OscilloSoft

Zoho Recruit: Now with Improved Access Permissions and Data Migration

2011-05-17T00:12:00.001-07:00

Here's a couple of enhancements from Zoho Recruit.

Access Permissions to view Client and Client Contact details

The relationship between Recruiters and Clients is the key to run a successful Recruitment Agency. Therefore, it is vital to protect all your clients' data from unauthorized access. Zoho Recruit - Applicant Tracking System now comes with Role based and User based permissions, which allows the Recruiter Admin restrict user access to Clients' and Client Contacts' data. Grant your teammates access to this data only when required.

Data Migration

Transferring your data from one source to another takes a lot of time and effort. Recruitment data from other Applicant Tracking Systems can now be moved into your Zoho Recruit account efficiently. You can choose from below the method that suits you best, for migrating your data to Zoho Recruit:

Import data from XLS, CSV and TSV formats - Using this method, you can import upto 1000 records at one shot.
Import data from DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, TXT, HTML and ZIP formats - This method helps you automatically parse upto 200 to 300 files at a time.
Migration tool - This method helps you to migrate huge data from any platform into your Zoho Recruit account, courtesy our integration with Rchilli.

Zoho Docs Gets A Fresh New Look And Feel

2011-05-17T00:04:00.000-07:00

You probably must have noticed the changes in the

Zoho Docs UI by now.Zoho've completely redesigned Zoho's user interface with a fresh new look to improve navigation and to easily manage your's documents in the cloud. The new Zoho Docs UI has a cleaner, sleeker interface that will make it easier for you to navigate through yZoho's Folders, Workspaces etc.

Let us look in detail at what is new in this update

Easy-to-use Navigation

The new navigation system is simple and intuitive. It focuses on things that users do most often like say, going to a specific folder, workspace or group.

Drag-and-Drop Files

Uploading files to Zoho Docs just got easier. You can now upload files by just dragging and dropping them from your desktop on to the desired folders in the "Personal Folders" section. You can also drag multiple files at once. There are no plugins needed for this feature to work. This new feature uses HTML5 and so will work in browsers that support HTML5, like Firefox 3.6+ and Chrome 6+.

Attach From Zoho Docs

Zoho love listening to Zoho's customers and quite a number of you had told us that finding documents when using Zoho Mail's

Attach from Zoho Docs

was not flexible enough. Zoho have now provided more options to easily find and attach the documents from Zoho Docs.

Other Enhancements

If you have documents shared to you, which are not relevant to you anymore, you can use the new

Remove Share

option to remove the sharing. An email notification will be sent to the author of the shared document.
Using the

Unsubscribe

option, you now have control on what Workspaces you would want to view in your Workspace section.
You can now email documents present in Workspaces using the

Send Mail

option.

Collaborate in Zoho CRM with IM and Group Chat

2011-03-14T03:20:00.000-07:00

Zoho CRM just got a couple new cool features: integrated IM and group chat. This, along with our CRM+Mail integration means that if you are a serious CRM user, you need not leave the same browser tab to accomplish all you need to do.

Instant Messaging (1-on-1 Chat)
A sales rep might want to quickly check some technical information with his pre-sales/technical-sales counterpart. Or maybe he is checking for availability. Or the sales rep might want to check with his manager about approval for some special deal.

These are the kinds of situations that the instant messaging in Zoho CRM addresses. Instant Messaging in Zoho CRM works just like you'd expect, and if you already use other Zoho products, you'll be familiar with it already. You can check if any of your contacts are online and instantly chat with them from the bar at the bottom of the screen. And of course that chat window stays with you as you navigate throughout your CRM system.

Chat Topics/Group Chat

In addition to 1-on-1 instant messaging, we are also introducing Group Chat and Chat Topics for Zoho CRM. This means that you can setup different topics inside your organization - for example, a chat topic for the Western sales region. Or a topic for all the people involved in that key customer account. You can then invite multiple people to that chat topic, and they will all be able to collaborate in real-time without having to leave their CRM screen.

One additional benefit of the group chat, is that chat users who were not online during a particular discussion can catch-up about the discussion when they log back in.

Explore Zoho Reports

2011-02-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

Formula Column
In addition to the base columns a table has, you can add a new column with a custom formula based on one or more of the table's other
columns. For example, say you have two columns for 'Sales' and 'Cost'.
You can define a custom formula 'Sales' - 'Cost' and add it as a formula column called 'Profit'. That's a simple example with the
difference function. There are a lot more functions listed based on type
- Date, Numeric, String, Aggregate, Statistical and General. Let's see
examples from each of these function sets.

Date: You can manipulate values of a given date column.

Example:
Let's say you have a column that has date values like 2011-01-01
12:30:48 (or say Jan 30, 2011). And you want to have a column that lists the corresponding day of the week. You can define the formula as weekday("Date").



Let's see another scenario for a date specific formula column. Say you want the number of days between a lead coming in and the sale getting closed. Or say, the number of days it takes to close a support ticket. The formula to be used would be datediff("Date1", "Date2").

Numeric: Numeric formulas ranging from absolute value to mod to log to exponential to trigonometric functions like sin-cos-tan are all handled here.

Example
: Let's say you have some test data values in three columns and you want to list the greatest value of each row. You can define the formula as greatest("Column1","Column2","Column3")



String:
This type of formula functions deal with text values (known as 'string'in programmer lingo). Knowing the length of a given string, string concantenation (joining of two textual values), finding a substring, upper/lower case conversions etc are all dealt with here.

Example:
Here's a scenario. In one of the Date functions above, we saw weekday(date). What if you want only the first three characters of the weekday to be displayed? You can define the formula column like
left(weekday("Date"), 3)



Aggregate & Statistical : Functions like count, sum, average, variance, standard deviation, mean, median, mode etc

Example:
Suppose you want to calculate the column's average and find the difference for each row. You can have the formula as Column1 - Avg ("Column1"). Or say you want to calculate the percentage of a sale value to overall sales. The formula will be ("Sales"/Sum("Sales"))*100



General: If and ifnull functions.
Example:
There are instances where you won't like to have a null value. In such
a case you can have a formula defined something like ifnull(null, 0). All
cells with null values will get replaced by zero. Consider another scenario. Say different product categories attract different taxes. We can calculate the tax with the formula if("Product Category"='Stationery', "Sales"*0.05, "Sales*0.08). This calculates the sales tax for Stationery as 5% and for other product categories as 8%. We can even have nested if conditions. Like if("Product Category"='Stationery', "Sales"*0.05, if("Product Category"='Furniture',"Sales"*0.10,"Sales"*0.08))

Cricket World Cup Tracking with Zoho

2011-02-22T01:51:00.000-08:00

Do you follow Cricket?
If you do, you must certainly be excited about the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 that is going on right now.

So to help you follow all the action, we've quickly tossed up a Zoho Sheet that gives you a full view of the tournament. You can see the schedule, teams, group standings, and of course, statistics.

http://sheet.zoho.com/public/zohosheet/world-cup-tracker

For a hot spot on a particular day's match and the Group Standings, you can embed the following snippets in your website/blog:

Today's Match Snippet:

Preview:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;

Group Standings Snippet:

Preview:

Enjoy!

Installing Trixbox Remote Server

2011-02-19T18:51:00.001-08:00

have been using Trixbox for a while and I think it is time to have documented how to install it without CD using a VPS.

First, Trixbox is a set of tools that help you to maintain Asterisk.
Asterisk is opensource PBX software. It allows you to have VOIP extensions using your network connections. For my case, I have deployed 5 extensions in 5 different location in 3 countries with no long distance charge. Moreover, I can use my VOIP extension anywhere as long as I have Internet connection.

I started to use Trixbox at home using virtual machine running on Citrix Xen, however with time you realize that your phone system needs to be reliable and keeping it at home makes that task complicated (power outage, hardware problems). So I decided to move it to a data center.
Trixbox installation at home was pretty simple task since you can get de ISO image and burn a CD. But the big question was how I can install it on server running Centos 5.3 (32 bits)*

Note: I have installed Trixbox on Centos 5.3 (64bit), however Trixbox was designed to work on 32bit so you will probably have some issues with libraries since the path on Trixbox has bee set up to /usr/lib instead of /usr/lib64.

Choosing Hosting provider. My current installation is running with Godaddy , the service has been excellent and the price is ok ($30 a month for 256Mb, 20GB server) however I found a hosting provider RackUnlimited that can provide you the same for only $8 a month. At this point, I have a server with RackUnlimited and I am going to show the process of installing Trixbox.

Installation Process

1- Login on the server and make sure you have all the basic tools that you need. RackUlimited provide me with a very slim version Centos 5.3 so I had to install some packages.

# yum -y install vim-minimal sudo postfix

Also I like to install webmin ...so I grabbed the RPM form webmin.com and I installed it.

2- Install essentials packages for Trixbox.

#yum -y install mysql mysql-server mysql-devel

MySQL database

#yum -y install httpd memcached php php-pear php-mysql
# pear install DB

Apache Server and PHP packages

Now we I have server with a LAMP enviroments

3- Add the Trixbox repo

#vi /etc/yum.repos.d/trixbox.repo

[trixbox]
name=trixbox RPM Repository for CentOS and RHEL
baseurl=http://yum.trixbox.org/centos/$releasever/RPMS/
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1

#yum clean all

4- Install asterisk

#yum install asterisk
#mkdir /etc/asterisk
#cp /etc/asterisk-1.4.21.2_samples/ /etc/asterisk

5- Start all services.

#/etc/init.d/mysql start
#/etc/init.d/httpd start
#/etc/init.d/memcached start
#/etc/ini.d/asterisk start

6- Install Trixbox scripts.

#yum install tbm-pbxconfig

7- Create Databases and users.

#mysqladmin create asterisk
#mysqladmin create asteriskcdrdb
#mysql asterisk < /usr/src/tbm-pbxconfig/SQL/newinstall.sql
#mysql asteriskcdrdb < /usr/src/tbm-pbxconfig/SQL/cdr_mysql_table.sql

#mysql

mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON asteriskcdrdb.* TO asteriskuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'amp109';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.02 sec)

mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON asterisk.* TO asteriskuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'amp109';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> flush privileges;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

8- Install all Trixbox packages

#yum groupinstall Trixboxcore

9- Installing the amportal

#/usr/src/tbm-pbxconfig/install_amp

Accept the default values.

After this is done restart MySQL, Apache, memcached , and amportal.

10- Authentication for web interface

#mkdir -p /usr/local/apache/passwd/
#touch /usr/local/apache/passwd/wwwpasswd
#passwd-maint

user: maint
pass: ******

Finally you can access the Web interface.

http://serverip/

Note:
Time on Xen VMs is restricted by Dom0, so if you want to change the time in your VM you will have to do the following.

