Technology Reviews

Learn PowerPoint

This is a review of the eBook, Learn Powerpoint: Become a PowerPoint Guru, written by David Tracy. Tracy is a management consultant of 12 years, where he focused on corporate strategy and M&A. This book is a a compilation of all the PowerPoint frameworks, tricks, and lessons Tracy has acquired, covering beginner to advanced topics, including presentation structuring, storyboarding, and PowerPoint diagramming techniques.

For anyone working in business, I would recommend this book. After all, PowerPoint is one of the most important tools in the corporate world. Its widespread adoption spans across roles, industries, and geographies. Whether you’re a college intern or a c-level executive, you will need to create effective presentations that engage your audience and effectively communicate your messages.

The book is an easy read, just shy of 60 pages, but packed tight with content. It has been divided into 3 core sections. In the first section, Tracy covers the basics of PowerPoint, which includes setting up your button shortcuts, keyboard shortcuts, a compilation of PowerPoint formatting guidelines, and a concept he refers to as the Consulting Presentation Framework. He asserts this Framework is followed by all major consultancies, such as McKinsey, BCG, Booz Allen, Deloitte, and so forth. It includes very specific rules around font choices, grammar, and content structuring.

The second section is all about “storyboarding.” He discusses several methodologies used by consulting firms, such as the Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle of creating your overall story, MECE in strengthening your story, and PCPV in structuring your individual slides for your exact audience.

In the last section, titled “The Art of PowerPoint,” Tracy discusses the different ways of making your slides look professional and pretty. This is a fairly detailed discussion, where he introduces a multitude of charts and diagrams; and the specific situations to use each. Personally, I found this to be one of the most important chapters. In addition, he walks through a detailed example of creating a unique diagram from scratch. The specific example he used was a toolbox. He started off with finding a representative picture on Google Image Search. Then, he outlined the steps of recreating it using AutoShapes and PowerPoint effects.

In addition to the PowerPoint eBook, on his website (learnppt.com), you can also find other PowerPoint resources. You can browse his store of PowerPoint Diagrams, download sample chapters from the eBook, and download the Basic PowerPoint Toolkit for free.

Android Development Kit

The new operating system developed by Google, Android, has been flooding many phone’s system and mobile devices. Today, Android has become a major platform for application developers.  Besides the operating system, Android also includes middleware and some key applications.

Also, there is Android Software Development Kit that offers tools and APIs necessary. With Android SDK, developers are able to begin the development of application on the Android platform by using Java programming language.

Regarding this Android operating system, Android provides easy way for whoever is interested in developing with Android. Android is able to enhance your own program to operate on all Android-based operating system devices. If you want to develop the program with Android, you don’t have to make any access to any Android device.

All you need to do is preparing a computer. By installing single program called Android Software Development Kit or SDK, you can develop your program through a phone simulator that comes with the kit. After installing the application, you can start building your first application.

Even though you are beginner, you can even try to build up a more extraordinary program, for instance an Android Sudoku game. By reading the manual, you may learn developing the application by gradually adding some features to the game. The book will give you suggestions as guidance. It also suggests you the ways to develop from the most basic program to the advanced one throughout this book. Moreover, with the course book, you can also learn about many things regarding Android programming such as user interface, multimedia, and the Android life cycle. So, it is suggested for you to keep developing your skills to create your own Android application.

As additional information, when you work with Android operating system and start developing application, you may need to know further about computer programming. In details, computer programming or coding is the process of writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining certain source code of particular computer application. The source code you will work on is written in a programming language. This code can be a modification of the source.
Furthermore, you should know that the main objective of this whole programming thing is to build an application that will perform certain customization. And to continue the application building process, you will have to apply the method of writing source code that commonly will need excel in many different subjects, involve knowledge of the application domain, and many more.

Salon Management Software

‘I’ve been managing my salon for years and I know all my clients like friends so what use would Salon Management Software be to me? I’m doing well and have expanded and now have another four stylists working for me and I’d like to take a bit more time off to spend with my family’.

Does that sound like you? Yes, of course you know what you are doing, you’ve been at it a long time and you can see from your salon you are doing well, but do you have control? Are you relying on your team to be as good as you? Are all their clients like friends? Do they share your ambition and can they grasp the bookkeeping side of things?

If that has raised a few questions, then read on. If you have Salon Management Software in place you have more control over your clientele and your staff and your admin. Salon Management Software would mean that you can keep client records with things like the products they use, their usual hair colour, if they prefer to come in on Tuesday mornings. If their usual stylist was off for any reason then someone else could still look after that customer with full knowledge of their needs. With Salon Management Software you can keep records of each stylist and what appointments they do day by day. You can generate reports that will show if one of your stylists is ‘dropping off’ and address the issue before it’s a problem and the salon loses clients. The other key element is stock control. You can keep accurate records of the stock on the shelves and the totals will adjust every time an item is sold or taken for use in the salon. These are just some of the every day features available on Salon Management Software.

Along side the day to day uses, Salon Management Software can save you time. You can use it to keep records for your accounts and generate profit and loss records, you can do your payroll, balance your till. All these things can give you a hard time if not properly controlled but with a click of a mouse all the information you need is in front of you.

After all, you probably went into business because you’re a great stylist not a bookkeeper. So let the software do the work for you and with the proper training and support your team can use the parts of the software that you want them to be able to access. This gives you the overall control so that you can step back and take some time off when you want to without worrying that it will all go wrong without you.

Salon Management Software empowers you to control all aspects of your salon with ease!

Affiliate Tracking

With a small amount of research and careful examination, you should easily be able to find the affiliate tracking software that meets all of your needs. In your search, for affiliate tracking software, it is likely that you will come across a number of different software programs and services. Just one of the many you are likely to come across will include Affiliate Traction. Affiliate Traction is a well known software provider that offers programs for those who run their own affiliate program.

This program is just one of the many programs that you will come across; however, you may find that it is one of the best. According to their website, Affiliate Traction claims that they are rated among the best by merchants and affiliates. This is one of the many reasons why you should, at least, take the time to familiarize yourself with the tracking software that they have available.

Additional features include multilevel campaign structuring, multilevel affiliate levels, and customized ads and banners. One thing that you may not find with most affiliate tracking software programs, but you will with Affiliate Traction, is a limited number of system requirements. In fact, Affiliate Traction is compatible with all computer platforms.

This means that you will not have to install any additional software or purchase expensive computer programs. As is, you computer should, in most cases, be compatible with Affiliate Traction. Although Affiliate Traction is considered an affiliate tracking software, you do not have to install the program on your computer.

A simple cut and paste and your computer and affiliate program should be ready to go. Something else that you may enjoy about Affiliate Traction is that you are given the ability to completely take charge of your affiliate program. Many other software programs are designed to make running an affiliate program easy; however, this often means that you are granted little access to the behind the scenes process. With Affiliate Traction, you are granted this information.

This means that you can easily add or remove an affiliate, although the program will automatically do it for you, if you wish. You can also remove any click reports, in the event that you feel one was suspicious or improperly acquired. With Affiliate Traction you must pay a license fee for the program, but you are also required to pay a monthly fee for hosting.

Although both fees are not charged by many software providers, it is something that is becoming fairly normal to see. Despite the fact that the cost of Affiliate Traction can be considered somewhat expensive, it is important that you remember everything that you will get. The above mentioned features and services tend to make Affiliate Traction well worth the cost of obtaining it.