Software for business, programing and professional

Six ways to keep your data safe from spying

ADMIN — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:59:19 GMT

Phone call logs, credit card records, emails, Skype chats, Facebook message, and more: The precise nature of the NSA's sweeping surveillance apparatus has yet to be confirmed.$CUT$

But given the revelations spilling out into the media recently, there hardly seems a single aspect of daily life that isn't somehow subject to spying or surveillance by someone.
Experts say there are steps anyone can take to improve privacy, but they only go so far.

Using anonymity services and encryption "simply make it harder, but not impossible," said Ashkan Soltani, an independent privacy and security researcher. "Someone can always find you - just depends on how motivated they are."

With that caveat, here are some basic tips to enhance your privacy:

1. Encrypt your emails

Emails sent across the Web are like postcards. In some cases, they're readable by anyone standing between you and its recipient. That can include your webmail company, your Internet service provider and whoever is tapped into the fiber optic cable passing your message around the globe - not to mention a parallel set of observers on the recipient's side of the world.

Experts recommend encryption, which scrambles messages in transit, so they're unreadable to anyone trying to intercept them. Techniques vary, but a popular one is called PGP, short for "Pretty Good Privacy." PGP is effective enough that the US government tried to block its export in the mid-1990s, arguing that it was so powerful it should be classed as a weapon.

Disadvantages: Encryption can be clunky. And to work, both parties have to be using it.

2. Use TOR

Like emails, your travels around the Internet can easily be tracked by anyone standing between you and the site you're trying to reach. TOR, short for "The Onion Router," helps make your traffic anonymous by bouncing it through a network of routers before spitting it back out on the other side. Each trip through a router provides another layer of protection, thus the onion reference.

Originally developed by the US military, TOR is believed to work pretty well if you want to hide your traffic from, let's say, eavesdropping by your local Internet service provider. And criminals' use of TOR has so frustrated Japanese police that experts there recently recommended restricting its use. But it's worth noting that TOR may be ineffective against governments equipped with the powers of global surveillance.

Disadvantages: Browsing the web with TOR can be painfully slow. And some services - like file swapping protocols used by many Internet users to share videos and music - aren't compatible.

3. Ditch the phone

Your everyday cellphone has all kinds of privacy problems. In Britain, cellphone safety was so poor that crooked journalists made a cottage industry out of eavesdropping on their victims' voicemails. In general, proprietary software, lousy encryption, hard-to-delete data and other security issues make a cellphone a bad bet for storing information you'd rather not share.

An even bigger issue is that cellphones almost always follow their owners around, carefully logging the location of every call, something which could effectively give governments a daily digest of your everyday life. Security researcher Jacob Appelbaum has described cellphones as tracking devices that also happen to make phone calls. If you're not happy with the idea of an intelligence agency following your footsteps across town, leave the phone at home.

Disadvantages: Not having a cellphone handy when you really need it. Other alternatives, like using "burner" phones paid for anonymously and discarded after use, rapidly become expensive.

4. Cut up your credit cards

The Wall Street Journal says the NSA is monitoring American credit card records in addition to phone calls. Some cybercriminals can use the same methods. So stick to cash, or, if you're more adventurous, use electronic currencies to move your money around if you want total privacy.

Disadvantages: Credit cards are a mainstay of the world payment system, so washing your hands of plastic money is among the most difficult moves you can make. In any case, some cybercurrency systems offer only limited protection from government snooping and many carry significant risks. The value of Bitcoin, one of the better-known forms of electronic cash, has oscillated wildly, while users of another popular online currency, Liberty Reserve, were left out of pocket after the company behind it was busted by international law enforcement.

5. Don't keep your data in America or with American companies

US companies are subject to US law, including the Patriot Act, whose interpretations are classified. Although the exact parameters of the PRISM data mining program revealed by the Guardian and The Washington Post remain up for debate, what we do know is that a variety of law enforcement officials - not just at the NSA - can secretly demand your electronic records without a warrant through an instrument known as a National Security Letter. Such silent requests are made by the thousands every year.

If you don't like the sound of that, your best bet is to park your data in a European country, where privacy protections tend to be stronger.

