Using "Direct Replies To" Option in MS Outlook 2013

You can use “ReplyTo” option (New Message -> Options -> Direct Replies To -> Have replies sent to) to re-direct the replies to the “specific user(s)”. Refer the below image for more details.

 

Recording ReadyTalk Meetings

Steps to record ReadyTalk Meeting:
 

1.       Login to www.readytalk.com as a chairperson

2.       Click Open Meeting controls

3.       Dial into RT number as a chairperson using phone or Click Use Computer under Audio controls for using computer Audio

4.       Click Start Meeting

5.       Click Record Meeting (enter a name for recording)

6.       Anytime you can Stop Recording and the same will be available immediately under your Ready Talk home page -> Manage Recordings -> Recordings. You can select a specific recording to view, rename, edit, download or delete.

7.       Repeat step 5 & 6, if you want to record by different topics.

8.       Stop Meeting, when you are done. 

SQL Query to View or Set the Compatibility Mode in SQL Server 2012

Steps to View or Set the compatibility mode:

1. Connect to a particular DB Server using MS SQL Server Management Studio and create a new query

2. Run the Queries to view the compatibility mode

use mydbname

select compatibility_levelfrom sys.databases where name= ‘mydbname’

 

Output:

compatibility_level will be either 100 or 101.

- 100 = SQL Server 2008 & 2008 R2

- 110 = SQL Server 2012

3. Run the following Query to set the compatibility mode to SQL Server 2012.

Alter database mydbname set compatibility_level = 110

 

4. Here is the compatibility level for different SQL Server versions

60 = SQL Server 6.0

65 = SQL Server 6.5

70 = SQL Server 7.0

80 = SQL Server 2000

90 = SQL Server 2005

100 = SQL Server 2008 & 2008 R2

110 = SQL Server 2012

 

Not prepared for Emergency? Checkout these Guidelines for Safety..

This article is a narration my learnings from the recent Emergency Response Team (ERT) Training. It has certainly set a solid base on Safety and prepared the folks to act wisely during emergency (most of the content applies to India only).

The Session covered Safety measures in general & with respect to Fire and Rescuing, Evacuating & Extinguishing techniques during emergency. Here is the summary from the ERT Training.

General Safety Guidelines:

·         Don’t use Cigarette Lighter, as the flammable gas used in Cigarette Lighters are as dangerous as LPG.  Can’t quit smoking? Quit cigarette lighters & switch to Match Boxes.

·         Wear Helmet when you ride a two-wheeler

·         Helmet can withstand the pressure of hurt only if you are speeding below 60kph. Avoid over speeding & follow traffic rules.

·         Always tie your seat belt and insist co-passenger to wear seat belt.

·         Don’t keep the Gas Lighter below the gas stove; might get wet / spoiled by any spillage during cooking. The delay in lighting or igniting the stove could cause fire accidents.

·         Clean the bottom of the Gas Stoves also on a weekly basis as the petroleum by product deposits could cause explosion or fire; Let the younger generation get inspired to follow you to have an accident free life.

·         Never use Kerosene as a disinfectant; There are plenty of floor cleaning liquids aka disinfectants in the market.

 

Emergency Numbers:

·         100 – Police

      ·         101 – Fire Brigade
      ·         102 – Ambulance
      ·         108 – National Emergency -> Call this number for any emergency and they will in-turn inform the above required emergency contacts.

In case of fire, you can call 101 (preferable) or 108 and provide the following information using a combination of Local Language + English (avoid high end American / British accent J)

1.       Contact Person

2.       Contact Number

                    3.       Address (where help required)
                    4.       Landmark
                    5.       Type of Emergency

           You can dial into the emergency number from landline, any mobile number irrespective of the service provider and from PCOs. These are toll free numbers and are not charged even in PCOs.

 

Guidelines during Emergency:

·         In case of emergency, do not panic and scare the people around.

·         Inform security personal / Admin to turn off the Power. As the power shutdown is the first step during emergency, never use Lifts or Elevators.

·         Inform the Fire Brigade (101) or National Emergency (108) and provide required details as stated above.

