Transcript: TWIS.ORG Feb 16, 2010

Justin: This show is brought to you by listeners like you and the contributions that people like you are giving. People who aren’t you, who are actually giving. We couldn’t do it without them. So please, be one of them or unless that’s one of you in which, thank you.

Kirsten: Disclaimer! Disclaimer! Disclaimer!

As we passed from one holiday to the next, Valentine’s Day to President’s Day, the reasons for celebration change. We celebrate love and we celebrate those who work to make our nation great. Yet the underlying reason for celebration does not change.

We are humans who struggle through life who need a psychological break from the monotony of our existence. Celebrations remind us that we are alive and share this world with so many others who, like us, need to be reminded that each day is an amazing achievement.

And while the following hour of programming does not represent the views of KDVS, KDVS’ sponsors or the University of California, you are not alone in your love of science. And others are here to celebrate the wonders of science with you. Take the next hour as your holiday in the name of science and be reminded just how cool life really is on This Week in Science, coming up next.

Good morning, everyone. I’m Kiki, Kirsten Sanford. And I’m sitting here with Ali. We’re going to have a great show of science. Good morning, Ali.
Continue reading “Transcript: TWIS.ORG Feb 16, 2010”

Document Management Solution for SMEs

Document management solutions ranges from simple software installed on your PC all the way to Enterprise grade content management system. Most systems involve the following process:

1. Digitize (Scan) the documents.
2. Store the image on a server
3. Provide meta data to index the documents
4. Provide an indexing engine to classify the digitized records.
5. Allow users to retrieve the document based on search key
6. Show and allow print out of the searched document

Companies invest in document management system hoping to benefit from:

1. Having digital copies for backup purposes
2. Ability to quickly retrieve any digitized copy on demand without need for manual intervention.
3. Ability to share the digitize documents between co workers or even among branches worldwide without the need to courier documents.

Typical solutions provided by other vendors involves costly proprietary systems that tied down companies to their solutions. However, higher end solutions are not cost effective for SMEs. Morever, companies needed to train and hire extra staff to manage the system. The document management solution we provide is all inclusive of:
1. The software application,
2. The web based server,
3. The manapower needed to maintain the accuracy of the records.

Our solution boast of tried and tested workflow that not only ensures completeness but also accuracy of your digitized records:
1. You have the choice of either scanning the documents yourselves or sending your documents to us for scanning in our high speed scanners.
2. The digitized documents are stored and indexed on our servers.
3. Our team of highly skilled data analyst enter the metadata for you by tagging in identifying fields like customer name, NRIC, Invoice number etc.
4. Then our editors review all the entered data for accuracy. This second pass ensures accuracy of above 98.5%
5. Once the process is complete, any document that is tagged in this manner will be available for retrieval from any web browser connected to the internet.

Upon request, we can provide tiered security such that certain groups of access can only see contents in selected folders, and denied access for other folders in the system. For more info, kindly email marketing[at]futuregen.sg

Monitoring Service Expanded to cover Video

Since our team is monitoring networks on a 24×7 basis we decided to extend the service to cover also the video monitoring. A lot of video cameras are now hooked up to DVRs with internet capabilities. It would be simple for us to login and monitor the DVR from our NOC. By providing the service, our team can help owners and managers save time and manage the video review process.

The Video Monitoring service is envisioned to provide peace of mind to property and business owners with 24×7 staff keeping tabs on the remote video feed from newer generation Digital Video Recorders that have internet capabilities. Our team can also help plan the optimal location and aim of the various types of dome cameras for maximum coverage. Instant alerts are provided for every notable ‘incident’. This service can be rendered worldwide.

Our original network monitoring service covers network equipment and servers.

How to record Minutes of Meetings

The accuracy of audio transcripts depend in large part on the quality of the audio recordings. Some common challenges we see with digital recordings when you are recording meetings are as follows:

1. Noisy environments with background sounds.
Of course, the obvious solution is to move the meeting elsewhere. A very public and loud place isn’t the ideal location for meetings anyway. However, if that is not an option, then consider reducing the background noise with the use of high quality microphones like Behringer C1-U. Other option is to digitally enhance the recording by use of computer software to minimize the noise and amplify weak audio levels

2. Several people speaking at the same time.
Consider switching from using a single digital recorders to one that is computer based. This allows you to setup multiple microphones. When placed strategically, it can save the conversation from different channels (mics) into separate audio files.