#echo 1 > /proc/sys/xen/independent_wallclock

to leave it perm do the following

#vi /etc/sysctl.conf
add
xen.independent_wallclock = 1

Change the timezone

#cp /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/New_York /etc/localtime

However you can install yo modify the time zone

#yum -y install system-config-date
#system-config-date

Adding G729 Codec .....

G729 is a voice compression protocol designed by Digium.G729 is capable of using very little bandwidth with good voice quality (8K). You can buy a license for this codec from Digium or use a free version (free version is not considered very stable).

This guy made a pretty good job showing how to use G729.
http://nigglingaspirations.blogspot.com/2009/10/installing-free-g729-codec-on-trixbox.html

Installing FREE PBX in Centos

2011-02-18T03:05:00.001-08:00

http://www.freepbx.org/support/documentation/installation/install-process-for-centos-5-1

What is The Cloud and What Does it Mean for My Business?

2011-02-16T02:20:00.000-08:00

The Cloud

A specific definition for “the cloud” is the cause of much controversy on blogs, in popular tech publications and even within my own office. The prevalent definition is based on the fact that clouds are constantly changing, much like the Internet itself. Whatever your definition may be, “the cloud” certainly encompasses many different technologies. A few of these include cloud computing and cloud web hosting.

Cloud Computing

What is it? Cloud computing can be many things, but it is most accurately described as a network of computers with a centralized load balancer that constantly analyzes where resources (CPU and RAM) are available. The load balancer then distributes those resources to fulfill the needs of whatever program or calculation that is being executed. This ensures that the resources of each individual computer are fully utilized. Cloud computing also prevents total system failure if a component of the system fails. A great example of this is the Stanford Protein Folding Project.

What does it do? Cloud computing was invented so that a complex computer system could be be self healing and self optimizing to maximize equipment usage. Applications running on the cloud computing model do not require additional programming to function across multiple machines because the “cloud” acts as one machine.

Is it useful? Cloud computing is popular for research projects and large scale software or application development as they can be incredibly resource intensive. By using the cloud computing model for development and research projects, it is ensured that resources are available and distributed as needed. Cloud computing really is brilliant for its intended use.

Cloud Hosting

What is it? Cloud hosting was developed years ago and in certain ways mimics cloud computing. It is a type of web hosting that has a load balancer to determine how much CPU and other resources each customer will need. It then allocates these resources on an on-demand basis from the web hosting provider’s server farm. Users then only pay for what they use.

What does it do? Cloud hosting can host websites, but is really built to be a scalable virtual environment for resource intensive application development.

Is it useful? Cloud hosting is very useful if you are developing an API (application programming interface) or anything that requires large amounts of CPU or other resources. Examples of this include:

• If you need to upload thousands of images, resize them, and deploy them on a web site similar to iStock Photo.

• If you have a project that requires thousands of calculations without a time constraint.

What Does This All Mean For My Business?

Most businesses will not need to be part of a cloud computing network as they just don’t require the resources that the network provides. However if your business does rely on resource intensive application development, a cloud hosting platform may be an excellent option for you. If cost is a concern, keep in mind that the more resources you use the more you will pay. Also, remember that many cloud web hosting solutions do not include “stateful storage,” meaning you cannot store applications on your server space. Instead you may upload and run them, but once that is completed the cloud will wipe it clean in order to provide resources for other users who may need them.

For a typical small or medium business website, stateful storage is necessary. Some cloud hosting will have storage, but it is important to know where, geographically, your web site is going to be. In some cases, the “cloud” might actually be on the other side of the world! This will lead to slow uploads and downloads. This is obviously not something you want to deal with for your website. Look for storage/hosting geographically close to you.

What are the different types of cloud computing?

2011-02-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

What are the different types of cloud computing?

Web-based email services from Google and Yahoo, backup services from Carbonite or MozyHome, CRM and Project Management like ZOHO.com, instant messaging and voice-over-IP services from AOL, Google, Skype, Vonage and others are all cloud-computing services, hidden behind yet another layer of abstraction to make them seem even simpler to end users who want the kind of power sophisticated computing can give them, but don't want to know how it's done.
There are three basic types of cloud computing:
• Infrastructure as a Service — provides grids or clusters or virtualized servers, networks, storage and systems software designed to augment or replace the functions of an entire data center. The highest-profile example is Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud [EC2] and Simple Storage Service, but IBM and other traditional IT vendors are also offering services, as is telecom-and-more provider Verizon Business.
• Platform as a Service — Provides virtualized servers on which users can run existing applications or develop new ones without having to worry about maintaining the operating systems, server hardware, load balancing or computing capacity. Highest-profile examples include Microsoft's Azure and Salesforce's Force.com.
• Software as a Service — The most widely known and widely used form of cloud computing, SaaS provides all the functions of a sophisticated traditional application, but through a Web browser, not a locally-installed application. SaaS eliminates worries about app servers, storage, application development and related, common concerns of IT. Highest-profile examples are Salesforce.com, Google's Gmail and Apps, instant messaging from AOL, Yahoo and Google, and VoIP from Vonage and Skype.
You also get a nice and very popular Software as a Service on CRM , Project Management, Support , HR(people) from ZOHO.com. For more help OscilloSoft.com.au.
source: http://www.cio.com/article/501814/Cloud_Computing_Definitions_and_Solutions.

New in Zoho CRM: Minor UI Improvements

2011-01-27T01:56:00.000-08:00

2010 has been a year of integrations for Zoho CRM. It has been a successful year with lots of internal and external integrations. Before Zoho bid fareZoholl to 2010 , Zoho are rolling out a few more UI improvements in Zoho CRM.

Here they are:

Earlier, Zoho Zohore supporting 17 types of czohotom fields, like Text, Decimal, Formula, Lookup, Pick List, etc. Now, Zoho have added the Long Integer type czohotom field that can support up to 18 digits. This field will help you to record numbers that exceed 9 digits. For example, Bank Account numbers , Support Ticket numbers etc.

We have also added a one-click option to close the tasks from the List Views. This option will save you a few clicks while closing tasks.

Another addition is the product description field for the line items. This will help you include a small description of the products associated to Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders and Purchase Orders.

The next new feature lets you transfer ' Lead Created Time ' details in Accounts, Contacts and Potentials upon lead conversion. This will help you keep track of the time the lead was generated and the time taken to close the deal .

Lastly, there is now an option that lets you choose the Section while creating a field. This too, will save you time as you won't need to visit the Edit Page Layout feature to add the new custom field in the appropriate section.

What is Cloud Computing

2010-10-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

The cloud computing revolution is real: it’s on the front page of theAustralian Financial Review this morning. But is it really “a radical new business model that purports to slash technology costs by up to 80%”?

What is cloud computing?

Every business bigger than one person needs somewhere to store its data and run its business applications and communications, including email. A generation of businesses has installed a server — or many servers in a data centre — and hired specialist IT staff to run it.

With cloud computing, you instead rent capacity in a provider’s data centre, and connect over the internet. The provider’s staff install, maintain and upgrade hardware and software as required. Typically you’ll rent a service, such as data storage or email or accounting, rather than ‘a server’ as such, and pay $X per user or $Y per business per month.

Why is it called cloud computing?

Network diagrams have traditionally used a cloud symbol to denote ‘the internet’ or, before that, the telephone network outside the customer’s zone of responsibility.

What services are on offer?

You name it. Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Windows Hotmail are email in the cloud. In the lucrative business productivity market, Google Docs and Google Apps compete directly with Microsoft Office and Exchange — the latter now ‘in the cloud’ as Microsoft Online Services.

Accounting, customer relationship management (CRM), project management, email marketing, spam and virus filtering, data storage, ecommerce, online publishing, audio and video streaming, general databases — all available in the cloud.

Why use cloud computing?

Potentially cloud services are cheaper and more flexible. Because they’re internet-based, you can access them from anywhere — often including mobile devices.

Most servers and internet links lie idle most of the time. Cloud providers host many businesses on a pool of hardware, sharing the cost of servers, electricity, data links, backup systems, IT staff and even real estate. A cloud provider can quickly add extra capacity or scale it back again when you need it. Capital expenditure on servers and up-front software licenses, and the unpredictable costs of dealing with emergencies, are replaced by a predictable operational cost.

Can it really cut IT costs by 80%?

That’s hype. Hardware and internet costs are dropping, sure, but supporting end users is still a significant cost. Moving to the cloud removes the cost of maintaining your own systems, but you still need to configure the generic cloud-based service to match your business’ unique needs, train your staff and help them find lost spreadsheets.

Is there a downside?

You become dependent on your cloud providers. If there’s no easy way to extract your data in a usable format, your business success is now intertwined with theirs. There may also be legal and privacy issues: will your data become subject to the privacy and data retention laws of another country; will you still be compliant with your industry requirements in Australia?

Is it secure?

Big cloud providers like Microsoft and Google have some of the best security staff on the planet. Their backup procedures are likely to be better than yours too. (Where are your business data backups right now?) However big cloud providers do represent an attractive target to hackers — if they can break in.

Is cloud computing “radically new”?

Not everyone thinks it’s that big a change. It’s more evolution than revolution. “Cloud computing is not only the future of computing, it is the present, and the entire past of computing is all cloud,” saidLarry Ellison, founder of Oracle Corporation and the world’s sixth richest man, in a passionately entertaining rant last year. “It’s not water vapour. All it is is a computer attached to a network. What are you talking about? I mean, what do you think Google runs on?” As Ellison points out, CRM provider Salesforce.com has been running more than a decade.

In many ways cloud computing is indeed just the current buzzword for what has also been called utility computing, grid computing, software as a service (SaaS), IBM’s ‘On Demand’ branded services, the application service provider (ASP) model, or even good ol’ mainframe timesharing.

Where is Australia in all this?

Some big companies have committed to cloud computing, including the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Visy and Komatsu. The Royal Australian College of General Practice will provide GPs with cloud-based e-health applications by this time next year. Even the Department of Defence’s CIO is advocating the cloud.

On the supply side, Telstra is investing heavily to become a player — they’re providing the RACGP’s services. Saasu and Campaign Monitor are Australian success stories in cloud-based accounting and email marketing respectively.

Cloud computing does require solid internet links, however. Australia’s relatively expensive broadband infrastructure may have held back adoption. The NBN will presumably fix this.