Disadvantages: Silicon Valley's Internet service providers tend to be better and cheaper than their foreign counterparts. What's more, there's no guarantee that European spy agencies don't have NSA-like surveillance arrangements with their own companies. When hunting for a safe place to stash your data, look for smaller countries with robust human rights records. Iceland, long a hangout for WikiLeaks activists, might be a good bet.

6. Steer clear of malicious software

If they can't track it, record it, or intercept it, an increasing number of spies aren't shy about hacking their way in to steal your data outright. Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker, warned the Guardian that his agency had been on a worldwide binge of cyberattacks.

"We hack everyone everywhere," he said.

Former officials don't appear to contradict him. Ex-NSA chief Michael Hayden described it as "commuting to where the information is stored and extracting the information from the adversaries' network." In a recent interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, he boasted that "we are the best at doing it. Period."

Malicious software used by hackers can be extremely hard to spot. But installing an antivirus program, avoiding attachments, frequently changing passwords, dodging suspicious websites, creating a firewall, and always making sure your software is up to date is a good start.

Disadvantages: Keeping abreast of all the latest updates and warily scanning emails for viruses can be exhausting.

Download Ray

Computer games to cultivate

ADMIN — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:15:01 GMT

Written by Helen Babbs

Helen Babbs meets two video game designers who have taken their inspiration from nature and swapped gun toting for tree planting.For people who don't play computer games – myself included – it's easy to assume all virtual reality has to offer is the dubious opportunity to wield a weapon. Thankfully, that's only part of the picture. $CUT$

Enter planet Proteus and you're invited to wander through a rough-edged landscape that responds to your presence with music. Eufloria blends exploration with a cultivation quest and is more aggressive, involving fighting a diseased strain of seedling that's hindering your attempts to colonise an asteroid belt with trees. Both games are inspired by the natural world, and both are selling surprisingly well.

The first thing to ask, of course, is why bother gardening via a video game or going for a virtual walk? If these things are possible in the real world, why play a game? Well, you could say the same about books, exhibitions or films. All offer interpretations of the world but none are replacements for the real thing. Plus you're unlikely to get the chance to cultivate an asteroid any time soon.

"Proteus is a reaction to landscape and the world, and enhances and changes the way you feel about it," explains Ed Key, one of the game's creators. "We're consciously trying to the mirror the feelings of observing something in the natural world. It's impossible to have the same infinite variety but we hope that people get a sense of it. But the abstract style of graphics and sound means it's not trying to be realistic, it's evocative and invites you to fill in the gaps."

The island in Proteus is user-generated, so it's different every time, but it's shaped by Key's time in Cumbria, Wiltshire, Orkney and the Western Isles. The unusual colour palette is inspired by the paintings of Paul Nash and Art Deco tourism posters, where the New York sky might be yellow and the trees blue.

Violence, and the competitive urge

Proteus is structured into four seasons, the final one being winter. "It's a carefully crafted sequence through four acts but with no pressure to go onto the next," says Key. "There are levels and a measurable sense of progress, but it has a user driven pace. There's no endgame or checklist, which are common in games that cater for a competitive urge."

You don't have to be a gamer to understand this is quite an unusual approach. "We have been surprised by its success," admits Key. "Proteus isn't an explicit challenge against violence but people have championed it for that. It provokes people to think there can be more to gaming than violence and military style games."

With its simplistic version of outer space, curling tree roots and swirling seeds, Eufloria may also seem a serene place. Alex May, one of its creators, points out it's actually "horribly violent… Its veneer is peaceful, and the violence is not explicit, but you are routinely sending hundreds of seedlings to their deaths in this game."

Violence varies – nature has a brutality that is entirely different to the carnage inflicted by your average shoot 'em up game. May says players have told him Eufloria is a breath of fresh air in comparison, something he can appreciate.

"I attended E3 in LA a couple of years back and being in the show hall was a remarkable experience – it honestly sounded like a warzone," he says. "There was no refuge from gunfire or some other kind of violence, and you were never out of sight of some kind of sexist iconography or characterisation. It was absolutely repellent and yes, I feel that Eufloria is a sort of antithesis to that culture."

