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Table of Contents
(click on any
article title to move directly to that article)
The Podium--A
Quick Overview of this issue
Tech Flash – A call for Beta
testers.
Let’s Talk About IMAP – ..and its benefit to YOU.
Winter 2001 Calendar of
Events - Where will MBS be this next Quarter?
Did you know? - Compatibility
problems between Nexus and Windows ME.
Hints and Tips - Helpful
suggestions and other items of interest.
TechFAQs – Solving a
contract deletion problem.
Sites Unseen – Interesting
web sites.
Some thoughts from the CEO
- Cemetery mapping software.
MBS’ Recommended Hardware List |
The PodiumSince this issue is coming out in the dead-of-winter, we
thought we might talk about the terribly frrrrrrr-igid weather. However, since it is
around 70 degrees here in the Nashville area today on February 8th…
Well, its that time again! We
need volunteers to be beta testers for the next version of Nexus. So, why don’t all
of you intrepid, adventurous souls out there who do not know fear read the brief
article in TechFlash on page two titled "A Call For Beta Testers".
Hey, while you’re on
page two, there’s an interesting and informative article about IMAP, our cemetery
mapping software. So, as the article title reads, Let’s Talk About IMAP.
We think we’ve assembled
some useful Windows tips that we thought might save you some time. Read them in Hints
& Tips which appears on page three.
On page six Fred Miller talks
about seemingly newly discovered GIS-technology-based cemetery mapping
systems...something IMAP, since its inception, has been for nearly seven years!
Toss in a few more
ingredients such as TechFAQs and Sites Unseen, both on page three, as well
as Did You Know? on page two, and we think we have concocted a perfect recipe to
make a newsletter. Bon Apetit!
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| ©Copyright MBS,
Inc. July 1, 2000 For Article
Suggestions, Copies or Requests, please email Tom Balducci at tbalducci@mbs-intl.com.
For Site Corrections or Suggestions, please email jmcquiston@mbs-intl.com.
Thank you. |
| tech FLASH
As you probably are aware, we have been
working on a new version of Nexus, Version 3.0. Every so often software developers such as
us require the help of a product’s end-user, particularly when the release of a new
version of software is imminent. Usually, the need is for Beta testers, who would be, in
our case, the people who use Nexus on a daily basis. The people in the trenches, so to
speak.
Beta testers have an
important job. The issues they discover during testing, and that are resolved by our
programmers before the product ships, contributes greatly to a stable product when
it ships. And the less problems with a product means less time that you will find yourself
wasting. So, if you would like to volunteer to be a Beta tester, give Pat Mitchell a call
at 800-844-4447.
Return to Table of Contents |
| Lets Talk About IMAP and Its Benefit to YOUWith the release of the latest
version of IMAP, IMAP 6.0, Memorial Business Systems continues its long tradition of
offering quality products to the cemetery industry.
A MapInfo-based GIS mapping application, IMAP offers a
wide-range of benefits to the cemeterian. Designed for mapping, as opposed to adapted
for mapping like CAD systems, GIS offers a broader array of functions to the user.
IMAP prints locator maps that assist your clients in finding
a burial site, as well as helping cemetery staff to find burial locations quickly.
Installed in an electronic kiosk, IMAP is a constant, helpful presence to the public
should your staff not be available.
To assist your salespeople,IMAP’s color-coded shaded
maps show space availability. IMAP can also link to city and street maps facilitating the
use of MapInfo’s demographic data to identify and locate leads.
Photos of your cemetery and it’s features can be
imbedded into IMAP, which can save trips to a grave site, especially in nasty weather.
HotLinks, a new feature in IMAP 6.0, allows objects in the map to contain links to Web
sites or computer files associated with the object such as word processing documents,
photos or obituaries.
No other cemetery mapping system available today can come
close to matching IMAP’s features, appearance or value.
Return to Table of Contents |
| Winter 2001 Calendar of Events January
1st – New Years Day
February
March
11th-15th – ICFA Annual Meeting &
Exhibition, Las Vegas
Return to Table of Contents |
Did
...That the latest version of Windows, Windows ME,
is not compatible with the current version of Nexus?
If you are purchasing new hardware for use as a workstation, and intend
to run the current version of Nexus on the system, avoid Windows ME and have Windows 98
installed instead as the operating system.
Return to Table of Contents |
Hints & Tips
Tip (Win 9X)
Add Your Printer to SendTo
To Print documents without
opening them, add your printer to the SendTo menu (accessed when you highlight and right
-click on any file in a Windows Explorer or My Computer window). Open C:\WINDOWS\SENDTO
and create a shortcut there for your printer. Your printer will now appear the next time
you access the SendTo menu.
Hint (Win9X, NT)
Use Keyboard to Create a New
Folder
Open a folder in which you want to place a new folder and press Alt+F,Enter,Enter. Bingo,
a new folder appears!
Tip (All
VersionsWindows)
Rename Icons
"My Computer"?
"Network Neighborhood"? "My Network Places"? Who thinks up these lame
names at Microsoft? Right-click any icon on your desktop (or in an Explorer or folder
window) and choose Rename. Now name the icons whatever you like, but don’t go
too hog-wild because you are going to have to remember what the folders are for. By
the way, don't try to rename "Recycle Bin"--it's a fixed system name and
can’t be edited.
