Software Hints

Why do we need encyclopedias? The answer to this question is more than obvious. We need encyclopedias to share knowledge about our complicated and complex world. The encyclopedia is one of the oldest, but most effective forms of knowledge sharing. This was discovered already several centuries ago. During the 13th century, the first book printing machines allowed encyclopedia to be spread all over the world. Nowadays, an encyclopedia does not necessarily have to be book anymore.

There are encyclopedias on CD/DVD, and also on the Internet. The main advantage of electronic encyclopedias is that, contrary to books, they don’t have to reproduce their knowledge in alphabetic form anymore. This allows links between entries and very efficient modes of organizing and finding knowledge. In addition, the reproduction and distribution of knowledge CDs, DVDs, and content on the internet is very cost effective. Another advantage of electronic media is that they allow embedding pictures, videos and sounds into the encyclopedia. The disadvantage of these electronic publications is that one needs a computer to view them.

One notable electronic encyclopedia is Wikipedia, which is available online and for free on www.wikipedia.org. It is exceptional in the sense that contrary to traditional encyclopedia, it is not written by a team of editors, but by its users. That is also its main disadvantage, as the accuracy of the articles is reduced significantly by the fact that everyone can edit every article. A second advantage of Wikipedia is that it exits in over 250 languages. However, who is able to read that many languages?

To conclude: Wikipedia is a very nice source of information if one knows already enough to distinguish correct from incorrect information. Thus, for knowledge acquisition it should always be consulted together with a traditional encyclopedia.

Almost everybody has at least once encountered a database in his everyday life. We usually encounter them when visiting a website or when reading emails. But most people don’t even notice that they are working with databases, for the simple reason that they usually work in the background of a computer application. In fact, only few people know how modern database systems work, and this is why this article has been written. The main idea behind a database is to organize data in such a way, that it can be accessed and manipulated in an easy and efficient way. The difficult part of this is that the administration of the data needs to be tailor-suited to the needs of all potential users of the database, including specialized software products. This is where database management systems come into play. These are usually highly complex software systems, guaranteeing the integrity of the data and administrating the rights and priorities of the different users. The rights of the users define which user is allowed to manipulate which part of the data in which way. We have to imagine the right management system as gatekeeper that allows some users to edit or delete the data, while others might not even view it. The priorities among the different users define which user is served fist when the system’s capacities are insufficient due to a traffic overload.

Even the best database management systems are useless without data that is to be managed. This data is saved in a so-called database model. One has to imagine that model to look a bit like a big chart, in which all data points are entered. There are many different forms of database models, as the model is usually tailor-suited to the various requirements of its users. There are many examples that illustrate the variety of pieces of software that are dependent on their database system. The most notable are the automation of warehouse stocks, resource planning in medium and big enterprises, data warehousing in market research, and the administration of accounts and transactions in the banking and insurance industry.

Personalverwaltung ist oftmals vor allem für viele mittelständischen Kleinunternehmen ein großes Übel. Oftmals verlieren Unternehmer ihre ganze Zeit mit der Verwaltung der verschiedenen Mitarbeiterdaten und mit der Buchhaltung. Auch ist entsprechendes Personal oft unbezahlbar für die meisten Kleinunternehmer. Die administrativen, routinemäßigen Aufgaben des Personalbereichs sind nicht nur besonders zeitaufwändig, sondern zumeist auch sehr langweilig.
Was viele nicht wissen ist, dass es verschiedene Computerprogramme gibt, die einem zwar nicht die Arbeit wegnehmen, aber sie um Einiges effizienter macht. Zum Beispiel kann das Anlegen und Führen von Personalakten, der Personaldatenverwaltung, der Entgeltabrechnung und der Sozialverwaltung in einem Computerprogramm von mehreren Personen gleichzeitig gemacht werden, undabhängig von Ort und Zeit. Auch kann man solche Aufgaben bequem von zu Hause aus mit dem Laptop bearbeiten. Auch helfen moderne Programme mit Tipps und Tricks bei allen Tätigkeiten in Verbindung mit der Einstellung und Einführung neuer Mitarbeiter sowie beim Ausscheiden von Mitarbeitern.

Vielen Chefs ist es ein Graus, Stundenpläne zu erstellen und an die Bedürfnisse der einzelnen Mitarbeiter anzupassen. Die meisten Personalverwaltungsprogramme helfen auch bei der Bearbeitung dieses Übels. Die Bearbeitung von Arbeits-, Urlaubs- und Fehlzeiten der Mitarbeiter wird somit so einfach und effizient, dass zukünftigem Firmenwachstum von der Verwaltungsseite her nichts im Wege steht.

Ein absolutes Highlight der meisten Personalverwaltungsprogramme ist die Erstellung von Personalstatistiken. Diese helfen einem, bei der Verwaltung des Personals den Überblick zu behalten. Dies ist besonders hilfreich bei Vergleichen zwischen Mitarbeitern und beim Erstellen von Arbeitsabläufen.
Mehr Informationen zu Personalverwaltungssystemen finden sich im gut sortiertem Fachhandel und bei Fairclick.de

When thinking of voice recognition software, many people think of those Startrek-like computers that are able to understand what one is telling them without any difficulties. Many people don’t even know that a computer can understand their voice. And among those that heard of this feature, there are many that underestimate the difficulties that are connected with recognizing the computer user’s voice. One thing is clear. Computer can nowadays already much more than just typing a dictated text. The possibilities are manifold. For example, voice recognition makes the computer accessible for disabled people. Nowadays, one can even think about using voice recognition and text speech system in combination to allow sightless people using the computer to enrich their every-day life. In addition, voice recognition gives the computer a human touch that helps people to get used to it more quickly. Many mobile phones and car navigation systems can already be used completely by voice commands.