Feb 11, 2005
Author: Michael Gough
I am often asked "Why Skype versus other solutions?" Well this is a loaded question...
I use Skype as a part of my regular Video Calls with my daughter which is called 'Virtual Visitation', but that is for another article. For more information about Virtual Visitation visit our parent website at:
http://www.InternetVisitation.org
I also use Skype for talking to family and friends. But "Why" Skype you ask. Well several reasons.
Skype to Skype calls are free
Great quality audio
Easy to use
It works anywhere you go
It is portable
It can call regular telephones
It is "cool"
It works on all popular operating systems
the hardware add-ons currently available and soon will be available
It works on a PocketPC
It can work just like a telephone - with a telephone
Non computer users can use it
Free is always a great way to get people to use something new when it comes to the Internet. Why Skype has succeeded where others have struggled are for many of the reasons I listed above, but the main ones IMHO are the following.
Skype is portable
Skype can be loaded on your home computer, laptop and PocketPC. It works on Windows, MAC, Linux and PocketPC operating systems and soon Cell phones. With being portable you need to also have a 'works anywhere' capability to be truly portable. 'Works anywhere' is our term that means that the solution does not need any custom configuration when it comes to networks and firewalls. So at home it works, at hotels for us traveling business people it works, hotspots, airports, family and friends homes when you visit them with your laptop. This is what makes Skype portable. Try taking your Vonage box with you everywhere you go. There are other VoIP solutions, but they have not been as successful as Skype... so "Why" Skype ?
Skype is free
Skype being free for computer to computer calls and being available on all the operating systems makes it 'cool'. Skype allows the 'geek' in us to call one another and it does not matter what operating system we are running and that is what is lacking in many of the other solutions to make it interesting to the masses. Though Windows is the dominant operating system we all use, there are many Mac and Linux users that want to communicate with Windows users and Skype allows just that - open voice communication between users of any operating system.
Being free while all of us spread the word about Skype is why it spread so quickly at first and got many of us to take a serious look at the beginning. Being FREE is what got other non 'geeks' to take a look and the audio quality is what hooked all of us.
Skype's dial out to a telephone SkypeOut is cheap. Skype's cost per minute versus a flat rate like Vonage and others offer is what VoIP needs and users want. We have all learned through Cell phone and Telephone companies flat rate calling plans that flat rates are not cost effective for most of us and we have seen them drop in price to gain market share. Calling cards and Cell phones helped to drive down the monthly flat rate costs and Skype has already made an impact to Vonage and others as I have seen their monthly rates drop to compete more with Skype. Unless you analyze your monthly calls and know exactly what you spend, use SkypeOut for a few months and do your own math, I think the answer is obvious. Unless you live on the phone, Skype will save you money.
Skype driving changes
Skype's fast growth and success has caused vendors to jump on board by either offering Skype with their products or by creating software and hardware that specifically works with Skype like the USB to RJ11 Gateways I discuss in another article. It is the availability of add-ons that take a product to the next level. Just look at the options available for the Apple iPod and what it has done for Apple and all their accessory makers. The reason other VoIP applications that are computer based have not grown as fast is this lack of product change and accessory creation. Skype is bringing VoIP to the rest of us.
You don't have to be a 'geek' to use Skype
Skype is cheap, Skype is portable, Skype is 'cool', but you do not have to be very computer literate to like or use Skype. Once you experience the quality and the ease of use and that it can be used just like a telephone - Read my article "Using Skype without being at your computer" to understand just how to use Skype with and just like a regular phone. This is "Why" Skype is 'cool' and dominating the VoIP market and growing just like the Apple iPod revolution.
Conclusion - Join the Skype revolution !!!!
We provided this website as a part of our Virtual Visitation efforts, but also because Skype is 'cool' and will become as common as Email and Instant Messaging in the next few years. There are other solutions and they are good solutions and Google has even announced they will be getting into the VoIP market with a Skype like product. If you use something else, try Skype with some of the add-ons we recommend and let us know what you think.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Y MIS IMPORTANT IN ORGANIZATIONS....
