May 6, 2008 at 1:54 pm · Filed under House Of Technology
There are two main ways, utilizing technology, that a small
business can project a big-business image. A dynamic and
professional website, and a dynamic cutting-edge phone system.
These two can compliment each other and are often used in
conjunction as marketing, customer service and revenue
generation tools.
As a marketing tool it’s obvious what a website can accomplish.
It states for all to see what the business does and other
promotional items. A phone system can be the second part of that
marketing campaign. A customer who calls the business, as a
follow up from the website, is already under a good impression.
This positive feeling can be built upon with an advanced PBX
(phone system). A multi-level menu system, with a
professional-sounding voice, can greet the potential customer.
The menu can be divided by departments. For a small business
this can be valuable by giving the impression that there really
are departments! The Sales, Technical Support and Customer
Service departments can all be going to the same person. When a
person is waiting on hold, or is being routed through the
system, they can hear music or a recording about the business
and what they do.
As a customer service tool a website can inform a customer on
the different policies of the company. It can have technical
support questions and answers. Contact can be initiated through
the website via email, contact forms, instant messaging or
web-VoIP (Voice over IP) calling. An advanced phone system can
be setup to route calls based on priority or caller-id to the
appropriate individuals. For example, if a small company of
eight people lands a large account they will try extra hard to
please this client. The phone system can be setup so that when
the large client’s caller-id, or a group of caller-ids if the
company has multiple numbers, comes up it will be routed to the
owner/manager. After business hours it can be routed to a
special number. Losing a client has never been harder.
As a revenue generation tool a website can have a store. It can
do lead generation by offering information or demos of your
product which would require the customer to fill out a form. A
sales associate would be able to follow up on these leads to
convert them to sales. A phone system can be setup to make
appointments for a service business. It can also be used to call
past customers as a reminder for further service. The system can
route calls to a salesman on the road to close a sale. No one
even needs to be in the office, as the system will route the
calls appropriately.
This is a small sample of how a website and an advanced phone
system can make Sam’s Discount Drug Store look like Walgreens.
Cy Yablonsky is a realtor associate at Othello Realty, www.OthelloRealty.com.
Cy has an extensive background in technology and communications
and applies that to the real estate market. Feel free to reprint
this article as long as all links stay live and no changes are
made.
May 5, 2008 at 9:45 am · Filed under House Of Technology
If you need a laptop computer which one should you choose? There is a large range of standard laptops that are extremely low priced and then you have those gaming laptops which are usually built to spec. Though I think it depends on your needs you should always purchase the latest specification you can buy at the time. You never know when you may crave to play the latest game, only to find out your cheap laptop can’t handle it. Laptops for gaming are just high spec notebook computers which can easily run todays software and games which seems a smart investment if this is a long term purchase.
Intel has been controlling the notebook computer industry as long as I can remember. The centrino certification has always meant the customer gets a certain level of mobile experience however there has been a lot of confusion regarding what centrino notebooks are. Common misconceptions include thinking that just because the laptop has an intel processor that makes it a centrino laptop. A Few consumers still don’t understand that centrino is a marketing platform that implies the laptop has an intel mainboard, intel processor and intel wireless card.
When purchasing a gaming laptop the processor, memory and graphics chip are the most important parts you should consider. You need a processor with a minimum speed of 2GHz and it must have 2 processing cores. 2GB is the min amount of ram necessary for playing games. To play games you need to have a dedicated graphics card. Usually you get 256MB dedicated graphics memory. I think an Nvidia 8600M card should be good for playing all the latest games well. Nothing but the most powerful cards will do for extreme gamers.
Nvidia are about to release the Geforce 9 Series and Ati are also releasing new chips to compete so things can only look up for game players. Current memory prices also look like they will drop with the entrance of DDR3 memory.
