Week 11: Clear

Well howdy, welcome back to my blog. Today I would like to do an overview of databases and their general functions/purposes to you as a business person.

Primarily there are two types of databases that you should be aware of. The first one is the actual database itself; this organizes information and allows you to manipulate it a variety of ways to better help you analyze what is in front of you. The second type of database is a Database Management System (DBMS); this is not necessarily a database, so to speak, but is a way of controlling the databases you have already created.

A database can be used to analyze data in a countless number of ways, whether that be comparing you to the competition, organizing the purchasing patterns of your customers, determining the market segment to sell your product to, or keeping a record of your company’s money allocations, it works off the same idea. Take a bulk of “useless” information and put it into a legible, user friendly, useful analytical form. Moreover, a database can be just as simple as an email inbox or a pharmacy’s inventory.

Now, onto the second type of database; the Database Management System. This is essentially a requirement when working with databases for large corporations or industry giants. The DBMS is used to control and maintain the databases you’ve previously developed. This software helps you to integrate and collect data that would otherwise be independent of each other. For example, imagine if all hospitals were to use one single database. All the information from each patient, their sickness, recovery methods and results from treatment could be accessed with the click of a button, giving doctors a comprehensive view of what techniques work best, what medicines may have killed someone, or how long each person took to recovery from “X” accident.

Without the use of databases and DBMS’s you wouldn’t even be able to use a search engine. Not only do databases help organize information but they are an indispensible utility to all businesspeople, doctors, teachers and the like.

Excel Project

Throughout completing the Excel project I used a few previously known concepts, however, I also learned some new important features Excel has to offer.

First off, when I started this project I had no idea the range of formulas was so vast; it really made calculations a daunting task at first. The more I looked at them and "tinkered" with them the more comfortable I got. The "if" formula, for example, was my favorite. You can saw, if X happens, then make "NO" appear, but if Y happens, make "YES" appear. It's a great feature for having your numbers turned into a form thats easier to read and analyze.

Moreover, there are also pivot table features that I didn't even know existed! Pivot tables are a great way to set up a very sophisticated, easy to use table that analyzes the data from your Excel worksheet. As you can see in the cut-out picture above it allows you to either type in your data or choose from a drop down menu.

The following project was no where near as simple a I thought it would be, but it turned out to be a great learning experience. Not only did I learn some of the more embedded features Excel had to offer, I also gained a better understanding of how Excel works and why it is so important for business owners.

Week 9: Clear

For this week’s blog I will be focusing on Excel and its many uses in the business world. Version 1 of Excel was originally released for a Macintosh in 1985, followed by a windows version in 1987. Excel is a spreadsheet application that can function in many ways, such as, a simple day-to-day planner or meticulous in depth business analysis tool with graphs, tables, and complex formulas. Before the introduction of this application, accountants, bankers, investors, and any other person, from students to corporate lords, had to write all of their numerical data on paper. Imagine if there were a calculation error or a missed entry in a multi-thousand cell excel sheet; you would have to flip page-by-page laboriously searching for the error. However, since the introduction of Microsoft Excel, you can now search an entire document instantaneously just by hitting CTRL+F (find), your calculations will be perfectly computed, and your graphs and charts (once hand written and inaccurate) will now be colorful and free of errors. Excel not only changed the way business was done, it revolutionized it by making data more accurate, easily sharable/accessible and did so in a user friendly, aesthetically pleasing format.

One of my teachers, Eric Olson, said: “To me, Excel is the Swiss Army knife of the software world. I cannot imagine having a computer without it!” I couldn’t agree more with this statement; so I decided to make a fun image below to visually illustrate the capabilities that have been jammed inside the Excel application.

Week 6: Clear

This week I'm going to describe what a dual-core processor does and how it works. A dual-core processor is just want it says, two separate processor cores working as one. This breakthrough technology allows your computer to work MUCH more efficiently than a computer with a single chip of the same speed. This processor, however, is different than a multi-core processor, a single chip with two+ separate processors. This processor doesn't necessarily double the processing speed, rather it makes multi-tasking an absolute breeze. You can run tons of programs at once with this processor without having many drawbacks.

