Business Inventory Management Made Easy

Inventoria Stock Manager allows businesses of all sizes to efficiently track all their inventory processes, whether for one small retail outlet, or a chain of stores and warehouses across several locations. And Inventoria is only one piece of our business software suite, combine it with our other business applications for a low cost complete business management solution.

IVR at the Museum

This summer my dad and I both took some vacation time to go see my sister as a sort of mini family reunion. One of the things that we did on the trip was drive down from her place to Washington D.C. to see the sights. We went to about as much of the Smithsonian as you can fit in with only a few days of time, and while I was reading about all of the different exhibits, there was one thing I saw that stood out: cell phone audio tours.

Quite a few exhibits had signs or placards up with a phone number and "extension" that you could call from your cell phone to listen to more information about that particular display. We saw these signs everywhere from inside the different Smithsonian buildings to the National Botanic Garden. With my nerdy side shining through, I couldn't help but think, "What a wonderful application for an interactive voice response system!" Everyone these days carries a cell phone with them, and these call-in numbers give anyone who is interested the opportunity to hear more about the displays that interest them straight from the source, whether it is a recording made by the artist or the curator or gardener.

What IVR is and its Applications

Interactive voice response (IVR) has a way of sounding very complicated, and that is largely because it is such a powerful and dynamic technology that the possibilities alone can be a bit daunting. It is a little bit easier to grasp if we break it down to some of the unique applications that IVR can be used for. In this case, the museum is in essence putting together an information line. Visitors call the information line, input the number displayed for their current location, and the appropriate audio is played back to them. In other cases, it can be used as an answering attendant to direct incoming phone calls to different extensions, collecting data in an automated telephone survey, or a variety of other tasks.

So while part of me hates to admit that work followed me on my vacation in the form of IVM interactive voice response software, another part of me really got a kick out of seeing this great application for an IVR system at the museum. It's something to keep in mind if you are looking for a solution to help you share information or your expertise without having to always be available in person.

VoIP and Telephony Roundup

Since NCH is a leader in telephony and VoIP software, we want to give you as much information about these topics as possible in one place. Whether you are Wondering if Your Phone Got Left Behind in the Digital Transition, or if you are working on putting together a complete phone system for your home or office, here are some articles we have compiled over the last few months that will help you along the way:

• How VoIP Works
  
• How VoIP Can Help You Save, plus an example of some of those savings in action: Admin Corps Case Study on VoIP Savings
  
• Adding Voicemail to VoIP
  
• Call Recording Laws in the United States
  
• International Call Recording Laws and Regulations
  
• How Telephone On-Hold Messaging Can Help Your Business
  
• Tips For Designing an Interactive Voice Response Telephone System
  
• Auto Dialer Gives Added Power to Small Businesses Reaching Out to Customers and Clients
  
• When we added video call support to Express Talk for the Mac, we also talked about how video calling can be a great alternative to meeting in person especially when a team is spread out geographically
  

For more information about our different telephony software products that you can use to create a custom phone system solution, go to: www.nch.com.au/phone/index.html

Transcription Made Easy: an Express Scribe Tutorial

You've heard us say it before, and we'll continue to say it until everyone knows: Express Scribe makes transcription easy. Why is that? Is it because it has variable speed playback? Yes. What about efficient file management? Of course. Can you use it with a foot pedal? Absolutely. Will it do all the typing for you while you run to the grocery store? Well...not quite, but there are many time-saving features built in so you can get to those errands (or plow through that long list of files quickly).

Thankfully, Express Scribe users out there are sharing their knowledge of the ins and outs of efficient Express Scribe transcription. The most recent example is a post at makeuseof.com entitled How to Transcribe Audio & Video Files Into Text with the Help of Express Scribe. With this blog-style tutorial, you'll learn how to:

• use the basic features of Express Scribe such as loading and playing files
  
• use the variable speed playback feature
  
• set up hot-keys so you can use Express Scribe while in other programs
  
• configure a default word processor to work with Express Scribe
  
• and more

Download Express Scribe for free and use the tutorial to see how easy transcribing can be. You can practice using our free practice transcription files. Then, when you're ready to go pro, use our other typing utilities to save you even more time: FastFox text expander will insert frequently used words, phrases and paragraphs so you don't have to type them over and over; TexTally word counter will make billing and invoicing a breeze; and see our other Dictation and Transcription software for more valuable tools.