The world sings

In both games, the soundscape is as important as the landscape and Brian Eno an inspiration. Proteus's creators say "music is a core part of the design: the world sings to you." Ed Key explains that his co-creator David Kanaga is interested in musical structures as play structures, and in allowing the user to influence what they hear.

"There are lots of musical loops playing simultaneously, you raise the volume of certain loops as you get close to something," says Key. "It's like an internal mixing board and it allows a conversation between the player and the game."

Eufloria also uses ambient music, something suggested by the game's other creator Rudolf Kremers and composed by Milieu (Brian Grainger). "I think the music goes a long way in evoking the nature of the world we've depicted," says Alex May. "The game would be extremely different without his work."

So, what next for these nature loving game designers? Are plants the next big thing in gaming? Probably not, but both Ed Key and Alex May plan to continue with the theme. Key, an amateur botanist with a foraging habit, wants to make a hunter-gatherer survival based game next, while May likes the idea of one where you can create your own personalised vivarium.

Shedstore competition results

Congratulations to Chris Gargini-Hill of Stoke on Trent and Charley Foulds of Crawley who were the winners in our recent Shedstore wheelie bin cover competition

Guardian

The Future of game consoles isn’t just about game

ADMIN — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:59:33 GMT

Written by Matt Buchanan

If you listen to the gamers, Sony has already won the console war with Microsoft. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo—the most important video-game convention of the year—on Monday night, the company announced that its forthcoming product, the PlayStation 4, will sell for four hundred dollars in the U.S., making it a hundred dollars cheaper than Microsoft’s competing Xbox One. It also announced, to thunderous applause, that gamers will continue to be able to loan disc-based games to their friends, and play used games on their consoles. $CUT$

The excitement around that seemingly mundane feature stems from a deep resentment among gamers toward the Xbox One’s groundbreaking approach to product ownership and rights. Microsoft’s system treats all games, whether downloaded from the Internet or copied off a disc, the same—as pure, licensed bits. Under the new restrictions, users cannot loan a copy of the new Halo game (for example) to a friend; they can only give it away, and, even then, only if they’ve been "friends” on Xbox Live for at least thirty days. Microsoft has also attempted to vaporize the used-games market, stipulating that Xbox One discs cannot be resold unless a game’s publisher allows it. Microsoft’s policies make it clear that customers do not own the intellectual property they pay to enjoy, they merely have a license to use it.

But consoles have evolved into more than simply black boxes for playing games. The Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are both multimedia hubs that stream videos and music, and access Twitter and Facebook. Apple and Google want their boxes and content to be hooked into the biggest screen in your house, too, but in this pursuit the video-game makers have crushed them: Apple has sold just over thirteen million Apple TVs, while Sony and Microsoft have each sold nearly eighty million consoles. The PS3 is now the single most popular device for Netflix viewing. The second word in "gaming console” is now much more important than the first.

It’s in this capacity that, ultimately, the Xbox One seems more compelling than the PS4. Microsoft’s device aims to completely overhaul the television experience, providing its own interface for watching cable, satellite television, and NFL games, for example. It’s designed to be expanded upon by third-party applications, letting users multi-task with services like Skype while gaming. And the new version of its Kinect motion-and-speech-sensing peripheral allows for in-depth control of the console with your voice. You can turn it on by talking to it, and you can hunt for something to watch, too. The new Kinect also "sees” with much higher fidelity than its previous iteration; at a demo in Seattle, it made out the wrinkles in my shirt from several feet away. The device is also built to fit neatly into Microsoft’s Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 ecosystem, allowing for more seamless relationships between P.C.s, smartphones, and Xboxes.

