OVER 2 YOU, 007 (30/11/00)

FLOWER POWER

Can you advise on a software programme that would be suitable for managing the entries for a local horticultural show? 

Sid Shearing

Alton Horticultural Society has used a computer to processes show entries and results for ten years. This process was recently updated. The new program is written in Java and as such runs on a variety of platforms. I have placed a demonstration at :http://web.onetel.net.uk/~canoe/ahs
James Lee,

I wrote an Excel 97 spreadsheet to record and work out the winners at our local Flower Show in September. Providing that you are reasonably competent in programming spreadsheets you ought to be able to adapt it for your own use. The principle and the necessary formulae are all there.

You enter the names of all the exhibitors and their exhibitor numbers. The latter must be the same for all classes. Then, as the results come in from the judges, your enter 5 for 1st, 3 for 2nd, and 1 for 3rd, in each class. (I found that 3, 2, &1 were not numerically far enough apart to give a 100% reliable result in the final table). You may either allow, or not allow, automatic calculation.

When all the results are in, it displays the total marks each exhibitor has accumulated and the names of the trophy winners. It also shows up any ties!  You then print out the relevant pages to be displayed and to be saved as hard copy.

Tony Owen,

LIGHT DRAMA

I am a drama teacher in a secondary school and teach A and AS level Drama and Theatre Studies. Does anyone know of any software that can be used on a PC that would allow students to try out lighting designs for simple sets?

Gill Chesney-Green,

Take a look at the following web page http://members.home.net/2828056091

/LXPrograms.htm

A couple of years back I was asked to light an amateur production after a 30 year absence from the theatre and theatre lighting. To try and refresh my memory as to what had happened in the intervening years, and because I like playing with computers (PC), I tried out the demo versions of the following programs.

Virtual Light Lab, from www.future-light.com is fun for studying some of the basics of modelling and colour. The trial version, as for all the others is very limited and frustrating, but it at least gives you some idea of what it will do. Schools also get discounts.

SoftStage from Soft++, www.softplusplus.com and wysiwyg, from www.castltg.com are both professional quality stuff, providing tools for scenery, luminaires, scenery, plotting, etc, etc. Very frustrating in the trial versions because one can't save anything!
 

These programs are pretty computer intensive, particularly if you're doing the 3D rendering. So get the biggest PCs you can.
Paul Miller,

CHARITY ON THE NET

I have recently taken over the fund-raising role in a large national charity.  How can I use Internet technology to improve our fund-raising efforts?
Kieran Dove,

There are two strands here: firstly you will want to enhance your relationship with your existing donors and fund-raisers: one of the best means is through email newsletters (or these days, perhaps SMS messages) regularly reminding them of your existence, current campaigns and ways they can help. New donors can be more difficult - the web site will have to be marketed to them using conventional channels. However, you can provide detailed background information on your activities, impossible cost-effectively using traditional media, and make it easy for people to sign up and donate by providing simple, secure forms. In short, extend your existing "business", don't create a new one.

David Sim, Strategic Integration Limited,

Have a look at the UK Fundraising web site at: http://www.fundraising.co.uk/

monthly/1999/9905.html

J. M. T, via email

RECORD RESPONSE

I have quite a large record collection consisting of popular and jazz music in CD and vinyl formats. I am looking for a program to organise this into a catalogue for easy identification and classification.
John Graydon,

I have been sufficiently impressed by a downloaded program - Audio Librarian 2000 - to buy a registered copy for about $36. It is available on trial for a month free from www.turbosystems.com. For CDs, you can download all tracks/titles automatically from a database - though there are a few it does not recognise. Suck it and see!

Tony Pettifer,

The Idex file cataloguing application allows you to enter a 'virtual' item, so you can use all the search, annotation and keywording functions without having an actual file in the database. Of course if you go to the trouble and effort of scanning all your vinyl and CD covers you will have an image
file for each record in your collection, but it would be understandable if you didn't want to do this!  By adding a virtual item to the database you can catalogue it in exactly the same way but without having the picture of the cover. You can download and register Idex for free from
www.idexworld.com. 
David Stewart,

Use Excel. The basic data is going to have to be input manually as with any program: it doesn’t matter in what order. But then also add appropriate <categorisation> columns on across the rows (a couple of hundred or more if they are wanted!). Unlimited numbers of selective <sorts> can then be run across whatever different combinations of columns are needed, finally selectively printing-off whatever group of rows give the desired catalogue section.
John Chambers,

CAN YOU HELP?

I am a sixty-year old woman who has just started using email but I have not entered the Internet as yet. I live in central London where socialising and meeting has become increasingly difficult. I have heard that Internet chat rooms might be helpful towards meeting others of a similar age and interests. I have no idea where to begin, can anyone help?

J.R.H, via email

I write novels. I have a problem with my hand, so keyboard use is increasingly uncomfortable. Can you recommend voice recognition software that copes with dialogue? Are there any which is compatible with the WordPerfect word-processing programme, which I much prefer to Word?
J. Mann,

I have changed from an Apple Mac to a PC. On the Mac used a program called Ritz to keep the accounts of two small associations of which I am treasurer. Can anyone suggest a simple accounts package for a PC that can be used for this purpose? I do not require payroll or VAT.
M Gotheridge,

Following a disastrous loss on one of our Investment Club share holdings I was asked to devise a Stop Loss Program covering the twenty equities held.  I have devised an Excel program that works quite well but is time consuming, requiring manual loading of maximum prices each share has reached to date and daily loading of all the latest prices. 

Is there a web page or software program that will do all the necessary calculations, highlighting any shares that have fallen by 15%, 20% and 25% from their maximum price achieved since the date of purchase?

Mike Pattison,