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DISCUSSION TOPICS
WEEK 6
Selecting PC Financial Software
The arrival of your January bank statements is the best time to start to set your financial house in order. There are many proficient software programs available that can assist you in starting on the road to efficient and effective personal financial management. The two most popular programs are Intuit's Quicken 98 and Microsoft's Money 98.
Both Money 98 and Quicken 98 can do a good job of tracking accounts, assets, liabilities and budgeting, but in order to get the most from these programs, a certain degree of effort is required. As a famous chef once said, "there is no free lunch" The first step when starting with either of these programs is spending plenty of time entering data and mastering unfamiliar conventions.
This year's version of Money contains major changes from the previous version, including interface changes and additional features. This has brought it more in-line with its competitors, such as Quicken. As the market leader, Quicken 98 has undergone far less changes, but overall, it still seems to have a slight advantage in overall attractiveness to the personal or small business user.
Both programs run on Windows 95 machines, but Quicken is also available for Windows 3.1 and Macintosh machines. Money offers a standard version and a financial suite version with extra features. Quicken's has a basic version and a deluxe version with extra features. There are also suite and home-and-business versions.
Both programs offer extensive ties to the Internet, with the ability to download updated software and data, including stock quotes. Most of this information is also available free of charge on their Web sites (www.quicken.com and investor.msn.com). Unlike Quicken, Money does not demand that you register the program before you can get on-line with it.
Money's great weakness has been its handling of tax matters. This edition is better at that but remains no match for Quicken's tax planner, which understands such things as self-employment taxes and the alternative minimum tax (AMT), and lets you store separate scenarios for direct comparison.
Both programs have home inventory software that can come in handy in the event of casualty or theft losses. Quicken's is more loosely integrated but far more detailed and helpful. Quicken also includes an organizer for records and accounts that could be crucial in an emergency.
Although in its current incarnation, Money 98 has made great strides in becoming competitive in this market, Quicken 98 still offers the most features, in this author's opinion to keep its market share intact. Demo copies of both programs are available from the manufacturer for those who wish to determine their preference on their own.
WEEK 5
They've Come to Your Web Site; Do They Like What They See?
When using a new technology to deliver a message, there is a tendency to get caught up in the technical details while de-emphasizing the overall objective. This is called putting the mechanics over the message. There seems to be an increasing awareness in the web community for the mechanics of web site design and promotion. Sometimes, at the expense of the purpose of the web site itself.
Internet magazines, ezines, newsgroups and email messages seem to offer a constant stream of suggestions and discussions on how to get visitors to a web site. Whether its through search engine listings and placement, banner advertising, ICQs, Links with other sites, etc..., this topic has and continues to receive a major push in the internet community.
Obviously, the best web site in the world meets zero objectives if no one visits. Getting visitors is one key to success. There is another key, the site itself. A review of web design firms indicates that most have the technical ability, but few offer any marketing, advertising or business skills. A Fortune 500 company would not go to their print department to design their advertisements, yet many companies are putting their trust in web design firms to design the content, instead of allowing them to focus on the implementation.
I recently visited the site of a well-known printer manufacturer. I was trying to find out if they sold any 8-ppm printers. After ten minutes, I gave up. Their opening page contained a large logo and other graphics, music, animation, a menu, and.....Nothing Else!. My travels from their took me to propaganda about their company, more menus, and eventually, to their printers. Finally, I found their printer page and in it a list of every printer. Could I search for a particular printer attribute? No, I had to click on each printer and read the specifications. It was a total waste of time. I am sure the designer's of their web site took great pride in its presentation. But, the objective of providing potential customers with information and incentives to buy was not met.
Some mistakes in web design are obvious. They include pages with large graphics and non-photographic graphics with 256 colors or more; opening pages that contain no useful information, but only a link to other pages; and pages with backgrounds such that the text is difficult to read.
Some mistakes are less obvious. They include opening pages with one or more of the following:(1) Music and other audio, (2) Java Applets and related code (unless crucial to site's objectives), (4) Active-X components, (5) Video (AVI) and (6) features that only work on one browser, including marquees and frames without a no-frames option.
When Infiniti introduced their flagship Q45, they decided that the Q45 commercials would show beautiful scenery with pleasant music. It did not work. Why, because they choose not to show the car. The message of "buy this car" took a back seat (no pun intended) to "see what a great commercial we can do". In web design, make sure the message does not take a back seat to the technology. All the visitors in the world will mean nothing if that happens.
