OVER 2 YOU, 141 (05/08/03)

CAR RENTAL

We own a small car rental firm - about a dozen cars -- and we are looking for software that will tell us what cars is available and when. All of the systems we've looked at are far too sophisticated for our purposes.  Can anyone suggest a simple program that will tell us who has our cars and on what dates?

Keith Chapman, via email

Why not try MS Outlook; each booking or letting can be represented in Calendar as an appointment over as many days as necessary. There are ten colours, which can colour appointments automatically, e.g. for provisional, confirmed and 'on hire' status, or for individual vehicle registration numbers. (In Calendar, right click on the grid, and select 'automatic formatting', and then add a rule).

Pat Perridge, via email

If Keith Chapman wants a quick, readily available solution he could do worse than Microsoft Project. If he sets each of his vehicles up as a resource, he can then allocate them to people (put the names in the tasks column). One booking, one task with one vehicle assigned. He can then choose to view the resource calendars, which will show him the usage of each vehicle and who it is assigned to on any given date (and, incidentally, also where he may have inadvertently double booked). If he gets a lot of bookings, he could put the vehicles into a resource pool, and have different Project files for each quarter, say, or year but this is a little more advanced.

Stuart Reynolds

I devised something similar for my A-Level Computing course work and would be more than willing to create a database for Keith Chapman. If he is interested I can be contacted by email.

Rhys John

There is a very easy to use program on the DBtoGO website (www.dbtogo.co.uk) that controls any type of loan item. You can quickly define loan periods and it all operates from a single screen. It can be downloaded and tested for free, for full use there is a small charge.

David Hodge

We also looked at various car rental systems and found them far too involved so over the past 15 years we have developed our own and have recently been approached with a view to marketing it.  It is designed to handle more than 12 cars but could easily be adapted. If Keith Chapman would like a demonstration he can contact us by email at the address below.

Antonia Scott

We have a bespoke booking system in MS Access for linking objects to be booked with bookers and providing a history. If Keith Chapman sends a specification, we can quote for it. It will be very simple, probably about £2000 plus VAT and could be linked to Sage Line 50 for invoicing if required.

David Newman, Managing Director, Arden Knowledge Management Ltd.

HIT RATES

We are a small church charity with a website. I want to know: (a) the hit-rates on our pages; and (b): hit-rates on the individual audio selections on a particular page.

I know I could put counters on each page, for all the world to see, but I just want a sheet of management info for our internal use. Big companies must be able to buy the software but we don't want to get into that. Is there any way of doing it free/very cheaply? As an added bonus - would it be possible for me to specify users I don't want to be included in the counts?

Dick Gammage, via email

There are two approaches, and both depend on services provided by your web space provider (not usually supported by the free ones, sadly).  A programmer could build a website based around a database and use that to track page hits, even breaking them down by registered visitor if need be.  However, for the less technical, it's worth identifying a web space provider who can keep the statistics for you.  One inexpensive and helpful provider is www.ukhosts.com - see www.ukhosts.com/controlpanel for an introduction to their "LiveStats" facility.

Philip Herlihy

PSION OF THE TIMES

Can anyone help with scanning items from a supermarket checkout slip into a Psion pocket computer? My wife enters each item from the till receipt by hand recording the items into the appropriate sections. Does anyone know of a scanner that can read the bill then transfer the information into the Psion?

Stephen Payne, Menston, Ilkley

I'm not aware of any scanner that works with Psion pocket computers; they simply don't have the power, speed or memory capacity to process complex images, let alone carry out the OCR (optical character recognition) functions needed to convert the information on the bill into a useable form. You can get barcode scanner modules for Windows CE pocket PCs, (see http://www.expansys.com/

psionaccessory.asp?code=MDA-PSI-9033). In theory this could be used to scan items bought in a supermarket but you would need specialist database software to convert barcode data into product information and prices, and it would need to be constantly updated. Even if such a thing existed for the Windows CE platform it's highly unlikely that it would be available to the general public. It's back to the manual/wife method I'm afraid.

Dave Kennedy, Loughton, Essex

LICENCE DODGING

I read recently that new television detector vans are being deployed to track down licence fee dodgers. I can see how they might detect emissions from larger TVs with picture tubes but does anyone know if they can detect newer display devices like LCD screens, video projectors and plasma panels etc. and if so, how?

Nigel Sutton (a fully paid up licence payer by the way)

Although David Proctor is correct (Over 2 You July 22nd), TV reception is not necessarily dependent on a UHF tuner. If a satellite receiver is being used together with a monitor the signals that are transmitted are considerably weaker and more difficult to detect. However a BBC licence is still required for TV reception via satellite. In future all television will be broadcast by satellite and UHF tuners will not be required. Present high energy, high radiation transmitters will be removed together with a blot on the landscape. It is also highly likely the BBC licence will also be scrapped. By the way, having one or even two television licences does not prevent TV licence inspectors knocking on your door...

Ken Longstaff

CAN YOU HELP?

In Excel you can put borders around squares and they can be changed by going to 'format', 'cells', then 'borders', however this is very long winded when not every cell is bordered. There must be a way (surely) to set as default the line style you require?

Cathy Turner, via email

Can anyone recommend a database type program that will enable me to record all the types of pots that were made at a local pottery in the 19th and 20th centuries? I need to include photos and for pots that have a continuously varying decoration, a brief video of the piece being rotated. Variations in size, capacity, prices, marks and names, together with their appropriate dates will also need to be recorded. I would like to be able to display this information on a page, with a commentary.

John Giblin, via email

I have two Brother laser printers (HL-1440 and HL-760). No organisation or charity seems interested in recycling toner cartridges or printer drums. Is there anyone out there whom I can give them to?

Julian Treluggan, via email