Archive for August 14th, 2007

Achieve the Appropriate Tone in Email

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

Tone is important in any form of communication. Are you using the appropriate tone when communicating with email?

Email messages are different from typed letters. You can’t be “too” formal in a letter. In an email, too formal looks silly. What’s the appropriate tone for an email? — slightly more casual than a letter. Yet, there is a fine line between being too casual and too formal.

The attitude and culture of your company will dictate the amount of formality necessary. Meeting planners and hotels won’t be as formal as a bank or law firm.

As you compose the message, consider the person who will be reading it. Know your audience. It’s easier if you are replying to a message. Then you simply match the tone to that of the sender.

When in doubt, strive for a tone that is professional, yet conversational. Try using contractions (I’ll, we’ll, he’s, she’s). In conversation, we use the words “I, we, you.” So, use these in emails.

Be careful with “I,” though. Using too many can be perceived as egocentric. You don’t want to appear as a pompous meeting planner. If you notice an abundance of “I’s,” try rewriting every other sentence. This will create variety, and that pesky personal pronoun won’t be as obvious.

In addition to being conversational, an email should be concise. The average office worker sends and receives 36 email messages every day. Some people receive literally hundreds daily. There’s no room for fluff. By keeping your message short, there’s a better chance it’ll be read.

In email messages, “short” equals one screen (not one page). Busy readers don’t bother to scroll down. So, put your most important information first. Don’t bury it in the fourth sentence of the third paragraph. Consider using the journalism technique of the “five W’s”: Who, What, Where, When and Why. Start with the vitals, then elaborate later.

The best email sentences and paragraphs are brief. These are quick for the receiver to read and easy on the eyes. Double space between paragraphs and don’t indent.

How do you write “briefly”? One technique is to omit wordy phrases.

• Instead of “as a general rule” use “generally”

• Instead of “on two different occasions” use “twice”

• Instead of “at this point in time” use “now”

• Instead of “more than one” use “multiple”

Since people are notorious for skimming email messages, create lists. These can be read at a glance, and readers aren’t as likely to miss something important. Use numbers or bullets to highlight each point. You have three options: complete sentences, or fragments/phrases, or single words. Just be consistent. Don’t make point number one a sentence and point number two a single word. Whatever method you select, capitalize the first word.

You may double space between the listed items or not. Double spacing makes the list easier to read, but it also takes up more of that oh-so-precious screen space.

By Kelly J. Watkins, MBA, Louisville, KY. Visit: http://www.keepcustomers.com to order, Email Etiquette Made Easy (a comprehensive guide filled with exercises & examples) or for tips on communication & customer service! (812) 246-2424 or kelly@keepcustomers.com.

Greeting Card Tango: How To Impress, Not Stress, During The Holidays

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

When it comes to holiday greeting cards, to send or not to send is often the question. Once you have decided in the affirmative, you then have to determine who to include on your list, what kind of card to choose and how to address the envelope.

There are lots of reasons for sending those holiday cards. You might want to enhance your current business relationships, attract new customers, remind old clients that you exist or show appreciation to those who have faithfully supported you during the year. What is obviously a well-meaning gesture can actually offend the people you want to impress when it is not done properly.

The first place to start is with a good quality card to show that you value your clients and colleagues. Skimping on your selection can be interpreted in a number of ways. Your recipients might take it as a sign that business has not been good or that they aren’t worth a little extra investment on your part.

Make sure your list is up-to-date with correct names and current addresses. If you do this on a regular basis, it does not become a dreaded holiday chore. As you gain new clients and contacts throughout the year, take a few minutes to add them to your database and mark them for your greeting card group. This way you won’t overlook anyone or embarrass yourself by sending the card to the old address.

Sign each card personally. Even if you have preprinted information on the card such as your name - which is an impressive detail - you need to add your handwritten signature. The most elegant cards should still have your personal signature and a short handwritten message or greeting. Sound like a lot of trouble? If the business or the relationship is worth it, so is the extra effort. This is your chance to connect on a personal level with your clients and colleagues.

Take the time to handwrite the address as well. If you are ready to throw up your hands at this point and forget the whole project, then have someone else address the envelopes for you. Whatever you do, don’t use computer-generated labels. They are impersonal and make your holiday wishes look like a mass mailing. You may save time and even money, but lose a client or a business associate in the process.