So far, meanwhile, Sony has persisted in emphasizing the PlayStation 4’s gaming bona fides. At the All Things Digital conference last month, the Sony C.E.O. Kaz Hirai said, "The most important thing we need to do is agree and understand that the PS4 is a great video-game console that appeals to video gamers.” While the PS4 will, of course, feature music and video streaming from services like Netflix, it won’t connect to a larger universe of devices, services, and software in the way that Microsoft’s and Apple’s offerings do. The PS4’s camera accessory looks potentially interesting; it’s an optional add-on that will only be connected to a subset of consoles, which will likely limit its ability to be transformative. The PS4’s most compelling connected features, as far as we know, are directly tied to gaming. Sony recently acquired the Gaikai streaming service, which will allow gamers to stream old PS3 games, rather than download them, and to play them on the fly. Gamers can play PS4 titles on the PS Vita, Sony’s portable console, over Wi-Fi. But that device, which was targeted at hardcore gamers, has seen tepid sales, and Sony expects to sell just five million of them this fiscal year. Gamers can also broadcast their gaming experiences with a dedicated "share” button on the PS4’s controller, but the audience for such clips is undoubtedly restricted to fellow enthusiasts.

The PlayStation 4 will probably outsell the Xbox One this holiday season, its sales powered by gamers’ disgruntlement over licensing rights and the hundred-dollar price difference between the consoles, a deciding factor for the parental crowd. And, indeed, the PS4 may turn out to be a better console for the most hardcore gaming audience. But the Xbox One is the most connected console ever devised—a source of its issues, unquestionably, but also why it seems more likely to be the box you’ll want connected to your TV four years from now.

New Yorker

Games Are The Ideal Place For Telling Great Stories

ADMIN — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:42:44 GMT

Written by John Walker on June 12th, 2013

There are some who have argued that games just aren’t the right medium for telling stories. Pointing out that scant few games have ever produced literary works comparable with other forms, the suggestion is that gaming just isn’t a suitable place for such narrative experiences. But this argument is entirely flawed, failing to understand that gaming is home to a completely new form of storytelling, and one that is perhaps more potent and powerful than any other.$CUT$

The key lies with interactivity. Certainly this is a horribly over-used word, more usually associated with having to press a PC keyboard’s elusive "start button” seventeen times in a row, before bellowing into a microphone, "FIRE! FIRE!” like a broken Alan Sugar. But interaction is something as simple as pressing Space to make the story continue, and as complex as deciding the fate of a universe based on your actions.

Such interactive storytelling breaks down into three rough categories. There are games that wish to tell you their story, and ask you to complete tasks that allow it to be told. There are games that have stories which can go in multiple directions, and allow you to choose which of these pre-determined routes to take. And there are games that provide a template in which you can tell your own story. I’m arguing that all three are exceptional.

The first is perhaps the most easily criticised. But rarely is that criticism valid. A writer has written a story, and wants you to hear it. It is linear, it is not affected by the player, and its ending is the same no matter what you do. So why not just read a book, eh? Or watch the movie? Why force this into a game?

Because when such stories are told by a game, they become something more. Perhaps even something more special. Whether we’re talking about a point-and-click adventure, or a first-person corridor shooter, encountering a story through the medium of play is a significant factor. It is not the equivalent of "turning a page in a book” by any means – it’s about a personal involvement in the events, an agency, despite its not being one that has an effect on the tale. It turns out making a difference to the story is not nearly as important as people imagine when it comes to feeling engaged with the process.

The best adventure games demonstrate it neatly. Anything from LucasArts in the 90s, Funcom in the 00s, and so many others over the last 30 years have proven this. Your involvement is solving puzzles, having conversations that lead to new revelations, engaging with the world and learning its histories. Or look at, say, the Thief games. Their future was fixed, while your route through their world was loose. You don’t define the future, but it allows you to embrace the story, hear it in a multitude of ways, be a part of it and be the process by which it proceeds. This engagement cannot be dismissed, and has allowed many gaming stories to become far more potent as a result. No, those stories wouldn’t translate well to screen or page, but that’s because they’re created for this unique means of being encountered.

Second is the evolution of that idea (and of course like evolution, the development of hairless apes does not mean there are no longer monkeys) – the story with multiple paths, and especially multiple endings. Here we unambiguously escape the notion that such things could exist better (or even equivalently) as film or novel – here the player defines her own experience. A choose-your-own-adventure perhaps is the nearest, but is really not comparable.

Here you are still ultimately bound by the stories the creator wishes to tell, but it’s essential to not consider this a bad thing. Being told someone else’s story is the very essence of storytelling, and has been for thousands of years. Standing up and booming instructions to a live play is generally frowned upon, but watching a live performance is still a great pleasure. Here we can influence the direction in which that play is heading without being asked to leave through the fire exit.

