Current Efficient Communications Part II

Once again, early this morning I attended a case whereby this well established company admin manager requested my immediate help. I found a 15min slot empty and he hurriedly came, bringing along an oversize Tesco plastic bag.

No, he did not bring lunch for me. I was hoping for some light snack though. He revealed his ultimate Canon Fax Machine! Claimed that it was working for all these years. I was amazed to have such a well kept (aka ancient) machine revealed on my desk. Basic thermal based fax machine. The machine kept beeping away. Yea, the machine was in pain. Beep beep beep…. gosh, he actually did not notice that the LCD screen showed

[ Error : Out of Paper ]

I wanted to have the last laugh as he admitted that he had not noticed the error on that screen. He drove 15kms here to learn about the out of paper error. He deliberately asked for a roll of thermal paper which shortlived his laughter as to his horror, I told him that I have not seen any thermal paper in my inventory ever since two years ago. Sigh. So much for solution.

My front office girl seemed to be having a good day as she willingly brought her mind to work then. She quoted she could get us the roll of thermal fax from a nearby stationary supplier. We were all smiling again and made coffee where my 15min slot came to end. I had to postpone my due appointment and waited patiently for that ultimate thermal paper!

Another 10min of coffee with fax machine beeping away in the background, my girl finally returned with the thermal paper and some food for herself. Short of blaring at her about taking advantage of the out-of-office session all to herself, I quickly unwrapped and installed. Err… first install failed as I had the wrong side of paper up. Oh yes, the machine came with the auto-cut feature too. Made a copy run, voila! Perfect thermal imaging. Plug in  a line and made a fax test, ring, ring, ring…. auto received. All good. Client was happy, my office girl was happy.

As I was driving to another location, these details came to my mind.

His Cost
Transport + Time : Priceless

My Cost
Thermal Paper  : RM2 + Coffee
Time : Wasted
Pocket expenses for girl to travel : RM10 – she claimed her lunch!

How much did I bill the client?
FREE!

Lesson learned :
Stop supporting outdated technology that brings extra effort and more downtime and zero-income

With all that time spent, I could have provided him an email solution
- for him and his colleagues, configure his smartphone and sync with his laptop.

Well, it is just me…

Note : Already bought a dozen of thermal fax roll to accommodate ‘emergency’ cases – ha!
So much for current technology!

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Current Efficient Communications Part I

I must admit that I stumped every time I was being told to quote a ‘super efficient’ fax machine. The usual requirements – the fax machine must be cheap when comes to consumables, preferably refillable ink or availability of refurbished toner. Heck, is email so difficult to be implemented? Known to most of us, a simple email solution is ideal. Yet, most management people have difficulties to adjust to the latter. Why?

Fax Machine
+ simply punch the numbers and hit start (not true, when was the last time you use a fax?)
+ function as photocopier (right – black and white)
+ look more office-gadget (oh my!)

- waste of office space (unless hide under the table?)
- waste of another redundant phone line (although can be shared with voice line)
- waste paper/toner/ink (even refurbished ones do not come free)
- risk being strucked by lightning via phone line (isolator is not full proof by the way)
- junk fax as a result will add to more waste of paper/toner/ink (expensive models have junk filter?)
- maintenance (fax machines do get paper stuck, trap staples/paper clips/hair?)
- line busy syndrome (auto redial and hog the line)
- P&C syndrome (buy individual machine next to each management personnel?)
- out-of-paper (on-board-save-to-memory function does not come free too)
- dark tones, re-fax and re-fax, more paper and ink wasted

Email
+ type and hit send (most documents are typed electronically anyway)
+ need copies, reprint (for hardcopy)
+ need to cc (cc in email)
+ need to bcc (bcc in email – something a fax machine cannot emulate)
+ cost of sending / receiving (bundled with your internet connectivity)
+ read and archieve/delete (no waste of paper/ink)
+ able to access anywhere – smartphone / PC / Cybercafes
+ ability to send documents in actual form – (colour is a yes, pictures and movies too)

- spam (can be rectified by spam filter)
- clients do not have email to receive yours (where are your clients based? Utopia?)
- need to scan forms that are hand-filled (al-cheapo 3-in-1 printer settles it at RM200) or rather construct the form electronically and filled up electronically – any qualified admin should be able to
- attachments are applications specific (use pdf for portability)
- attachments risk being modified and manipulated (use pdf password protect )

Despite all that, most of the time I ended up supplying the email solution and a ‘back-up’ fax machine to be bundled with, the legacy remains…sigh

Should the supplier/client without a proper ‘working’ email

be regarded as similar to the supplier/client without a proper banking account??

Yes, a quick check on my calendar shows Year 2010, isn’t yours too?

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Generation-Y : The time is now

Those who have birth dates ranging from late 1970s to late 1990s are the current trendsetters inclusive of IT world of gadgets and internet. Without them, iPhones, Blackberries and Androids would not be today’s smartphones. Facebook, tweeter, blogs and emails would never be mainstream. Let’s face it, either join them or get lost failing to trail them.