You may mail your greeting to the home if you know the business person socially. Be sure to include the spouse’s name in this instance. The card is not sent to both husband and wife at the business address unless they both work there.

Whether you are addressing the envelope to an individual or a couple, titles should always be used. It’s “Mr. John Doe,” not “John Doe,” or “Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, rather that “John and Mary Doe.”

Be sensitive to the religious and cultural traditions of the people to whom you are sending your cards. Find out whether they observe Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanzaa and make sure your message is appropriate for each individual. If you decide to go with one card and a single message for all, choose a generic one that will not offend. “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays” are both safe bets.

Mail your greetings in time to arrive for the designated holiday. If you find yourself addressing the envelopes on Super Bowl Sunday, keep the cards until next year and send out a high-quality note thanking people for their business during the previous year instead. The best way to avoid the last minute greeting rush is to have all your envelopes addressed before Thanksgiving. Then during December you can leisurely write a short message - one or two lines are all that is necessary on each card, sign your name and have them in the mail with a minimum of hassle.

You now have all the time in the world for the shopping, baking, decorating and celebrating that accompany the holiday season.

*************************************************

Additional Tips for Addressing Envelopes

If you are about to address your holiday greeting cards or the invitations to the company party and you are confused about the correct way to do it, you are not alone. There are situations that we have not had to consider before. There are more women with professional titles, increased numbers of women who retain their maiden name after marriage, and couples choosing alternative living arrangements. The simple act of addressing an envelope has become quite complicated. Here are a few tips to cover the majority of those demanding dilemmas.

Always write titles on the envelope. The card or invitation goes to “Mr. John Smith,” not “John Smith.” It is addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith,” instead of “John and Mary Smith.”

When you address a couple, use titles, rather than professional initials. It’s “Dr. and Mrs. John Smith,” not “John Smith, M.D. and Mrs. Smith.”

If both the husband and the wife are doctors, you write, “The Doctors Smith.” However, if they use different last names, you address the envelope to “Dr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Brown.” The husband’s name is placed first.

If the wife is a doctor and the husband is not, you send your invitation to “Mr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Smith.”

Try to get it all on one line. When the husband has an unusually long name, the wife’s title and name are indented and written on the second line:

The Honorable Jonathon Richardson Staniskowsky and Mrs. Staniskowsky

When a couple is not married and share a mutual address, their names are written on separate lines alphabetically and not connected by the word “and.”

Ms. Mary Brown

Mr. John Smith

When the woman outranks her husband, her name is written first. It’s “Major Mary Smith and Lieutenant John Smith.”

Note: The man’s name is always written first unless the wife outranks him or if the couple is unmarried and her last name precedes his alphabetically. So much for “Ladies first.”

(c) 2004, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.

About The Author

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL - ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors’ Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman’s Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, e-mail her at Lydia@MannersThatSell.com or visit her web site http://www.mannersthatsell.com.

What is Harmful in Non Vegetarian Diet?

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

As more and more studies are coming up about the detrimental aspects of non vegetarian food, many people are anxious to know how they can stay healthy without giving up their favorite non vegetarian delicacies. The following points list the demerits as well as ways you can circumvent the harmful effects.

1. Non Vegetarian foods are fibreless: The roughage portion is missing in non vegetarian diets, therefore one should make a conscious effort to eat foods high in roughage. The foods high in roughage (insoluble fiber) are wheat bran, whole cereals like brown rice. Oat fiber is particularly beneficial for cardiac cholesterol related disorders. Oats have soluble fiber which dissolves in the body fluids and helps the body to decrease the cholesterol buildup.

2. Non Vegetarian foods are high in cholesterol: Since non vegetarian foods contain cholesterol, it is important to avoid other foods which can have additive affect on the cholesterol, like dairy products, particularly cheese. Besides these, one must avoid foods which have trans-fatty acids.

3. Non Vegetarian foods which are processed and preserved may contain high amounts of chemicals. Therefore, it is important to limit the quantity of non vegetarian food products which may contain preservatives.

4. Non Vegetarian foods are devoid of many vitamins. To keep up a healthy level of Vitamin B complex and Vitamin C, it is important to eat fruits and vegetables in adequate quantities to prevent any deficiency from coming up. Fruits should be eaten in their natural state and drinking packed juices is not the solution. Similar is the case with eating vegetables destroyed by deep frying beyond recognition.

