How To Use This Site
First of all, I would like to thank you for visiting this site. I hope that you will find the information contained within these pages useful.
The purpose of this site is to help you improve your productivity. Within these pages you will discover links to many types of information utilized in business everyday. If you normally spend five hours a week searching for information and we save you one hour each week by providing you with direct access to that information, then we have succeeded in improving your productivity by 20%. This is Data Stats’ mission, “We don’t make a product, we help you make yours more profitable” by making you and your business more productive.
Differing Technologies
Designing a website always brings a number of problems and compromises. Web designs will not look the same on every computer. The combination of differing operating systems, monitors, video cards, browsers and individual settings insure this. Plus, the majority of internet users are probably not using state-of-the-art technologies. Realistically there is no way to design for every possible combination.
This site has been designed for a screen resolution of 800 X 600 pixels. However, it should accomodate all higher resolutions. Higher resolutions will result in smaller elements and greater amounts of “white space” between elements.
Newer browsers do not always render websites designed in older browsers properly. This "incompatibility" may encompass millions of websites designed within the last 10 years. If you are using IE8®, IE9®, or IE10® look for a "compatibility button" just to the right of the address bar (It looks like a broken page). Clicking it may solve all problems. You may also set all websites in a "Compatibility Mode" by clicking tools in your brower, "Compatibity View Settings", and then checking the "Display all websites in "Compatibility View" (Recommended). You may have to switch back to view some newer websites, but these are in the minority. Once "Display all websites in Compatibility View" is checked, the broken page icon disappears from the "Address Bar." With Chrome® and Firefox® browsers, the "compatibility" function are ad-ons. Apple® users should check with the company for the availability with Safari®.
If the site is still objectionable, it is suggested that you temporarily adjust your monitor resolution to 800 X 600 pixels. In Windows ® operating systems this can be accomplished by clicking on the display icon in the control panel and moving the slider in the lower left hand corner. Please consult the operator’s manual for other systems.
Some pages contain maps that may not be completely readable on a computer screen and it is recommended that these be printed out for more clarity. Because of varying printer technologies, we recommend that you print the map directly.
International Languages
There are hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects in the world. More than half of the World Wide Web addresses come from English speaking countries, therefore most of the websites appear in English. There are also many websites that only appear in their native languages.
Some sites offer a choice of language translations. In such cases, except for our Spanish language pages, the links lead to the English language versions. Should you be more comfortable with a different choice, you will usually find icons or links representing other choices along the top or the bottom of the page. Some designers use national flags to denote the language. Also computer and scientific terms remain the same regardless of language.
When a site only appears in its native language, we have tried to offer language guides to the important elements that make the site useable. These directions appear as “tooltips” when you hover the mouse cursor over the link leading to the site.
Navigation
The homepage is your gateway to all the other pages on and off this site. The English language homepage concentrates on the needs of United States and Canadian enterprises.
The Spanish language pages are devoted to the needs of Mexican and Latin American viewers. Presently, our Portuguese language pages are inactive.
You will find a convenient navigation bar along the top of each page. This bar allows you to jump to any portion of this site. For your further convenience there is a "Top of Page" link along the bottom of each page. This link will return you to the navigation bar. You are never far from the homepage. Each page also contains a “breadcrumb trail” along the very top that allows you to quickly jump back to the homepage or any intermediate page between your location and the homepage.
If you prefer, the masthead on each page provides a Google® search box from which you may search either datastats.com or the World Wide Web by keyword or phrase. The masthead also allows you to access central New Jersey, USA weather by clicking on the flashing time/temperature icon or by clicking on the “International Weather Forecasts” link to receive weather information for anyplace on the globe.
A clickable international real-time business news feed appears in a right hand column on the English language homepage.
Homepage Categories
The homepages are divided into four categories. Individual categories can be reached through either the masthead navigation or scrolling down the page. The four categories are entitled “Enlighten Thoughts”, “Business Toolkit,” “Traveler’s Toolkit” and the “Engineer’s Toolkit.”
Enlighten Thoughts:
Each month “Enlighten Thoughts” features three business oriented articles, “Small Business Management,” “Guest Contributions” and a short “Marketing Minute. Our Spanish language homepage links to translations of these articles.”
“Small Business Management” articles are written by yours truly or another member of the Data Stats staff. “Guest Contributions” are solicited from well-known authors or experts within their fields that are willing to share their knowledge with our readers. The “Marketing Minute” is authored by Dr. Marcia Yudkin an internationally known business author, consultant and coach. A new English language Marketing Minute column appears every Wednesday and will appear monthly in the Spanish edition.
Business Toolkit:
The “Business Toolkit” is comprised of links to government agencies, services and economic reports. The English language homepage includes links to Data Stats’ analysis of economic conditions in the American and Canadian economies.
Traveler’s Toolkit:
As of 2003, business travel was a US$153 billion industry. For many companies travel represents the second largest cost of doing business. For example, the cost of lodging often represents half or more of the total cost of a trip. The travel area, however, has always been a good target for cost reductions.
The best way to cut your travel expenses is to make yourself more knowledgeable and productive when it comes to planning your itinerary. The “Traveler’s Toolkit” allows you to determine and compare what options are available to you. Use this information to obtain the best cost savings that your needs will allow.
For example, the best deals are often found on a hotel’s website. Once you click on the link entitled “International Hotel Info/Reservations” and choose a major destination, you will be presented with a list of brand name hotels within a 10 mile (16 km) radius of the center of your area. From the “Maps and Directions” link you can determine the exact location of each and choose the most optimum hotel that meets your needs. At times you may also find this information from the hotel’s web page. Reservations can then be made from your computer. If you have a corporate account, many hotels will also accept this information. The same is true for most of your other travel needs.
Besides the typical information on maps, directions, airlines/airports, hotels, weather etc. the “Traveler’s Toolkit” will help you get information on time zones, currency exchange rates, local car rentals, bus and train schedules, subway/metro routes, public holidays (very important to international business travelers), access to international telephone directories, government services and travel advisories.
The knowledge you can gain by using the “Traveler’s Toolkit” should help you shave hundreds of dollars off your travel expenses.
Engineer’s Toolkit:
The “Engineer’s Toolkit” presents 29 common calculators, tables and charts that are used in business and statistical analysis everyday. These tools are especially useful to those in financial or scientific disciplines.
Advisory Board
Please join our Advisory Board. Tell us what you want or need to help you become more productive. We can guess at what you need, but only you can tell us for sure what that is. If possible we will try to bring it to you.
Twenty Nickels Newsletter
We call our newsletter “Twenty Nickels” because we feel that it is easier to put twenty nickels of savings together to make a dollar than to find a dollar’s worth of savings from a single source.
The newsletter is published quarterly and is a forum to share productivity ideas, ask for help to specific problems and answer those requests for help. Realizing that 3 months may be a long time to wait for help and assuming their permission, Data Stats will try to act as an intermediary by placing readers in contact with each other.
The newsletter also contains a section entitled “Get in Line” where we publish both pro and contrary opinions that you may have concerning an article appearing on this website or newsletter.
You are urged to subscribe.
Tell-A-Friend And Bookmark
If you are pleased with what you find, by all means Tell-A-Friend and Bookmark this site!
Raymond D. Matkowsky
Chief Executive Officer
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