3. Never Use Voice Activate mode.
To conserve recording capacity, most audio recorders have a “record when voice is present” (voice activated mode). While this does produce recordings that contain less dead air, it also has the unfortunate side effect of having ‘missing’ words.

4. Billingual Speakers
Be conscious of bilingual speakers that drift from English to another language. Chairpersons would be wise to restate the speakers’ non english comments into english and confirm its correctness.

5. Some unusual sources of noise include shuffling papers, coffee cups, dinner plates and cellphones.
Eliminate or minimize the impact of these source by banning them altogether, or if this is not an option, placing the microphones away from such sources.

Check out related topic on how to create minutes of meeting.

We provide audio recording facilities for conferences and meetings using our multi-channel digital system. Email marketing[at]futuregen.sg for details.

Cloud Computing and Virtualization Conference

APACTechForum is organizing the Conference on Cloud Computing and Virtualisation on Nov 25 and 26th at the Suntec Convention Center in Singapore.

Key speakers include Mr Stefan Groschupf, founder of Katta, the open source Lucene index project, Mr Manish Pratap, HP, Mr Omar Asad, CTO, Riverbed Technologies, Mr Satish Murthy, NetAPP, Mr David Loke, ReadySpace and a host of other key speakers.

Interested parties can visit the cloud computing conference site.

Punctuation Rules for Comma Use

Rule 1. To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more.
Example: My $10 million estate is to be split among my husband, daughter, son, and nephew. Omitting the comma after son would indicate that the son and nephew would have to split one-third of the estate.
Rule 2. Use a comma to separate two adjectives when the word and can be inserted between them.
Examples: He is a strong, healthy man.
We stayed at an expensive summer resort. You would not say expensive and summer resort, so no comma.
Rule 3. Use a comma when an -ly adjective is used with other adjectives.
NOTE: To test whether an -ly word is an adjective, see if it can be used alone with the noun. If it can, use the comma.
Examples: Felix was a lonely, young boy.
I get headaches in brightly lit rooms. Brightly is not an adjective because it cannot be used alone with rooms; therefore, no comma is used between brightly and lit.
Rule 4. Use commas before or surrounding the name or title of a person directly addressed.
Examples: Will you, Aisha, do that assignment for me?
Yes, Doctor, I will.
NOTE: Capitalize a title when directly addressing someone.

Source: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp

English Possessive Determiners

From: McGraw Hill’s 2010 GRE :
English possessive determiners (my, our, your, his/her/its, their – sometimes called possessive adjectives) must match the person and number of the possessor and not the noun phrase to which they are linked.

Richard likes his hot dogs with lots of relish. The word his is third person singular to match with Richard, NOT third person their to match with hotdogs.

Transcript:TWIS.ORG July 21, 2009

Synopsis: Short Legs In A Single Step, A Bloody Mess, Screaming Moths, This Week in The End Of The World, Ancient Dung balls Tell Tales, A Catastrophic Reduction, and Interview w/ Physicist Jon Singleton About Traveling Faster Than Light.

Justin: Disclaimer! Disclaimer! Disclaimer!

Welcome to life! Don’t be bashful. Don’t be shy. There’s no need to walk on by. This is it. The big go around on Theme Park Earth. No pushing now. No need to crowd yourselves. It doesn’t matter where you’re standing now, as the line is irrelevant to where you will end up.

The maps you are handed at the entrance are for general reference purposes only and should not be considered entirely accurate navigating the many points of interest ahead as they were printed before your life was conceived and may bare little resemblance to it once your events are unfolded. There’s a lot to see here if it is your first day on the planet or if you’ve been here for a while now.

And while the rides have ups and downs and bubble gum may occasionally get stuck in your shoes, keep in mind that much like the following hour of programming, this does not necessarily represent the views or opinions at the University of California at Davis, KDVS or its sponsors.

If you think you have seen it all, I encourage you to take another look as the park is under constant renovation. If you have yet to see it all, I highly recommend starting at one of the planet’s many informational booths such as This Week in Science, coming up next.
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