Newsletter - January 2012

Editorial

So here we are in the year that the Mayans says is our last or not as the case may be!  However this may well be a year of amazing changes caused by the predicament that the world's economies find themselves in.  It is increasingly obvious that we cannot spend ourselves out of recession and that all previously defined solutions to job creation are out of date.  Real change is required.

Not only can the centre not hold - it is already broken apart.  When things fail spectacularly, as they are doing now in many areas of life worldwide, then and only then can new ways be tried out.

There are some strong and innovative young voices making themselves heard throughout the world.  There are many older people also feeling the courage to disagree with the status quo, buoyed by the energy of those new voices.

It is an ancient Chinese curse that says "May you live in interesting times" - well that's what we all seem to have chosen for our lifetime!  Possibly because of this, may your creativity thrive in 2012 and may this year show up as the best to date.  Have a good year and thrive!

Maximizer Version 12 - Cloud Computing a Reality

As more and more software becomes cloud based, the sense of anywhere and any time becomes tangible.  Maximizer is working well for us and they have been cautious about the cloud format.

If you would like a demonstration of the solution, please give Thuli a call to make an appointment on 011 802 2685

Irontree Off site Backup

Is your data precious?  In these days of entire offices being stripped of their computer installations, a good data backup that is not vulnerable to theft is essential.  Irontree offers precisely this solution.  If all your data is stored on a server, then that is the only machine that requires the solution to be installed on it.  However, they offer a multi-PC solution as well.  Please send your enquiry to Peter at Switched-On IT.

Green Tip

The outcome of COP17 was "wait until next year".  Hardly worth coming for and very disappointing, so where to now?  Well, general awareness around your immediate area: Cleaning the verges, asking for storm water drains to be cleared, water and sewage leaks fixed.  Use www.mobilitate.com to report problems - it's a free service that sends your reports to your council department and your councillor.  You can also create "heat" by asking friends to report the same problems!

AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT

The Autodesk year end is 31 January 2012, so no specials for awhile.  We have discovered a very good source of AutoCAD books on www.kalahari.net, all at reasonable prices.  In addition, we are now able to offer Educational versions of the Autodesk range at very good prices.

Sketchbook Pro is still the best creative tool for designing logos etc.

Please contact Judith info@softwareafrica.co.za or 011 802 2685 for more details or to set up an appointment to discuss your drawing office requirements.

Excel Tip #96 -  Excel 2007/2010: Secrets of the Ribbon (XI) - the Insert tab, Charts Group

We continue looking at the second tab, the Insert tab, on the Ribbon.  The third group, Charts (graphs), has seven buttons, one for each major type of chart: Column, Line, Pie, Bar, Area, Scatter, and Other.

 

In each case, you select your data range first (e.g. A1:B14 in the picture alongside), then choose a chart type from the Ribbon, Insert tab, Charts group.  The chart immediately appears on the spreadsheet.  In previous versions of Excel a wizard popped up with various options, and you got the choice to put the chart on the sheet or in a sheet of its own.

When the chart is selected, you get a new tab on the Ribbon, Design (Chart Tools), circled alongside. You can use this to change the chart, or right-click on the chart for a pop-up menu.

In the example pictured, the top set of data and the top two graphs have numeric values (dates) on the X-axis.  The lower data and graphs have text data for the X-axis.  In the 3-D bar chart, Excel has put in its own zero numeric X- values (new in Excel 2007), whereas in the 3-D Pyramid bar, non-numeric X-values are evenly spaced. In the Scatter (XY) graphs on the right, the upper one with numeric X-range works well, whereas the lower one (text X) makes up its own numbers.

QuickBooks 2012

Now all QuickBooks users are on the same version internationally.  We will give more information on this version when we have had more time using it.

For more information, phone the team on 011 802-2685 / 6440.

Computius Say:

Man who run in front of car get tired; man who run behind car get exhausted.

Remember:  We can make your business run better by:

All the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick

Members, Communication in Action cc trading as Software Africa
"Empowering African Business with custom PC programs, databases, and templates using Microsoft technologies"
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