Zoho Projects Now Integrated With Google Apps

2010-10-05T15:19:00.001-07:00

Web-based productivity suite Zoho has continued to integrate its products with Google in order to make it easier to use Gmail and Zoho apps simultaneously. Last summer, Zoho, a web-based software suite that includes document, project and invoicing management tools, integrated Google and Yahoo sign-ins, allowing users to sign into Zoho using a Google or Yahoo account. And over the summer, Zoho is launched sign-in integration with Google Apps, letting users login to Zoho using their Google Apps credentials. Today, Zoho’s project collaboration product, Zoho Projects, will become an extended application to Google Apps.

Zoho Projects is a team collaboration and project management application that allows teams to plan, track and collaborate on everyday activities and big projects with external customers. With the new integration, Google Apps users can login to Zoho Projects using their Google Apps sign-in info. Users can then upload their documents from Google Docs to Zoho Projects directly. Any tasks, meetings or activities in Zoho Project will automatically bee updated in Google Calendar. And Zoho Projects gadgets can be embedded within Gmail, iGoogle and any other OpenSocial compatible sites.

The integration comes on the heels of the initial roll out of Google’s own all-in-one, futuristic collaboration tool, Google Wave. But despite facing competition from the big guns like Microsoft and Google, Zoho continues to remain as a player in the document management space thanks to continuous innovations and iterations to its products. It’s almost reminiscent of Salesforce.com’s strategy.

In fact, because of this highly competitive landscape, integrations are vital to the software’s success as an application suite. Recently, Zoho launched integration with Microsoft Sharepoint as well as with Microsoft Access. Zoho’s project management application, Zoho Projects 2.0, also added the capability to import existing projects from MS Project, Microsoft’s project management desktop software. And Zoho also launched a forum tool, called Zoho Discussions. It looks like the startup’s strategy is paying off—Zoho has been able to accumulate 2 million users in just 4 years.

SaaS battlegrounds: Salesforce v Zoho

2010-10-05T15:05:00.001-07:00

When Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff put on his jocular performance for the analysts and press at Dreamforce yesterday, I’m sure he didn’t expect little ol’ Zoho to come bite him in the pants. That’s exactly what’s happened.

According to Venture Beat’s Anthony Ha:

Salesforce.com’s strategy can be boiled down to one word, according to chief executive Marc Benioff — love. Of course, Benioff was being a little tongue-in-cheek…
As with its other offerings, Microsoft’s new cloud-computing application platform, Windows Azure, is all about tying people into Microsoft products and services, Benioff said. Salesforce, on the other hand, is much more about being open and cooperative, both in its customer relationship management (CRM) services, and inForce.com, its platform for business applications. Salesforce is interested in connecting multiple clouds, platforms and devices — witness today’s announcement that Force.com will integrate with the Facebook platform and Amazon Web Services, or Salesforce’s integration of Google Apps earlier this year.
Comparing Microsoft and Salesforce, Benioff said: “They hate everybody and we love everybody, and that’s pretty much the difference. We even love Microsoft. … This is our core strategy, love.”

Rough translation: we’re good guys (ergo trust me) and Microsoft are bad guys (ergo don’t trust them. Sounds sweet until you understand the game of hardball Benioff plays when faced with anything he sees as a competitive threat. Benioff’s message certainly raised hackles with Sridhar Vembu, Zoho’s CEO. In a blog post today, Vembu recounts how Benioff tried to strong arm Zoho into giving up on its CRM development:

Benioff told me he could not permit us to play on the AppExchange as things stood, but he would be happy to acquire us. We had several rounds of meetings on this, finally I told him I really don’t see any cultural compatibility between the companies. He changed tack and repeatedly tried to get us to discontinue Zoho CRM, in return we would get to play on AppExchange. I was furious because both Benioff and his team clearly knew we had a CRM offering going into this engagement, and if they had this as a pre-condition for us to integrate into AppExchange, we would never have put in the resources we did.
Since then, Salesforce has repeatedly tried to block customers from migrating to Zoho CRM, by telling them (falsely) that they cannot take their data out of Salesforce until their contract duration is over. We have emails from customers recounting this.

This is not a new story but one I have heard Vembu recall on a number of occasions. Vembu then goes on to assert that while Google represents a potentially much bigger competitive threat, Zoho has experienced no difficulty in getting engineering assistance from Google. What’s going on here?

Readers need to understand that Benioff comes from Oracle, a company famed for playing hardball as epitomized by its CEO, Larry Ellison. Oracle has a knack of turning out hard nosed, often successful Silicon Valley execs that are super competitive. Benioff is another in a long line of execs that include Tom Siebel (Siebel Systems), Craig Conway (PeopleSoft) and Zach Nelson (NetSuite.)

These companies understand one thing - winning is all about lock in and with the Force.com, Salesforce.com is no different any of its predecessors. Benioff as near admitted as much when he said to Ha that:

When an audience member pressed Benioff on his touted openness, Benioff emphasized that he’s talking about cooperation with other companies, not open source, per se. He also acknowledged that Force.com has its closed aspects, namely the fact that if you build an application on Force.com, you can connect it to other platforms, but you can’t fully move it to another cloud.

Ergo once you’re on Salesforce.com’s cloud for business critical applications, you are in no different a position than if your code was tied to SAP’s ABAP. You can’t move without significant retooling. This runs contrary to many people’s expectations about what ‘cloud computing’ is all about; openness, flexibility and the ability to on and off-ramp as requirements demand. That may not apply so easily for transaction based systems and that is what Salesforce.com is counting upon.

Is Zoho alone? Is it a case of the yappy dog going after the farmyard pitbull because it isn’t getting its share of scraps? Hardly. If GE successfully completes its evaluation of Zoho Office, then Zoho will have scored one of the biggest, if not THE biggest saas applications deals to date. Something that must stick in Benioff’s throat but which ironically will have been won from Google.

On the Silicon Valley grapevine, I have heard of other cases where Benioff has tried to strong arm technology vendors, only to be sent away with his tail between his legs. Of course in the Valley, there is always an element of hubris, but every now and again, these stories bubble up.

As Salesforce.com gets bigger and it attracts more developers to its Force.com platform, we can expect more yapping and reminders about however much Benioff may declare his love, he is really acting like every other enterprise vendor that has gone before: locking you in while smiling benignly. In the long term, that also means higher cost as the captor squeezes as much out of its prisoners as possible.

Zoho steps up its contextual search game

2010-10-04T15:27:00.001-07:00

Zoho on Tuesday rolled out a search feature for its business apps that allow users to aggregate data across a company.

The so-called “actionable search” consolidates a bevy of search boxes specific to each Zoho application—Zoho Mail, Docs, Writer, Sheet etc. Zoho said in a blog post that its results are designed to show the interworking of the business apps and gives you context on relationships between the data on a single page.

As for the actionable part, Zoho said that each result allows a user to open an application from within search results. For instance, an email app doesn’t have to launch to reply to a missive in a search result.

Zoho’s new search is another incremental feature designed to better compete with rivals ranging from Google to Microsoft. Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu said in a recent interview that the company was staking its claimon contextual relevance between its various applications.

The Zoho universal search box will be integrated into all Zoho Apps.

Latest Enhancements in Zoho Recruit Applicant Tracking System

2010-09-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

Zoho Recruit - Applicant Tracking System - continues to provide its users with significant enhancements since its launch. These enhancements have come about as a result of listening to our users' - that is you, dear readers - recommendations. And we attribute Zoho Recruit's big success to our users' suggestions. Following are the some of the latest user requested improvements in Zoho Recruit.

Multi-Select Pick List Field in Customization
Multi-Select Pick List has long been one of our most requested features. Zoho Recruit now provides the multi-select pick list field, which enables selecting multiple values while creating and editing records. For instance, your organization may be offering an opportunity for candidates with different skill sets, and some of your candidates may have multiple skills. In this case you can use the multi-select pick list (instead of the single pick list option) and this helps the candidates to choose multiple skills in which they are qualified.

Spanish, Korean and Portuguese Languages Support
Zoho Recruit - Applicant Tracking System is accessed around the world and many of our users speak languages other than English. Spanish, Korean and Portuguese are the latest languages to be support by Zoho Recruit's UI.

Rich Text Editor for Composing Email Messages
With mail inside Zoho Recruit, you can not only send plain text emails or messages containing attachments but can now send Rich Text formatted emails with the ability to change the colors, font, font size, text alignments, insert images and links, etc.

Earlier my email messages were simple.

Now my email messages in Zoho Recruit are a lot more stylish.

File Formats Supported by Zoho

2010-09-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

A Zoho user wanted to know this info recently - all the file formats supported by Zoho Writer, Sheet & Show. We came up with a Zoho Sheet containing the relevant info, which is embedded below. Hope this will be of help to all Zoho users.

2010-09-13T16:23:00.002-07:00

Zoho Wiki scores heavily by being the de facto team collaboration tool within Zoho. Various groups like usability engineers, developers, QA across different teams in Zoho have implemented Zoho Wiki for sharing the design docs, reviewing the feature sets, storing the release plans and even documenting best coding practices. Technical writers use Zoho Wiki for writing our help manuals. Marketing team tracks the marketing efforts in a Wiki. Our resellers and partners across the globe, collaborate with us via wiki. In fact, Zoho's intranet runs on Zoho Wiki.

It is quite surprising to note how varied the implementations are. All this is possible, mainly because

Zoho Wiki is flexible enough to mold itself and cater to the diverse needs within an organization.
Each team gets its own space within the company with separate admin controls. Team Workspaces within the organization wiki allows collaboration with internal groups as well as third parties like resellers and partners.
Enterprise level security - You can set different permissions for different groups of users.
Easy implementation - it takes just a few minutes to set up a wiki and start working.
Very Intuitive - Right from HR to Finance to Sales, all employees can easily adapt to this business wiki.

We have launched a new Product Video that will help you see if Zoho Wiki can be the answer to your company's quest for an Affordable Enterprise Wiki. Have a look and let us know your thoughts. Also, keep us posted on how you use Zoho Wiki within your organization.

New in Zoho CRM: Mail merge in the cloud with Zoho Writer integration

2010-09-13T16:23:00.001-07:00

A CRM product and an online word processor? Yes. See... until now, if you wanted to do a traditional mail-merge (the kind that goes in the mail), you were only able to do it with a desktop application such as Microsoft Word or Open Office. But with Zoho CRM and Zoho Writer now you can do that entirely on the web. Last year we introduced the Zoho CRM Plug-in for Microsoft Office, and since then many customers asked us via e-mail and our forums: why can't I do that with Zoho Writer? Well, now you can!

Mail merge requires you to have access to the "data" fields (those fields that you want to replace with unique values from your CRM database on the final output). You of course also have access to this list of fields from within the Zoho Writer interface when you are creating a mail merge template:

(Before you run to try this within Zoho Writer - no... you won't find it there, you need to access this from within Zoho CRM.)