A management information system (MIS) is a system or process that provides the information necessary to manage an organization effectively. MIS and the information it generates are generally considered essential components of
prudent and reasonable business decisions.The importance of maintaining a consistent approach to the development, use, and review of MIS systems within the institution must be an ongoing concern of both bank management and OCC examiners. MIS should have a clearly defined framework of guidelines, policies or practices, standards, and procedures for the organization. MIS is viewed and used at many levels by management. It should be supportive of the institution's longer term strategic goals and objectives. To the other extreme it is also those everyday financial accounting systems that are used to ensure basic control is maintained over financial recordkeeping activities. Financial accounting systems and subsystems are just one type of institutional MIS. Financial accounting systems are an important functional element or part of the total MIS structure. However, they are more narrowly focused on the internal balancing of an institution's books to the general ledger and other
financial accounting subsystems. For example, accrual adjustments,reconciling and correcting entries used to reconcile the financial systems to the general ledger are not always immediately entered into other MIS systems.
Accordingly, although MIS and accounting reconcilement totals for related.listings and activities should be similar, they may not necessarily balance.
Without proper MIS, no firm can maximise efficiency and effectiveness : MIS Enhance communication among employees.
• Deliver complex material throughout the institution.
• Provide an objective system for recording and aggregating information.• Reduce expenses related to labor-intensive manual activities.• Support the organization's strategic goals and direction. Because MIS supplies decision makers with facts, it supports and enhances the overall decision making process. MIS also enhances job performance throughout an institution. At the most senior levels, it provides the data and information to help the board and management make strategic decisions. At other levels, MIS provides the means through which the institution's activities are monitored and information is distributed to management, employees, and customers. Effective MIS should ensure the appropriate presentation formats and time frames required by operations and senior management are met. MIS can be maintained and developed by either manual or automated systems or a combination of both. It should always be sufficient to meet an institution's unique business goals and objectives. The effective deliveries of an institution's products and services are supported by the MIS. These systems should be accessible and useable at all appropriate levels of the organization.MIS is a critical component of the institution's overall risk management strategy. MIS supports management's ability to perform such reviews. MIS should be used to recognize, monitor, measure, limit, and manage risks. Risk management involves four main elements:• Policies or practices.• Operational processes. • Staff and management.• Feedback devices.. Frequently, operational processes and feedback devices are intertwined and cannot easily be viewed separately. The most efficient and useable MIS should be both operational and informational. As such, management can use MIS to measure performance, manage resources, and help an institution comply with regulatory requirements. One example of this would be the managing and reporting of loans to insiders. MIS can also be used by management to provide feedback on the effectiveness of risk controls. Controls are developed to support the proper management of risk through the institution's policies or practices, operational processes, and the assignment of duties and responsibilities to staff and managers.
prudent and reasonable business decisions.The importance of maintaining a consistent approach to the development, use, and review of MIS systems within the institution must be an ongoing concern of both bank management and OCC examiners. MIS should have a clearly defined framework of guidelines, policies or practices, standards, and procedures for the organization. MIS is viewed and used at many levels by management. It should be supportive of the institution's longer term strategic goals and objectives. To the other extreme it is also those everyday financial accounting systems that are used to ensure basic control is maintained over financial recordkeeping activities. Financial accounting systems and subsystems are just one type of institutional MIS. Financial accounting systems are an important functional element or part of the total MIS structure. However, they are more narrowly focused on the internal balancing of an institution's books to the general ledger and other
financial accounting subsystems. For example, accrual adjustments,reconciling and correcting entries used to reconcile the financial systems to the general ledger are not always immediately entered into other MIS systems.
Accordingly, although MIS and accounting reconcilement totals for related.listings and activities should be similar, they may not necessarily balance.
Without proper MIS, no firm can maximise efficiency and effectiveness : MIS Enhance communication among employees.
• Deliver complex material throughout the institution.
