert A.
- Multiply it by B.
We will do an example of
this using Excel in the next edition.
(Parts of this article
were adapted from
www.onlinemathlearning.com, which has a good two-variable example and a
video.)
Maximizer Accolade
This from a leading
training company:
"Maximizer came to the party and met all of the CRM
requirements we had. It was that easy!"
- Emma Smallman, Marketing Manager, FranklinCovey SA.
"Thanks to the Pastel integration it is also possible to track at what stage
invoicing and payment processes are with clients," continues Smallman. "This is
a powerful sales utilisation of Maximizer which the company did not have
before." FranklinCovey now also uses Maximizer to automatically import and
update customer data from Pastel Accounting.
"Information is kept up to date between the two applications and our staff
are able to view invoicing information and track transactions from within
Maximizer and without having to switch applications," says Smallman.
Representatives are also able to connect to Maximizer from anywhere in the
world using MaxExchange, saving the company more time as information can be
accessed and updated without having to be in the office.
Thanks to Maximizer, FranklinCovey SA is saving time and has a range of new
functionality available that has significantly enhanced the company’s processes.
With Maximizer 10.5's
strong focus on mobility and the web, your sales team can be even more
productive. For more information, go to
https://www.max.co.uk/mobile-crm/mobile-crm.html and see what this means.
Then, please phone Judith to obtain more details or e-mail her on
info@softwareafrica.co.za.
Khanya can set up an appointment with Judith so ring her on 011 802-2685
Maximizer Tip
My Maximizer Server got a virus and the laptop only has 35 records?
This happened to a
customer who is running an event and they needed help urgently. The
version is Entrepreneur 10 and had not been updated with the service packs, as
Auto-update was off. Since the laptop was up to date, I checked whether
they where viewing All companies and individuals. By clicking on View :
All companies and individuals, I was able to check that they had not been,
so this vital list was recovered immediately.
That was fortunate, as the
server's CD reader was not working and that had to be repaired before the server
could be sorted out. Needless to say, that took a few days! Both are
now up and running again.
Another New-Year's Gift to You: Savings Calculator
We have added to the free
Excel spreadsheets on our web site. In time for the credit crunch, the
latest one calculates your savings according to Dr John Demartini's Forced Accelerating Savings
Technique ("FAST"). The idea is to decide on an amount to save monthly,
and then increase it by a percentage every three months. The constant
increase pushes up your contributions, and therefore your savings, dramatically
over time, while getting you used to regular saving. Our spreadsheet lets you vary the initial contribution, the
percentage increase and inflation, and see your results over time. If you'd like
this free
Excel Savings spreadsheet, click here and SEND the resulting e-mail.
For information on the other spreadsheets,
click here
to go to Software Africa's Free Spreadsheets page.
The savings spreadsheet is derived
from a minor part of an inspiring three-day seminar we went on recently, the
"Real Entrepreneur". It is so refreshing to attend a business workshop that
is ethically based and focused on making a difference to society, not just for
one's own ends. Wonderful for anyone running, or thinking of, their own
business. For more information on the
3-day REAL Entrepreneur event, click here
and SEND the resulting e-mail.
Remember: We can make your business run better by:―
- Automating your in-house processes with a custom program or database.
- Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word, Visual Basic, and even Lotus
123 problems.
- Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows (all
levels from beginners to Programming).
- Supplying software: We re-sell and support various CRM, timesheet, scheduling, and
productivity programs.
- Promoting your corporate image with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to
your address list.
All
the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick
Members, Communication in Action (now converted to CC) t/a Software Africa
"Empowering African Business with custom PC programs, databases, and templates using Microsoft technologies."
Reg. 2009/007863/23 ~ VAT No 4500104387 ~
126 Kelvin Drive, Morningside Manor, Sandton, 2191 South Africa.
Tel: 011 802-2685 ~ Fax: 011 802-4576 and 086-635-7902/3 ~ Cell: 082
389-3481/2 ~ e-mail: info@softwareafrica.co.za
This entire newsletter is Copyright© 2009 Communication in Action.
Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left
intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice.
To Subscribe to the newsletter, click here and SEND the resulting e-mail.
Your data will not be provided to a third party without your permission.