Business and communications today are vital and have embraced a new world. Phone calls and paper documents are not essential and at times seem to be a burden to all. A generic Gen-Y working model would have a new dimension and failure to adhere to it will spell inefficiency.

Gen-Y does not use snail mail any longer. Email is a the bare minimum. Direct messaging via YM, MSN, etc was favoured, now it has turned to tweeter and facebook. Contact bearing phone numnbers are considered legacy as instant messaging via email, facebook, tweeter is essential for communication.

Paper documents – invoices, bills and quoatations are no longer as hard copies. Regardless of applications being used, pdf is being used. Google’s doc is being utilised for document sharing. I still remember one of my clients requires me to send him invoices with a rubber stamp for legality. I shipped him a piece so that he can print my invoices received via email and had it stamped at his disposal. So much for legality.

I have not seen any Gen-Y queueing to pay up bills anymore. It is done either via online banking or auto-debit from their plastic cards. Bills that being posted could even be opted as electronic bill via email for safekeeping. Infact most bankers nowadays have savings accounts that no longer come with savings booklet.

Seems to me the current world of IT has brought a lot of change. Efficiency is the key. Conveniency is imminent. However, traffic jam and long queues at banks and agencies puzzles me. Does anyone know why and where is everyone rushing to?

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Windows Explorer AppCrash – CLMedia.dll

Have you guys ever encounter windows explorer keep crashing whenever windows booting up.

Appcrash.exe due to clmedia.dll error.

Cause

CLMedia.dll will try to display the video thumbnails on your operating system. The returned video thumbnail size is incorrect and CLMedia.dll fails to display a video thumbnail, causing a crash.

Solution

Download a patch from Cyberlink “CLMediaRemover.exe” and run it. Here.

Were you expecting more steps? Well, that’s all you need to do… done!

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MacBookPro – the right timing!

I would not have believed that I would be so indulged with Apple let alone MacBookPro. Ever since iPhone was launched, I never really had myself attached to it then. Perhaps, learning about it would have made me yearned for it then. It must be due to the fact that I am a Microsoft-Intel devoter then. Apple and iPhone were just a fad to me… how silly one could be eh?

intelmicrosoft

Years went on and I somehow did manage to avoid being attracted to Apple products. iPhone was somehow out of my top-ten-list for no apparent reason. Plain ignorance. I reckoned the fact that Nokia and Sony Ericsson came to me as mobile phone successors had made Apple’s iPhone being shadowed away in my list of choices then. I had several laptops to my disposal weekly – Dell, Toshiba, Sony, HP, Compaq, Asus, Acer and even Lenovo.  Pure satisfaction and appraisal for the design and finishing quality had lost its appeal, in other words – I am getting bored. As a matter of fact, nothing from these manufacturers with a budget below RM5000 gives me the thrill. My last gadget was the Mini HP 1001TU and though it comes in a petite design and handy being a netbook, it does lack of oomph in terms of processing power. I actually found it useful for simple mobile banking and able to hide under the driver’s seat. Pricing it as entry level added up as an advantage. However good it might be, I found myself sneaking back to larger screen and the quest for better quality with something to show. 1024×600 in resolution is just a chore to use, scrolling up and down was already a task, scrolling left to right played with my patience. It was like having a compact car that could bring you around town routinely served as a very convenient transport but somehow, at times, the need  to have something that reflects a part of yourself, well, it does matter. At least for me, especially in meetings and client discussions. It posed to be inferior, if I must add, it shouted feminine. Only when I need to catch a drink and the need to be online, the laptop would be put to good use. Nothing any smartphone could replaced, not at the moment. Well, I found using HP Mini a little lacking in feel and it did feel kind of like using glossy plastic. Of course, the immediate cousin HP2140 might have been the replacement twin but deep inside I realised that I did need no more Atom processor powering my list of chores.

hpmini

I came across Sony VAIO and I found myself especially drawn to the Z series that has carbon fibre which I found it amazingly light for a 13in. Tagging at RM8K was just way out of my budget for portable notebooks that have resale values of 50% within the first year of age made me shy away! Somehow the same hype from  Microsoft and Intel gave not much of glory and excitement compared to those early years of computing.

Apple with the new MacBookPro with 13in came as a surprise. Unibody made from aluminium and the smooth elegant design became an envy to my peers. The Mac OS X is a gem to use. Perhaps the wallpaper could be copied to Windows. Perhaps the overall look of the OS could be duplicated onto Windows too. But the stability and the feel of the entire OS, the experience of using the MBP was just simply beyond my words, something a WinIntel machine had to catch up. The keyboard, the mouse tapping, the overall feel -nothing could compared to it!

macbookpro13

Now, do yourself a favour. Go check out one! Do not worry, it is very user friendly.

