Newsletter - February 2014

Editorial

January blew us away and we have never been so busy fulfilling customer requirements.  This helped us do the first upgrades of our out-dated hardware and gain significant benefits in productivity!  A big thank you to all our customers who made this possible!

We are finding that having clear targets set for everyone in our company is really working the change that we have needed.  Our selling efforts are assisted by following the Value Selling methodology as well and constantly updating these skills with their well-written articles.  In addition, we are constantly doing product training online to ensure that we know what we are talking about when you ask us the questions that you want answered.

Special on Adobe Creative Cloud for teams seats purchased before 28 February 2014

Make this your last upgrade: with a Creative Cloud for teams membership your team is always up to date. And, with pricing guaranteed until 2015, you can benefit from these savings for up to two years.

• Existing Creative Cloud for teams and CS (version 3 and later) customers who purchase Creative Cloud for teams COMPLETE for $480 per year (per seat before 28 February will be guaranteed that same price at renewal. THAT’S UP TO 40% SAVINGS FOR UP TO TWO YEARS!

• Existing Creative Cloud for teams and CS (version 3 and later) customers who purchase a Creative Cloud for teams SINGLE APP for $480 per year (per seat) before 28 February will be guaranteed that same price at renewal. THAT’S UP TO 33% SAVINGS FOR UP TO TWO YEARS!

- Creative Cloud for teams complete

Existing Creative Cloud for teams and CS (version 3 and later) customers who purchase Creative Cloud for teams complete for $480 per year (per seat) will be guaranteed that same price at renewal.

- Creative Cloud for teams single app

Existing Creative Cloud for teams and CS (version 3 and later) customers who purchase a Creative Cloud for teams SINGLE APP for $239 per year before 28 February will be guaranteed that same price at renewal. THAT’S UP TO 33% SAVINGS FOR UP TO TWO YEARS!

Terms and Conditions

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. If you own Creative Suite through an Adobe volume licensing program, save up to US$30.00 per seat when you enrol in the Adobe Value Incentive Plan (VIP) and purchase a Creative Cloud for teams complete annual plan membership (12-month contract required) before 11:59pm on 28 February 2014.

Creative Cloud for teams complete regular price is US $69.99. If you own Creative Suite through an Adobe volume licensing program, save up to US $10.00 per seat when you enrol in the Adobe Value Incentive Plan (VIP) and purchase a Creative Cloud for teams single app annual plan membership (12-month contract required) before 11:59pm on 28 February 2014. Discount valid and available with initial seat purchase,

Suite customers (CS3 or later) who enrol in the Adobe Value Incentive Plan and who purchase Creative Cloud for Teams through authorised Adobe corporate resellers.  Offer is valid only for your first year and the first year renewal pricing,  Offer discounts may not be applied retroactively. All pricing (including renewal) cannot be guaranteed if purchased from any other Adobe reseller.

Additional terms and conditions may apply.

Residents or persons in embargoed countries or countries subject to US or local export and prices are subject to change without notice and exclude shipping, handling, and services. Prices quoted are USD, local currency equivalents will apply in EMEA.

SAVE UP TO 40%

Please ask Judith or Willy for quotes.

Autodesk Specials for Q1 2015 ending between 28 February 2014 and 22 April 2014

There are two special running in this period:

Discounts to upgrade all Autodesk products to the current version, except for LT.  This quarter's discount is 30% of the current upgrade cost.  The 2008 legacy products can only be upgraded before 1st March 2014.  Thereafter all products will not be upgradable from 1 February 2015.

Product Design Suite Special

The message here is "Improve documentation and visualisation to win more deals and rise to the next level of professionalism"

Customers purchasing a Product Design Suite Standard will receive a free Inventor.  If you purchase Product Design Suite Premium or Ultimate, then Inventor Professional will be given for free.  In both cases the subscription on the Inventor give always will be optional.  We would advise that you take it.