Take Dragon Age, or Knights Of The Old Republic, or all manner of BioWare games. Or Deus Ex, The Witcher 2, Fallout 3, and on and on, primarily RPGs for sure. There’s nothing that occurs in these games that wasn’t pre-determined, but enough variety is available that you can carve your own seemingly unique path through their story. Such that your decisions do directly influence the direction, and often the climax. You can talk to someone else after and be surprised by their experiences, what they saw or found that you couldn’t have known, and vice versa. There’s nothing else that can offer you storytelling like this other than games, and while it is again true that not all of those stories would be to a high enough standard to achieve classic status in other forms, it is simply disingenuous to try to judge them when removing such a massively key component – you.

Which brings us on to the third type, perhaps the most recently emerged and certainly the most exciting and full of prospect: the sandbox worlds. The games that provide a set, a cast, a genre and the all-important limitations, and then leave you to write the script.

The list of these grows ever-larger, perhaps never more starkly popularised and understood than through Minecraft. This one example captures every aspect, from the simple single-player game or wandering aimlessly, encountering situations, adapting, building, creating and exploring, to the heavily modded games-within-games, where players build their own systems in which to experience a gaming narrative, its power is perhaps too easily forgotten thanks to its overwhelming success. This is a completely new type of storytelling, something that other mediums cannot and will not ever attempt to emulate, shared only with gaming by the incredibly imaginations of children.

Games like Minecraft, in fact, return to us that precious time when we could conjure a fictional world around us, and then experience it according to our own desires. It’s a form of storytelling we all knew, then forgot. And now it’s back.

Or take Eve Online. Whatever its original intentions as a game, it has become something far greater. A space – quite literally – for telling our own elaborate epic tales. Machiavellian plots the likes of which scriptwriters would never conceive, played out in user-created circumstances with a cast played by thousands of others imprinting their own stories onto yours. It’s bewildering that it’s possible, and utterly unique to gaming. These are stories that film, literature, etc cannot even conceive of a method to tell, let alone produce something "better than”.

Such games provide us with a palette and canvas, and just enough borders to give us the courage to start painting within. Both single and multiplayer, they are a new space that has barely been explored, growing ever larger and more popular as more developers begin to understand how to provide such arenas. They take ridiculous buzzwords like "emergent” and give them meaning.

Games are the ideal place for telling great stories. These can be stories as classic as the most sustaining fairy tales, as epic as the most sprawling of fantasies. Or they can be a completely new form of story, which the player tells to himself in hindsight, as he pieces together the events he has experienced. Which, funnily enough, is the same means by which we piece together the narratives with which we interpret our own lives. Gaming is tapping into something truly human, that other media cannot even comprehend.

Rock Paper Shotgun

Business software: Benefits and Introduction

ADMIN — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:45:44 GMT

Written by Sergii Syrotkin

The choice of software for your business is very important and responsible stage. You have to choose from all software producers the much better configuration for your company. Each business has the specificity and a direction and good software should bring to your business the maximal advantages and benefits.$CUT$

What benefits do you receive getting new business software?

1) You save the most invaluable resource of any business is TIME.

Your client it will be pleasant, when it serve quickly and qualitatively. An ideal picture when client has not had time to drink a cup of coffee and all documents and calculations are available for him. It is possible if you are armed good and modern software products.

2) You SAVE money

For example – earlier till an era of computers the department of accounts at the large enterprise had huge staff of employees which were considered with various incomes and charges of the company. But computers have changed all work at accounts department. Where for work used 5-10 employees now - easy work one computer. It consults more quickly,qualitatively and cheaper. It gives a huge economy on employment of additional workers, taxes and social deductions.

3) You become FASTER!

Modern business become very dynamical and every day this dynamics grows. That be the leader - necessary to be faster than competitors. Software allows to accelerate all technical processes and to finish them automaticly. For business to be faster than others very important factor in a competition.To be more quickly - means to be the WINNER.

4) You receive new UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES.

