Preparing To Execute Your Oracle R12 Upgrade

By Sacha Wilkinson 

Photo: info.dataintensity.com

It is no secret that upgrading your ERP system is almost as significant as implementing an ERP system from scratch. However the recent Oracle Open World conference indicated that there is no shortage of interest about the execution of upgrades from Oracle 11i to R12.
With the coming end of the extended 11i support period, the case for upgrading to R12 is gaining momentum, and now with many examples of successful upgrades having taken place, it is becoming easier for CIO's to justify the investment and learn from those that have gone before.
Oracle has provided several useful tips to ensuring your upgrade goes as smoothly as possible, and among these was instructions on preparing to execute the upgrade.
Test Test Test
The value of testing cannot be stressed enough - especially full functional testing at full data volumes. Oracle outline the following tests as a minimum guide:

• Test end to end with a complete production data set - Find the latent data conditions that will fail 12.1.x's tighter validation.
• Test all business scenario's with both upgraded and new data - enter and invoice in 11i, then issue a credit memo against in 12.1.
• Compare key reports before and after the upgrade, in particular the AP trial balance, and the AR Reconciliation reports.
• Undertake the data verification tasks described in the E-Business Suite Upgrade Guide (Appendix F).

Further to this it is recommended that after you go live you simulate month-end close a few days early, keeping the project team within reach. Use the full data volumes and resolve any exceptions.
Other essential testing includes user participation test at full production processing capacity, batch load testing, and automated load testing.
It may be worthwhile considering Oracle's automated testing solution (OATS) which covers scalability and load testing, functional and regression testing, and process management a defect tracking.
Taking Steps To Minimise Downtime?
There are many steps you can take to minimise the downtime of your system during an upgrade - for example

• Run "The Upgrade Manual Script" to identify tasks you can omit (UG Chapter 2)
• Apply Consolidated Upgrade Patch for fixes to upgrade code (Doc 798258.1)
• Reduce data volume using archive and purge (Doc 752322.1)
• Use Subledger Accounting "Upgrade by Request" (UG Appendix G and Doc 604893.1)
• Use a shared APPL_TOP (Doc 384248.1) and Distributed AD (Doc 236469.1)
• Use a staged APPL_TOP (Doc 734025.1)
• Complete functional pre-upgrade tasks (UG Appendix E)
• Parallelize pre- and post-upgrade technical activities
• Isolate post-upgrade concurrent programs in a special queue (Doc 399362.1)

Another significant step that can be taken is to limit the historical accounting data upgraded during critical downtime using Sub-Ledger Accounting pre-upgrade program, maintaining the option to load historical data post upgrade.
Preparing Business Users For Change
It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone reading this article that end business users are generally resistant to change, however Oracle has tools that will greatly assist you to train new users on the system, as well as make the transition period more productive and reduce the overall cost of training on an ongoing basis - it's called User Productivity Kit and Tutor.
Using the Oracle Tutor, you can capture and maintain business process documentation, while the User productivity Kit (UPK) captures and maintains interactive user interface simulations and can be deployed as an online help tool.
UPK provides self running demo's, interactive simulations, competence testing and context sensitive help content. With more than 2300 pre built topics available for R12, covering Financials, HR, Apps Technology, Distribution, Projects, Manufacturing and more.

Upgrading to Oracle R12.1.3 In Australia - Ndevr are a highly regarded and well referenced Australian based Oracle Reseller and Systems Integrator with extensive experience in Oracle consulting and Oracle project management. Our work in the development of the Environmental Accounting and Reporting module for E-Business Suite serves to showcase our expertise with this software. Oracle acquired the IP for the Environmental Accounting and Reporting module from Ndevr in 2011, and subsequently delivered one of the fastest roll outs of any acquired product in Oracle's history
Ndevr provide additional information about Oracle R12 upgrades as well as data sheets and case study material on their website.

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See How To Back Up Gmail Account On Computer Hard Drive?

By: Mark Hill

Photo: kevinscrate.com

Computers as an Integral Part of Every Individual Life- Computer machines have become an integral part of everyones life. Many people use them for carrying out their personal and business tasks. The users can create and manage large volumes of databases in them according to their requirement. All multinational organizations, government bodies, private firms and business enterprises, use them to carryout different types of works. These are useful for the people of almost every profession.