The Zoho Writer Add-on for Zoho CRM is is available today for all of our Professional and Enterprise edition customers. Find more information about how to do your crm mail-merge entirely easily and with no install or configuration required.

New in Zoho Invoice: Import/Export of Expenses

2010-09-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Expense tracking is a topic which will be of interest to every one of our users . Saving up on expenses is the key to a successful business. Ain't that true?

To begin with, we'll tell you what expense tracking in Zoho Invoice is all about and then we'll fill you in on all what you need to know about our brand new addition, the option to import/export expenses.

First the basics. By using the expense tracking feature you can,

Keep track of your billable and non-billable expenses
Invoice your customers for the billable expenses
Record the payments received as reimbursements
Generate reports on your expenses

So it's a no-brainer that every expense counts, every dollar spent if reimbursed goes into your profit numbers. With Zoho Invoice, you spend only where you ought to. Here's a little visual on how getting the dough for every little expense made a big difference to a Zoho Invoice customer.

Now that you are well oriented on the expense tracking feature, it's time to know how you can record expenses on the go and get them imported into Zoho Invoice or how you can get the expenses recorded on any other system imported into Zoho Invoice.

The new addition to expense tracking is the option to Import/Export expenses. You can now import your expenses from any other application into Zoho Invoice easily. Get your expenses on a CSV or TSV file and three simple steps later, your expenses will be imported. Here's how it works,

Select the file to be imported
Map the fields from your import file.
Get a preview of your import statistics and begin importing

As easy as it can get. Isn't it? On that note..... spend, record and raise your profits.

And as we always say, don't forget to voice out your suggestions, comments and of course your love for Zoho Invoice. Until we cue in another interesting tweak to Zoho Invoice, happy invoicing!

Zoho Invoice & Zoho Creator Helpdesk integrate with Google Apps

2010-09-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

When Google launched its G Apps Marketplace, Zoho was one of the chosen few launch partners. We presented our integration of Zoho CRM andZoho Projects with Google using GData API and were chosen to be one of the featured applications in the newly launched marketplace. Pleased by the response that we got from the G Apps users, we decided to take it further and integrate some of our other business applications with Google.

Today, we have two new applications integrated with Google Apps - Zoho Invoice & Zoho Creator Helpdesk.

Zoho Invoice
Zoho Invoice is a full featured online invoicing application. Earlier this year, we revamped the app with a new look and great set of new features. All these features, including the option to send invoices through postal mail, are now available to Google Apps users.

Zoho Invoice is now available in Google Apps Marketplace under Accounts & Finance category. Once Zoho Invoice is added to Google Apps, you can provide access to select users from your Google Apps account. Zoho Invoice also has the ability to import contacts from Google Contacts allowing you to send invoices/estimates to your Google Apps contacts. An Open Social gadget for Zoho Invoice is also available to be contextually included in apps like Gmail, iGoogle & Google Sites.

Zoho Creator Helpdesk
Zoho Creator Helpdesk is a Helpdesk and Customer Support Software fully integrated with Google Apps. Zoho Creator Helpdesk is a fully featured, web-based help desk software that lets Google App users to manage all their support requests coming in from email, support website or web forms

Here are some of the key highlights of the app.

Trouble Ticket Management
Your customers can create trouble tickets via web form or through an e-mail. Zoho Creator Helpdesk automates request routing, defines your SLA compliance, enables SLA escalations and gives a consolidated report view of what's happening with your help desk.
Asset Management
Zoho Creator Helpdesk has an integrated Asset Management solution along with the help desk functions. With the integrated Asset Management, Zoho Creator Helpdesk provides you with an accurate inventory of all the hardware, software assets in your organization
Knowledge Base
A web-based searchable knowledge base system helps in reducing the turn around time for the request resolution. The Knowledge Base acts as a knowledge sharing medium, increases support productivity and assists in effective knowledge management.
Reporting
Zoho Creator Helpdesk provides extensive reports on Priority, Status, Technician and Deadline of Support requests
Fully Customizable - Path breaking and First time ever
Zoho Creator Helpdesk is probably the first Helpdesk software that lets you customize Helpdesk forms, fields, reports and look and feel to suit specific needs of your organization. You don't have to write any code or hire a tech-guy, you can customize it all by yourself using easy to use drag-and-drop interface

You can

Create UNLIMITED number of Forms to collect information
Add UNLIMITED number of Fields (Eg: Name, Email, Phone Number.....)
Rearrange the order of the fields and rename with ease
Create Reports - View your data as a List, Calendar, Summary or as a Chart
Change the look and feel of your Helpdesk app. Choose from different sets of layout and the color themes

Pricing & Availability
Both Zoho Invoice & Zoho Creator Helpdesk are priced affordably. You can create up to 5 invoices for free per month in Zoho Invoice. Paid plans start at $8/month. Additional information is available here.

Zoho Creator Helpdesk is available for free for up to 2 technicians. The pricing for 3 technicians starts at $15/month. For yearly and half-yearly subscriptions, discounts are available. Additional details are available here.

You can get started by installing our apps from Google Apps Marketplace.

ps: We would like to thank the Google team for their continued cooperation and support.

A Guide to Installing Magento on 1and1 Shared Hosting.

2010-04-28T06:55:00.001-07:00

Hopefully you are aware that there limitations when using a sharedhosting provider, often implemented to allow the provider to keep the server secure. Luckily with 1and1 we are able to work around this and allow Magento access to PHP 5.2 (Please note this guide is just for using with 1and1’s shared hosting solutions). Enjoy!

Getting Started

Setup your MySQL database

Navigate to your 1and1 Administration tab in your 1and1 control panel
Using the 1and1 MySQL Administration page click New Database, start a fresh one just for Magento
Make sure its set to use MySQL version 5.0, fill in YOUR details as shown below

Download the latest Magento installation package (full release, not installer)-> http://www.magentocommerce.com/download (at time of writing its version 1.4.0.1)
Upload this to your server (yes, upload the Magento zipped folder)
In your 1and1 control panel navigate to your web space explorer and right click on the .zip file you just uploaded and extract it. You are able to move/rename the folder if you need to.
Now you need to go back to your favourite FTP program and CHMOD the following files and folders to 777

magento/var/.htaccess (file)
magento/app/etc (folder)
magento/var (folder)
magento/media (folder)

Download the .htaccess file found in the root directory of your Magento install.
Edit the file, removing the comments from:

############################################
## this line is specific for 1and1 hosting
AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
AddHandler x-mapp-php5 .php
############################################

This allows you to use PHP 5.0
You will also need to un-comment “#RewriteBase /magento/” and edit it if you changed the location of your install
Re-upload the .htaccess file
Make sure the MySQL database is READY, this is shown in the 1and1 control panel under MySQL Administration
Now you can begin the install goto http://www.you_domain.com/magento/index.php/install
From here you just need to add the details requested by the installation program, copying and pasting from the 1and1 control panel as needed
To enter the adming section of magento just point your browser to http://www.you_domain.com/magento/index.php/admin (or whatever you alter admin to in the installation)

I hope you have found this 1and1 Magento setup guide useful, its been put together by myself after having issues setting up Magento on my shared 1and1 account. Info has been taken from a number of installation guides from the net and reworded by myself.

Choosing right hosting for your business

2010-04-27T01:52:00.001-07:00

What Is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is the service that stores your web site on a server connected to the Internet. When someone wants to visit your web site, their computer connects over the Internet to your web hosting company server, and the web site is transferred from the server to their computer.

Key Information to Know

1. Reputation/Ratings – This is probably the most important area to start when selecting your web host. Why? Because a web hosts reputation as reflected through customer satisfaction on web sites likewebhostingjury.com and webhostingtalk.com say a lot about a company. The other areas of competition are only statistics wars, like: “we’ll offer you 10000gb of space for $1 a month” which of course doesn’t matter if they don’t provide good support or uptime.

2. Windows or Linux? – This depends on if you will be using ASP.net or Windows small business server, or if you will be using PHP and MYSQL. If you don’t know, likely Linux will be the best option for you. Linux is generally less expensive and arguably has more uptime. There are also more open source projects developed for Linux. This means you will have more flexibility in selecting software to run your web site like calendars, content management systems to update your website, and shopping carts.

3. How Much Space Do I Need? Bandwidth and Storage Space – We have worked on many web sites, and the space limits on web hosts are generally more than ample for most web sites. For general web sites, figure 500mb of space is enough. For E-commerce web sites, around 1gb – 10gb of space, and for corporate sites or video intensive web sites, it can go from 10gb – 100gb.

4. Do They Offer 24/7 Phone Support? – For some users this is an issue, because they prefer to talk to phone support over using support tickets/email support. Generally, hosts with good phone support start around $7 and up per month, while web hosts with only email support can be found for under that price.

5. What Data Center Do They Use? – A data center is a facility where the servers are stored as has many high speed connections to the Internet. It is important to know what data center your web host uses and whether they own it or not. Is it a reputable data center? Is it located in the United States or another country? Some of the big data centers are The Planet and Savis, but there are many others. A web host should tell you on its website what data center they use and give you information about their facilities.

6. Dedicated, VPS, or Shared Hosting? - Another decision to make is whether you need dedicated, VPS, or shared hosting. First it is important to know what each term means.
Shared Hosting: You share a server with hundreds of other websites. You can expect to pay about $8 - $25/month.
VPS Hosting: You share a server with a limited number of other websites. Usually a VPS web host will guarantee you a certain amount of server resources like ram and cpu. You can expect to pay from $30 - $100 a month.
Dedicated Hosting: The whole server is yours. No other websites are on the server. You can expect to pay from $100 - $1500 a month.

Usually you can start off with a shared hosting plan. You can always upgrade to a VPS or Dedicated hosting plan if your site popularity really takes off. In some cases you might need to startoff with a VPS plan if you have a resource intensive website or you need to install custom server software like FFmpeg for video sharing websites.

7. Claims About 1500000000000gb of Storage Space?
While this is important to consider, too many web hosts have gotten into this crazy competition about offering 15000000gb SUPPOSEDLY of storage space (yes we are joking) but last we checked their are limits on hard drive disc space, so to truly offer insane amounts of storage space like that is impossible.

Recommended Web Hosts:

We have personally used all of the webhosts below and can recommend them based on our experience and reviews from the web.

