Friday, May 09, 2008
[[Contact:26]]
[[Company:25]]
Dear [[Salutation:40]],
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‘ E – N E W S from ‘
‘ 2SS.Com ‘
‘ Compiled and Edited by ‘
‘ Mailed on: 10/01/1998 8:33 PM Number 2 ‘
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‘ A ‘fast-read’ update on identifying and‘
‘ implementing strategic systems. ‘
‘ In this issue (4 Items): ‘
‘ ================ ‘
‘ 1--SIMPLE & STRATEGIC GO TOGETHER ‘
‘ 2--PRODUCT WATCH ‘
‘ 3--FIVE STRATEGIC LINKS ‘
‘ 4--Strategic Systems Advisory Panel, ‘
‘ 2SS.Com and your subscription. ‘
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‘ --------------Item One----------- ‘
‘ SIMPLE & STRATEGIC GO TOGETHER ‘
‘ 1. Is there a button in your word ‘
‘ processor that automatically ‘
‘ grabs your letter’s address to ‘
‘ print an envelope?
‘ 2. It is one step?
‘ If the answer to question 2. is NO, and you ‘
‘ address a couple envelopes or more each ‘
‘ week does it take you a few seconds to do it. ‘
‘ What if it took just 2 or 3 seconds? ‘
‘ Sometimes, WE THINK USUALLY, strategic ‘
‘ advantage comes from being productive with ‘
‘ simple things, or making complex things simpler. ‘
‘ Who would dispute the strategic value to Microsoft ‘
‘ of making their Microsoft Office products ever ‘
‘ simpler to use. ‘
‘ If this makes sense to you, you might as we do ‘
‘ look for some of the simple things you can do. ‘
‘ They might end up being even a tiny strategic ‘
‘ advantage like an envelope button that pays off ‘
‘ over-and-over hundreds of times or MORE. ‘
‘ Do You HAVE an Envelope Button? ‘
‘ Put a print envelope button on Microsoft Word ‘
‘ 97’s toolbar by choosing… ‘
‘ Tools à Customize à ‘
‘ Next, select the ‘Commands’ tab, then click on ‘
‘ ‘Tools’ in the list at left. Now on the right scroll ‘
‘ down to the ‘Envelopes and Labels…’ icon. When ‘
‘ you find it use your mouse to drag it to the tool bar ‘
‘ location you prefer. Close everything and give it ‘
‘ a try. ‘
‘ If this interests you ask us about ‘Close’, ‘New…’, ‘
‘ and ‘Print…’ buttons too as well as other Word ‘
‘ customizations that can help you fly through ‘
‘ word processing chores quicker then ever. ‘
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‘ --------------Item Two----------- ‘
‘ Product Watch ‘
‘ THE NEW QUALCOMM pdQ
‘ Watch for the pending release of Qualcomm’s ‘
‘ new CDMA phone (to be called ‘pdQ’). It’s also a ‘
‘ PalmPilot that: ‘
‘ * Uses the Palm operating system and ‘
‘ applications (e.g. address book, etc.) ‘
‘ * Sends wireless E-Mail messages or initiates ‘
‘ calls by tapping on an address book entry. ‘
‘ * Looks like a Motorola 550 flip phone ‘
‘ * Has a cradle for data synchronization with your ‘
‘ your PC ‘
‘ * Offers talk time of about 2.5 hours with 40 hours ‘
‘ of standby. ‘
‘ Pricing on the ‘pdQ’ is not yet announced. ‘
‘ OFFICE 2000 ‘
‘ Microsoft’s Office has achieved a level of accept- ‘
‘ ance that takes it well beyond just another product. ‘
‘ So the pending upgrade justifiably generates a lot ‘
‘ of interest. ‘
‘ Based on preliminary reviews we think the ‘
‘ attention and the upgrade will be justified. ‘
‘ Particularly for businesses that are hesitating to ‘
‘ turn their disks full of files into a working infor- ‘
‘ mation resource. The reason is a new level of ‘
‘ integration with the World-Wide-Web’s HTML ‘
‘ (HyperText Markup Language) that allows users ‘
‘ to create WWW pages as easily as documents ‘
‘ with the familiar Fileà SaveAs command. ‘
‘ Look for more on Office 200 and WWW integration ‘
‘ in the next issue of E-News. ‘
‘ LIVEPICTURE ‘
‘ Net Publishing Systems new product ‘LivePicture’ ‘
‘ allows users to put heavily formatted PC-based ‘
‘ documents through a process that creates a ‘
‘ viewable WWW page. Even better those viewing ‘
‘ the WWW pages can generate printouts that are ‘
‘ as richly formatted as the originals they came ‘
‘ from. ‘
‘ The trick is LivePicture’s use of Adobe’s popular ‘
‘ PDF (Portable Document Format) and an on-the- ‘
‘ fly conversion from PDF to a WWW compatible ‘
‘ graphic (e.g. GIF) image. When desired those ‘
‘ viewing the WWW pages can access the ‘
‘ associated PDF and print it on their local printer. ‘
‘ Note: That PDF technology is easily accessible. ‘
‘ You could reasonably set your self up to generate ‘
‘ PDF’s of detailed forms that are completed for a ‘
‘ specific purpose. The PDF can be easily trans- ‘
‘ mitted by E-Mail, viewed with LivePicture on the ‘
‘ World-Wide-Web and printed on most any laser ‘
‘ printer in original form WITHOUT the software that ‘
‘ created the original. ‘
‘ ID BY EYE ‘
‘ Before long you’ll be able to purchase airline ‘
‘ tickets, make ATM withdrawals and place stock ‘
‘ trades just by looking into an Iris-Scan machine. ‘
‘ For about $5,000 (not a lot if it reduces or ‘
‘ prevents fraud) a typical ATM machine can be ‘
‘ upgraded to positively identify the customers who ‘
‘ use it. Companies with interest and deals in the ‘
‘ works include Citibank (they’re about to launch a ‘
‘ pilot test) and NCR (they‘re the world’s largest ‘
‘ maker of ATMs).
