MS Word 2010 some of the features:

• Work in Word Anywhere – You can now view & edit your Word document not only in Word, but in a browser, or your mobile phone as well.
• Bring Your Best Ideas to Life – Word has new functional features which provide artistic effects for both text and the pictures. You can quickly add screenshots which capture and incorporate visual illustrations into your work.
• Work More Easily – You can create, save, inspect for hidden metadata or personal information using the Microsoft Office Backstage view.  You can customize your workspace in Word so that the commands you use most often are all together.
• Work Better Together – In the 2010 version you can work together with other members of your office.  You can see who else is working on the document at the same time and what section they are editing.

MS Excel 2010 some of the features:

• Access the Right Tools, at the Right Time – You can create new files, open existing files, save, send, protect, preview, and print files using the Microsoft Office Backstage view. The Microsoft Office Fluent interface consists of a customizable visual system of tools and commands within Excel.
• Workbook Management Tools – They Include features like; recover previous versions, protected view, and trusted documents.
• Access Workbooks in New Ways:
  ->You can now access your Excel workbooks through your browser allowing you to view and edit the file using the Microsoft Excel Web App.
  ->You can use your Windows Phone 7 to view and edit your workbook using the Excel Mobile 2010.
• Some Other New Features include -
  ->Sparklines – tiny charts that fit in a cell to visually summarize trends by the data.
  ->Slicers – visual controls that allow you to quickly filter data in a Pivot Table in an interactive way.
• Collaborate on Workbooks in a New Way – This allows you to publish, edit, and share workbooks with other people in your organization.

MS Outlook 2010 some of the features:

• More Room to Manage Your Account – Microsoft Office Backstage view allows you to create or manage Outlook items, such as print commands and account management options. You can set up rules & automatic replies in this area too.
• View More Messages – You are now able to track and manage related messages, regardless of the folder that contains the messages.
• Process and File Messages Quicker – You can customize ‘turn commands’ and ‘procedures’ that you use most often into one-click by creating your own buttons that combine your frequent actions.
• Reduce the Noise In Your Inbox – You can ignore conversations and/or clean up conversations.
• Work Smarter and More Efficiently with Messages – Mailtips, forgotten subjects, auto-complete list improvements, resize attached photos, include screen shot, more spell checking, and expanded delivery information are now available in this version of Outlook.
• Get the Calendar Big Picture – These are are few items in you now have available; meeting suggestions, calendar groups, schedule view, and quick view.
• Work with All Your Accounts in Outlook – You can have multiple Exchange accounts and manage them.  There are IMAP improvements which make these email accounts now resemble other e-mail accounts.
• Stay on Top of Your Tasks – The ‘To-Do Bar’ has been improved and is now based on customer requests. It is easier to access your all-day appointments and events.
• Save Your Information – When you save Outlook information on your computer a data file is used. This makes for easier access to your Outlook data files because they are no longer hidden files, but instead in a folder inside your ‘My Document’ folder.
• Stay Connected – Outlook’s OSC (Outlook Social Connector) connects you to the social and business networks you use, including Microsoft SharePoint, Windows Live, and other popular third-party sites.
• Unifed Messaging Improvements – It allows you to receive and listen to voice mail transcripts and secure voice mail.

If you have questions for Susan you can email her. ]]> http://writingresourceinc.com/2012/03/27/390/feed/ 0 http://writingresourceinc.com/2012/02/21/the-importance-of-a-business-website/ http://writingresourceinc.com/2012/02/21/the-importance-of-a-business-website/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:59:44 +0000 Susan http://writingresourceinc.com/?p=386 Article Posted in the Family Law Section Monthly Newsletter
January – February 2012 Edition
by Susan Hilliard, Webmaster & Writer

When was the last time you looked for a business in the yellow pages of a phone book? If you said today, you are in the minority. Your clients are looking online to give away their business to lawyers, businesses, and companies.

A website is an inexpensive way to advertise your practice in comparison to the costs of phone book, newspaper, and TV ads which probably give you less business than an online presence.

Practices that are located in multiple states have the advantage of expanding their market across several time zones, even across the world. Their practices will not be limited but instead is always available through their websites.

Other Benefits of a Website:

Post Press Releases
Tracking Customer Activity
Save Money on Other Marketing Tools
Advertising Vehicle; Flyers, Special Events, Business Services
Changes to Practice Services Easily Made Online
Open 24/7 for Clients to “Contact The Practice” via Email
About Us Page, Is an Excellent Sales Tool
Makes it Easier For New Clients to Locate The Practice That Fits Their Need

Cloud computing very simply said is a way of delivering IT Services without the rigid boundaries of a normal IT infrastructure.

How is it done?

• Through Cloud Storage

Cloud infrastructures can easily scale up the number of virtual instances, because they are all independent.

Cloud storage is basically an online storage area. Dropbox.com is an example of a cloud app at work, also Google apps such as docs, calendars, etc… that’s the cloud or SAAS (Software As A Service, (ie) off the desktop and accessible anywhere through the Internet).