The author, Ford Levy, has over twenty years of experience providing marketing and consulting services to businesses throughout the United States. He is currently head of Systems and Consulting for Maxwell Shmerler & Co., a CPA firm in White Plains, N.Y. Their web site is at http://www.msco-cpa.com
WEEK 4
You Log onto your ISP and are greeted with dozens or more email messages. Subjects range from "Hi" to "Make Money While You Sleep". You may even receive a message that you want to read.
I like to equate receiving unsolicited email messages with going to my mailbox and finding ten take-out menus stuffed inside. My reaction? - I throw them out. My reaction to SPAM? - The same, I delete it. Yet I see posts on various ezines as well as numerous articles in magazines and newspapers claiming SPAM is a bigger problem then global warming. Yes, it can take a minute or two to delete all the junk mail but, nonetheless, why all the anger?
The intenet, web and email services are new to most inviduals and businesses. In its evolution, it's in its infancy. As with anything new technology that works, some people will try to take advantage of it for their own personal gain, often at the expense of others. At the same time, as a new technology moves from its infancy to a more mature stage, this evolutionary process will weed out inefficiencies. What does this mean?
If you were to walk to the corner store, but when you got there you ended up back where you started, you probably would stop walking, even though walking doesn't cost anything. In order for SPAM to work, some percentage of recipients must read it and act accordingly. As SPAM becomes a more notorious and hated methodology, less and less people will read and act on these messages. SPAM will thus becomes more inefficient.
Eventually, even though SPAM is almost free, it will accomplish so little that the SPAMers will go away (or atleast find another medium). So, instead of getting angry, plotting schemes to seek revenge, and writing articles on how to stop SPAM, simply ignore it. It will, in my opinion, go away.
WEEK 3
Should Your Business be on the Web?
When the internet began, its main purpose was the communication of information to sources throughout the world. The first users never imagined that the internet would turn into the biggest shopping mall in history. Yet in many ways, this is what it has become.
Thousands of new firms and individuals are publishing their pages on the web every day. Some are home pages and sites that supply information to specific users. But just as often, these new sites are marketing specific products or services. Many of these firms are entering the web simply so they are not "left out". Others expect their overall sales to double or triple, simply because they have a web site. Yet, is the web really the universal marketplace that some make it out to be? And what is the best way to design a web site?
Any company, whether a Fortune 500 or sole proprietorship, should have a series of objectives before designing their web site. These objectives should relate specifically to the web site, and might include one or more of the following:
Before a web site design commences, a clear understanding of the objectives of the site must be determined. Too many web sites are designed without a clear set of objectives, the result being ineffective and inefficient sites that often must be drastically changed or discarded.
Once the objectives have been determined, a set of guidelines should be established. These guidelines help determine the overall architecture of the site and prevent mistakes during design that can prevent the meeting of the site's objectives. Some guidelines include:
Once objectives and guidelines have been established, the next step is to develop a site outline. Similar to an outline for a paper or report, the outline should indicate each page and its contents. For example, the following outline is for a flower shop's web site:
II. Menu to Other Pages (toc.htm)
III. Directory of Gift Items (gift.htm)
IV. Directory of Flower Arrangements (flower.htm)
V. Flower and Plant Tips - Keeping and Growing (tips.htm)
Notice that each page has the html name next to the title. This is especially important when multiple designers are working on the design of a large site.
The last page, V, introduces a concept that is extremely important, but left out of many web site designs. In order to keep your visitors coming back, and attract new viewers, your site must give something to the user for free, and it should be related to your business. In this case, a flower store is giving visitors valuable information on growing flowers and plants. This page might contain details on when to prune rose bushes, or when to plant bulbs, or what flowering plants grow best in the shade. By providing web users an incentive to return to your site, your main objective, in this case selling flowers, will have a higher chance of being met.
Once the design outline has been finalized, the project can be turned over to any competent web design firm. It is important to realize that although most firms have the technical knowledge to develop a web site, few have the business knowledge to design one. Do not make the mistake of turning over development of site objectives and outline to a web design firm, unless you know that their expertise extends beyond the technical.
Once your site is developed and uploaded to a server, the next step is to attract visitors. Next week, we will discuss how to market your web site, how to set reasonable goals for your site, and how to determine if your web site is successful. Stay tuned.
WEEK 2
It’s time to upgrade your PC when...
Etc...Etc...
So, when is the best time to upgrade? If you run DOS and Windows version 3 programs and are happy with their performance, do not plan on buying any new software, and have enough room on your hard drive to store your data, then upgrading is not a necessity. But, for most people, having a computer means purchasing new and updated software. This means running the latest operating system (Windows 95 or NT, for example) and having enough hard disk, RAM and Video RAM to run these programs. For these people, upgrading can be a non-stop affair.