Please contact Judith or Willy for quotes

Autodesk Subscription Changes

From 1 March 2014, it will no longer be possible to upgrade Autodesk products from 2008 or earlier.  From 1 February 2015, upgrades of Autodesk products will no longer be available and all products will have to be brought new.

So keeping your subscriptions up to date now gives real value to your Autodesk product users.  They include the following

For more information go to https://360.autodesk.com/landing and https://www.autodesk.com/subscription/overview

PC Tip: An Outlook e-mail Signature

You can easily make your e-mails look more professional by adding a signature.  In Outlook 2010 or 2013, click File (menu) > Options > Mail (tab) > Signatures [button].  Click the [New] button to add a new signature.  Type, or paste from elsewhere, your standard closing, including name and company details.  Add a graphic if you like, but don't put contact details into the picture, because it can easily get lost.  Use your standard company font and colours.  Finally, at top right, set the signature as the default for new messages and replies/forwards.  Click OK twice and you're done.  All your messages will now be created with your standard signature.

Green Tip

To make a real change in your cleaning bills, use white vinegar instead of expensive chemicals for washing floors, cleaning toilets, sinks and surfaces.  The notion that you need chemicals to destroy germs is in fact counter-productive as killing germs this way produces super resistant bugs instead.  Using a wash ball produces clean clothing just as efficiently as chemical washing powders that put strain on our waste water works.  Using the water, from your washing machine when you use the wash ball, for watering your plants is perfectly safe.  May take a plumbing alteration however the cost will be offset by the water you save.

Excel Tip #119 - The Data tab (X): Data Tools - What-If - Data Table (two-input)

We are looking at the "Data" tab on Excel 2010's Ribbon, in the "Data Tools" group.  The last button in the Group is "What-If Analysis".  This button has a submenu consisting of three items: Scenario Manager, Goal Seek, and Data Table.  We started looking at Data Table last time (a one-input table), and will look at two-input tables today.

As mentioned, Data Table allows you to create a table of the results of plugging different values into a formula.

A two-input Data Table has a row and a column each containing values that will be plugged into a formula.  The formula must be located where the row and column meet.  Two cells, containing the two inputs into the formula, can be located anywhere outside of the table.

Example 1: A simple multiplication table.

  1. Set up the values in row 3 and column B of a spreadsheet as shown below left (remember, you can type 1, 2, then select both cells and drag the "+" icon at the bottom right corner to the range you want to fill).
  2. In cell B3, where the heading row and column meet, enter the formula =K1*L1 (we could use any cells).
  3. Select the range B3:L13 (heading row and column, and cells underneath and alongside).
  4. On the Data tab, in the Data Tools group, click the "What-If Analysis" drop-down list and choose "Data Table".
  5. The "Data table" dialog box shown above, opens.
  6. The Row input cell is K1.
  7. The Column input cell is L1.  Click OK.
  8. The answers to the formula (values) are filled in in the range C4:L13.

That was easy!  However, what if the formula is not symmetrical?

Example 2: A Table of Powers.

  1. On a new sheet, set up the values in row 3 (red) and column B (blue) shown above right (you could copy from the previous table).
  2. In cell B3, where the heading row and column meet, enter the formula =G1^H1.
  3. Select the range B3:H13 (heading row and column, and cells underneath and alongside).
  4. On the Data tab, in the Data Tools group, click the "What-If Analysis" drop-down list and choose "Data Table".
  5. The "Data table" dialog box shown above, opens.
  6. The Row input cell is H1 (the power), using red figures in the row.
  7. The Column input cell is G1 (the base), using blue figures in the column.  Click OK.
  8. The answers to the formula (values) are filled in in the range C4:H13, as shown above right.

In the next issue, we will move on to the "Outline" group, looking at grouping, ungrouping, and subtotals.

Computius Say:

Guide to Computer Terms:
"Obsolete" -- Any computer you own.

Remember:  We can make your business run better by:

All the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick

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