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Update on our End of Year Giving
| THANK YOU for participating in our
End of Year Giving |
You helped us decide how to distribute our year end giving. Here's how it was divvied up. We gave:- 5 shares of a deep well
 - 2 goats
- 1 sheep
- 6 chickens
- 3 ducks
- 1 fishing kit
- Offerings that will provide
- $770 worth of medicine
- $150 worth of necessities for US children
- Hope to sexually exploited girls
- US family assistance
- Funds to help eradicate malaria
Do you have any idea of the impact such gifts can have? Here's just one story. After receiving our last newsletter, one friend wrote to us: I was recently at a conference and a World Vision rep was there and gave the amazing statistic that by just providing clean, potable water to a 3rd world village, the infant/youth mortality rate can be instantly cut by about 50%. Amazing. Deep wells are quite expensive, but our giving helped fund nearly 50% of one such well. It was quite a blessing to me to learn from some of you what your passion is, and I appreciate that it expanded the kind of giving we would have done without your input. Again, thank you for your business throughout 2010. It is what makes it possible for us to give to organizations such as World Vision.
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Featured Tip
Microsoft® Excel 2010
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On a hunch, Maggie Timmons sent me an Excel tip. Maggie used to be our office manager but now manages their family owned tourist attraction in Marblehead. She knew this tip would come in handy for me someday.
At the time, I popped the tip into my Memonic filing cabinet. (Read about Memonic here. I love this service so much that I recently upgraded to a paid account.)
When we reached year end and it was time to recreate some of the annual spreadsheets we use I remembered the tip and went back to my Memonic folders to find the details.
We have one very long complicated spreadsheet that helps us manages a part of our business. It does what we want it to do, but remembering what the formula in each cell is actually accomplishing can be quite a challenge. We added a column that provided explanations for the cells in that row, but that created its own problems. Maggie's tip came to the rescue.
This tip allows you to put information - notes, explanations, etc. - right in the formula line of your Excel spreadsheet. Here's a simple example:
As you can see, after the Excel formula, simply add the note using the following convention (where the gold text indicates your unique text):
+N("add your note here")
It's incredibly easy and I've found it to be incredibly useful. Try it yourself on your next complicated (or not so complicated) spreadsheet. When you go back to the spreadsheet next week or next month, you'll be glad you took the time to add the notes. Oh, and thanks again, Maggie!
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Free Teleconferencing Website
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This site provides the ability to conduct and record conference calls simply and without reservations. Oh, and it's free. (The number being called is not toll-free, but the service is free.) We tested the service with a teleconference staff meeting. The report e-mailed to the account administrator after the call provides the telephone numbers of all who participated, as well as when they called and when they hung up. The administrator has the ability to mute callers if desired, and the recorded call can be listened to online or downloaded as a *.wav or *.mp3 file. Lots of possibilities for this service, ranging from teleseminars to recording interviews for podcasts.
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Still on the Quest for a Great drop.io Alternative
TransferBigFiles
& Let's Crate
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www.drop.io was a favorite service of many of us until they sold out to Facebook late last year. We remain on our quest to find a great alternative to their service.  In our last issue we highlighted Dropbox and yousendit™. We're not unhappy with these alternatives, but still on the quest for the perfect solution. Some of our clients have not been able to access these services. So we've got 2 additional options for you to consider.  TransferBigFiles
This site was recommended by a client in Europe when we needed to send large files and she wasn't able to access the above two services. (Thanks, Sally.) Nice service. With plans ranging from free to $45/month (with discounts for prepaying), you can find one that fits you nicely. All plans (including the free one) provide secure file transfers and allow you to establish an account and track your usage. I can easily see what files I sent and on what date. With the free plan, files expire and are no longer available after five days. At only $5/month you have a generous 2gig file size limit and a 10gig storage limit and files no longer expire. 
Let's Crate! This PC World article sings the praises of Crate. It is very easy to use, but in its simplicity lacks capabilities that other sites have. Click on the PC World article for more info, or visit the Let's Crate site itself by clicking here. |
Beyond Ebooks
to Social Books
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This blows my mind a bit! Technology is changing the way we publish and experience books. Phil and I have several ereaders and love them. Last month the industry took the next giant step forward. On January 24, Rethink Books launched its SocialBooks software which allows publishers to turn books into IPad apps. Readers share content, add their comments, and upload images or videos that relate to the book content. Reading just became a community event. Check out this article for more info & a short video demonstration.
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Thanks for reading our e-newsletter. If you experience any glitches, please let us know.
If you have a tip you'd like to share, let us know that, too. If we use it in a newsletter, we'll be happy to give you full credit for it.
Sandra Hovatter
Data Designs Publishing Copyrights & Credits: ©2011, Data Designs Publishing, Norwalk, OH. |
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