Lunarpages.com $ – They are a big web host, and really know what they are doing with their server business. Support is top notch, their control panel is excellent, they offer excellent value, have good consumer reviews, and a nice variety of packages. Packages start at $8/month.
Reviews: Web Hosting Jury Customer Reviews of Lunarpages

Crucialwebhosting.com $$ - They specialize in Magento web hosting. They also offer a nice split-shared plan that gives you a nice step between shared hosting and VPS hosting at $25/month. It gives you more power than with a shared hosting plan.
Reviews: Ratepoint Customer Reviews of Crucial Web Hosting

Servint.com $$$ - for VPS or Dedicated hosting. They also offer telephone and email support. Packages start at $49.99 a month.
Reviews: Web Hosting Jury Customer Reviews of Servint
Web Hosting Talk Thread Discussing Servint

Which Shopping Cart Should I use?

2010-03-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

That is a common question that we get when clients call. There are so many shopping carts out there it is hard to know which one to use for your web site. That is why we have written this article to help you know the advantages and disadvantages of each cart. We will be reviewing:

Magento Shopping Cart Review
Oscommerce Shopping Cart Review
CRE Loaded Shopping Cart Review
Zen Cart Shopping Cart Review
X-Cart Shopping Cart Review
OSC Max Shopping Cart Review (Our Pick)
Joomla & Virtuemart Shopping Cart Review (For CMS & Shopping Cart Combined)
E-commerce Shopping Cart Feature Comparison Chart

It is important to know when selecting your shopping cart what features you need. All the shopping carts below feature the following:

Customer management
Product management
Variety of payment and shipping modules
Order receipt emails
Ability to use SSL secure layers for ordering process

However the shopping carts vary when it comes to:

Time it takes to modify the cart to look like a current web design
WYSIWYG ability to modify product descriptions using different fonts, colors, etc.
Ability to import/export from Excel spreadsheet
Wholesale/Reseller Pricing

In this review we will be going over PHP/MySQL shopping carts that run both Linux and Windows servers. We will not be reviewing pay-per-month shopping carts. We feel these offer less value because they have expensive monthly fees. Also - they usually do not allow access to the source code of the system or much customization of the shopping cart. The following shopping carts below are open-source meaning that you can modify the source code and customize the shopping cart to your needs.

Magento

Website: http://www.magentocommerce.com
Magento is one of the newer shopping carts on the block but has already attracted a large following. The coding is based on the latest PHP 5 object oriented coding standards and the Zend framework.

Advantages +
+ Varian the company who backs the cart is very active in updating the code and fixing bugs
+ Multi-Store Capable
+ Nice default template

Disadvantages -
- Heavily layered and overly complicated coding style and thousands of files requires a lot of time to learn and do customizations. Estimate about 2 - 5 x more for your budget for customizing it vs. other carts
- Right now the technical documentation is very limited, making it difficult to customize and modify the programming of Magento beyond doing graphical changes.
- Runs fairly slow. Plan on spending at least $25/month for a 1000 product store, or $50 - $100 month for stores with over that.

Oscommerce MS 2.2 - The Cart That Started Them All

website: http://www.oscommerce.com
Oscommerce is the basis for both Zen Cart and CRE Loaded. As such is it is simpler and does not have all of the contributions already added that Zen Cart and CRE Loaded do. It runs well though and is a good back to basics shopping cart.

Advantages +
+ Has the most available number of contributions and modifications
+ Recent security update brings it up to date with MySQL 5 and PHP 5

Disadvantages -
- It can take a lot of time and money to install all the contributions you want (add-ons)
- No graphic template system meaning it is harder to modify the design

CRE Loaded Chain Reaction Edition of Oscommerce

website: http://www.creloaded.com
CRE Loaded is like Oscommerce but with many more contributions installed. Some of the nice contributions it has are Easy Populate which lets you populate your database from an Excel file, coupon codes, administrator access levels, template system, and an affiliate manager. CRE Loaded also has one of the Oscommerce templating systems installed which allows you to more easily integrate a design into the system and control which information boxes show on the left and right columns.

Advantages +
+ Many contributions from Oscommerce already installed

Disadvantages -
- Contributions from Oscommerce.com can be more difficult to install, but CRE Loaded has many of its own already converted
- Buggy code for some modules like multi vendor shipping

Additional Information
CRE Loaded comes in 3 verisons. The regular version is free. The Pro version adds better product attribute support and credit card encryption, and the B2B version adds seperate pricing level support.

Zen Cart - The Art of E-commerce

website: http://www.zen-cart.com
Zen Cart has a very nice wide array of features based on Oscommerce but has gone its own path. You can not install contributions directly from the Oscommerce web site onto Zen Cart. Some of the nice features include product attributes managers, template system, html editor for regular web page contents, built in coupon code system, ability to select what credit cards you accept, and more. An issue with Zen Cart right now is the Easy Populate contribution which would let you import products from an Excel sheet does not work yet. So if you need this feature we recommend the other shopping carts.

Advantages +
+ No licensing fees
+ Stable
+ Many contributions from Oscommerce already installed

Disadvantages -
- not possible to use Oscommerce contributions, they must be converted to Zen Cart
- Admin interface is a little messy in certain areas because there are so many contributions installed

X-Cart

website: http://www.x-cart.com
X-Cart is a commercial package, but one of the most competitively priced and easy to modify.

Advantages +
+ Commercially supported and has very few if any bugs
+ Uses Smarty Templates system which many programmers like to work with for laying out the web site

Disadvantages -
- Licensing fees for system and some add-on modules

OSC Max

website: http://www.oscdox.com
OSC Max is an excellent version of Oscommerce that has many useful contributions installed. It is just as easy to use in the admin as the default Oscommerce installation.

Advantages +
+ No licensing fees
+ The contributions installed are very useful
+ Has wholesale/Reseller pricing module already installed
+ Well-documented

Disadvantages -
- Personal preference - I don't like the mopics image module, you have to separately upload small and large images, but easily fixed by installing on the fly thumbnails module
Joomla & Virtuemart
website: http://virtuemart.net
Installing and configuring Joomla & Virtuemart together was a snap. On the Virtuemart website they have a combined installer that installs Virtuemart with Joomla. This is the solution you would want if you have to have your CMS (Content Management System) combined with your shopping cart. Joomla we feel is the best CMS out there, but Virtuemart on the other hand is not the best shopping cart system. It is not a bad one though, it is just not as fully featured as the other solutions.

Overall we would say that Virtuemart is about equal with default Oscommerce, but not the loaded versions of Oscommerce: Zen Cart & CRE Loaded.

Advantages +
+ Easy to install
+ Combines well with the best CMS Joomla
+ Has the basic shopping cart features

Disadvantages -
- Lacks a lot of high-end shopping cart features
- Not as many add-on modules available

Shopping Cart Feature Comparison Chart

This feature comparison chart compares the out of the box features of each cart. Sometimes a cart will have an available add-on module to install the feature listed.

	Magento	Oscommerce	CRE Loaded	Zen Cart	X-Cart	OSCMax	VirtueMart
Free	Yes	Yes	Yes, but has pay versions	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Unlimited Products	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Supports SSL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Edit Products	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Edit Customers	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Admin Can Edit Products In Order	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Spreadsheet Database Upload	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Product Attributes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multiple Product Images	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Coupons	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Different Pricing Per Customer Groups	Yes	No	Costs Extra	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Graphic Template System	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Live Shipping Quotes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Google Checkout Pre-installed	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Paypal	Yes	Yes, but not IPN	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Paypal Pro	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Content Management System for Informational Pages	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SEO Tools for meta tags and URLs	Yes	No	Yes, URLs cost extra	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
One Page Checkout	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Multi-Lingual Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-Currency Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-Store Support	Yes	No	No	No	Cost Extra	No	No
Web Hosting Requirements	Semi Dedicated $25/m - $100/m	Shared Hosting	Shared Hosting	Shared Hosting	Shared Hosting	Shared Hosting	Shared Hosting
Our Overall Opinion from 1 - 10	7	7	8	8	7.5	8.5	7

Final Thoughts

If you decide to go with an Oscommerce based shopping cart, we recommend that you start with one of the loaded versions - Zencart, CRE Loaded, or OSCmax - in order to save you lots of money on installing additional modules to the plain Oscommerce version. You can then use your development money to put in your own custom modifications, design, etc. rather than installing all of the basics.

We can not recommend Magento unless you like the default features and layout because it is way overly complicated to customize efficiently (with a normal budget). If you decide to go with Magento, make sure to chose a fast enough web host. As we mentioned, it does not run fast enough on most shared hosting plans. Please see our How To Chose A Good Reliable Web Host article for our further recommendations on web hosting.

Do you need help with setting up, customizing or maintaining your E-commerce web site? Please contact us and we would be happy to provide you the needed services.

Eset NOD32 Antivirus Review

2010-01-22T19:17:00.001-08:00

Eset NOD32 3.0 delivers an easy-to-use version of its award-winning antivirus engine. Although our performance testing was mixed, NOD32 continues to rank among the best-rated antivirus products by independent antivirus testing labs.

Setup and interface
NOD32 is among the few antivirus products that still supports Windows 2000 and XP as well as Windows Vista.

With version 3, Eset finally gets the NOD32 interface right. After years of dealing with the cumbersome AMON (monitors the overall file system), DMON (monitors documents), and EMON (monitors e-mail transactions), we get version 3.0 with a completely intuitive and easy-to-use interface. There are two versions of the interface: standard and advanced. The left-hand column features Protection Status, Computer scan, Update, Setup, Tools (in Advanced mode only), and Help. The right window pane is reserved for the active feature in use. In Advanced mode, across the top is a toolbar to access the more advanced configuration options.

At first glance, the interface is easy for anyone new to antivirus protection. But digging deeper we were happy to find all the advance tweaks that anyone could ask for within reach. Symantec has gone in the opposite direction, making all the tools simply enable and disable, but Eset has left a number of intermediate options available to the more advanced users.

Should you need to remove NOD32 from your computer, there is an uninstall option. After a reboot we found almost no evidence of the product on our machine.

Features
Eset continues to improve on its ThreatSense technology, allowing NOD32 to be proactive, yet use few system resources. We like the fact that during a scan you can either manually toggle the scan to the forefront or push it into the background.

The main enhancements to this version are the interface and behind-the-scenes tweaks to the speed of the scan.

Also, according to Eset, NOD32 will automatically remove threats, which could be bad if you need a component for a game (for example); however we found that, if necessary, you can restore any quarantined selection with a right click.

Performance
NOD32 did well in tests performed by CNET Labs' performance tests and very well in third-party, independent antivirus testing using live viruses.

On our iTunes test, NOD32 came in at 271 seconds, 2 seconds above our test system. On our Microsoft Office test, NOD32 was third fastest at 1,360 seconds. For individual file scans, NOD32 came in fourth fastest at an amazing 181 seconds. And in boot speed, NOD32 again came in slow at 35 seconds.

