Paper replacement apps

Despite the promises of a paperless office it seems that we are printing and producing more paper documents than ever. I don't think that will change any time soon but there some apps that can be used to replace the handy paper pad. I have been trying out a few apps that are suitable for a Windows 10 tablet with a stylus. There are a number of options available from the Windows Store, but I have whittled down the choices to three apps: Nebo, Bamboo Paper and Graphiter.

Nebo, by MyScript, is my favourite as a paper notebook replacement. You can organise your notebooks into folders and create separate notebooks for different uses. One of the best features is that Nebo can convert your handwriting into text. It does this on the fly and seems to be very accurate, even with my scratchy handwriting. You can also draw boxes and shapes in diagram mode as well as math formulas. This can all be exported to Word for further editing purposes. I did find that the layout of converted text can be tricky to manage but this is not a big deal if you export it.

Bamboo Paper, by Wacom (who are known for digital pen editing), is a worthy mention. For simple note taking, this a very useful app. It doesn’t provide text recognition but it is easy to use and feels very natural when writing. Paid features allow you to add highlighters, crayons and paintbrushes as well as a variety of colours for each of these tools. This is handy if you want to use the app for sketching and drawing as well as note taking. This is a good all round pen app but if you want a specialised sketching app then Graphiter may be a better choice.

Graphiter provides a pencil for free use but the value of the app comes from the paid options. This allows you to use coloured pencils, pens and a blending tool. The ability of this app is only limited by your own sketching prowess. The demo shows very detailed real life drawings that are possible with the app. You can customise the heaviness of the pencil as well as the pencil width to allow for detailed sketching.

Overall I have found that Windows 10 tablet mode with a stylus is very useful and there are many choices of apps to make the most of this mode. For further information follow the links below.

http://myscript.com/nebo/

http://bamboo.wacom.com/

http://graphiter.com/

Broadband for Regional Areas

Broadband (or internet access) can be delivered in a variety ways. These are ADSL, Cable, Fibre, Wireless (fixed or mobile) or Satellite. In regional areas, the nbn network is providing a wider range of choice when it comes to Internet service providers. This is because nbn is the wholesaler and they sell access on to retail service providers (RSPs). Your location will determine what is available. To see if you are able to access the nbn network go to nbn.com.au and enter your address to check nbn coverage. Most properties will be able to access nbn's satellite service (Sky Muster) but if you are in a townsite or a new development you may have other options. Smaller towns (up to 500 premises) will get fixed wireless. Larger communities may get wired options which can be comprised of many different technologies.  Regardless of the technology used, connection speeds will be a minimum of 12Mbps which is suitable for web browsing and email. This is also equivalent to many ADSL services that people are currently using. Faster connections will allow for video streaming (netflix etc.) and better online gaming performance. Speeds can go up to 25, 50 and 100 Mbps but this will depend on the technology that is available in your area.  

Another factor to consider when choosing an internet plan is the amount of that that is included in your plan. If you want to be able to stream movies or have a lot of people in the house that will be using the internet, then you are better off choosing a more expensive plan that includes enough data for your usage. There are many RSPs to choose from so compare the plans and determine what you will need for the best deal.

http://www.nbnco.com.au

http://www.nbnco.com.au/learn-about-the-nbn/speed/understanding-speed-and-data.html

Professional Email Management

Email has become one of the most common methods communicating electronically. It is fairly instant and easy to do. Emails do have some limitations as it is not easy to know if your email has reached the intended audience or whether they have acted upon it. It can also be tricky to manage email addresses and communication preferences. The Spam Act 2003 prohibits the sending of unsolicited emails so it is important that organisations manage recipients' communication preferences. Fortunately there are some solutions available to make email management easier and more professional. MailChimp is one of the leaders in this field. They offer a free service that allows up to 2000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month. Paid plans allow customisations and greater subscriber and email numbers.

To use MailChimp you need to create an account and fill in details about your organisation. This is used in correspondence so is important to supply correct information. Once the account is correctly setup you can then start creating campaigns. Campaigns are like an email message. MailChimp offers a range of preconfigured templates for you to layout your message. Putting some pictures and making the email look interesting helps with subscriber engagement. You can add in fields for names and addresses which allows you to customise the email for each subscriber. MailChimp has a comprehensive help system to guide you with this. Once you have created your campaign you can then test it with a preview. To send your campaign you will need to create a subscriber list. This contains all the email addresses of the people you want to communicate with. You can then send your campaign to the list. At this point you can then track how many subscribers have opened the email and if they clicked any links that were in the email. You can also tell if people have unsubscribed. MailChimp also allows you to create a form for signing up subscribers from a website. The system is fairly easy to use so take a look at http://mailchimp.com/ for more info.

Mobile point of sale

Last month I wrote about making purchases using your smartphone. This month I am looking at how merchants can receive payments anywhere by using a mobile payment device. These devices are the size of a small phone and can accept payment from credit cards, either by contactless, swiping or manual card number entry. The main difference between the traditional EFTPOS card devices (which you use at shops) and a mobile payment device is that it can be used anywhere, as it connects through a phone or tablet to perform transactions. Mobile payment devices can be purchased from the major banks (costing between $100 to $200). Banks charge either a monthly fee, which includes a certain number of transactions, or a pay as you go (PAYG) model, where transaction fees are deducted from each sale (typically around 1.5% to 2%). Fees will vary so it is worth shopping around.