Some other examples of cloud storage setups are Apples iCloud, Microsoft Private Cloud, Cloud Vextex, IBM Cloud Computing, HP Cloud, Rackspace Cloud computing, Symantec Cloud, Box.net or Amazon S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service) . A lot of cloud storage setups use the Amazon cloud storage infrastructure as their backbone. It provides fully redundant data storage infrastructure that can be accessed at anytime from any location using their Internet connections. You can store and retrieve data from the cloud.

Once an Internet protocol connection is established among several computers, it is possible to share services with anyone in the cloud.

A typical IT infrastructure keeps all the servers, apps, and data storage backups in their local data center. When a company uses cloud computing all of their data and apps are stored within the cloud thus allowing more flexibility and allowing them to access their documents and apps from any location through the Internet. Multiple individuals can share and work on apps, documents together within the cloud.

Features listed by manufacturer:

Old Time Publishing, which by the way wasn’t that long ago included the following;

A writer submitting his/her manuscript to agents and publishing houses, and for the majority their work was rejected, possibly never read and the person (writer) wasn’t taken seriously.  Some publishing houses would not allow you to submit a manuscript unless you had an agent, and most agents would not take on new unknown writers.

You, as the writer, were caught in the endless circle of who, what, and where.  It was frustrating to say the less and caused many a good writer to just quit their passion and look for a real job.  How many brilliant writers did we lose because of that process?

Thus enters the present day of social media, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, E-books, and Self-Publishing your own book through companies like; Lulu, Amazon, Trafford, 48hrbooks, InstantPublisher, Diggypod, Createspace, Souskirspress, MoririsPublishing, WriteandPublishyourBook, CafePress, and the list goes on and on….

The truth is, if you go with a small self-publishing firm you retain all the publishing rights.  You pay to have the book published but in turn receive all the profit from sales of your book.  By keeping or obtaining your publishing rights for your book, this is where the true money is made.  Remember I said that and don’t just sign away your publishing rights to your book, your music, your poetry, or anything else you do.

How do I know this? My ex-husband of many years ago wrote a technical book and received 2% of the publishing proceeds from the book.  The publishing company on the other hand received 98% of the profit.  Yes, they incurred the cost of publishing the book and distribution of the book, but then the rest was all profit for the publishing house.

The power of social media has helped to push our words forward to others, through Twitter and other such social medias.  In this new day and age, anyone with a blog or the power to type, can become a writer of words.  If you have a message to be shared or should I say a message you want to write, blog it, and post a link to it  Twitter or Facebook and thousands will read your message, whether good or bad.

Article writing also used to be for only the studied journalism majors, who wrote for the nightly news, magazine, local newspapers and now anyone can write their own articles and stories in their blogs, such as my blog.

If you’ve written a book and you’ve been afraid to submit it to a publishing house for fear of those dreaded rejection letters, self-publish it if you believe your book has a positive message to share.  You never know, someone else might even think it is great and it will spread like wildfire through the world through this new platform of social media.  Start small with an e-book and when you write your full-length book don’t forget to offer it in Kindle form as well.

The most important thing in the life of your writing is NEVER give up.  There is nothing but fear itself keeping you from writing or completing your book.  I was told one time by an excellent writer, the best way to learn how to write, is to read, read, read…. pick up every book and just read.  It helps you to learn the style and flow a book should take and thus helps you evolve to an even better writer.

Keep writing and stay positive and know that your work is worthwhile and great. You are a great writer.  Don’t wait for an agent or publisher to tell you this, self-publish and let the readers tell you.  Readers are your best and true audience.  Think about releasing a chapter as an e-book for others to read and critique for you.

And most importantly, keep reading and keep writing……

WordPress (WP) can be used as a lightweight CMS – content management system. It would only need some well thought out website architecture design. The majority of WP users though use it as blog software.

WP is increasing in popularity for other things besides just blogs. Publishers are using WP software to design websites for; news, magazine, law, sports, social networks, corporate, construction, medical, schools, boating, churches, personal and much more.

The question is why??   

Main Reasons For Using WordPress:

1)      Free open source software
2)      Easiest and most friendly platforms
3)      NO HTML knowledge is required
4)      Easily customizable templates
5)      Easy to integrate social media
6)      Easy to plug-in SEO into the site
7)      Widget plug-in to translate into other languages
8)      Easy to add new content without a webmaster
9)      Easy to use administrative dashboard
10)  Cross-Blog communication tools (trackback and pinkback)
11)  Allows for multiple authors

WordPress includes a key feature which means maximum exposure for your website in search engines and that is Ping-O-Matic. Here’s how it works. At the point when a post is written and published the ping starts. Ping-O-Matic will ping all the search engines to let them know you have new content. The search engines in turn will come to the website to index the pages.

The next day you will see your RSS feed in Yahoo and Google. Ping-O-Matic is one of the best SEO tools to send traffic to your website.    

Still not convinced? Here is a list of a few of the “Big Guys” who publish on WordPress.com?  They are using WordPress, why not your firm? TechCrunch, TED, CNN, National Football League, Forbes, New York Times, Reuters, GM, UPS, EBay, Sony, and VW.