In terms of protecting your PC, we refer readers to two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. In the latest test results from AV-test.org, NOD32 Antivirus 3 scored 97.7 behind Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 but ahead of Norton Antivirus 2008.

AV-Comparatives.org, in on-demand tests NOD32 found 97.7 percent of the malicious software and earned an Advanced + (highest) rating, and in Retrospective/ProActive tests found 71 percent and also earned an Advanced + (highest) rating. And NOD32 (Smart Security) was one of four products to earn CheckVir.com's Advanced rating.

Support
NOD32 provides extensive, context-sensitive help files. For example, if you are on the Actions tab and you click 'Help', NOD32 takes you to the 'Actions' tab definition page within 'Help'. It's a small touch, but other than in Kaspersky, we haven't seen it offered in any other security software.

Online, Eset provides a fairly thorough 32-page PDF-file manual for download, plus online FAQs for NOD32, links to an active user forum dedicated to the software, and a Web form for contacting Eset customer support. While there is live telephone support offered, the call is not toll free and is available only during business hours, 9 am to 4 pm Sydney time, Monday through to Friday.

The Benefits of Windows 7 Explained

2010-01-22T19:13:00.001-08:00

What differences will I notice?
Windows 7 revamps the computing experience with new features that simplify everyday tasks:

* Aero Shake: De-clutter your desktop by minimising multiple windows at once. To do this, simply grab the window you want to keep open with the mouse and shake it. Want those other windows back? Just shake the window again.
* Aero Peek: Make windows transparent by hovering above the Show Desktop icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen. This allows you to view items on your desktop without minimising the windows you're working in.
* Windows Taskbar: Shows icons of the applications, instead of buttons, making the layout easier to understand. Hovering over the icon gives a thumbnail or full-screen preview of opened applications.
* Jump Lists: Right-click on a program icon to view and open recent files.
* Snap: Easily resize windows and display them side-by-side to compare.

Will my computer perform better?
Windows 7 is designed to be faster and more responsive than Microsoft Vista, because there are fewer applications running in the background and less writing to disk. Stability has been enhanced, while data backup and recovery are also much easier.

What are the touch-screen capabilities?
Windows 7 can be operated by using a touch-screen instead of a keyboard or mouse. Microsoft's new operating system also supports multi-touch applications, which read gestures that require more than one finger - e.g. pinching. To use this feature you'll need a touch-screen monitor.

What are the different versions?
There are four versions of Windows 7 designed to meet different needs:

* Starter: The basic edition designed for netbooks, laptops and entry-level PCs with casual computing in mind.
* Home Premium: Includes the new Aero desktop features, plus enhanced media performance and easy networking.
* Professional: For students and workers who access other networks, with a Virtual Windows XP mode to use older applications.
* Ultimate: All the features plus BitLocker encryption for data security. Lets you switch the system language for multilingual computing.

What are some other benefits?

* HomeGroup: Makes networking your devices around the home a lot easier.
* Internet Explorer 8: Makes web browsing much quicker and more efficient.
* Better Power Management: Portable computer batteries will last longer.

Can my existing computer run Windows 7?
You need, at minimum, the following:

* A 1GHz processor
* 1GB of 32-bit RAM or 2GB of 64-bit RAM
* Graphics Processor with DirectX 9 with WDDM 1.0 or higher.

Will my old applications and games run?
Windows 7 will run applications designed for Windows Vista. Applications which only run on Windows XP need the Professional or Ultimate edition.

How do I upgrade?
Just insert the Windows 7 disk. There are two upgrade options -- Custom Installation or In-Place Upgrade:

* Custom Installation: Completely replaces your existing Operating System on a selected hard drive. Will erase all files and programs on that drive.
* In-Place Upgrade: Keeps existing files, settings and programs while upgrading to Windows 7.

Setting Up a Home Wireless Network (Wi-Fi)

2010-01-22T19:10:00.001-08:00

Having a secure wireless network (Wi-Fi) in your home makes sharing files between a number of computers and devices (such as a printer, or iPhone) a breeze. Wifi also lets you surf the net, without messy cables. But how do wireless networks work? And which gear do you need? Let us break it down for you.

Simple home wireless network choices
Router: A router with an in-built modem will connect to the internet.
Standards: Aim for 802.11n.
Security: Make sure you secure your Wi-Fi network to ensure your files are safe.

Optional extras
More range: Use a wireless access point or an extra-range antenna to increase the range of the network.
Network adapters: If your laptop doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi, you can buy a network adapter.

Home Wireless Networking

What is a wireless network?
A wireless network connects multiple computers and devices (printers, phones, iPod Touch, etc) together, without using cables. The devices "talk" to each other through a central point -- a router. This enables the computers and devices to:

* Share files and documents
* Connect multiple computers to the one printer
* Allows multi-player gaming
* Load files from portable wireless devices, such as an iPod Touch.

What are the benefits of Wi-Fi?
Wireless networks do away with messy cables. This leaves you free to wander around the house, while staying connected.

Connect to the internet
Most wireless routers come with a modem built into them. This enables all devices connected to the router to be simultaneously connected to the internet.

Is it hard to set up?
Not at all. The latest generation of networking gear (routers) comes with easy-to-follow wizards that guide you through the process. Simply plug in, follow the prompts and you're away.

What are standards?
Wireless technology (Wi-Fi) is available in a range of standards. These refer to factors such as the data transfer rate and the operating frequency. The standard you choose ultimately affects your network's speed and its range (distance):

* The top standard today is 802.11n
* This offers faster transfer rates and more range than the previous 802.11g format.

Important security note!
If you do not take the necessary security steps, your network will be left wide open to anyone within range. They could gain access to files on your computers (this could include banking details, tax returns or passwords). They could also download illegal content using your internet account.

Some, but not all, of the ways to secure your network include:

* Change the default administrator passwords
* Turn on the encryption to scramble the messages sent over the wireless network
* MAC (Media Access Control) restricts network access to selected devices.

The gear you'll need
Router: The central device that communicates to all connected devices:

* Choose a router with built-in modem for internet access
* Also look for built-in firewalls for extra security
* Ensure it supports the latest 802.11n format.

Network cable: While wireless does away with cables, they offer much faster transfer speeds, so it's always good to have the option.

Wireless network adapter: Important if the laptop you want to connect doesn't have Wi-Fi capabilities already built into it, or to upgrade your laptop Wi-Fi standards:

* It's important to match the adapter to the standard of the router you're using
* USB adapters simply plug in, rather than being physically installed inside the computer
* Network adaptors are backwards compatible. This means an 802.11g device will work with an 802.11b device etc.

Wireless access point: Think of this as a wireless extension cable to give you more range, so you can move further away without the signal being too weak.

Extra range antenna: Makes your router signals more powerful, for extra range.

Network printer: Connects to the network so multiple computers can print from it.

MSI X340 Slim: The best laptop you've never heard of

2009-09-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

Netbooks have grabbed a big chunk of laptop sales over the past couple years because they are small and inexpensive. Unfortunately, they also have squished keyboards and screens that make them difficult to use.

On the other end of the spectrum are the sleek premium laptops such as the MacBook Air and the Dell Adamo. Like netbooks, these machines are extremely light and portable, but they are much thinner, have attractive designs and have full sized keyboards and big, bright 13″ screens. The problem is that they cost $1500-$2500 and that would break the budget of the average laptop buyer.

However, there’s an alternative that is as thin as the MacBook Air, has nearly all of the features of the Dell Adamo, and has a price tag that is closer to a netbook. It’s the MSI X340 Slim and here is TechRepublic look at it from an IT and business perspective.

Specifications

Cost: $699
Model number: MSI X340-021US Slim (Black)
Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Business
Processor: 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500
RAM: 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 (1 SO-DIMM slot, 4GB maximum)
Hard drive: 320GB SATA (5400rpm)
Display: 13.4″ WXGA glossy LCD (1366×768 pixels) with LED backlight
Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD (integrated)
Video ports: VGA, HDMI
Other ports: 3 USB, Mic, Headphones, RJ45
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000); 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth V2.0EDR
Webcam: 1.3 megapixels
Card reader: SD/SDHC/MMC
Dimensions: 13″(w)x8.8″(d)x0.78″(h)
Weight: 3.0 lbs (1.4 kg)
Battery: 4-cell Lithium-polymer (8-cell optional)
MSI X340 Slim official product page
Photo gallery: MSI X340 Slim

Who is it for?

This will appeal to users who want a slim, highly-portable Windows laptop for under $1000, and don’t like the small keyboards and irregular screens that you find on most netbooks.

What problems does it solve?

Ultra-slim laptops like the MacBook Air and the Dell Adamo are light, powerful, and attractive. However, you have to pay $1500-$2500 to get that combination of features. The MSI X340 delivers around 80% of the features and coolness for about $700.

Standout features

Thin and light - The dimensions of the MSI X340 Slim are almost identical to the MacBook Air (12.8″(w)x8.9″(d)x0.76″(h) and 3.0 lbs), which awed the technology industry with its thinness and portability when it launched in January 2008. This notebook is a very light load in your briefcase or shoulder bag.
Excellent LCD screen - The display on the MSI X340 is one of the most impressive features. It is clear, sharp, and bright, thanks to the LED backlighting. At 1366×768, it is much larger and much more standard than most of the netbook screens. It’s not as good as the amazing screen on the MacBook Air but it’s close.
Comfortable keyboard - With large keys, well-marked function keys, and a decent tactile feel, the keyboard on the X340 is comfortable to use — far better than any netbook. It doesn’t have quite as nice of a feel as the Dell Adamo keyboard but I liked it better than the chiclet keyboard on the MacBook Air.
Good battery life - Since the X340 has a low voltage Intel CPU and a power-saving LED backlight, it is a power-efficient system when running under a power-saving mode in Windows. I was able to get 3-4 hours of battery life, which is pretty impressive for a 4 cell battery. That said, since this is pitched as a power-sipping machine, I was actually hoping to get at least 5 hours for those long cross-country flights in the U.S.

What’s wrong?