To unsubscribe, click here and SEND the resulting e-mail from the address to
which this newsletter was sent.
Back to top
Newsletter – March 2009
Please note: Telkom has
failed to repair some of our lines, making contacting us difficult. Please
try 011 802-6441 if the main number "just rings".
Editorial
March has arrived with
more sunshine and less rain. This gives the potholes time to dry out!
Economists are predicting a 2 basis points drop in interest rates as growth
weakens and we all have to tackle a tightening business environment.
I would like to raise some
awareness around the Nuclear programme in SA. If we go nuclear, which is
neither clean nor renewable power, there is a very strong possibility that the
country could be bankrupted, heavily compromised and polluted. All the
fuel required for the reactors will be transported by road –lots of little
bombs travelling long distances on roads that have a low reputation for safety. The fuel
plant is being built at Pelindaba. This facility has a bad history and is
old – built in the 1960s under apartheid.
Uranium mining itself is
one of the most dangerous activities to undertake as radiation is released
immediately in the process. Worldwide, miners have been badly affected by
radiation poisoning, water courses have been polluted and land rendered
unusable. Is this really what we want for South Africa?
We have plentiful
sunlight, roaring seas and wind: All these resources are renewable and clean
sources of power. They are also less costly to our health and our
environment. Please consider whether you want a future for yourself and
your descendants.
Green Tip
Possibly more than a green
tip! By keeping to the speed limits and obeying the traffic rules, you
will not only save petrol but you will also avoid the new heavy traffic
penalties. You'll also save a lot of money.
Note than Metro Police are
really enforcing the new regulations – no number plates and you go straight to
court via a cold police cell.
Tip: The Microsoft Outlook Out-of-Office Assistant
We continue to look at
ways that Outlook 2003 can help you be more organised...
Holidays are coming up. When you are going to be
out of the office for a day or more, you can have Outlook automatically respond
to e-mails you receive. Just before you leave, click Tools > Out-of-Office Assistant. Click the
radio button "I am currently Out of the Office". In the text
box underneath it, type or paste a message: When you will be back and whom to
contact in the meanwhile. If you want someone else to receive your e-mails
you can have them forwarded: Click Add Rule. This is similar to the Rules Wizard
we discussed in an earlier newsletter. When you are done, click OK.
Outlook is clever enough
to warn you the next time you start it up, if you have the Out-of-Office
Assistant on, so that you can turn it off.
Labbie Progress
Labbie, our program for
the Civil Engineering Laboratory, has been successfully processing concrete test
cubes for well over a year at two major Gauteng laboratories. We have
now released the Beta version of the additional features for the most
popular soils tests including: Sieve Analysis to TMH1 Method A1, Mechanical
analysis to TMH1 Method A5, Hydrometer Analysis to ASTM standard D422, Atterberg
Limits to TMH1 Methods A2, A3, A4 (Liquid Limit, Plasticity Index, Linear
Shrinkage), and others. There is also a facility for "Generic" tests,
where you describe the results for any test, and the program then
stores and prints these (it does no calculations on Generic tests).
If you would like to try
out the new, improved, Labbie,
click here and SEND the resulting e-mail.
QuickBooks
A friendly view on running the financial side of business
The wonderful thing about QuickBooks is that it understands the
minds of business owners! It has a strong tutorial which runs the way you
and I, not your accountant, think. This makes it easy to set up and get
into. Its second benefit is it uses graphs to report on sales and
expenses, as well as the formal facts and figures reports. Recently a
customer upgraded from a really old version to 2008 (the latest) and was so
happy she did, saying that the new functionality would make running her business
easier.
There are three versions: Simple Start for a very new business;
Pro for multi-users - up to 5 at present; and Premium which also goes to 5 users
currently. "Premium" gives users remote access to their data. It also
allows for orders and stock and can be used for manufacturing process
management.
Meet your needs? Then please contact Khanya on 011
802-2685 to set up an appointment for you with Judith to discuss the way forward or e-mail
khanya@softwareafrica.co.za
Excel Tip #63 – Using MINVERSE and MMULT to Solve Simultaneous Equations
The last two tips have
laid the groundwork for this one. We have introduced the array functions MINVERSE and MMULT,
and discussed how to solve
simultaneous linear equations using matrices. To recap, we must
- Write the equations in matrix form as
AY = B (A is the matrix of coefficients, Y is the matrix of variables, B is
the matrix of constants).