I purchased a Paypal Here mobile card reader. This uses a PAYG fee system and the card reader cost $150, which can be purchased online or from Officeworks. This works well for low cost or intermittent transactions as there are no monthly fees to be paid. A verified business account is required in order to register for the Paypal Here account. You can link your existing bank account to this Paypal account. Transactions are performed in Paypal and funds can be transferred to your linked bank account, although this can take a few days. Once your Paypal Here account is approved, you can download and sign in to the Paypal Here app on your smartphone or tablet. The app will communicate with the card reader via bluetooth. To make a sale, enter the details through the app and then charge it to the connected device. The customer will then use their card on the device to pay and this is then confirmed through the app on the smartphone. Once the transaction is approved there is the option to send a receipt via SMS or email. If the customer's credit card is linked to Paypal, then the email or mobile number will come up automatically, but the customer does not need a Paypal account to use the service. Note that Paypal Here only accepts credit cards and can't be used for cash accounts.

I have found that customers often like the convenience of being able to pay by credit card, so the cost and effort of setting up a mobile payment system is worthwhile for me. It is a good idea to research options that are suitable for your situation. For more information, follow the links below.

https://www.westpac.com.au/business-banking/merchant-services/mobile-payments/mpos-1/
https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/accept-mobile-payments

Paying with your Phone

The time is approaching where all you will need to take with you on your shopping trip is your smart phone and car keys. The ability to pay for transactions through your phone is becoming a reality as the current generation of smart phones have the hardware to support this process, using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This allows for contactless payments in the same way you currently use your credit card.  Android phones (Samsung, HTC, Nexus etc.) can use the Android Pay service which supports any Android device with the NFC chip and Android KitKat. This opens up the majority of the smart phone market. Apple have an equivalent service, Apple Pay, which works on iPhone 6 and later models. While the smart phones may have the hardware and software to run the service, it also requires the retailers and banks to offer the payment solutions. In Australia, Android Pay rolled out to over 30 banks and financial institutions in July, although of the big four banks, only the ANZ have signed up with the other stated as coming soon. Apple Pay, by contrast, is currently only supported by ANZ bank and American Express. The reason for this is that Apple only allow access to card payments through the Apple Wallet. The banks are arguing that this limits choice as they would prefer to be able to use their own apps to access payments (which is allowed on the Android Pay service). The major banks have even applied to the ACCC to allow them to bargain with Apple as a cartel, but this is currently under review. This is a major issue for banks as they charge over $3 billion a year for processing credit and debit card transactions.  

To setup the pay service on your Android phone download the Android Pay app and run through the card setup process. This involves taking a photo of your card and confirming your details. You may need to download your bank's app for verification of your bank details. Once this is completed, you can then use the phone at contactless terminals for payment. Your card details are kept secure as a virtual account is used and not your card info when making payments. On an iPhone you add your credit card details to the Wallet built into iOS. You are required to unlock the phone or use Touchid when making payments. You can also use your Apple watch for payment (which requires unlocking the screen to allow payments). Your credit card details are kept secure through a unique device account number that is allocated to each card in your Wallet. This is used instead of the card details when making purchases.  

While it is still in the early stage, I predict that mobile payments will eventually remove the need for physical credit cards in the future. Just as smart phones have replaced the need for a camera, the payment apps will eventually replace the need to carry a credit card. 

https://www.android.com/intl/en_au/pay-supported-networks/

http://www.apple.com/au/apple-pay/

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-19/accc-apple-pay/7765994

2016 Australian Census

Census night is the 9^th August 2016 and this is when all Australians will be called upon to provide details about themselves to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The census has been run every five years since 1911 and this information is used to capture population data that can be used to inform Government about policy and funding decisions. This is includes areas such as housing, transport, education, industry, hospitals and the environment. This year there are a couple of major differences in the collection and analysis of census data. This is the first year that electronic lodgement of census forms will be available. Letters should be arriving in your post box shortly to provide you with your unique login to the census website. It is still possible to lodge a paper form if that is preferred. A reminder letter will be sent to households that have not completed the census and field officers may provide a follow up visit. 

The second change to the data collection is that names and addresses will be retained for four years (as opposed to 18 months) to allow for better matching of individual information across different data sets. In previous years, name and address data was not used for data matching, which has limited the scope of statistical analysis. In this census, information will be anonymised by creating a unique key from name and address data. Access to the anonymised data will need to be approved by senior level committee. The ABS states that "Other government agencies, private agencies and direct marketing companies will not have access to personal information that you provide on the Census form. This is protected by law."   

For more information follow the links below.

http://abs.gov.au/census

http://abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/makingsense 

http://www.itnews.com.au/news/how-the-abs-plans-to-use-your-census-name-data-431194

Creating online surveys

Online surveys are a useful way of gathering information about a specific topic. There are a number of sites that offer the ability to create surveys. They can vary based on price and features. Beware sites that offer free surveys as they usually have limitations with their free offering. Most of the free sites offer a basic service which will be restricted to the number of questions you can ask or have limited flexibility in the layout of the questions. Some other restrictions can be a lack of ability to export your survey results which can severely limit the usefulness of the data collection. Paid offerings can provide analysis of the data in a graphical format as well as the ability to export your data in various formats. Some of the most popular paid sites are surveymonkey.com and surveyplanet.com. 

There is one exception to the limitation of the free offerings. Google offers a free survey building service through their Forms service. You will need a Google account to use this as it relies on the Google Docs engine to store the data. Google Forms offers a wide range of options for formatting questions that should cover most needs e.g. radio buttons, multiple choice answers, date picker. You can also add validation to your questions so you can ensure that the data entered is accurate. e.g. you can create a regular expression that can ensure that a proper email address is entered in the Email field.  Google Forms can also be used to create a printable copy for offline processing of a survey (for those who don't have access to the online form). Once you have collated your responses you also get a well formatted summary complete with graphs and summary tables.  For more information on Google forms go to https://www.google.com.au/forms/about/