·         Press the fire alarm. In case if that does not work - Alert the people in your floor to saying “Emergency, go to Safe Assembly Area”.

·         Use the regular Stair case / Emergency Exit and go downwards only (as the fire has a tendency to go upwards and burn the floors above rather than below).  Even there is a fire in basement, go downwards only, heading towards the safe assembly area.

·         Don’t carry your belongings when you need to exit during emergency.

·         Walk briskly holding the rails of the Staircase. Don’t run causing stampedes.

·         Avoid photos & videos; This is not the time to exhibit your photography skills with your high-end smart phone cameras.

·         If there is smoke around, wet a cloth and tie it to your face covering the nose. The dampness in the cloth prevents smoke entering your nostrils. This is a life saver for Asthma patients too.

·         Order of Rescue at office:

o   Physically Challenged

o   Pregnant Women

o   Women

o   Men

·         Order of Rescue at home or high raised apartments:

o   Physically Challenged

o   Pregnant women

o   Elderly people

o   Children

o   Pet Animals

o   Women

o   Men

·         Types of Extinguishers

o   Dry Chemical Powder (can be used at all conditions)

o   Carbon di oxide -CO2 (can be used next to Dry Chemical Powder)- most widely used in Offices

o   Foam

o   Water

·         ERT Member or any one in general can look out every room in their vicinity to ensure that people are informed of emergency. Stick a post-it with a cross on it so that others need not waste their time in checking / evacuating that room again.

·         Are you heading to alert people in a conference call? Do not barge in & scare them as well as person on the other side of the call. Just knock the door and alert on “Emergency and ask them to assemble in safe assembly area.”

·         If there is any kind of emergency at office , kindly reach out to ERT team members ( Emergency response team contact details will be displayed shortly across all notice board at all floors)

      Thanks to Abhishek, Admin at GT Nexus for getting a an excellent trainer – Mr. Sharif, who was always to the point, conveying a message at all times with real life examples and most importantly sustained the interest of the participants throughout the 3 hours session with a good mix of theory as well as practical.

meCard - QR Code for Business Cards

Here is an the simplified version of “Smart” Business Cards, which can aid marketing. This involves printing a coded picture on the business card. Smart Phones can read the encoded data directly or using an external scanner.

These two dimensional codes are called QR Codes and can be used in business cards, email signatures, contact information in presentations, marketing collateral, etc.

 

For starters, we could include QR codes as part of our Business Cards. It is really simple to implement.

 

Try it:

·         Have an Android phone?

·         Download QR Droid from the App Market

·         Open the app, and focus it on the QR code in the below Business Card Template

·         All information printed on the card is instantly retrieved to your phone. Now you can easily save all this contact information.

      [Note: Lesser information will have clear QR Code Image. ]

 What is QR Code?

                QR Code is Quick Response codes (2D barcodes in which data stored in both the dimensions), which can be scanned directly to read information into a Smart Device.

 Do I really need a QR Code on my Business card?

·         It is an easy way to store contact information on to your smart phone (for Android based Smart Phones, iPhone or Blackberry)

·         It is an effective marketing tool. Also helps easily provide contact information without carrying several business cards. A quick scan by a smart phone is all it takes.

Further Reading:

http://orangeqr.com/qr-code-types-examples-and-explanations/

 Is there any Security Concern?

                User should be aware of the source.

How do you generate the QR code?

                You can generate the QR code for any input text using the following link
                http://goqr.me/

 Character Limitation:

                Recommended to limit the characters to 300 so that it can work on lower end smart phones as well.

How can you place it in our Business Card?

If you have a smart phone with QR Code scanner application, try scanning the QR code  on the above Business Card Template. We can either print the Contact Details in the form of QR Code either on Front or Back Side of the Business Card. Or we can even print QR code with different information at different places.

How to Read it in Smart Phone?

You can scan the QR Code using the applications readily available for Android, iPhone OS & Black Berry OS. You can also take a pic of it in the camera and decode it using the application.

Example: QR Droid for Android Platform.