April 22, 2008 at 5:09 pm · Filed under House Of Technology
The November issue of The Manufacturer reviewed Bolt-on
Solutions. It noted, some boutique ERP providers cautiously
embrace the bolt-on model. “Our software supports engineering
intensive companies,” says Chuck Stewart, founder and executive
vice president of Cincinnati, OH-based Encompix, an ERP provider
for companies in the engineer to order, make to order, and
project management industries. “Sometimes there is functionality
that is needed where it makes sense to use a bolt-on
application. We don’t want to reinvent.” Stewart uses the
example of project management software as a realistic bolt-on
application. “Microsoft Project is an industry standard and
most, if not all, of our customers use it. It behooves us to
make sure that it integrates easily into our ERP system.” It is
an application that Stewart has no desire to reinvent.
Stewart advocates an open relationship with third party software
providers so he can keep his service levels high and provide
support to his installed base. “I’m happy to see an improving
relationship with software providers that allow us to identify
integrations issues and advise the customer,” says Stewart.
“Customers grow weary of tight integration processes and the
trouble they cause, both in cost and time, is unacceptable.” He
also sees an evolving open standard developing across the
industry that is helping ERP companies and third party providers
alike. “The architecture is changing and integration is becoming
easier,” says Stewart. “We are much more in the loop when it
comes to upgrades and changes in software, including being
invited to conferences and having access to design teams when
necessary.”
Encompix has filled the manufacturing software requirements of
Engineer-to-Order companies since 1992. The company name
reflects the commitment to developing business application
solutions that encompass the complex areas of project-based and
job-based manufacturing.
Encompix www.encompix.com Roger Meloy 513-733-0066
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April 18, 2008 at 11:56 pm · Filed under House Of Technology
You’re dating and your religious beliefs are different. How much difference does this make?
The answer is: Another person’s religious beliefs are important to you to the degree they’re important to you.
This may sound like begging the question, but it’s an important thing to ‘get’.
Assuming you’re looking for marriage, you need to make a “must have” and “can’t stand” list. If certain religious beliefs go into either group, pay attention to them, because you won’t be happy if they aren’t there (or are and shouldn’t be) and the relationship won’t work in the long run.
Begging the question is what Zen is all about. The koan can mean you’re asking a question no one knows the answer to, or that you don’t need an answer to, or you know the answer as well as anyone, you just don’t know it by reason (which is limited).
In the case of religious beliefs, the emotionally intelligent thing to do is to figure out what you want (work with a coach for clarity; it’s worth it) and then experience the person.
Word your religious “must haves” and “can’t stands” precisely. Do you mean adherence to a certain set of principals as espoused by a certain faith, such as being Methodist, or Buddhist? Do you need someone to agree with every word you say about it?
Or do you believe in certain spiritual principals which could be compatible with various faiths?
Does it matter to you more how the person argues their faith verbally, or how they live it in their daily actions and behaviors? Some people live in a way that’s very compatible with certain faiths, though they may not officially belong to any religious organization.
Some religions require only faith; others require certain actions.
Apply your emotional intelligence competencies as you date.
1. ZEN: “A tree that is unbending is easily broken.” Lao Tzu
EQ COMPETENCY: FLEXIBILITY
Use all your brains. You must feel how you feel around this person (see point number 2) and also think about what it is you’re after at the deepest and broadest level so that you can have the flexibility to deal with another imperfect, not entirely predictable human being.
2. ZEN: “Only the supremely wise and the abysmally ignorant do not change.” Confucius
EQ COMPETENCY: Understanding of people.
You have to allow for the fact that the individual may change. Few people make extreme changes in their core being and basic operating principals, but many of us make changes and adjustments in behaviors and thoughts. Get to know the person well enough so you have a sense of their core.
For example: If the person you’re dating has murdered someone, I wouldn’t stick around. If they were once an addict, have been in recovery for 20 years, and made sufficient personality changes, give it a guarded go. If they once kicked a dog and still talk about it with remorse, full speed ahead. (For more on this “how much baggage to accept on the midlife dating flight” read “Midlife Dating Manual for Women” ( http://tinyurl.com/6ny55 ).
3. ZEN: “If you are too excited by joy, later you will have to cry.” Tibetan saying.
EQ COMPETENCY: Reality-testing.
Roughly translated this means that it’s best to go slow and find a person with a modulated response to you. Don’t get so excited you aren’t paying attention. Even soul-mates may disagree on how to load the dishwasher. How can you expect exact alignment in the articulation of a religious belief? Therefore, number 4.