From this description I'm pretty sure it's self-explanatory on how this is useful in a business setting. For example, if you are running a dual-core processor and your boss demands 4 process-intensive things (i.e. download a company PowerPoint, render all the photos and videos for the meeting, research all relevant information about your competitor and do it while scanning the computer for viruses and spyware) you will have nothing to worry about. This type of processor is nearly a requirement for anyone needing to multi-task and get more than one thing done at a time.

Here is a website with some extremely descriptive information on dual-processors:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-dual-core-processor.htm

• Web 2.0 Project • Mediterranean Cruise •

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For my video I used a website called “One True Media”, which was very easy to use, especially being that this was my first time attempting anything like this. It was a step-by-step procedure making each part of the project as easy as possible. The interaction method I used is called a poll. It allows users that visit your site to make a choice (i.e. a,b,c,d options) to give you their input.

Throughout the process of designing my Web 2.0 story I learned many useful techniques that I can take from this experience and translate into my business life. This Web 2.0 way of presenting media would be an astoundingly successful way to get images, products, services and information about your company out to the general public. Not only are the programs free, but they are extremely accessible to anyone with the internet. I consider myself technologically advanced but this project did give me some trouble; I’m glad I got to work through it though because it gave me an entirely new skill to add to my “resume”.

Week 5: Clear

Flash storage is the new "hot" way to save your important data, and with good reason. Flash is much faster, smaller, less noisy (noiseless actually), uses less energy, and thus, is far supperior to the tradional disk storage on all fronts. If you think you haven't used flash, think again. You touch a device with flash storage at least once a day (if not consistently throughout the whole day). Items using flash include PDAs, laptops, iPod, digital cameras, mobile phones and video game hardware. This software is so dynamic that you can have up to 128GBs of information stored on a single portable USB Flash Drive!! That's more than double the memory a lot of people even have on their home computers. Flash is becoming more and more ingrained in our lives, and we should embrace this technology with open arms... Very wide, open arms.

-Nick

Week 3: Clear

Howdy,

This week I’m going to be talking to you about the importance of the Internet and the way it has literally turned the business world upside down. Prior to the Internet, if you were an entrepreneur trying to start a small business you would have to compete with industry giants who had all the money and resources necessary to sell their products cheaper and move them from warehouses quicker than a single person, or small team of people, running a mom-and-pop style business could ever do. Well once the internet emerged, this all changed.

The emergence of the Internet brought a World Wide audience of customers to a single marketspace. Now anyone with a computer and items to sell or services to be offered could be a World Wide contender from the comfort of their own home.

In order to surf the web, however, you need a web browser. A web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome) is an application software that allows users to access and view web pages. Each web page is unique and is contained within its own web site, a collection of web pages related to a specific topic.

These web sites can be used for any subject, can be accessed at anytime, and can be viewed anywhere in the world. This is what Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, saw and knew that his business could flourish in this digital environment. By making his store accessible through online access only, he skipped running a traditional brick-and-mortar store and made his rent $0 a month… Not a bad amount to pay each month, huh? This left him thousands of dollars more to spend on advertising, web site design, customer service and shipping costs leapfrogging his company to the forefront of the book selling industry.

Now-a-days the Internet can be used for literally everything imaginable, from finding movie times, lawn mowing companies, a wife or husband, to digitally designing a $1 million+ yacht and having it delivered and waiting a year later in your preferred harbor.

Without the Internet there is no telling where we’d be in the world today, but one thing is for sure, the opportunities the Internet has offered us has made life easier, more customer driven, and made reaching the other side of the world as easy as clicking open an Internet Browser.

http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/internet/the-emergence-of-internet.html

Until next week,

-Nicolas Wolfson