5. Non vegetarians need strong digestive enzymes to be able to digest proteins. Hence, it is important to include sources of natural digestive enzymes in the diet to help the body keep its digestive capability high. Foods rich in enzymes are raw papaya (can be eaten as a salad) - rich in enzyme papain; pineapple - rich in the enzyme bromelene, and basic salads which are rich in natural enzymes.

6. Many authorities claim that people should be cautious while consuming fish found near industrial zones as they may be toxic.

7. Red meat should be consumed sparingly if you have increased incidence of hypertension and heart problems. Once a week, detox by eating fruits, sprouts, vegetable juices, salads and non-roasted nuts.

Daisy Bone is a veteran of the alternative medicine industry and has a wealth of knowledge on Herpes Cure. More info: Genital Herpes Treatment.

Three Simple Steps For A Healthier Dog

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

We all want what is best for our pet. Yet sometimes because of your hectic schedules, we tend to put our dog’s care at the bottom of the list or it just becomes a habit of chores we perform every day without giving it much thought. We stumble out of bed in the morning, let the dog out, fill the water bowl, dump some food in the dish and go on with our daily routine. Let’s face it this can get very boring for you and especially for your dog.

In order to maintain your dog’s health there are really only three simple steps you need to follow:

1. A good diet

2. Plenty of fresh water

3. Exercise

A good diet is essential to your dog’s health. Be careful what you buy! Read the ingredients label not just the name of the dog food. An all natural dog food is what you should be looking for, not one that contains filler and by-products. Remember you get what you pay for. Although an all natural dog food may be more expensive, studies have shown that your dog will in almost all cases eat more of the “bargain brand” than the all natural, nutritious dog food. The “bargain brands” will pass through your dog more quickly because they do not contain as much of the daily nutrients your dog requires. This leads to your dog being hungrier more often and thereby eating more. Your dog will retain more of the nutrients contained in the all natural food which means they will be less hungry, have healthier coats, more energy and better overall health.

Give your dog plenty of fresh water. Change it as often as you can. A good rule to follow is that every time you get yourself something to drink, add new water to your dog’s bowl.

Exercise your dog daily. This is good for you also. Take long walks, throw a ball or stick around the backyard or park. Remember your dog’s cardiovascular system, heart and muscles need exercise just like yours.

About The Author

James DeFazio

I have been an avid pet lover my whole life and know the importance of maintaining your pets health. For more information about caring for your pet go to http://www.natural-pet-supplies.com.

Bargain Hunting for Women’s Plus Size Apparel

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

If finding women’s plus size apparel is difficult, then finding clothing in large sizes at bargain prices is an even greater challenge. To get the best deals on plus size clothes, consider shopping online, at local stores, and through mail-order catalogs. The following are eight strategies for saving money:

- Look for a sale, clearance, or outlet section on the website of your favorite retailer. Occasionally, you can save up to 80% off original prices this way. If your retailer is owned by a parent company, also check the parent company’s website for a clearance or outlet section.

- Comparison shop for similar items at different websites. If you plan to wear an item only a few times or occasionally, perhaps you can purchase a similar but cheaper item.

- Always use a search engine to look for a coupon code your retailer may have. Many websites actually track these coupon codes along with expiration dates to help shoppers save. When filling out your order form online or in a catalog, look for an entry for “coupon code” or “promo code” and then enter a coupon code that applies. If ordering online, be sure to verify that you have received the discount for entering the coupon code.

- Go to the website of your favorite plus size retailer and sign up to receive e-mail specials. In addition, if the sign-up form offers a print catalog, request the catalog also. By signing up, you will receive notifications through e-mails and catalogs of any specials the retailer may be having. Note that you should sign up only with retailers that really interest you or your mailbox may become crammed with excessive e-mails.

- Buy clothing out-of-season or pre-season. Many retailers will offer steep discounts on out-of-season items.

- Buy machine-washable clothes. The cost of having to dry clean an item will make that item expensive in the long run. If you are not sure whether an item is machine-washable, be sure to ask the retailer before you buy.

- Visit local stores that carry plus size clothing and browse through their clearance racks. Some local retailers try to quickly rid their racks of excessive inventory to make room for the latest fashion.

- Purchase items that coordinate well with what you already have in your wardrobe in terms of styling and color.