I want to give an example from personal experience:

I do sites and it was necessary for me to add it some of dynamics. It is possible at use Flash technologies and animation. I have simply bought a package from programs of one well-known company which produce programs for work in Flash.

Now on creation of banners, buttons and any animation pictures at me leaves much less time and I devote this time to another matters.

Moreover I should not pay to advertising agencies for manufacturing flash banners and I can change its design at any moment.

So I have got competitive advantage before other sites – not each site can brag flash elements, flash buttons and flash pictures.

Thus I have received my own new UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES!

The choice of a business software has 3 basic stages

1) Research of business software

2) Introduction of business software

3) After introduction research

1) Resarch of software

At first define which business software do you necessary. You have to answer following questions:

- What processes in yours company you would like to automate and reduce time for their decisions

- To reveal key points of your business and its need in software.

- What is the time training and preparation of the personnel after installation of the programs will borrow.

- Price of business software and your budget

For example if your company is the manufacturer for it process of manufacture is very important. Therefore it is necessary for the company software which optimizes manufacture of your company. So necessary to pay attention to the companies which develop and introduce a software for your kind of manufacture.

If your business is distribution or supplying, you should be focused your attention on management of a warehouse, functions of processing of orders, management of transport, to modules for planning a network of distribution, the forecast of demand and store keeping.

Define what functions carries out software which you wish to buy study it in more details. A lot software companies give a demo version which can establish free of charge and to work in these programs and you can compare their efficiency.

The price plays a key role in a choice of a business software. And the choice frequently depends on the budget and the size of the company.For this purpose manufacturers of a software have some categories of the price and opportunities of various programs. Usually they use such categories exist and business software:

Personal – the given programs for a private use or for the small business companies. They solve the primary goals and cost usually not so much.

Pro – more advanced version of the program it can have additional options for installation on some computers, to work in a local network, and also more expanded opportunities than the Personal the version. Pro is ideal for the average companies or people which this program for professional work is necessary

This software has the price in some hundreds dollars and to choose it necessary very carefully and for the own professional needs.

Enterprise - this version of a software for large the companies which have the local networks, the big staff of employees. Such software costs very much and has the greatest possible functionalities and options which the given program can have.

2) Introduction of software

You have chosen the program which to you has liked and the operating time with it in real conditions of business has come. For this purpose it is necessary for you to introduce the program in the company.

The success of introduction of the business software depends on skill and professionalism of people which carry out the project, spend training, planning, from intensity of their work. Involve in the project of the most professional employees.

Necessarily plan time for careful testing each process.

It is very important to check all possible combinations to reveal all possible system mistakes during instead of after introduction. Lead tests with each key process and each module of the software.

When testing of system will be ended, begin process of training of the personnel.

Some companies begin process of training even before installation of system that employees could start to work at once.

3) After introduction research

Do not stop at the first stage of introduction. Your new system most likely possesses additional functionality which can improve yours business-processes. Having accustomed with system, address to the documentation and in details study additional functions.

See once again business-processes for search possible ways of business improvements. Improvements should become a policy of the company - only then your initial investments will work in full.

Summing up, it is necessary to tell, that the success or failure of choice/introduction of the business software directly depends on quantity of the spent work. Information systems is the major part of your business.

So, not save - avaricious pays twice.

10 STEPS TO BUYING SOFTWARE

ADMIN — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:31:23 GMT

Written by Sandra Parker.$CUT$

1) Research

What’s the reason for this software? Time management, organizational database, etc?

What are the necessary features the software must have?

What are optional features that could be useful?

How much is in the budget for this software?

Getting preliminary research done is the first step in buying software successfully. Not only does it save you money in the long run, but it also allows you to fully grasp what your company needs and will need in the future. The process of finding the right software can be confusing since there are so many options out there. It's good to make a list of necessary features. Once you have that list it's time to find some actual titles that fit your needs.
With the advent of the Internet, finding software that fits has become easier and harder at the same time. There are so many options out there and sorting through them all can be time consuming. Fortunately there is one major resource out there, the search engines. If you don't have a particular brand of software in mind, you are probably better off going to a directory, like Yahoo! or a "pay for placement" search engine like Overture. Remember to type a general description like "project management software." Your search results will be mixed with mostly companies and third party vendors. If you're looking for more information on the particular software, check the company web site. If you're looking to buy, check out both the company and the vendors' sites, to find your best price.