- Invert A.
- Multiply it by B.
Example:
Consider three
simultaneous linear equations written in the form ax + by + cz = d
x + 2y + z = 44
3x + 4y –z = 15
2y + 2z = 1
Step 1: Write the equations in matrix form as
AY = B:
In the sample spreadsheet below,
matrix A occupies range B3:D5 (light yellow). Row 3 contains the coefficients
of the first equation, row 4 the second, and row 5 the third. Column B
contains the coefficients of x (a), column C of y (b), column D those of z (c). B,
the matrix of constants, appears in cells F3:F5 in cyan.
|
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
|
1 |
Equation |
Matrix of Coefficients: A |
|
Constants: B |
|
2 |
|
a |
b |
c |
|
d |
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
-1 |
|
15 |
|
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
1 |
Step 2: Invert A.
Select cells B8:D10. Type =MINVERSE(B3:D5)
and press, NOT just Enter, but
Ctrl+Shift+Enter together for an array function (shown in
pink below).
|
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
|
7 |
|
Matrix A Inverted: A-1 |
|
Answers: A-1B |
|
8 |
|
2.5 |
-0.5 |
-1.5 |
x = |
1 |
|
9 |
|
-1.5 |
0.5 |
1 |
y = |
2.5 |
|
10 |
|
1.5 |
-0.5 |
-0.5 |
z = |
-2 |
Step 3: Multiply A-1 by B.
Select cells F8:F10 (shown in green above). Type =MMULT(B8:D10,F3:F5)
and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter
together. The answers for x, y, and z appear in the range.
To check your answers, plug
x, y, and z into the original equations and check that you get the same values
as matrix B in cells F3:F5 (in cyan).
Maximizer Accolade
Perhaps we can get the LOC to use it as a UK Rugby club has the following to
say:
"The increase in both attendance and season ticket sales prove how valuable a
marketing solution Maximizer CRM has been for us. Its affordability, scope of
growth and ease of use made the program a natural choice."
- James Elston, Marketing and Community Director,
Wakefield Wildcats
If you are a Blackberry
user, then you can maximize your use of this communication tool as it works best
with Maximizer 10.5!
Then, please phone Judith to obtain more details or e-mail her on
info@softwareafrica.co.za.
Khanya can set up an appointment with Judith so ring her on 011 802-2685 or 011
802-6440/1.
Maximizer Tip
Keeping all your ducks
in a row! Using the link between Maximizer and QuickBooks, you can
create all your financial documents whilst you stay in Maximizer. The
evidence is then reported on in the Accounting window of that customer or
supplier. Sales staff can be alerted to a customer being over their credit
limits as well.
In addition, they can
easily create quotations and set follow-ups, without ever leaving the place they
do business in - Maximizer
Engineering Humour (Part 1)
Rick, as you may know,
trained as a Civil Engineer and now marries it with Computer Software Engineering.
He presents this piece to help understand Engineers:
Two engineering students
met on campus. One said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"
The second replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground,
flung off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want!"
The first engineer nodded
approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."
Remember: We can make your business run better by:―
- Automating your in-house processes with a custom program or database..
- Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word, Visual Basic, and even Lotus
123 problems.
- Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows (all
levels from beginners to Programming).
- Supplying software: We re-sell and support various CRM, timesheet, scheduling, and
productivity programs.
- Promoting your corporate image with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to
your address list.
All
the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick
Members, Communication in Action CC t/a Software Africa
"Empowering African Business with custom PC programs, databases, and templates using Microsoft technologies"
Reg. 2009/007863/23 ~ VAT No 4500104387
126 Kelvin Drive, Morningside Manor, Sandton, 2191 South Africa.
Tel: 011 802-2685 / 011 802-6440/1 ~ Fax: 011 802-4576 and 086-635-7902/3 ~ Cell: 082
389-3481/2 ~ e-mail: info@softwareafrica.co.za
This entire newsletter is Copyright© 2009 Communication in Action.
Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left
intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice.
To Subscribe to the newsletter, Click here and SEND the resulting e-mail.
Your data will not be provided to a third party without your permission.
|
 |
|