Using the above strategies will help you save on plus size clothing. Dressing well should not have to be an expensive endeavor for the full-figured woman.

Amy Chou manages the content of the plus size clothing website
of Curvely.com. Her website provides coupon codes for plus size apparel retailers and resources for finding women’s plus size formal dresses, wedding gowns, prom dresses, casual clothing, and maternity clothes.

Medicinal Benefits of a Sauna

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

Medicinal Benefits of a Sauna

The refreshing and soothing benefit of steam sauna was
understood almost a thousand years ago, and most of the people
used the magical properties of sauna to relax their body and
mind. However in the recent years, scientific investigations
revealed that a session of sauna taken everyday over a period of
time will have some sort of be medicinal effect on your body.

Here are some of the medicinal effects of sauna:

1. Sauna is a healthy activity that rejuvenates your mind and
body 2. Saunas could be used to rehabilitate smokers and
alcoholics to make them more active and healthier. 3. Sauna can
also be used to eliminate dangerous toxins and heavy metals from
your body 4. Sauna can also treat you for Lupis. 5. Sauna is
also used to soothe your muscles and normal nerve functions.

One of the most striking examples of how sauna works to get rid
of toxins from your body is illustrated from the following
example:

In some proven trials, it was established that pesticide
residues in the body could easily be eliminated by consistent
exposure of the body to sauna sessions. There was an instance
when a family was exposed to pesticide residues slowly
propagated through the air ducts of the home furnace. The
homemaker who used to work in the home the day was adversely
affected by the poisoning. However the extent of the exposure to
her husband and children was not at an adverse level, as they
were either at work or at school in the day time. In the due
course, all of them started experiencing severe headaches and
muscle twitches. Once the chemical was detected in their body,
they were advised many sessions of sauna to get rid of the
poisonous residues from the body. After repeated exposures to
the beneficial aspects of sauna, it started showing its
wonderful results. With each session of sauna, the poison from
the body started coming through sweat and perspiration.

Author recommends http://myzww.com for further information on
Sauna

Doggin’ Charleston: Where To Hike With Your Dog In The Holy City

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

The Battery/White Point Gardens, behind the elevated walkway at Murray Boulevard and Battery Street, are named for the St. Bernard-sized piles of oyster shells that covered this area where the Cooper and Ashley rivers pour into Charleston Bay. The marsh was filled in and transformed into a public recreation space beginning in 1837. The stately oaks you walk the dog under were planted in 1863. From the dog-friendly park you can study the positions of the forts that protected the harbor, including Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began.

About 90 minutes to the south is Hunting Island State Park a 5000-acre island that
was once a hunting preserve, hence its name. Before that it was a stopover for
sailors and pirates. Much of the park was developed as a Depression-era project
and its 1120-foot fishing pier is one of the longest on the East Coast.

The lighthouse in the park, built in 1859 and destroyed in the Civil War before being
rebuilt with cast iron plates designed to be dismantled and moved, is the only public
light in South Carolina. You can climb the 167 steps - without your dog - to the top
for a commanding view of the shoreline.

Hunting Island State Park is one of the best places you can hike with your dog. Dogs
are allowed on the park trails and the ocean beach - three miles of natural sand.
The formal trails include a one-mile nature trail and a 4-mile long hiking trail. Both
are easy going for you and the dog. A marsh boardwalk has been constructed over a
salt water marsh overlooking Johnson Creek.

You will find an abundance of palmetto forests - the South Carolina state tree - on
the island. If you remember the jungle scenes from Forrest Gump you will get a feel
for the tropical trails on Hunting Island. The Vietnam scenes from the hit movie
were filmed here.

Hunting Island State Park is 16 miles east of Beaufort. From Charleston, take
Highway 17 (Savannah Hwy) South to Gardens Corner, then take a left on Hwy 21 to
park.

copyright 2006

Doug Gelbert is the author of over 20 books, including The Canine Hiker’s Bible.
To subscribe to his FREE Newsletter on hiking with your dog and receive a copy
of Rules for Dogs in 100 of the Most Popular National Park Service Lands, visit
http://www.hikewithyourdog.com In the warmer months he leads canine hikes
for hikewithyourdog.com tours, guiding packs of dogs and humans on hiking
adventures. Tours, ranging from one-day trips to multi-day explorations, visit
parks, historical sites and beaches.