There are three recommended ways to go about upgrading a computer system. One is to totally replace the unit with a new one. This is the most expensive route. Second, an upgrade can involve purchasing new peripheral devices such as a hard drive, RAM, Video card or modem. The third method is to upgrade the motherboard. This upgrade can provide the most improvement, but is not for the faint at heart.
A fourth way to upgrade a computer is to replace the microprocessor using an upgrade kit. This increases the processor speed, but has no affect on the other parameters, including bus speed, bios efficiency and features. I do not recommend this approach for it is neither cost effective nor efficient.
If you currently have a Pentium 166 or better, it is best to upgrade the RAM, Video Card and/or hard disk before increasing microprocessor speed. Given the cost of RAM, it is best to have at least 32 Mbytes, with 64 Mbytes not out of the question, especially if you like to run multiple programs at once. The best value in hard drives is around 2.1 Gbyte. If your hard drive is older than two years, or if it is smaller than 500 Mbytes, than an upgrade is recommended. You can still use your old drive as a secondary drive.
Do you like to play games on your computer or run desktop or graphics programs. Than you should upgrade your video card to at least 4 Mbytes of video RAM. In fact, many of the newest games will not run with less. A video card with 4 Mbytes or RAM can be purchased for close to $100 (or a lot more, if you wish).
What about MMX? MMX is an additional set of instructions that an MMX processor runs. Some of the new programs, especially games, use these instructions and will run faster on a MMX computer. The MMX versions of the Intel Pentium also have additional cache that slightly improves their performance with all software. But, if your sole reason for upgrading is to have an MMX processor, than it is best to wait. Since most motherboards that house non-MMX processors cannot run the MMX versions, upgrade involves replacing the entire motherboard as well as purchase of the new chip. The expense does not justify the results, especially with the limited quantity of MMX software and the limited benefit over non-MMX. As the technology matures and the current crop of microprocessors is replaced by a new generation, prices will drop drastically. At this point, an upgrade will be more cost effective.
What about the Pentium II? The Pentium II is basically a Pentium Pro chip with MMX. Speeds up to 300 Mhz are available. Although from a performance standpoint, a Pentium II running at 300 Mhz is hard to beat, it is very expensive. There is also another downside, the Pentium II is optimized for 32 bit software. If you are running Windows 95 or NT with only 32 bit software, then fine. If you run older 16-bit programs, the Pentium is a better choice, since it is not optimized for 32-bit programs.
If all this talk about microprocessors, RAM, MMX and bits is a bit confusing, you are not alone. But do not worry. We at Maxwell Shmerler & Co., provide computer advice to all of our clients. For more information, contact us at mshmerler@aol.com.
WEEK 1
FINDING A COMPUTER PROFESSIONAL
Imagine being charged over $1,000 to install a CD ROM Drive and 8 Mbytes of Ram. Or $650 to add a modem and install AOL. $900 to install a 1.2 Gbyte hard drive. Installation of a local area network with modem and internet support without installing virus software (the network was soon inflicted with internet downloaded viruses). Getting a repair bill for more than the computer cost, and having your computer, and all its data, held for ransom until the bill is paid in full.
As more and more individuals and businesses become dependent on computers to help perform their daily activities, more and more of these people become victims of unscrupulous computer professionals. Although computers are prevalent in most people's every-day lives, many people do not have the knowledge needed to maintain and repair them. Instead, many of us turn to outside businesses, that claim to be computer experts. Many times they are experts. Unfortunately, sometimes they are not.
The horror stories above were told to use by recent clients. Most of them did not know how much an upgrade or a repair really should cost, and thus were prime targets for computer charlatans. Simply selecting a computer company from an advertisement in the yellow pages, from a local newspaper or from a mailing is fraught with danger. Yet, searching for and using a competent and honest computer firm is not difficult, if the following steps are taken.
For example, to install a 12X CD ROM Drive (recommended speed) and 8 Mbytes of RAM should cost no more than $200, without sound card and speakers. Cost for adding a 33.6 Modem and installing AOL should be a maximum of $150. A 1.2 Gbyte hard drive costs less than $175. With installation, the cost should be no more than $300. And, anyone with access to the internet should have virus-checking software. It is very easy for someone to e-mail you a virus.
Do you know the difference between 28.8, 33.6 and 56k modems and which is the best for you? Are 24X CD ROMs twice as fast as 12X? How much RAM and Hard Disk space is enough? Should you switch to Windows 95? How about Windows 98? These and other issues will be discussed in coming weeks. Stay tuned.
Maxwell Shmerler & Co. provides accounting, tax and computer services for our clients. We have a staff of computer specialists to assist you. Whether you need software installation, hardware upgrades, network installation and repair, training on popular software packages, or just someone to answer technical questions, we can help. Contact us today.