Do You Know What Open-Source Software Is?

At the end of July, WavePad Sound Editor was highlighted as the Download of the Day by the good people over at Think Digit. We are always thrilled when WavePad gets recognized, and they did a great job of highlighting the amazing features in their review while recommending you download and try the audio editor. But one of the things they said made me pause. The intro says, "There are a few very good reasons why we love WavePad – it’s simple, it's free, it's fast and it’s open-source." This is an absolutely wonderful quote except for one thing: WavePad isn't open-source. There is a lite version of WavePad that is available for free for non-commercial use in addition to the Master's edition, and I can't help but wonder if people equate free software with open-source, especially when there are technology writers out there who are falling into this trap?

What is Open-Source?

The most basic definition of open-source is that the source code of an application is made freely available. This allows outside computer developers to make improvements or customizations to that source code and create new versions of the software. There are additional requirements for software to truly be open-source, and if you are interested in the topic a good place to learn more would be at the Open Source Initiative. So you can see that because NCH Software doesn't make any of the underlying code of our programs available, even though we have several free software applications, we don't meet the criteria of being open-source software.

So while it is true that we aren't open-source, we are still very proud of our WavePad audio editing software and we are open to suggestions if you have any ideas you want share with our development team. And in the mean time maybe today is a good day to download WavePad and find some of your own reasons to love this wonderful little audio editor.

Another Impressive Review for WavePad

TopTenReviews recently updated its top ten list for best audio editing software. We were pleased to see WavePad Master's Edition move up in the rankings from last year, winning a Silver award for 2010's best audio editing software. Here are some of our favorite quotes from the review:

"Whether you are a musician looking to refine and improve tracks, a journalist looking to trim or extract vocal clips or looking to add voice narration to a multimedia presentation, [WavePad] offers a unique range, making it accessible to users with audio editing software needs not related to music production."

"The great thing about this software is it has it all. You can download, edit and burn through one program. Not many other software packages that we tested had these capabilities, not to mention the quality that NCH Software has implemented."

"WavePad strikes an incredible balance between high-end and low-end, advanced and beginner level audio and sound editing software programs, giving users of various professions, skill-sets and program needs an incredible range with which to work. Best of all, it does so without over-simplifying its interface or limiting users to only a handful of tools."

The review correctly points out that whether you are an experienced audiophile, use audio editing in non-music related professions, or are just getting started in audio production, WavePad has something for everyone. You can read the entire review, and make sure you take advantage of WavePad's free trial to see how well it can work for you.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival August 2, 2010

Welcome to the August 2, 2010 edition of Do More with Audio.


Jack Josey presents How to Sound Like a Pro When Podcasting posted at Audio Production Advice.

How To Record Better Bass posted at podcomplex.

Mike Ross presents The 12 Greatest Costumed Rock Bands Ever posted at Star Costumes Blog, saying, "Rock and Roll has had its share of larger than life characters. Some were born with an innate charisma that just demanded attention. Other artists fully embraced rock and roll’s shared sense of rebellion and theater to create new personas through costume."

Phil Lopez presents Top 10 Christian Hymns of All-Time posted at Christian Colleges and Universities.

Collecting Vinyl Records posted at Recording Video.

peterselby7 presents Jun 30, Used Audio Cables, a great way to save. The Best Speaker Wire and Audio Cable posted at Home Speaker Blog.

You might also be interested in:

• Make your own Glee Music Mash-up
  
• Digitize Your Vinyl Record Collection
  
• PitchPerfect Guitar Tuning Software for Musicians Now Available for the iPhone
  
• TempoPerfect Metronome Software is Now an iPhone App
  
• Zulu Virtual DJ Software New Mac Version
  

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Do More With Audio using our carnival submission form.