The Budget 2005 & Inheritance Tax: Has the Chancellor Done E

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

Introduction

‘The Government’s economic objective is to build a strong economy and a fair society, where there is opportunity and security for all.”

So reads the opening statement of the Labour Government’s 2005 Budget. But the word ‘fair’ is wide off the mark when considering the incidence of inheritance tax on an increasing number of homeowners over the past few years.

The Inheritance Tax Problem

Over the past few years inheritance tax ceased to be the ‘rich person’s tax’ or the ‘voluntary’ tax which it used to be. The cause of the problem has been the ever increasing scale of house prices resulting in property values which far exceed the Nil Rate Band exemption for inheritance tax.

Research conducted by stockbrokers Brewin Dolphin, there are an estimated 2.4 million homes across the UK that are now valued above the £263,000 inheritance tax threshold, before taking any other assets into account. And one in five people anticipating an inheritance have no idea that anything over and above the threshold will be subject to 40% of tax.

In summary, the number of homes sold which were above the inheritance tax threshold rose from 3% in 1994 to 14% in 2004 and the Government has pocketed a staggering £3.3bn in inheritance tax since 1997!

The 2005 Budget

The inheritance tax issue was a main concern for the Chancellor Gordon Brown after various professional bodies have stressed the need for the threshold to be increased. Having heard the arguments the Chancellor did just that.

The current Nil Rate Band threshold is £263,000 and the Chancellor has announced that this is to be increased to £275,000 for the forthcoming tax year 2005/2006 and then further increased to £285,000 and £300,000 the following two years.
As a result of these increases the Chancellor has argued that 94% of estates would not pay inheritance tax. So has the Chancellor done enough?

Adequate Increases?

Are the increases to the inheritance tax threshold good enough? Should they have been increased further? It is certainly true that previous inheritance tax increases have not been so steep; usually the increases are made in line with current inflation rates. However, this Budget has seen an increase which is way above inflation.

On the other hand, the contrary argument is that the high rise in house prices necessitated such an increase, and even this may not be enough. The Halifax Building Society calculated that had the inheritance tax threshold increased in line with house price inflation over the last 10 years, then the current threshold would be sitting at £390,000 - significantly less than the figure announced by Gordon Brown.

Conclusion: Budget Blues

So was this a ‘bad’ budget’ from the inheritance tax point of view? Not entirely.
Any increase in the Nil Rate Band is to be welcomed as it sets free some of those caught in the inheritance tax net. As Simon Massey (partner with chartered accountancy firm Menzies) told BBC News, “The increase to the Inheritance Tax threshold is a long way above inflation and is very welcome…It is good to see something being done.”

So whilst the increase may not exactly be in line with the current house price situation, it will certainly be a relief to many, and any increase is better than no increase at all.

JsByrne
LLB (Hons) PGDip.LPc.
www.Draft-Your-Will.com

About the Author

Miss Janine Byrne holds a Bachelor of Law degree with Honours & a post-graduate diploma in Legal Practice. Also gained qualification in Wills Writing & is the owner/author of www.Draft-Your-Will.com and DYW Wills & Estate Planning Newsletter www.Draft-Your-Will.com/Legal_Updates.html

Why Search Engine Optimization is Not Enough

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

OK. So you’ve created a nice website with lots of interesting products and information. Now all you need is visitors.

No problem.

This is what online marketers call “getting traffic”, and it definitely is a problem. In fact, probably much more of a problem than you realized when you got into this online selling stuff. You probably figured it was just a matter of creating a nice site and waiting for people to discover it. Get listed in a few directories; “submit” your site to a bunch of search engines, and you’ll be on your way.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.

Why it doesn’t work that way

The reason is pretty simple. Most new internet entrepreneurs have no idea how important the big search engines are — especially Google, MSN, and Yahoo. And they have no idea how these big search engines work. If they did, they would probably tear their beautiful websites apart and start over.

And guess what? That is exactly what most online entrepreneurs end up doing. If they are persistent enough, they eventually learn about the search engines, and they rebuild their sites the way they should have been built in the first
place.