‘ Users will benefit too since PIN numbers, and ‘
‘ eventually even their ATM cards, will no longer be ‘
‘ needed. The technology is currently available ‘
‘ only from Sensar, Inc. For more info. see ‘
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,3441,2134659,00.html
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‘ -------------Item Three---------- ‘
‘ FIVE STRATEGIC LINKS ‘
‘ Following are links that are useful, interesting, ‘
‘ and show the future of the Internet. ‘
‘ 1. TWENTY QUESTIONS ‘
‘ This is an experimental artificial intelligence ‘
‘ program that’s been around for years and is now ‘
‘ accessible on the Internet at http://207.236.3.210/~robinb/avm.html . It’s purpose ‘
‘ is rather simple but its behaves in a complex and ‘
‘ potentially valuable way. People like you told it ‘
‘ everything that it knows provided it all the ‘
‘ questions that it asks. The more it is played, the ‘
‘ better it gets. Try it! ‘
‘ 2. MOVIES, MUSIC & MORE… ‘
‘ THAT FIT YOUR TASTE ‘
‘ FireFly.Com at http://www.ffly.com is a place ‘
‘ where you can determine what movies, music, ‘
‘ etc. might of particular interest to you. The ‘
‘ designers simply request your evaluation of these ‘
‘ items, record your answers and compare yours to ‘
‘ those of others. This gives Fire Fly a knowledge ‘
‘ base that lets it guess pretty well as what will ‘
‘ interest you and that anonymously helps others ‘
‘ using your responses. ‘
‘ This site is an interesting, effective and potentially ‘
‘ very useful way of creating a knowledge base that ‘
‘ everyone (users, authors, advertisers, etc.) can ‘
‘ benefit from. ‘
‘ Thanks for reviewing E-News. Please E-Mail ‘
‘ us back if you get to here. Readers 2 and 9 ‘
‘ will get 4 trips on Sacramento’ s own River ‘
‘ Otter Taxi. ‘
‘ 3. MYERS-BRIGGS TESTING ‘
‘ Here is a definitive description of what this ‘
‘ well-established personality testing tool is all ‘
‘ about. If you have a copy of the test or better yet ‘
‘ the results this is a good place to begin under- ‘
‘ standing what it means. ‘
http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/psychology/alt.psychology.personality/FAQ.almost
‘ 4. CYBER ATLAS ‘
‘ Bills itself as the reference desk for Web ‘
‘ Marketing. It includes demographics data, ‘
‘ analysis, resources and more all at http://www.cyberatlas.com
‘ 5. MEMORABLE PHONE NUMBERS?
‘ They’re strategic if they work. To help you take ‘
‘ a look at the useful tool at www.phonespell.com
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‘ -------------Item Four----------- ‘
‘ STRATEGIC SYSTEMS ADVISORY ‘
‘ PANEL, 2SS.Com, and YOUR ‘
‘ SUBSCRIPTION ‘
‘ Maybe the best reason to subscribe is ‘
‘ the ‘E-News Strategic Technology ‘
‘ Advisory Panel’, a growing list of ‘
‘ professionals in a variety of disciplines ‘
‘ who have agreed to: ‘
‘ 1--Review each month’s issue in ‘
‘ advance of its release to help make ‘
‘ sure we’re doing what we intend. ‘
‘ 2--Contribute throughout the year ‘
‘ from their respective areas of ‘
‘ specialization. ‘
‘ 3--Accept your strategic systems ‘
‘ technology questions. (That is a ‘
‘ free, EXTRAORDINARILY ‘
‘ CONVENIENT, multi-discipline ‘
‘ resource available any time to respond ‘
‘ to what’s on your mind.) ‘
‘ Computer Hardware and Software ‘
‘ Acquisition, Service and Repair by Ron ‘
‘ Ellis of 2SS.Com. ‘
‘ Legal issues and specific expertise in ‘
‘ corporate and securities law, nonprofits, ‘
‘ licensing and franchising by William Van ‘
‘ der Mei, Principal of The Van der Mei ‘
‘ Law Firm. ‘
‘ Accounting and Financial expertise include- ‘
‘ ing Audit, Tax and General Business ‘
‘ Consulting by David Ljung, Principal at ‘
‘ Gilbert Accountancy Corporation. Visit ‘
‘ them at www.GilbertCPA.com. ‘
‘ Human Resources expertise including ‘
‘ problem employees, policy and procedures; ‘
‘ and customized training by B.J. Flora of B.J. ‘
‘ Flora Associates. ‘
‘ Computer network design, implementation, ‘
‘ maintenance and support by Ron Ellis, ‘
‘ Managing Director of 2SS.Com. ‘
‘ Computer and printer rentals of all ‘
‘ types by Rick Randall, President of ‘
‘ RenTech Computers. Visit them at ‘
‘ Corporate and professional skill training ‘
‘ by Ann McCandless, Owner and founder ‘
‘ of Computer Assistance. Visit them at ‘
‘ Strategic Planning, turnarounds, marketing ‘
‘ analysis, and litigation support by Peter H. ‘
‘ Michael, President of The Michael Consulting ‘
‘ Group. Visit them at www.mcgmcg.com. ‘
‘ Internet WWW authoring, database ‘
‘ development and connectivity by ‘
‘ Michael Nelson, President of SacWeb.. ‘
‘ Visit them at www.SacWeb.Com. ‘
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‘ Contact: [[Contact:26]] ‘
‘ Company: [[Company:25]] ‘
‘ Title: [[Title:46]] ‘
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