This is Monterey Bay and Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, California. Some of the best Calimari I have ever had can be found at Albalonetti Bar & Grill (green building shown on the right in the picture). Monterey is a great destination for whale watching, sea lion watching, strolling, eating, art galleries and a great acquarium.
Did I say eating? If you haven't spent time there, I recommend it highly.
In This Issue
Calendar 20-20
Seed Money
People Tracking
Welcome to News from trif.com! First time readers, I am glad you're here! Returning readers, welcome back!
Greetings. Welcome to our Newsletter! We wanted to share the many photos we have taken of places, people and things throughout the country and beyond. Each month, our headline photo will be something new and different. The caption will present a small explanation. We hope you enjoy. We do not want to waste your time. Articles will contain generally less than 250 words. Please have a look and give us your feedback. By all means, forward to a friend using the link at the bottom of the Newsletter. Thanks. Questions? Send me an email!
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Technology Resources
Technology solutions are a part of doing business just like sales and marketing, It is an important component in servicing customers, managing costs and controlling operations. TRI has an uncanny ability to find affordable technology solutions for a wide variety of situations. Our capabilities bridge database design and development, Internet web-based programs, hosting and co-location services, network and computer sales and support, document imaging, bar code scanning, corporate communications, fax and email programs, mobile applications, cloud computing and help desk services. Interested in taking a step forward with technology? Looking to take advantage of the latest advances? Or just want to take advantage of your new computer?
Give us a call to discuss where you want to go - 877-253-2379 or email rmj@trif.com to discuss your opportunities. The first consultation is always without charge.
Calendar 20-20
Here is an opening for a conversation. Calendar 20-20 is the name we have given to a new calendar project we are working on at TRI this month. We have used the calendar in Outlook for more than a decade and we have used the Google calendar for almost as long. These calendars are only moderately adequate. Here is a short requirements list of things we feel are missing from our Outlook or Google calendar. We intend to fix that problem.
- Associate calendar entries to a project
- Associate calendar entries to a client, associate or contact
- Associate calendar entries to an employee or group member
- Associate calendar entries to a task
- Permit drag and drop editing
- Grouping calendar entries by task within project, within client or contact within employee
- Manage projects better by allowing all the tasks associated with a project to be rescheduled or cancelled as the project changes state
- Prioritizing calendar entries
- Adding comments to calendar entries
- Add activities or requirements to calendar entries
- Allow clients to see and/or manage calendar entries specific to them on the web
- Allow employees to see and/or manage calendar entries specific to them on the web
- Allow supervisors to review calendar entries for all employees and clients
- Although Calendar 20-20 will replace the need to use the Outlook calendar, for those who wish, Calendar 20-20 can be downloaded and overlaid on top of an Outlook calendar.
- Print or display calendars in special report formats
- Listings by task by date
- Listings by client and include tasks and dates
- Listing by employee and include clients, tasks and dates
- Daily task list for employees and supervisors
- Special Monthly or Weekly calendars with avatars depicting employees, projects, clients and tasks
- Interactive day view that allows a supervisor or employee to better manage a client
If you agree that we need to bring calendaring into the new millennium, please drop us a line and let us know what we are missing. How can a calendar be improved to help YOU in your business? Let us know!
Seed Money
There is a very nice wooden box on my desk that contains hundreds of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. The coins look like money but are 
really made of paper. These coins were my gift for being one of the 1,100 backers of this project on Kickstarter.com.
The paper coins can be planted. Each coin contains seeds to grow a colorful flower or herb or vegetable. Yes, these coins are called “Seed Money”. The Seed Money is hand-illustrated and engraved on thick custom papers and each is embedded with seeds. Buy them in rolls just like real coins. You can secretly plant them in different places you travel or give them away as tokens of appreciation or give an entire roll of Seed Money away as a gift for someone special. Here is what you can get:
- Pennies: flower mix (Don't worry, nothing invasive!)
- Nickels: hearty greens mix (such as kale, chard & spinach)
- Dimes: herb mix (such as thyme, dill, oregano, parsley & basil)
- Quarters: salad mix (lettuce, carrot & tomato)
And if you are really taken with the concept, you can design your own Seed Money (Minimum order is 10,000 coins)!
You can visit our office to receive your own Seed Money coin or reach out to Leafcutter Designs. They are located in Berkeley, California. Find them on the web at http://leafcutterdesigns.com.
People Tracking with RFID
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) was thought to be a transportation and logistics tool for managing inventory of packages, 
especially high value products like Gillette razor blades or Pfizer packages of Viagra. Although not in every store just yet, RFID is hitting it big when it comes to tracking people.
Sometimes called spy chips, these tiny devices are connected to a particular package or person. They might be thought of as electronic bar codes. A court just upheld the legality of using RFID tags as an electronic badge for students of a Texas High School that wants to use RFID tags to manage the security of students.
Disney World plans to begin using RFID tags installed in bracelets this spring. These wrist bands (MyMagic+ bracelets) will be used for park admission, room keys, charge cards and FastPass’s (used to make reservations on popular attractions). This will replace the plastic “Card to the Kingdom” which resort guests use today as park access, room access and charge cards. The RFID scanners (pictured here) will be located everywhere and will track each individual as we move through the parks. All information gathered will feed a comprehensive logistics application to better monitor crowd levels, queue lines, and store activity. Although not specifically disclosed, the RFID bracelets will also be able to track the use of restrooms, front desks, concierge, buses, boats, monorail, automobile, room use, resort amenities such as spas, exercise facilities, lobby’s, bars, restaurants and walkways.
Fortunately, Disney guests will of course be able to accessorize the MyMagic+ Bracelets with charms and Mouse paraphernalia. Thank Goodness! So Mickey Mouse has become our Big Brother.
If any of the information here is of interest to you, please drop us a note. If you would like to see specific information on technology issues that affect you and your business, please let us know.
Have an Emergency? Need Support Now?
Email: support@trif.com
Call: 747-333-8743
TRI
50 Leominster Road
Suite #3
Sterling, Massachusetts 01564
877-253-2379
rmj@trif.com