Hint (Win9x)
Print a Directory Listing
Easily
Its not easy to print a list
of all the files in a folder in Windows. But since we live to serve you, here’s an
easy way: First, navigate to the folder (or press Windows-R if you have a Windows
keyboard); then click Start, Run, type command_"dir>prn", and
finish by pressing Enter. If you are connected to a network printer, be sure to use
its network name. For instance, you could use the name \\server/laser, instead of
using 'prn'.
Tip (Win 9X)
Close Trick
You can close multiple open programs, folders and documents all at once in Win98 and IE
4.0: Press and hold the Ctrl key, click on the taskbar icon of each program you want to
close, then right-click on any one of them and select Close from the Context menu.
Hint (Win 98)
Cap Internet Temp Files
If your disk space is at a premium, you can limit space allotted to temporary Internet
files. In Internet Explorer 5, select Tools/Internet Options/General and click on
Settings. A slider bar lets you decrease the percentage of your hard disk space that can
be taken over by these files. In Navigator, select Edit/Preferences, click on the plus
sign next to the Advanced item in the left pane, then click on Cache. Adjust the settings
for Memory Cache and Disk Cache to suit your needs.
Return to Table of Contents |
TechFAQs
Q. I have a contract that I can’t delete. When I try to find the contract is says it’s
not there, but when I try to add it, it says it already exists. What should I do?
A. If an error occurs during the adding of a contract, it may be
partially added. In other words some records for that contract may be in the Nexus system
but others are not. To delete a contract that has been partially added use the Delete
Contract menu option found on the Transactions – Contract menu. You will be asked for
the contract number and the reason the contract is being deleted.
Return to Table of Contents |
Sites
Unseen
www.mapinfo.com
www.ups.com
www.navision.com
http://www.interment.net: More online cemetery records.
2,071,473 records from 3,601 cemeteries.
http://www.elmwoodcemetery.org:
Exceptionally attractive cemetery Web site.Historic Elmwood Cemetery is located
in Memphis, Tennessee.
http://www.realtor.com:
House hunting? Find it online! Home page of the National Association of Realtors.
http://www.ugetheard.com: This
site works closely with disgruntled consumers and companies to resolve sales that have
gone awry.
Sites
Unseen is a list of interesting, informative and helpful Web sites we thought might be
useful to you. If your cemetery or cemetery-related business has a Web site, e-mail
the address to us at tbalducci@mbs-intl.com. |
| Some thoughts from the CEO:
Now There's An Idea, by Fred MillerIn case you missed
it, the December issue of Cemetery & Funeral Magazine published by the International
Cemetery and Funeral Association featured an article about cemetery mapping. ‘Lo and
behold, it was about the automation of cemetery maps. I touted the automation of
cemetery maps using a Geographical Information System (GIS) based mapping program. They
are also thinking about including it in a kiosk. The article extolled the virtues of such
a system for cemeteries.Sound familiar? Well, it certainly does if you are one of
MBS’s IMAP customers, because that is exactly what IMAP is and has been
for the eight years we have made it available to the cemetery industry.
The most surprising thing about that article
was that I didn’t write it. After all, it was such an enthusiastic endorsement of GIS
mapping. And the information in the article was accurate. However, there were a couple of
things that bothered me.
To begin with, the article was written as if
the technology was brand new, even revolutionary. Not so. To my knowledge, the technology
has been around since the late ‘80’s. MBS has been applying refining and
marketing the technology since about 1994. Ancient history in the world of automation.
Moreover, there is a great deal of
development work required to provide maps of the quality of IMAP. The author was brand new
to the arena of mapping cemeteries, which was obvious from the content of the article.
There are two major steps necessary to provide cemeterians with professional looking,
useful and cost-effective maps. The first step is to digitize the hardcopy maps, i.e., get
them into the computer and label each space with its accurate location identification
called geocoding. Making these things happen in a way that is affordable has been the key
to IMAP’s success. The major elements to the creation of professional looking maps
are the programs written to enable smooth curves in circular sections, rotation of oddly
laid out spaces, and the ability to create and search mausoleums and columbariums.
The second major step is to add the functions
that will make the map useable for the person at the front desk. Click here, click there.
Find this, print that. MBS has been simplifying these functions for years. We have it
down. New products require lots of road testing.
Finally, a leading cemetery has selected a
company with no background in cemetery mapping. They have decided to reinvent the wheel.
Go figure.
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| MBS's Recommended Hardware List |
| Processor
Memory
Hard Drive
Floppy Drive
Network Card
Power Backup
Video Card
CD ROM
Monitor
Ports |
Suggested
File Server SpecificationsPentium III
256 MB RAM
10 Gigabytes
1.44 MB
3Com 100 Base TX
700 Watt Smart UPS
VGA adapter
32 Speed
15" Color
2 Serial, 1 Parallel |
Suggested
Workstation ConfigurationPentium II or III
64 MB RAM
6 Gigabyte
1.44 MB
3Com 100 Base TX
450 Watt UPS
SVGA w/4 MB RAM
32 speed
17" SVGA Color
2 Serial, 1 Parallel |
|
Return to Table of Contents
|