Usage of Internet Technology Nowadays- The day internet technology came into action, these computers became more beneficial for the users because different tasks like shopping, communication, working, information search, emailing, became just a click away with this technology. Now, if the users want to read news, they can click on news button, if the users want to do emailing, they can click on the emailing button, if the users want to search pictures, they can click on the images button, etc. Search Engines help in conducting all these searches on Internet.

Solution To Handle Hacking of Gmail Account- When the discussion is done on emailing technology, names of many emailing services come out. Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Hotmail are popular among those services but, most of people use Gmail service for carrying out their email communication. The Gmail service requires internet connectivity for its working. Several types of options are provided in the service for security of mailbox but, if a user neglects all those security options, the mailbox of database can be hacked. For handling the situations of account hacking, backup of Gmail database can be useful for a user because if the user has backed his Gmail account, a copy of database will remain on his computer after hacking. This copy gets stored on local hard drive of computer. Once you have decided to backup Gmail database, the point, How to backup Gmail account comes in your mind.

Utility To Backup Gmail Database- Process to create Gmail backup is very easy with Gmail backup software. You just have to adopt few steps to perform it. The software takes Gmail account backup in PST and EML file formats. PST file format is default file format of Outlook while EML is single mail format of Outlook Express. If a user doesnt have internet connectivity but, he has backed his Gmail database in PST file format, he can access his emails easily in Outlook application.

Altogether, the tool stands as a fully equipped solution for the query, How to backup Gmail database on computer hard drive

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
This Company built its products according to users issues. Several issues like BKF recovery, hard drive data recovery, Outlook recovery, etc can be resolved by the tools of this company and a tool to solve the issue How to backup Gmail account on computer hard drive is also available for users.

Understanding FTPS

By Errol Siegel 

Photo: cdn.ledfrog.com

File transfer is a common requirement in most Enterprises. While there are numerous ways to get a file from Point A to Point B over a network, perhaps the most common method still in use is FTP - File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a network file transfer protocol that was first described in RFC 959 in 1980 and has gone through numerous changes and additions since that time.
By itself, FTP offers no meaningful security. Connections are password-protected, but all data (including passwords) is sent in plain text over the network. These days, of course, security is a chief concern and plain old FTP is no longer an option for moving sensitive data over the Internet.
To address these security concerns, a strategy was devised to add a layer of security to FTP using SSL/TLS. This new protocol is known as FTPS and is described in RFC 2228. Today, most FTP clients and servers support this FTPS protocol out of the box without requiring significant expertise on behalf of the user.
Still, when attempting to set up a new FTPS connection in most off-the-shelf FTP clients, the users still must choose from a bewildering array of choices with names like FTPS Implicit and FTPS CCC, among others.
This article will explain what these choices mean and how to successfully determine which options are right for your connection.
Understanding Ports
First, a little background on TCP/IP (the underlying protocol of the Internet) is necessary. Most people are aware that an IP address is a numeric way of identifying a computer on the Internet. When a user connects to an FTP server with a URL of, say, ftp.myhost.com, that address is translated behind the scenes into an IP address which uniquely identifies that server.
While the IP address is necessary for getting your computer talking to a server on the Internet, it is not sufficient. We also need a way to tell that server which program on that server you want to access. For example, the same server computer could be running a web server, an FTP server, an email server, etc.
Ports are a simple numeric method for identifying these different programs (aka services). So, to connect to an FTP server on the Internet, your FTP client software will use both an IP address (to identify the server) and a port number (to signify it wants to connect via FTP).
Implicit FTPS
One early attempt to establish a standard method for securing FTP with SSL required that the client connect on a special port to tell the FTP server that the client wishes to use SSL to secure the FTP connection. While plain old FTP uses port 21 to establish a connection, FTPS implicit uses port 990 instead.
This method is considered deprecated, but is still widely in use and is still supported by most commercial secure FTP clients and servers.
Explicit FTPS
The aforementioned RFC 2228 which defines the FTPS standard uses a different method for determining whether or not to use SSL/TLS to secure an FTP connection. Rather than use a special port to establish a connection, explicit FTPS (also known as FTPES) uses port 21, the same port as plain, unsecure FTP.
It uses negotation to determine how and if the connection should be secured. Behind the scenes, the client software tells the server software what method it wants to use to secure the connection based on the configuration choices you make in the client software.
Explicit FTPS is generally the preferred method of securing an FTP connection and is widely supported by commercial FTP clients and servers.
More Choices
When configuring most FTP clients, users are presented with more than just two choices for FTPS (implicit and explicit). That is because Explicit FTPS breaks down into three different options that identify which parts of the FTP connection will be secured.
An FTP session basically consists of two streams of data:

• The control channel (all the FTP commands, user names, passwords, and responses from the server)
• The data channel (the actual files you are attempting to upload and download)

This leaves three main options for which parts of the session will be encrypted:

• Control + Data - everything is encrypted
• Data only (sometimes called CCC or clear control channel) - the files you upload and download are encrypted, but FTP commands and responses are sent in clear text (usernames and passwords are still encrypted)
• Control only (sometimes called CDC or clear data channel) - the files you upload and download are not secured, but FTP commands and responses as well as usernames and passwords are encrypted

These three options are available for Explicit FTPS only. Implicit FTPS only has one "flavor" - both control and data channels are encrypted.
It is also worth noting that because Explicit FTPS is the official standard, many FTP clients simply call it FTPS. A common list of choices might look like this:

• FTPS Implicit
• FTPS Control + Data
• FTPS Control Only
• FTPS Data Only

How Do I Choose?
When you have a requirement to transmit data to or from an FTPS server, you are limited to the options supported by that server. This, of course, leads to the question: How do I know what a particular server supports?
In many cases, the server administrator will provide all the information you need to connect to the server, such as your user name, password, and which configuration options are supported. If you are not provided with instructions on which FTPS options to choose, in most cases the best way forward is simply to try each one until you find one that works.
By far, the most common choice is FTPS (Explicit) with control and data channels encrypted.
Which Option is Best?
Both Implicit and Explicit FTPS offer comparable levels of encryption (assuming that with Explicit FTPS you choose the option to encrypt both the data and control channels).
From a practical standpoint, Explicit FTPS offers some advantages that make it a superior choice. For example:

• It is the standard, supported version of FTPS and is more likely to be widely supported well into the future
• It uses the same ports as plain FTP, so requires no additional firewall configuration (assuming your firewall is already configured for plain FTP).

Potential Pitfalls
Most users connect to the Internet from behind a NAT firewall. This poses problems for FTPS connections.
The FTP protocol requires the client and server to pass IP address information back and forth. When you are connecting to the Internet from behind a NAT firewall, the FTP client needs to be able to send the FTP server the IP address of the NAT firewall and not of the computer actually running the FTP client.
Because plain FTP sends all information in clear text, most NAT firewalls automatically detect this and replace the IP address reported by the client with its own IP address. With FTPS, this technique is not possible if all the control channel information sent from the FTP client is encrypted.
If you are using FTPS Explicit, one option is to use the CCC mode described above. This mode sends the commands which include the IP address in clear text so the NAT firewall can perform address translation. However, not all FTP servers support this mode. Many FTPS clients offer an option for "My IP Address" (or some similar name) to tell the client which IP address to send to the server.
A similar problem happens when the FTP server is running on a computer that is behind a NAT firewall. By default, most FTP clients connect to an FTP server using something called "passive mode." This mode requires the FTP server to send its IP address back to the FTP client. Just like in the previous case, the NAT firewall needs to replace the IP address of the FTP server with its own IP address, which it can't do because the data coming from the FTP server is encrypted. Many FTPS clients offer options to work around this limitation. For example, when setting up the connection you may need to select an option for "Restrict IP Address" (or some similar name) which tells the client to ignore the incorrect IP address sent by the FTP server and use the IP address used to connect to the FTP server in the first place.

Errol Siegel is a Product Manager at Serengeti Systems Incorporated, a leading provider of secure, automated file transfer solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. Since 2001, Siegel has lead the team responsible for the Robo-FTP suite, a secure file transfer server and client built from the ground up for automating FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, and HTTPS file transfers and related tasks such as PGP encryption, ZIP, email (SMTP), and database access (ODBC).
Siegel holds a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan.