You will swear how much you have missed out all this while, at least in the mobile computing world!

Now can anyone poison me to get an iPhone? Hehe…

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Trying out the new MacBook Pro

I never ever thought I would be involved with a Mac or anything to do with Apple ever since I could remember. Heck, iPhone and iPod have taken the world by storm and not noticing them is as though I was living under the rock all these years! And how I have been ignorant on the fact!

Enough is enough! I finally took the courage to do a quick survey. Budget to get a lappy within RM10K and below. Screen size and weight is utmost as I am always on the move – that is on the road with mileage of 8000km every month. And yes, that does not include flying or sailing.

I was tempted to Sony Z series that starts at RM8K. No matter how inclined I am towards carbon fibre, no thanks to my automotive craze on that matter, I cannot make myself to lug around a Sony Z series though it is light at 1.5kg, well, it is still a normal Ms Windows based system that shouts nothing fresh nor new. I guess I am in need of some new to be learned skills. Toshiba, Acer, HP, Compaq, Fujitsu may have some state or the art models but when my filter goes to 13in screen sizes,  I ended up with not much of a choice. I need something unique, not too mini like the ones I had before, namely netbooks from HP, Toshiba, Acer and Asus.

I am never being able to tuck or carry something with 14in and above as I patronise Starbucks and the likes. Anyone would have noticed how limited the availability of table space with your cup of coffee and the lappy on it. Sony P series would make my day if not for the extra small screen!

mbpmAnd it all happened.  I was walking pass an Apple reseller store yesterday. Just couldn’t help myself for not noticing that simple, swift, perfect classy look of the new MacBook Pro namely the 13in model.   The screen quality is simply breathtaking. And it is not bulky unlike others. Unibody made of aluminium is just my soup of the day I presume. And to add more poison, there is currently no available stock! Selling like hot cakes…and I want ONE!

Today, my order is placed online and pending delivery by DHL within two working days. 48 hours is not too much to wait. Google is my best friend today in search for all mac related knowledge.

To Windows users and believers, I am one of them and still very much adore and swear by it, as I daily use them. I know and come to an understanding that MacBook Pro runs Windows under bootcamp. Whatever camp that is. I am now into both worlds. Just like automotive, never hurt to have turbocharged and also normally aspirated engines. Petrol and diesel. Infact, hybrid would be next.

Now I wish I could turn forward the clock with a click of the mouse.
It has been transported from Singapore and now in DHL KL.

Reading up the apple.com is making me admiring more of it. 64 bit and OpenCL. Read them up here.

mbpkeym

4 July 2009 1038hrs would be a date to remember where the actual unit arrived via DHL.
It’s updated on DHL tracking system too. No time to post  now, busy time ahead.. Adios!

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jwgkvsq.vmx Virus Warning!

To all computer users,

New virus jwgkvsq.vmx is attacking all computer users all around the world as of now.

INFECTION :

It spreads through removable disc and also NETWORK.

CAUSE OF EFFECT:

Locking down all antivirus websites and shutting down software one-by-one.

Once a computer is infected, there is no easy way to remove by only using antivirus software. It will reappeared each time one logs into Windows. It also cannot be manually deleted because the file is marked as hidden & system file.

PREVENTION :

Scan all removable drives everytime before plugging into the computer.

Do regular scan and update your virus definitions. (this is utmost important)!

BETTER BE SAFE THAN SORRY!

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Can’t change video resolution?

Have you guys ever encounter problems changing video resolution although Windows have been reinstalled numerous times, the video driver has been reinstalled over and over again but yo no avail ?

Whenever you change the display resolution, the Windows screen flickers and goes back to 640 x 480?

There is an easy fix. Do not spend hours cracking your head.

Everyone must be thinking of DOING A CLEAN FORMAT of your hardisk right? What about your existing data and programs? Backup?

SOLUTION is here, scroll down.

one..

two..

JUST UNINSTALL SPYWARE DOCTOR!

Tada! Done…

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Microsoft Office alternative

kso09
Kingsoft Office is a compact, Microsoft Office Compatible, no cross training required office suite with Writer, Spreadsheets and Presentation. It has all of the features you have come to expect from your modern office software and a familiar layout allowing you to implement it at home, work or anywhere.

I have downloaded and using them now. 100 days trial, worth a try.
Best of all, it is green software – that is can be easily completely removed. Good design!

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Online Banking

Aren’t you tired whenever the need to do banking you would need to endure unnecessary time wastage in search for parking space, parking tickets, long queues,  travelling time to and fro and worst of all, we have been thinking it as a routine. A businees routine or hire a personnel to carry out the tasks.

Not until lately, online banking has improved tremendously and 80% of routine tasks can be done online. The only time I visit the physical bank is to the Cash Deposit Machine or Cheque Deposit Machine. And the added advantage is I do not rush and can be done even after official office hours.

Here are the links to most local banks available as of today. Check them out.

  


       

  

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