4. ZEN: “We think in generalities but we live in detail.” Alfred North Whitehead
EQ COMPETENCY: Impulse control
Take the time to get to know the person in little and daily ways. Someone can talk one way and act another. They can say they don’t believe in abusing animals (or anything else) and still do it. Only time will tell.
5. ZEN: “Think with the whole body.” Taisen Deshimaru
EQ COMPETENCY: Intuition
Oddly enough, thinking with the whole body is what intuition is about. The quickest and surest way to know whether it’s a fit is to use your intuition (gut feeling, instincts). How do you know your gut feeling? From your gut! Your body sends you physiological messages.
Can you completely relax with this person? If so, there is deep trust, the foundation of lasting relationships.
Has your health deteriorated since dating them? If so, and there’s no obvious physical cause, move on. Tricky because dating raises stress levels, which affect our immune system, which IS our health. Give it time. There’s EUstress and there’s DIStress. Know the difference. Work with a certified EQ coach.
6. ZEN: “We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God.” Chief Joseph
EQ COMPETENCY: Constructive discontent.
When there are disagreements, figure out what you’re really arguing about. If it’s just semantics, it’s just semantics.
It was in vogue, for instance, in the Renaissance to debate how many angels would fit on the head of a pin. This is hardly likely to play itself out in how the person lives their life. It’s an intellectual exercise.
7. ZEN: “A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.” Rabindranath Tagore
EQ COMPETENCY: Integrated self. The interface between intellect and emotions.
Someone who engages in intellectual repartee about matters of the heart hasn’t got it together, and you don’t need to get-together with them. Wouldn’t you rather be loved than understood, if it came to that (and it will)?
8. ZEN: “Beware, as they say, of mistaking the finger for the moon when you’re pointing at it.” John Cage
EQ COMPETENCY: Intentionality.
Date the person long enough to determine that when they talk about their religious beliefs, they have intention to follow them. In other words, they’re not just repeating something they memorized, or just saying what they think you want to hear. Someone deeply in that delicious falling-in-love stage will do this. Haven’t you? That’s why we take our time.
9. ZEN: “The first sign of your becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful.” Swami Vivekananda
EQ COMPETENCY: Positive attitude, optimism.
IF you believe this is the test of “being religious,” then Swami Vivekananda is the man for you. If you prefer a person with a positive attitude, as I do, and it comes with religious belief, better yet. (Studies show marriages are happiest when the number of positive comments about self, other and relationship is 3x the number of negative comments.)
10. ZEN: “When a dog runs at you, whistle for him.” Henry David Thoreau
EQ COMPETENCY: Common sense! When it feels right and good, go for it!
Ultimately it’s difficult to live with someone who doesn’t have your same values and priorities. SHAWNA discovered this when dating a man outside her faith. He loved her and was willing to convert, attending classes and services with her. She was troubled that even so, he didn’t “believe” what she did. Growing up with a certain faith engrains it at a level that can rarely be approached when it’s learned later in life. There’s a huge time factor in there. This may or may not be unsurmountable. In SHAWNA’s case it was. She couldn’t feel he had, or ever would have, the same beliefs as she did.
TOMAS, on the other hand, fell in love with someone outside his faith, from another culture, and more than 10 years younger. “Still,” he said, “we’re two peas in a pod. I could care less if she goes to a synagogue and I don’t.”
SAMIA married someone she met at her mosque, but problems began to spring up immediately. “I assumed too much, she said. “I thought we felt the same way about things, but it didn’t live out the way I thought it would. I wish I’d given it more time. It’s hard to think when you’re that much in love.” SAMIA found it was a difference that wouldn’t work and they separated. In their case, their religious beliefs, in words, were a match, but they weren’t lived out in ways that were compatible.
P.S. If you come from different faith backgrounds and plan to have children, work this one out ahead of time. It can be a bigee when the time comes.
About the Author
©Susan Dunn, MA, Emotional Intelligence Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc . Coaching, internet courses and ebooks around emotional intelligence for midlife, transitions, personal development, relationships and career. Susan is the author of “Midlife Dating Manual.” For FREE EQ ezine, mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc and put “ezine” for subject.
