Booking Of Corporate Resouces In Outlook

A month ago I told you about the development of Calendar Browser for Outlook V8, and now this tool for booking of resources within an organization is coming together nicely.

Testing
The actual new development of Calendar Browser V8 is now finished, and the testing phase has begun. Our QA team is busy trying to book resources and use the new version in all thinkable ways and with different configurations and languages. and in that process they find a number of bugs. This is normal in all development and nothing to worry about.

Some of the bugs are major or even blockers, while other are minors or mere enhancements. All bugs are reported in a SharePoint list, where all details are easily filled out or selected.

The developers are just as busy fixing the bugs, so that not the users will be disturbed by them. Most of them are quickly corrected, but once in a while the testers find an issue that takes more time to solve.

In such cases our CEO Peter, who created this resource booking tool twelve years ago, and kalmstrom.com Lead Developer Jayant join forces, and with their combined knowledge and sharp minds they always find a way to avoid the problem. At least they have so far, and I have no doubts about the future!



Documentation
While the technicians are refining the build, I am updating the Calendar Browser documentation. The kalmstrom.com Sales and Relations Manager, Siret, is also helping with that, and as we are trying the new version we both report our findings to the technicians.

This is a good way to learn the products, and we can give useful input. You should not have to be at technician to book resources with Calendar Browser, and we are closer to the every day end user when it comes to technical know how.

I think this non-technical angle is an advantage when creating the documentation, because I have seen manuals written by developers that have been impossible to understand for "normal people". And the kalmstrom.com technicians are very patient and kindly answer all our questions about resource booking with Calendar Browser.

Layout
When you go into the Outlook Calendar to book resources you want to be met by a nice user interface. Outlook is pretty good, and Calendar Browser makes use of as much Outlook functionality as possible. But we also have our own dialogs, and for the new version kalmstrom.com Graphic Desginer Jitendra has given them a face-lift.

The new design can be seen in the V8 slideshow below. When the new version has been released it will be possible to download the slideshow from the kalmstrom.com website, but for now an Issuu presentation will have to do.

Jitendra has also re-designed the installer, but to see that you will have to wait for the release of Calendar Browser V8, which will hopefully happen in November. Then it will also be possible to download this slideshow from the kalmstrom.com website.



Testimonial
Many companies and organizations use Calendar Browser for booking of their resources, and some of them have been with us for a long time. The other day we got a testimonial from a Swedish organization: who actually sponsored version 4:  "Within Sensus we have been using Calendar Browser for more than 9 years, for booking of our classroms, and we appreciate the simplicity and stability of the software. We also like the possibility to generate different kinds of reports. The support is quick, efficient and positive", says Håkan Damberg, IT Coordinator, MCSE, at Sensus (translated from Swedish).

We are always grateful for testimonials from users of the kalmstrom.com applications. They are very encouraging and we remember them when we work to improve our products.

The Kingdom of Crystal – a fascinating outing

Sometimes my husband, Sigge, and I need a break from the work at the computer, supporting and documenting the kalmstrom.com Outlook and SharePoint applications. We have two favorites for outings: nature walks and art experiences, and we have plenty of opportunities for both on Öland, the island where we live and work. However, last Saturday we took the bridge to the mainland and “Glasriket”, The Kingdom of Crystal.

International fame
It was a strange situation to frst drive through the Småland woods, seeing only trees and here and there a lake or a small cottage and then stop at Kosta, the biggest visitors center of The Kingdom of Crystal. When we left the car we found ourself surrounded by people from many countries, all here to see the glassworks.

English, German and Chinese were spoken nearly as much as Swedish. Tourists milled around to see the blowing at the furnace, eat the typical “hyttsill” (hot-shop herring) and of course make bargains in the shops.

Emigrant country
In a blog post about Swedish emigration I told you about the many Swedes who moved to the United States during the 1900th century, because of poverty and oppression. Many of them came from Småland, the part of Sweden which The Kingdom of Crystal belongs to.

Glassworks and woods
Others stayed in Sweden, and some of them sought their livelihood in the growing glass industry. For manual manufacturing of glass you need a lot of wood, and that was something they had plenty of in Småland – and still do. From the 18th century and through the 19th, many small glassworks were founded in what has now become known as The Kingdom of Crystal.

Meeting places
As the furnaces had to be burning around the clock, the glassworks became welcome places of rest for vagabonds. They brought with them news from the outside world to the glass workers, and in the evenings they all gathered around the furnace, ate herring, told stories – and discussed politics!