Durability - While the Dell Adamo and the MacBook Air both have solid metal bodies, the MSI X340 is made out of plastic. That definitely gives it a little cheaper look. The silver-painted plastic trim around the expansion ports looks especially cheap. Because it’s made out of plastic, I also don’t expect that this would be a very durable machine, so it if you or the user you’re deploying this machine for are hard on laptops or need a little bit more of a rugged system then the MSI X340 is probably not a good choice.
Built-in mouse controls - I typically don’t like any of the trackpads you find on laptops, but as far as trackpads go. the one on the MSI X340 is not that great. It’s not very large, doesn’t have any special coating, and it only has one mouse button - you click on the left side for left click and the right side for right click. It’s not nearly as good as the large trackpad on the MacBook Air that also includes a great set of gestures to improve navigation. The one saving grace for the MSI X340 is that it also comes with a great little retractable USB mouse.
Lack of disc player - Like the Adamo and the Air, there’s no disc drive built into the MSI X340. That can make it difficult to install software, play DVDs, or digitize any audio CDs. MSI offers an external DVD drive that you can purchase separately.

Competitive products

Bottom line for business

If you really like the lightweight portability of the MacBook Air and the Dell Adamo but don’t want to pay a huge premium for it, or you like the small form factor of netbooks but don’t like the minimal keyboards and screens, then the MSI X340 Slim might be the product you’re looking for.

However, the X340 is made out of plastic, unlike the metal bodies you find on the Air and the Adamo, and that means it’s not going to be very durable. I wouldn’t recommend it for business users that need an industrial strength laptop and I wouldn’t plan for an X340 to last much more than two years.

Google Reinvents the Phone with Google Voice

2009-09-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

When it comes to "cool tools", Google is the master inventor. Say what you want about Google, but they know what they're doing when it comes to giving the public what they want and need. Take the telephone for instance. An old invention that now has been given a new twist with " Google Voice" (G.V.) . Hold onto your chair as I'm about to tell you how to have a lot more fun with Ma Bell.

Google is giving you the ability to manage all your phones with one centralized number. At the time of this writing, it's only available to those in the U.S., and by invitation only. Upon registration, you'll be given your phone number that you connect to any existing phone number. When someone calls the Google Voice number, it rings the phone number that you specified. The option of selecting a word for your personalized number is also given.

Now, if all Google Voice did was send phone calls to your cell phone, that would be great all by itself, but the amount of extra tools and features are truly amazíng.

When a call is received you can answer it, send it directly to voice mail, listen in on the incoming call to decide what to do with it, or start recording the call upon answering. How's that for a few options?

After receiving a call you'd like to record, hit 4 on your phone to start recording. Different states have different laws when it comes to recording calls, so check your current federal and state laws before using this feature. Currently outbound calls cannot be recorded. Google does provide an automated verbal announcement when the recording starts and stops so the person you're speaking with knows they are being recorded. So much for incriminating yourself (LOL).

Say goodbye to voicemail as you know it. When a voicemail is recorded, you can check it by going to the Google Voice website and logging in, or calling your Google number. You can even be notified by email, or text message of new messages needing your attention. The ability to listen in on voice mails as they are being left is a very handy feature.

Voicemail messages can be shared with others via Email, even downloaded as MP3 files and embedded on a website or blog. Messages are also transcribed as text and housed on Google's site for later reading, or sent to you by email. When it comes to voice mail greetings, custom messages can be set for groups or certain individuals.

Google Voice is free for use within the U.S., but does give the ability to make low cost international calls to over 200 countries from your phone or Google's site. You'll first need to purchase credits through Google Checkout before making these calls. Rates vary per country.

Here are some other handy features:

• Phone spam filters which block calls and mark them as spam

• Conference Calling

• Temporary forwarding of calls to another number

• Access Google Voice from mobile browsers at http://google.com/voice/m

• Call Widgets - Easily add a "call me" widget to your blog or site with copy and paste code located under setup.

• Do not disturb option which sends all incoming calls directly to voicemail when you don't want to be bothered.

So what about when you call someone and want it to appear you are calling from your Google Voice phone number? No problem. The ability to make calls that will display your G.V. number on caller ID can be done in three different ways.

1) Hit call from within Google Voice website
2) From G.V. mobile site on your cell
3) By calling your G.V. number and logging into the system.

Google will call you at the number you specify and connect your outbound call. It doesn't get much better than that.

The technical requirements to use this service are a computer with Win XP, Vista, Mac or Linux, Internet Explorer 6.0 or above, Firefox 3.0 or higher, Safari, Google Chrome and Flash 8.9. To request your invitation go to - https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/ .

So, if you thought using the phone was outdated, sign up with Google Voice and put some "FUN" back into an old relationship. This just might be the best thing old Ma Bell has seen in years.

Asus MS246H Monitor

2009-09-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

If Asus is to be believed, its new line of ultra-slim monitors, called the Designo MS Series, was inspired by the binary state. Viewing the monitor from the sides leads credence to this, as it looks like a number "1" standing next to a smaller "0". Actually, it looks more like an "o" than a zero, but we get the point.

The monitor's profile measures a purported scant 16.5mm. Asus' Ergo-Fit Technology allows a user to adjust the tilt of the monitor supposedly with just one finger. Hmm, we're at least intrigued to see how this little feature actually works.

The screen is designed to sit at the user's eye level — unless, of course, the user has an extremely long or short torso — and by acting as a second screen, Asus says the monitors perfectly complement a laptop computer.

Once you get past its glossy black-front/white-back finish (the duality an extension of the binary concept perhaps?), there's some impressive tech specs inside. It hosts Full HD 1080p resolution, a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, and a 2ms response time.

In addition to this 23.6-inch widescreen model which will hit the market in September, a 23-inch model (AU$369) will be available in October and 21.5-inch model (price TBC) will be released in Australia in November.

How to back up Outlook Express items

2009-09-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Copy message files to a backup folder

Step A: Locate the Store folder

Start Outlook Express.
Click Tools, and then click Options.
On the Maintenance tab, click Store Folder.
In the Store Location dialog box, copy the store location. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Put the mouse pointer at one end of the box under the Your personal message store is located in the following folder box.
2. Press and hold the left mouse button, and then drag the mouse pointer across the Your personal message store is located in the following folder box.
3. Press CTRL+C to copy the location.
Click Cancel, and then click Cancel again to close the dialog box.

Step B: Copy the contents of the Store folder

Click Start, click Run, press CTRL+V, and then click OK.
On the Edit menu, click Select All.
On the Edit menu, click Copy, and then close the window.

Step C: Create a backup folder

Right-click any empty area on your desktop, click New, and then click Folder.
Type Mail Backup for the folder name, and then press ENTER.

Step D: Paste the contents of the Store folder into the backup folder

Double-click the Mail Backup folder to open it.
Right-click inside the Mail Backup folder window, and then click Paste.

Step 2: Export the Address Book to a .csv file

Important Make sure that you follow this step if you use multiple identities in Outlook Express.

Microsoft Outlook Express 5.x and Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 use a Windows Address Book (.wab) file to store Address Book data. The individual data for each identity is stored in a folder by user name within the .wab file that is used.

The only way to separate the Address Book data for different identities is to export the data to a .csv file while you are logged in as a specific identity. If the .wab file becomes dissociated from the user identities, the data can be exported only as one total. In this case, the data cannot be exported folder by folder.

There is another reason to export the .wab file to a .csv file. If the .wab file not exported to a .csv file, but the .wab file is shared with Microsoft Outlook, the addresses are stored in the personal folders (.pst) file in Outlook. When you export the file to a .csv file by using the File menu in Outlook Express, the correct contacts are exported. However, if the Address Book is shared with Outlook, you cannot use the File menu option to export from the Address Book. This option is unavailable.

To export the Address Book to a .csv file, follow these steps:

On the File menu, click Export, and then click Address Book.
Click Text File (Comma Separated Values), and then click Export.
Click Browse.
Select the Mail Backup folder that you created.
In the File Name box, type address book backup, and then click Save.
Click Next.
Click to select the check boxes for the fields that you want to export, and then click Finish.
Click OK, and then click Close.

Step 3: Export the mail account to a file

On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
On the Mail tab, click the mail account that you want to export, and then click Export.
In the Save In box, select the Mail Backup folder, and then click Save.
Repeat these steps for each mail account that you want to export.
Click Close.

Step 4: Export the newsgroup account to a file

On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
On the News tab, click the news account that you want to export, and then click Export.
In the Save In box, select the Mail Backup folder, and then click Save.
Repeat these steps for each news account that you want to export.
Click Close.

How to restore Outlook Express items

Note To restore items when you use multiple identities in Outlook Express, you may have to re-create the identities before you follow these steps. Repeat each step as needed for each identity.

Step 1: Import messages from the backup folder

On the File menu, point to Import, and then click Messages.
In the Select an e-mail program to import from box, click Microsoft Outlook Express 5 or Microsoft Outlook Express 6, and then click Next.
Click Import mail from an OE5 store directory or Import mail from an OE6 store directory, and then click OK.
Click Browse, and then click the Mail Backup folder.
Click OK, and then click Next.
Click All folders, click Next, and then click Finish.

Step 2: Import the Address Book file

On the File menu, click Import, and then click Other Address Book.
Click Text File (Comma Separated Values), and then click Import.
Click Browse.
Select the Mail Backup folder, click the address book backup.csv file, and then click Open.
Click Next, and then click Finish.
Click OK, and then click Close.

Step 3: Import the mail account file

On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
On the Mail tab, click Import.
In the Look In box, select the Mail Backup folder.
Click the mail account that you want to import, and then click Open.
Repeat these steps for each mail account that you want to import.
Click Close.

Step 4: Import the newsgroup account file

On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
On the News tab, click Import.
In the Look In box, select the Mail Backup folder.
Click the news account that you want to import, and then click Open.
Repeat these steps for each news account that you want to import.
Click Close.

ASUS K70IO-A1 17-Inch Laptop

2009-09-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

ASUS K70IO-A1 17-Inch Laptop is notebook sports a 17.3 inch High Definition display that provides a high contrast ratio and color saturation in a 16:9 aspect ratio. The NVIDIA Geforce GT120M graphics engine provides true-to-life visual clarity and stunning visual effects. Altec Lansing speakers are paired with SRS Premium Sound technology and virtual surround sound, providing high definition audio enjoyment. The ASUS K70IO features Asus’ exclusive IceCool design, consisting of cleverly designed and positioned heat vents which help keep the palm rests cooler than the human body.

The U20A notebook comes with the ASUS 360 service program which includes a 2 year warranty (global), one month zero bright dot guaranty, free two-way standard overnight shipping on warranty repairs and twenty-four hour technical support seven days a week. In addition the U20A comes with a FREE One Year Accidental Damage Warranty protecting the notebook from drops, fire, spills and surges. The package contains the notebook, carry bag, optical mouse, and 2 year warranty card. Key Features :-Intel Core Two Duo T4200 Processor 2.0GHz, 4 GB RAM, NVidia GT 120M Graphics Engine with 1 GB Video RAM.