Another resource that people sometimes overlook is CNET's Download, www.download.com. This site features all categories of software for business and pleasure. Best of all, you can download all programs right from the web site. However beware that not all titles are freeware. Some are shareware or demos of the full version. If you're curious to see what's out there, this site is a great place to start.

Going online isn't the only place to start your software research. You can try the more traditional approach of going to trade shows, word of mouth or just browsing store shelves. Going to a trade show allows you to view the software in action, discuss it with a company representative and collect information. Word of mouth is a great way to find out about a product. If you've heard great things you are more apt to buy that product. However, before jumping in headfirst and buying that software package, make sure it is really what your company needs. It may be right for some and not for others. Lastly, you can go to your favorite computer store. Browsing the shelves and speaking with salesperson is sometimes what you need to make that final decision. Just make sure the salesperson isn't convincing you to buy something you don't need.

Remember to take your time and really decide what your company's needs are. Printing out our online checklist is the best way to make sure you are getting exactly what you need for a reasonable price.

2) Cost

Are there any rebates available?

Will software increase profitability?

Are you paying for other features that aren’t necessary?

How much is the actual software?

How much are the individual licenses? (See Licensing below)

Will you have to upgrade systems to meet hardware requirements? (See Compatibility below)

In an ideal world cost wouldn't be a determining factor when buying software. Unfortunately we live in a world where we need and want the price to be right. Making sure you pay only for the features you need is the number one priority when it comes to price. The added features included in the more expensive software package might look appealing at first, but will you really need them for your business to be productive? Will your employees benefit by those extra features? If the answer to those questions are not a definite yes, than you should stick with the package that satisfies your basic necessities.
There are some unexpected hidden costs when you are purchasing software for a company. The first one is licensing. If you're planning on using the software on more than one computer, you will have to buy individual licenses for each. You also might have to buy the software all over again to get another license. Making sure your systems are compatible with the software is another issue. Memory upgrades are common in order for software to work properly. You can find more detail on these topics in later sections.

3) Licensing

How many users/computers do you need to license?

Is it possible for people to double up?

How long is the license good for? Forever, annually, monthly, etc?

We touched upon the topic of licensing in the section on cost, however the consequences of not licensing software correctly weren't brought up. Pirated software is a common thing on the Internet. Virtually any title is available for download; all you need is the registration key. You can find these on illegal "warez" web sites. It isn't recommended though, since getting caught with pirated software is a serious offence.
In the United States software piracy is punishable by statutory damages of up to $100,000 for each work infringed and may result in a felony conviction. Penalties for felony convictions include fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment for up to 5 years. Licensing your software correctly is important. It isn't worth the chance of getting caught.
If you don't have enough money in the budget to license numerous copies of software, see if people can share a computer with the software on it. Doubling up may be cost efficient and it keeps all the information on one computer, in one place.

4) Compatibility

What operating systems does the software run on?

How much memory does it require to run?

How much disk space is required?

What speed processor is optimal?

What operating systems are on the office computers?

How much memory do they have?

How big are the hard drives?

What speed processors are they running?

Do you have enough computers that meet requirements to install?

Compatibility is only a big issue if you have older computers in your office. Most new computers are equipped to deal with current software demands. The only thing you have to make sure of with newer computers is that the software is compatible with the operating system you're running. If you're running Windows 95/98/NT you must buy software for that platform. If you're running a Mac OS, you must buy software for that, and so on.
If you want to install software on older computers there are three things you must keep in mind: processor speed, memory and disk space available. Almost all software will have a recommended section on the box, web site or brochure. There it will tell you what the minimum requirements to run the software are. Knowing what processor speed, how much memory and disk space you have to work with make everything a whole lot easier and you won't end up with something you can't use.

5) Learning Curve

Who needs to use this software?

How difficult is it to use and grasp all the important features?

How much will it cost to train employees?

Will you have to outsource training?

Are the time and resources available?