Målerås – a success story
Today some of the glass works have become famous all over the world, like Orrefors, Kosta and our favorite, the small but prestigious Målerås. You can find both everyday glass and world-class art glass at the glassworks, and the art glass is what interests Sigge and me the most. It is fantastic to see the wonders created in co-operation between glass blowers and designers.

One of the most well-known artists is Mats Jonasson, owner of the Målerås glassworks. He has gathered a group of capable people around him, and today Målerås is one of the most successful glassworks, represented all over the world. Sigge and I especially like Mats Jonasson’s glass casts with animals in crystal, and we are the happy owners of the howling wolf you see here to the right.

On the way back to Öland we made our last stop at Boda, where there is a grand exhibition of glass, with art works by many famous artists. We saw a lot of interesting pieces, and we promised ourselves to come back soon. Imagine, people coming from all over the world to visit The Kingdom of Crystal, and we only have to cross a bridge!

Windows 8 Tile Interface – Will It Be Used?

Tomorrow Microsoft will release the gold version of Windows 8, an operating system with a totally new user interface that is great for touch screens – if you have one. But I wonder how much it will be used with today's laptops and desktop computers? Even though the new tile interface is the first thing you see in Windows 8 it is probably not the most important change.


Compatibility issues
For many years Microsoft has used a desktop inspired interface that we have all grown accustomed to. In version 8 we see a radical change that some will have difficulties to get used to. The Microsoft designers of course knew that, so they gave us two user interfaces instead of one in Windows 8 – the new tiles and the old desktop interface.

But the new look is not the only problem with the tiles. A more serious one, at least for now, is the compatibility with the applications we are already using.

All the kalmstrom.com products are compatible with Windows 8 – but you have to use the desktop interface. Most other products also require the desktop style user interface, so it seems that Windows 8 users will have to either use only the desktop interface or switch between the two interfaces. I wondered how people will like that, so I read some articles and made a poll within the kalmstrom.com team.

Analyst advice – use Windows 7
In a Gartner Webinar 26th of September the two analysts Steve Kleynhans and Michael Silver argued that organizations who are still on Windows XP should upgrade to Windows 7 – not to Windows 8. They meant that the tile user interface is too different and does not bring enough added values, and they predicted that Windows 8 will never be commonly used within the corporate world but rather be a parenthesis in the Microsoft development, like Windows Vista.

Even Win 8 fans prefer Win 7
A survey made by the Windows 8 help and support forum Forumswindows8.com showed that even among these early Windows 8 users 53 % preferred Windows 7 and 20 % preferred Windows XP. Windows 8 only got 25 % of the votes.

In this case the new user interface does not seem to be the biggest problem, though. Instead the participants pointed out the high upgrade price, difficult systems requirements, incompatibility issues and freequent freezing and crashing in the Preview version of Windows 8.

Only 18% of the 50 000 participants mention the tile interface as a problem, but of course these are people with a positive attitude towards Windows 8 from the start. They knew they would be confronted with something totally new and were eager to try it.

Both UIs in the kalmstrom.com team
I asked my colleagues about their use of Windows 8 and what user interface they prefer, and it seems that this group of highly skilled computer users have a more positive view on Windows 8 than we see in the webinar and survey mentioned above.

Most of the kalmstrom.com team members use Windows 8, but for development there is no tile interface so for that they mostly use Windows server 2008. Some team members like the colorful tile interface, while others say it is only suited for touch screens and is difficult to navigate when you have many applications open.

None of the managers are using the tile interface ‒ including me. I always need to have many programs open at the same time, and I like to have the small icons for them on the right hand of the screen, which I can get with the Windows 8 desktop interface.

kalmstrom.com tile development
In spite of all doubts we also see that some products can be easier to use with a tile based user interface, and the kalmstrom.com developers have some ideas for such applications. Even if there is no development tool with a tiles interface today, they can very well build a tiles solution.

Kanban Task Manager, especially, would greatly benefit from a touch-based user interface, and the kalmstrom.com team has done some prototyping towards that goal already. This will be a third Kanban Task Manager version, and as it can cooperate with the two others we will really give something for all tastes!

Other benefits
The kalmstrom.com team members who prefer Windows 8 mostly do that because of other features than the tile interface. They like the Hyper-V, the picture log-in, the Explorer interface that resembles the Office 2010 ribbon and the newTask Manager.