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AVG Internet Security 2012 Review

By Mike Ncube 

Photo: gadgetloft.co.uk

AVG Internet security has made a serious comeback with its latest security product. For a few years it has lagged behind many other programs and has failed a few security tests. But since 2006, AVG has added anti-spyware, link scanning, safe search and identity theft protection. And these features have propelled it to the top five lists of Internet security software programs.
It has tested well with Virus Bulletin since then, and has continued to earn the VB100 award and other awards and certifications.
AVG Internet Security 2012 is a complete security product and goes way beyond basic security. It includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall and antispam protection and protects your PC from all kinds of malware (malicious software) threats, hackers, key loggers, phishing attacks and social media threats.
AVG has performed well in recent independent tests. Since 2010 it has earned an average 5 out of 6 in protection, 4 out of 6 in repair and 4.5 out of 6 in usability on the AV-Test undertaken on Windows XP, Vista and 7. These aren't the best scores around, but they are good and show that it is capable of protecting your PC from all kinds of threats.
AVG has passed 9 out of 10 VB100 anti-virus tests in the last two years and it scored 100% in the most recent AV-Test evaluation running Windows 7.
These test results give a good indication of how the software performs against a variety of malicious software threats through the years. And they give a clear picture of how your software is likely to perform when you install it.
There are pros and cons associated with AVG Internet Security 2012 and we've included the prominent ones below:
Pros
1. It is constantly improving its software and has high efficacy scores for antivirus and zero-day malware protection
2. AVG protects your social media interactions on Facebook, Twitter and other similar sites
3. If has the LinkScanner tool which works on Google, Yahoo, Bing and other popular search engines and rates websites listed in search engine results, so you can know how safe they are.
4. It has a site advisor tool that tests URLs
5. You get free support from AVG by phone, e-mail or chat.
Cons
1. AVG Internet Security 2012 dozen include parental controls, but these can be added as an additional purchase.
2. It does not have what is typically called a secure browser or sandbox
Summary
Overall, AVG is a reputable security vendor and millions of consumers rely on the free version of its AVG security software for the PC. But they highly recommend you upgrade to the fully functional paid version which includes total protection. Their social network protection is one of the best and protects you from malware and phishing attacks.

At Best Buy Antivirus we have the best antivirus security that you can download for your PC or Mac. We also have the AVG Internet security review which includes more information about this leading software.

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What Are the Benefits of Property Management Software?

By Bobang Nilalang

Photo: 1.bp.blogspot.com

As a property manager, you will be required to spend lots of time making sure that your tenants are paying their rent on time, advertising vacancies for landlords, addressing issues with regards to maintenance, organizing schedules for inspection, doing background and credit check on your tenants and doing lots of other paperwork. In addition, you will need to manage income and expenses, manage construction and development, maintenance and repair of the property or areas of it. This can be a hassle and this can be very time-consuming, especially if you are doing it manually. But with the advancement of technology, programmers came up with the idea of developing property management software to lift heavy loads from property managers. The use of this software can make things a lot easier to manage, thus making it time and cost-effective.
Property management software makes it easier for property managers to communicate with their tenants, suppliers and other stakeholders efficiently. This software also comes with an ability to manage online documents. Almost all types of property management software works for commercial properties, apartment complexes, condominium associations, home associations, mobile home parks, storage units and other rental facilities. This software makes it easier for managers to input rents and post expenses, which means you do not have to do it manually. Another great thing about this software is that they are accurate.
The key benefit of this software is that you can easily track rent arrears and make a record of all the transactions you have made for your property. This can make it easier for you to know where the income is coming from and what your expenses are. The use of this software can also make it easier for you to send letters to your tenants and/or property owners and allow landlords, property managers and tenants to view their own data online so that they can keep track of their depreciation expenses annually and in the future years to come. All property management software can be multi-user enabled, thus allowing multiple computers to make use of it all at the same time. This can make things a lot easier in case you do have a small office and you need help updating information or attending to other documents.
If you are interested in getting this software to help you manage your property, there are several factors that you have to consider. First is your budget, as the cost of this software range from $50 up to $10,000, depending on its features. When searching for property management software, make sure that you opt for the one that comes with a trial version. This is for you to be able to test the program first before purchasing it. This can also help you determine if the software you have in mind can provide you what you need. On the other hand, some software companies offer money back guarantee so you can simply return it if it is not exactly what you are looking for then you may start looking for other software that will best suit your needs.

Bobang Nilalang is a freelance article writer at ODESK.