As a side note, here are some impressive stats from WordPress.org:

• 64,169,976 WP Blogs in 2011 on Internet 
• 310 Million People View WP Blogs Monthly 
• 2.5 Billion Pages Viewed Monthly
• 500,000 New Posts Daily
• 400,000 Comments Daily
• 100,000 WP Blogs Created Daily

Grab this Beginners Guide to Blogging and Content Strategy PDF

If you have questions for Susan you can email her.

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by Susan Hilliard, Webmaster & Writer  

At the moment your client hires your practice, they are putting their trust and confidential information into your protection.  The client’s private, sensitive files on your network need to be kept secured against intruders.   By far, one of the most essential components of your business practice today is your network infrastructure. It is equally important to have a secure backup system in place in case of unforeseen issues such as; hard drive failures, network file failures, viruses, and other problems.

Will Smith, an IT Network Engineer/Specialist with the IT Group, has agreed to an interview for this addition of the Family Law Section’s newsletter.  He will help identify improvements to your network and backup system for your office/practice.  If you have any further questions for Will, you can email him or phone him at 239-289-9140.

Susan: Do you specialize in support of networks for small and medium sized businesses in Southwest Florida and how long have you been in this business?

Will: Yes for eleven years.

Susan: Is it true that websites can host malicious code, which can infect computers and thus harm the network they are connected to? If so, what would you suggest to protect computers and networks against attacks?

Will: Yes, that’s true. The best protection is to keep your virus, spyware and malware software up-to-date along with routine updates and scheduled scans.

Susan: Do you set the network policies on the server the same for every company to insure security? Or is this personalized per company.

Will: Each company is unique and requires an analysis of their needs, vulnerabilities, applications and their critical assets in order to develop a security plan.

Susan: Is it important that each user has their own login username and password even when they are working in the same office?

Will: Yes, part of creating a secure network is by adding unique usernames and strong passwords for each user.

Susan: Is a firewall essential for your network or not necessary?

Will:This is an essential security item that provides protection from outside threats, which is vital for every company.

Susan: Companies have employees that work from home or while traveling and they use a VPN connection to their office network. Is this connection secure?

Will: Yes, a VPN connection creates a secure tunnel back into the company network.

Susan: Would you suggest that a wireless router have a password for connection or is this really necessary inside the office?

Will Strong encryption is essential for your wireless router to protect your client’s files. If guests connect to your network consider adding a secondary wireless network for them on a separate VLAN. That way they are never in contact with your files and data.

Susan: Do you normally recommend a backup policy or procedure for companies you support? Do you also recommend a backup system or backup service and why?

Will:  My recommendation is both local and offsite cloud storage. There are numerous companies and plans to choose from which I usually discuss with my clients depending on their needs.

Susan: How often should network updates/patches be added?

Will: I like to test most updates in a test environment first to troubleshoot any issues that may arise, before installing in the production environment. When testing is complete, only then should updates and patches be added to the network.

If you have questions for Susan you can email her. ]]> http://writingresourceinc.com/2011/09/22/tech-tips-how-secure-are-your-clients-files-at-your-office/feed/ 0 http://writingresourceinc.com/2011/09/18/how-to-write-non-fiction-for-todays-children/ http://writingresourceinc.com/2011/09/18/how-to-write-non-fiction-for-todays-children/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:04:50 +0000 Susan http://writingresourceinc.com/?p=329 Research is the key word when thinking of writing non-fiction for children.  It’s very important to your subject because children are smart enough to know when you are fudging the truth.  Make sure you have all your facts in place when ready to start writing.

Check facts with experts; for example if your subject is on Abraham Lincoln, you might consider talking with or visiting the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.  The experts there could help you with the history on President Lincoln along with historical documents located there.

Books are also a great source of information. Reading other books on the subject is a great way to learn about your subject.

If writing a non-fiction book, usually it takes about a year to research and write a book whether for children or adults.  If writing a non-fiction article it will need to be submitted to most magazines 8 to 11 months prior to the magazine publishing it. If you are writing an article about Christmas trees, which will go in the December issue, your article needs to be research and complete by at least February to go into the December issue.

There are many different websites offering lists of children’s book and magazine publishers.  Here are just a few:

• AuthorHouse
• Choose Your Publisher
• Search For Publishers
• Every Writers Resource
• Publish America
• Trafford Publishing
• Children’s Publishers
• Writers Market

Here are some steps to start writing for Children’s Non-Fiction whether for a book or a magazine:

Step 1 – Picking out a subject

Step 2 – Figure out if this will be for a book or a magazine

Step 3 – Figure out if what type of writing

§        Personal Experience

§        Biography Books

§        Fact Book

§        Puzzle Books

§        How to Books

§        Reviews

§        Game Books

§        Photo Essays

Step 5 – Choosing Your Point of View

Step 6 – Start Writing

Step 7 – Develop Interesting Characters

Step 8 – Edit & Re-edit Your Writing

Step 9 – Submitting Your Article or Book to Publishers