• Provide an objective system for recording and aggregating information.• Reduce expenses related to labor-intensive manual activities.• Support the organization's strategic goals and direction. Because MIS supplies decision makers with facts, it supports and enhances the overall decision making process. MIS also enhances job performance throughout an institution. At the most senior levels, it provides the data and information to help the board and management make strategic decisions. At other levels, MIS provides the means through which the institution's activities are monitored and information is distributed to management, employees, and customers. Effective MIS should ensure the appropriate presentation formats and time frames required by operations and senior management are met. MIS can be maintained and developed by either manual or automated systems or a combination of both. It should always be sufficient to meet an institution's unique business goals and objectives. The effective deliveries of an institution's products and services are supported by the MIS. These systems should be accessible and useable at all appropriate levels of the organization.MIS is a critical component of the institution's overall risk management strategy. MIS supports management's ability to perform such reviews. MIS should be used to recognize, monitor, measure, limit, and manage risks. Risk management involves four main elements:• Policies or practices.• Operational processes. • Staff and management.• Feedback devices.. Frequently, operational processes and feedback devices are intertwined and cannot easily be viewed separately. The most efficient and useable MIS should be both operational and informational. As such, management can use MIS to measure performance, manage resources, and help an institution comply with regulatory requirements. One example of this would be the managing and reporting of loans to insiders. MIS can also be used by management to provide feedback on the effectiveness of risk controls. Controls are developed to support the proper management of risk through the institution's policies or practices, operational processes, and the assignment of duties and responsibilities to staff and managers.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR WIFE
How to take care of your wife:
In the world, one single rule applies to the men: Make the Woman happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played.
Here is a guide to the point system:
SIMPLE DUTIES
-- You make the bed (+1)
-- You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
-- You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-1)
-- You go out to buy her what she wants (+5)
-- In the rain (+8)
-- But return with Beer (-5)
-- You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
-- You pummel it with iron rod (+10)
-- It's her pet (-10)
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
-- You stay by her side the entire party (0)
-- You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a college buddy (-2)
-- Named Tina (-4)
-- Tina is a dancer (-10)
HER BIRTHDAY
-- You take her out to dinner (0)
-- You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
-- Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
-- And it's all-you-can- eat night (-3)
-- It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can- eat night, and your face is painted the colours of your favourite team (-10)
A NIGHT OUT
-- You take her to a movie (+2)
-- You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
-- You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
-- You take her to a movie you like (-2)
-- It's called 'DeathCop' (-3)
-- You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)
YOUR PHYSIQUE
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly (-15)
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly and exercise to get rid of it (+10)
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly and resort to baggy jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts (-30)
-- You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too." (-8000)
ENJOY THE 'BIG' QUESTION
-- She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) [Yes, you LOSE points no matter WHAT]
-- You hesitate in responding (-10)
-- You reply, "Where?" (-35)
-- Any other response (-20)
COMMUNICATION
-- When she wants to talk about a problem , you listen, displaying what looks like a concerned _____expression (0)
-- You listen, for over 30 minutes (+50)
-- You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
-- She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep (-10000)
In the world, one single rule applies to the men: Make the Woman happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played.
Here is a guide to the point system:
SIMPLE DUTIES
-- You make the bed (+1)
-- You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
-- You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-1)
-- You go out to buy her what she wants (+5)
-- In the rain (+8)
-- But return with Beer (-5)
-- You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
-- You pummel it with iron rod (+10)
-- It's her pet (-10)
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
-- You stay by her side the entire party (0)
-- You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a college buddy (-2)
-- Named Tina (-4)
-- Tina is a dancer (-10)
HER BIRTHDAY
-- You take her out to dinner (0)
-- You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
-- Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
-- And it's all-you-can- eat night (-3)
-- It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can- eat night, and your face is painted the colours of your favourite team (-10)
A NIGHT OUT
-- You take her to a movie (+2)
-- You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
-- You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
-- You take her to a movie you like (-2)
-- It's called 'DeathCop' (-3)
-- You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)
YOUR PHYSIQUE
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly (-15)
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly and exercise to get rid of it (+10)
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly and resort to baggy jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts (-30)
-- You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too." (-8000)
ENJOY THE 'BIG' QUESTION
-- She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) [Yes, you LOSE points no matter WHAT]
-- You hesitate in responding (-10)
-- You reply, "Where?" (-35)
-- Any other response (-20)
COMMUNICATION
-- When she wants to talk about a problem , you listen, displaying what looks like a concerned _____expression (0)
-- You listen, for over 30 minutes (+50)
-- You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
-- She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep (-10000)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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