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Why You Should Design iPhone Apps

By Abdullah Maricar 

Photo: bestsmallbizhelp.com

Unless you've been living on the Moon for the last couple of years, you will have heard of the Apple iPhone. It has become one of the most desirable appliance of the last decade with millions of them being sold around the world.
The huge popularity of the iPhone is mainly due to the large number of apps that are available for it. An app is a very small software application that can be downloaded from the iTunes store and installed on the iPhone. These apps can be downloaded for free or for a small charge, usually not exceeding a few dollars.
There is big money to be made in this field, not only for the large software houses with large teams of experienced programmers, but also for the ordinary man in the street who might want to have a go at designing one himself.
All you really need to design an iPhone app yourself is a great idea. Now even if you're not the inventive type and think you'd never be able to think of a game that could make you rich, do not despair. Nobody said your idea had to be original.
Go to the iTunes app store and browse through the most popular free and paid games and apps and get familiar with the type of app that is downloaded the most. The design app market is huge and many of the games you will see are very similar to each other. This is because design app developers take a successful theme and tweak it slightly to make it even better. They then go on to re-brand the app as a new game and promote it in a different or better way.
You can design an iPhone app even if you have no programming experience. There are a few software packages available that allow the complete novice to design one and get it published on iTunes ready to be downloaded by millions of eager users.
Why there is money to be made in designing iPhone apps?
The best way to make money is to produce an app with a limited functionality or a trial version of one. An iPhone owner will download your free app and try it out. If they like it, they can pay a small fee to upgrade to the full version.
You can also design an app that has locked levels. The user has to pay a few cents or a dollar to unlock them. The possibilities are endless.
Some internet marketers have realized how profitable it is for them to design an app and give it away for free. They use the free app to build a marketing list. Imagine having an app that is downloaded a few thousand times. That means the app owner has all those prospective customers they can send marketing messages to. Those messages maybe asking them to download another iPhone app, or to buy something else, or even to click a link to visit another website.
The market for iPhone apps has great potential for anyone who wants to make serious money. If you were fortunate enough to come up with the next Angry Birds game, you could find yourself being bought out by a large company for a few million dollars within a year or two.

You can learn how to create iPhone or iPad App in 4 weeks with no programming skills here:
iPhone Dev Secrets

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Package Software With Installaware Studio For Windows Installer

By: Candice Jones

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One of the most important steps of software production is making the final installation package that makes it quick and easy for your customers to install your software. InstallAware Studio for Windows Installer makes this possible by providing you with the essential tools that you need for presenting and packaging your software in a professional and efficient way. Windows Installer is one of the most common mediums for packaging and installing software and this solution provides developers with the tools they need to meet proper installation standards. InstallAware Studio for Windows Installer provides hybrid installation technology which is unique in the world of installation package designers. It overcomes the barriers normally set in place by the limitations of Windows Installer to make your installations faster and more reliable. This helps to minimize the risk of corrupted installation files and other installation issues.

InstallAware Studio provides a simpler way of building setup packages thanks to its powerful MSI code. It simplified development and transparently manages the Windows Installer Conditions in addition to installer sequences and parameters. To make things easier for novice users as well as professionals, the setup language is human readable and requires a minimal learning curve to get to know. The whole process is far more user-friendly than many of the other solutions. You can configure your installation packages through the use of user-friendly dialogues without any necessity for programming skills.

InstallAware Studio for Windows Installer adds a great deal of extra features to the standard Windows Installer engine such as support for installation on demand, resiliency, advertising integration and privilege installation.

InstallAware Studio supports Windows 7 as well and no extra components are needed to create installation packages that are perfectly optimized for Microsoft's latest operating system. It's also possible to take advantage of the fact that, these days, most computers use 64-bit operating systems on 64-bit processors. Creating 64-bit setup packages has never been so straightforward. Hybrid installation technologies also make it more convenient for making packages for both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows. It's convenient to have a hybrid installation package, since your customers will no longer need to choose which version to download. Everything can be stored in one package and the correct version can be installed automatically. The user doesn't even need to know whether they are running a 32-bit or a 64-bit system.

InstallAware Studio provides various support options to make your software packages versatile and reliable with maximum support for different editions of Windows and different installation standards. MSI support is also included and group policy management features are provided too. No dependencies are required either, so your customers do not need to worry about installing anything else in addition to your installation package. Installation on demand features are available for cutting down on installation times and more.

InstallAware Studio for Windows Installer is packed full of features that you need to enjoy professional-quality results in minimal time with minimal effort required. Learn more about how the software works at http://www.installaware.com.

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