Features

* Intel Core Two Duo T4200 Processor 2.0GHz
* 4 GB DDR2 800 RAM, 2 slots, 4 GB Max
* 250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM), DVD SuperMulti Drive
* Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit) Operating System
* NVidia GT 120M 1 GB DDR2 Video RAM, 17.3 Inch HD+ LCD

Write Your Content for Humans NOT SEO

2009-09-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

When writing content for your website, it’s important to write with your user in mind. SEO can only take you so far. It won’t sell your services for you.

I don’t mean to cast it in terms of sales copy vs. optimization. That’s not really a proper characterization either. Ideally, you want highly SEOd content that is well written and sells your services. It should be charged with user benefits and convert traffic. In other words, you want the sales message and SEO to compliment each other, not detract from each other. They are like a team and should work together. Otherwise, you have holes in your armor.

BenQ nScreen i91 and i221 All-in-one PCs

2009-09-06T22:58:00.001-07:00

BenQ presents two new nScreen (Network Screen) all-in-one PCs, the nScreen i91 and nScreen i221. The i91 has a 18.5-inch widescreen display while the i221 gets a 21.5-inch Full HD display.

The nScreen i91 is powered by an AMD Sempron210U processor, 1GB of RAM and 160GB ahard drive. The i221 should have similar configuration. Both all-in-one PCs have a 1.3 Megapixel webcam and multi-in-one card slot.

Zoho CRM Review 2

2009-09-04T06:10:00.001-07:00

Zoho CRM Key Strengths

Lowest TCO with a rich feature set at a competitive price
Flexible deployment options (On-Demand as well as On-Premise CRM solution)
Ease of usage with web-based user interface, and Total customizability
Affordability

Zoho CRM Key Products

Sales force Automation
Marketing Automation
Support Management
Order Management
Reporting & Analysis
Workflow Management
Outlook Edition

About Zoho CRM Software

Zoho CRM is a Customer Relationship Management solution for managing your customer relationships end-to-end (marketing activities to post-sales customer support) in a better way.

The business benefits of Zoho CRM solution are,
* Lowest total cost of ownership: rich feature set at competitive price.
* Flexible deployment options: We offer On-demand as well as On-premise CRM solution with same feature set. Choose the solution that best meets your IT needs.
* Easy to use: With the web-based user interface it is very easy to use. No additional software is required except Web browsers. Zoho CRM is fully functional in multiple Web browsers on various platforms.
* No data lockup: There is no danger of your data being held hostage. Hence, one can take ones' data off Zoho CRM if not satisfied with Zoho CRM using interactive data export utilities.

Zoho CRM is available in flexible deployment options, i.e., both On-demand and On-premise options. Select the best solution that meets your IT infrastructure requirements.

If you are planning to outsource your IT services subscribe to the Zoho CRM On-Demand CRM Edition. And if you already have dedicated IT infrastructure (Internet, Backup, Security, and other services etc.) deploy the On-Premise CRM Edition in your own LAN. On-Demand Edition and On-Premise editions contain the same feature set except On-Premise Edition is suitable for single/dedicated customer deployment, where as On-Demand CRM Edition is hosted at Zoho CRM - data center.

Zoho CRM Review

2009-09-04T06:08:00.001-07:00

Interface

This can be the best CRM for first time users. The interface is quite simple and intuitive. Further, there's a Getting Started video to help out. The tabs at the top of the screen and the links offers access to different parts of the program.

Set up

The set up is hassle free. To begin with you need to import the contacts. It's easy to import contracts from different application like value (.csv), Excel (.xls) or vCard (.vcf) format.

Fields

There are few required fields and several non-required fields to keep track of as many details as possible. The unimportant fields can be disabled from the settings.

Tracking the leads

One of the core activities of a CRM software is tracking and managing the sales leads. the Zoho CRM offers a leads tab that makes it easy to review and update active leads. Even after creating a new lead you may return to that particular lead and update the pages information such as attachments, products and activity tracking. The user can also send mail directly from the application. Record of the sent email is automatically added to the lead page.

This CRM software can also handle multiple leads by aggregating the information in one place for easy management. When the lead turns to sale it is automatically removed from the leads list and an account detail is created.

Reports and Dashboard

Most of the reports and the dashboard can be customized and settings for the tabs can be easily changed.

Web features

Most of the CRM contains lots of irrelevant features that the web workers don't use. Zoho seems to be a good option with web workers. It's simple to learn and use, and is available for free for up to three users.

Facilities

Out of the box sfa, campaign management, lead generation, pipeline analysis, sales forecasting, sales quotas, help desk, customer support, etc

Customer support

Zoho CRm offers tools to manage customer trouble tickets. The wiki-based Help section includes several common questions concerning the customers.

Pros

The flexibility is always an added advantage for Zoho, especially the tab, field and customizations are pretty cool.

It's integration with web forms is always a plus

It offers effective workflows with instant alerts and messages

The management of lead assignments is admirable

The price is always affordable

Cons

It encloses a large number of unimportant fields.

There is no explanation of the security features.

Competitors

Salesforce.com without the large price tag can be a rival.

Conclusion

Overall Zoho CRM can be a solid package for the small sized companies. If you have something more exciting that lacking in my review, let me know.

What does SaaS mean?

2009-08-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

SaaS: Software as a Service

It means, to put it very simply, software available for use online. There is no need to download it. Just signup on the internet and use it. It is similar to using yahoo/gmail; both are email programs running online and one just has to signup to them and start sending/receiving emails. You do not download gmail/yahoo to your system do you?

Now, why this whole noise about SaaS?

Earlier on, software used to be of the downloadable kind. Big bulky softwares that used to burn holes in your pocket since one had to regularly upgrade their Hard Disk size. And, how can one forget the bandwidth issues - to download a 6MB software, it used to take ages, the dial-up connection used to click only when it wanted to or God wanted to. Now, there is no need to do any of these acts.Things have improved on the bandwidth front, the speeds are faster, one is able to download software a lot faster but also at the same time, one does not want to maintain software on their own. So the shift is towards (re)using software that is already available and hosted somewhere. Now, hold on, Saas did not come up just yet.

Once people wanted to (re)use software developed by others, there came the time for the ASP or the Application Service Providers. These were something similar to middlemen in the sense that A would develop the software, B will host it for a set of users ie he will provide the infrastructure where he can install A and start it. B is now called as an Application Service Provider since he is providing access/Service to an Application. But hey, this sounds same as Saas, is n't it? Smart! Yes, it does but the key difference is that B will have multiple installations of A running to cater to a wider audience (perhaps, B will have 20 customers/logins in a single installation of A. So when 100 customers are needed to be served, B will have installed 5 installations of A each serving 20 customers).

In a typical Saas setting, there is ONLY one instance of service running and that ALONE caters to all the customers. This concept is called multi-tenant architecture as each tenant is a set of users who belong to a particular company/entity. The data for each tenant is secure from the other. In the ASP model, sure the data is secure from the other but you needed to have multiple installations too remember? So scaling up was a problem. Saas was the evolved answer to the problem.

Hope that solves some queries at the least ;-)

Konica Minolta magicolor 2500W - printer - color - laser

2009-08-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

A small footprint and simplicity were key when designing the magicolor 2500W. It is so compact, it sits easily on your desk adding convenience and privacy to your work environment. Your magicolor 2500W could not be easier to use. Full frontal access to paper and a limited number of consumables allows for infrequent maintenance. Furthermore, a status display screen provides you an easy way to track your consumables and printer information from your PC. Consumables are pre-installed making your magicolor 2500W print ready. Due to the innovative design of the laser print head (2 beams), the magicolor 2500W remains one of the smallest laser printers on the market. Thanks to revolutionary color engine technology and host based processing the magicolor 2500W sets the pace for compact laser printing. With a first page print out in just 14 seconds in monochrome and 23 seconds in color, your prints will be delivered in an instant with continuous printing ranging from 5 ppm in color and 20 ppm in monochrome. For professional home users or executives seeking privacy, the magicolor 2500W is the perfect printing solution for you. Thanks to heavy paper support of up to 200 grams, you can create a wide variety of professional documents and marketing material in-house. From mail shots, brochures to invoices, you have the added flexibility of printing your document on-demand whilst saving considerable costs. Due to the pioneering technology of Simitri polymerized toner combined with 2400 x 600 dpi resolution, the magicolor 2500W delivers ultra sharp prints with gradients in brilliant colors! Why have expensive ink print outs while you can have laser sharp quality? The magicolor 2500W offers higher productivity and lower cost of ownership than your traditional inkjet printers. It provides peace of mind in knowing that you have an efficient solution that allows you to print in color when you need it without the cost of outsourcing.

Our Mission

2009-08-01T16:35:00.001-07:00

Our Clients

Our aim is to be both price competitive and cost competitive. Our corporate philosophy is to satisfy our customers/clients by maintaining a relationship far beyond the “purchase of goods”. We want to build a long lasting relationship with our customers/clients, such that the intimacy leads to pre-empting needs and a truly tailored service.

Our Services

Our mission is to grow organically, achieving success by delivering high standards of services. To provide customers/clients with an all-round solution to their IT needs by taking care of both hardware and software purchasing and installation process, and then guaranteeing the most crucial aspect of our service – ongoing support and maintenance of these systems.

Our Aim

Our aim is to partner and collaborate with our larger clients to provide the solutions suitable for your business demands and requirements and to guarantee value for money whilst boosting your business potential to the full.

Ask OscilloSoft

2009-08-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Technology within corporate context has become, an increasingly complicated myriad of software and latest gadgets, complex networking and more and more sophisticated security – its hard to keep up, especially when all you want to do is get on with what you know best, your core business.

We also understand each industry is unique, each business is unique and each customer is unique. That’s why at Oscilliosoft, we understand the importance listening to your needs, how your company is structured and how you like to do business. We also know you don’t always have the time to spend hours on the phone. That’s why we make it easy for you, instead of dealing with several suppliers, technicians and support, we offer you a complete end-to-end service. Please read “About our Products and Services” to see what we have to offer.

Since we only partner with the most trusted brands and highest quality service providers, we can proudly guarantee all our products and services are of the highest standard. Our brands, coupled with our utmost professional consulting and services, we hope to achieve the best, most efficient solution that fits your business like a glove. Please read “About Oscilliosoft” to find out more on how we can benefit you.

Our “corporate philosophy” stems from our “mission statement”. “Satisfied clients are the key to our success.” We offer only the best products and services at a fair price on time, every time. Oscilliosoft’s is committed to serving all your IT needs, promptly and with a smile. So welcome to Oscilliosoft, we are certain you will find in us, the perfect solution to your business.