The Windows 8 speed was also commented on, both by my work mates and in the Forumswindows8 survey. The fast boot and shut down was the enhancement that most of the participants (56 %) in the poll liked best in Windows 8. Compare that to the tiles user interface, which was best liked by only 22 %.

The discussion on this topic has just begun, and I am really looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Windows. Will the tile interface become the next beloved tool, like the desktop style  has been for so long? Or will we hang on to the desktop interface? Or  maybe will we soon have something totally new?

My earlier blog posts about Windows 8:

September 2011:
 The first pre-Beta is launched
Comments on Win 8 from the kalmstrom.com team

29 February 2012
Release of the Preview version, presentation of features

SharePoint Quality Assurance Project

The kalmstrom.com products are the backbone of our company, but Kalmstrom Enterprises AB also develops custom solutions. One of those is our current project for the Swedish chemical company Perstorp OXO AB.

Quality Assurance tracking
Perstorp OXO AB is Swedens’s only plant for oxo synthesis, a process for production of aldehydes. These aldehydes can then be converted into secondary products as alcohols, acids and plasticizers.

Perstorp OXO is currently realizing a major investment project in Stenungsund on the Swedish west coast, and and the quality control in the project must of course be rigorous. Around 2000 parts have to be approved 17 times, which gives 34 000 approvals, and all this must be handled and documented in an efficient way. The task of managing all these approvals is not an easy one, and that is why Perstorp OXO turned to our CEO, Peter Kalmström, for assistance.

SharePoint solution
Peter is an expert on SharePoint , with all the available Microsoft certifications for SharePoint 2010. When the Perstorp OXO challenge had been presented to him, he could suggest a sandbox solution which is easy for the approving managers to use and which can be built with only standard SharePoint features.

Perstorp OXO will build part of the solution, while Peter helps with the parts where his expertise is needed. His task is of course only a small portion of the big building project. Yet it is important. It will not only make the work easier for the approving managers, but it will also minimize the risk of errors.

Development ‒ Programming ‒ System Design
Do you also have an idea or a problem that you would like to discuss with an expert? Peter is a specialist on Office and SharePoint, and he has a group of skilled developers and testers assisting him. You are always welcome to contact us. I am sure Peter and his team will find a solution to your problem or find ways to realize your idea!

PamFax Online Faxing Tool Updated Twice

PamFax, the online fax application, has come with two new versions within seven days: first an update for iOS6 last Wednesday and then a bigger release yesterday.

No machines
It was a relief the day we could get rid of the fax machine and start using PamFax online faxing instead. Now members of the kalmstrom.com team can send faxes from where ever we are, as long as we have an internet connection, and we can read the faxes we recieve to our number with our local area code from anywhere, directly in the computer.

PamFax 3.5
Yesterday's new version of PamFax has several new features. I especially like the possibility to import address information with fax numbers. I can for example upload my Outlook contacts to my PamFax Portal, and then I will have them available to select from a dropdown when I want to send a fax. Another useful new feature is the possibility to upload my own cover page templates with the kalmstrom.com logo. In the new version of PamFax I can also drag files I want to fax from Windows and drop them into PamPax. The earlier method to upload files via a button is still available, but this is so much easier.

PamFax updated for iOS6
We mostly use PamFax with Windows, but there are apps for several operating systems, like MacOX, Android and iOS, and also for Salesforce and Facebook. Last week a new version of PamFax for iPad/iPhone was released. It adresses some issues related to iOS6, but it also has some new features.

kalmstrom.com partner
PamFax is not a kalmstrom.com product, but we still have a strong interest in it. When our CEO, Peter Kalmström, was product manager at Skype he helped develope the first version of this excellent tool for online faxing. Later I and my daughter in law, kalmstrom.com Sales and Relations Manager Siret Kalmström, have translated all the PamFax phrases into Swedish and Estonian. And that is a ongoing process, because with each new version of PamFax phrases are changed or added.

No upgrade
As we are talking about online faxing here, I did not even have to upgrade to get the new version of PamFax. It was just there when I opened my PamFax Portal yesterday, curious to see the news after having read the PamFax blog.

Even in this age of e-mails, chats and sms you need to send a fax now and then, and PamFax is the perfect tool for it! You don't pay for more than you use, so it is not a big investment - just something that is good to have.

If you have not tried PamFax yet, I recommend you to send some free test pages to see how online faxing works. I am sure you will like PamFax!