How long will this take for me and/or my employees to learn how to use? This is by far the most unpredictable aspect of buying new software. If there is a demo version of the software available you should download it and get a feel for how it all works. If there isn't, it could be hard to tell. This is a big reason why you don't want to get more features than you need. Taking the time to learn everything costs money and resources that could be spent doing something else.
Learning the software on your own could be complicated. If that ends up being a serious problem you could always outsource the training. Although it costs some money on your part, it might just be worth having your employees guided through the software, instead of struggling with it on their own.

6) Scalability & Flexibility

Can the software expand with your business?

Are more licenses available for purchase?

Are there plug-ins and/or add-ons that are available for purchase?

Is there a hierarchy (basic, premium, deluxe) that you can upgrade to?

Having your company grow is usually an inevitable change. It brings along more computers, bigger office space and more powerful software. If you're expecting your company to grow in the long term, why not purchase software with that in mind. Buy a package that includes upgrades and the option to boost the package from basic to deluxe. With the number of employees increasing, the number of computers in use will increase. If you need the software distributed on the new computers, you will have to buy more licenses. So when you're looking at software, make sure they have options for your expanding business, whether it is more licensing, upgrades, add-ons or plug-ins.

7) Purchasing Software Online

Will you download the software or have it mailed to you?

Is the vendor certified?

What do they charge for shipping and handling?

Is the order form securely encrypted?

Can you order offline as well? Phone, fax, etc?

Most companies allow you to download their products online and then have you fill out an order form to receive the registration number by e-mail. If you're using this method, it is critical that you save a copy of the downloaded set-up file and the e-mailed registration code. The best way to do this is to burn both items onto a CD and store it in a safe place, preferably in a different physical location. If you can't do that, just save them on your computer in a place where they won't be disturbed.
If you're buying software from a third party vendor online, you have to make sure they are a certified vendor. There are a lot of scams out there and if the offer seems too good to be true, it usually is. Make sure it is a trusted name of which many people have heard. Joe's Software doesn't have the same credibility as Amazon.com or Outpost.com. Also, ask ahead of time about shipping and handling. The software itself might be cheap but the shipping could be outrageous. Above all else, use your common sense. If it doesn't feel right, don't buy it.

8) Purchasing Software in Store

Are you purchasing an old version and not the new one?

What is the store’s return policy?

Is the store offering any rebates?

The most important thing to remember when buying software in a store is to not let the salesperson convince you of your needs. They are there to make a sale, and usually aren't looking out for your best interest. Make sure you do your research before you buy anything. Also check what the store's return policy is. Sometimes when you buy software on sale, you are not allowed to return it. If you plan on buying software that's on sale, make sure you know which version is the most current. Sales usually consist of software they're trying to get rid of so watch out for outdated versions.

9) Upgrades

Do you get free upgrades?

Are the upgrades online or mailed to you?

Do you get free patches?

When you buy software that is constantly evolving, it is important to receive upgrades whether they are free or not. Most companies, especially if you download their product online, will give you free periodic upgrades to download. The trick with these is to make sure that you don't upgrade your product to the beta version. Wait for the final release to come out. Beta versions are usually filled with bugs and other problems that your company doesn't need slowing it down.
Another topic that you should be concerned with is security and bug fixes. Not all programs are created equal, and problems do arise after the software's final release. Companies provide patches on their web sites for their specific products that will "patch" up the problems. With the whole world getting more and more cyber savvy, it becomes increasingly important to keep your sensitive information secure. Security patches are specifically designed to do that job and you should keep up to date.

10) Technical Support

Is help available by phone, e-mail, fax, or postal mail?

Are your questions responded to in a timely manner?

Can you access technical support 24 hours a day?

Is the support free? Or is it paid per increment of time? Or per question?
You never know when you'll need tech support, but knowing that it is there when you need it is comforting. Before you buy software, check if they have tech support available. Is it for a limited time only or for the life of the product? You want to find this out before you have any problems, because running into unexpected complications wastes time and money. A sign of good support is it's available 24/7 and you have a few methods of reaching them, like e-mail, phone, and fax. Also, consider the cost of the tech support. If it seems exorbitant, try to find a comparable software program. You know that, at some point, you'll need the support so make sure it will be affordable.