What they think they have learned

The reason they rebuild their sites is because they learn a little bit about something called “Search Engine Optimization” or “SEO”. The mysterious art of SEO starts from the premise that search engines analyze websites in terms of content and subject matter. Their automatic “spiders” look over your pages and use hints within those pages to determine what they are about. If they see lots of words about “golden retrievers” on a particular page, then they assume that page is about “golden retrievers”. These are known as “keywords” — the words that indicate what your content is about.

SEO takes this fairly obvious fact and says, “Since the search engines are going to draw conclusions about the subject matter of your pages based on keywords, then you should make sure they see the correct ones.” In fact, there are all kinds of little SEO techniques that try to exploit the way spiders draw
conclusions about your pages.

Why this is not enough

Unfortunately, no matter how much SEO you do, it is still not enough to ensure you a high ranking in searches for your most important keywords.
Especially if you are chasing popular keywords like most of us are. For instance, it really doesn’t matter how much “optimization” you do for a keyword like “Real Estate”, since you will be competing for search engine results with literally millions of other pages which are also optimized for that term. Why should they choose your humble little page?

The fact is, they don’t choose yours. And the reason is pretty simple. Your page is just not important enough to rank a high position for a term like “Real Estate”. You have to do something to give it some importance.

Making your pages “important”

The most effective way to make your pages “important” in the eyes of the
search engines, is to get other sites to link to yours. When the search engines see a link pointing from an outside site to a page on your site, they assume this means your page is important enough to be considered a resource worth looking at. The more links you have pointing at your page, the more important
your page is considered and the higher it will rank when people search for the type of content your page is about.

It is also important to understand that not all links are considered equally valuable by the search engines. The most valuable links come from other important sites that share your area of interest. For instance, if yours is a Real Estate site, then the most valuable links are from other real estate sites that have already achieved some importance in the eyes of the search engines.

To put this all in “link strategy” terms:

The best way to enhance the importance of your web pages in the eyes of the search engines, is by getting as many links as possible from relevant sites that are considered authoritative in your area of interest.

Rick Hendershot is an internet writer and publisher and is the creator of the Linknet Publishing Network. For information on products to enhance the exposure of your website and build traffic, go to Linknet Products.

What Are Touchscreens Used For?

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

The magic touch screens reduce mouse stress by letting your finger do the mousing. Here are a few examples of how touch input systems are being used today:

Public Information Displays

Information kiosks, tourism displays, trade show displays, and other electronic displays are used by many people that have little or no computing experience. The user-friendly touch screen interface can be less intimidating and easier to use than other input devices, especially for novice users. A touch screen can help make your information more easily accessible by allowing users to navigate your presentation by simply touching the display screen.

Retail and Restaurant Systems

Time is money, especially in a fast paced retail or restaurant environment. Touchscreen systems are easy to use so employees can get work done faster, and training time can be reduced for new employees. And because input is done right on the screen, valuable counter space can be saved. Touch screens can be used in cash registers, order entry stations, seating and reservation systems, and more.

Customer Self-Service

In today’s fast pace world, waiting in line is one of the things that has yet to speed up. Self-service touch screen terminals can be used to improve customer service at busy stores, fast service restaurants, transportation hubs, and more. Customers can quickly place their own orders or check themselves in or out, saving them time, and decreasing wait times for other customers. Automated bank teller (ATM) and airline e-ticket terminals are examples of self-service stations that can benefit from touch screen input.

Control and Automation Systems

The touch screen interface is useful in systems ranging from industrial process control to home automation. By integrating the input device with the display, valuable workspace can be saved. And with a graphical interface, operators can monitor and control complex operations in real-time by simply touching the screen.

Computer Based Training

Because the touch screen interface is more user-friendly than other input devices, overall training time for computer novices, and therefore training expense, can be reduced. It can also help to make learning more fun and interactive, which can lead to a more beneficial training experience for both students and educators.

Assistive Technology

The touch screen interface can be beneficial to those that have difficulty using other input devices such as a mouse or keyboard. When used in conjunction with software such as on-screen keyboards, or other assistive technology, they can help make computing resources more available to people that have difficulty using computers.

And many more uses…

The touch screen interface is being used in a wide variety of applications to improve human-computer interaction. Other applications include digital jukeboxes, computerized gaming, student registration systems, multimedia software, financial and scientific applications, and more.

Willson Peterson is computer expert and network engineer. He is the author of “Let’s resolve the frequent troubles of TFT LCD monitor ourselves”.