What we can offer you

• Custom design a website in PHP utilising the Zend or Code Igniter Framwork or just standalone PHP.
• Connect the PHP application to a database e.g. Oracle, MySQL, MS SQL Server etc.
• Utilise Javascript libries such as JQuery to implement AJAX calls and add awesome visual effects and functionality including thickboxes, shadowboxes and much more. Our aim is to remove all page refreshes so the application behaves much as a desktop application would behave.
• Add security to prevent hacker attacks and spam and implement data validation (on-the-fly).
• Add features such as SEO implementation and SVN version control etc.
• Install the application on most OS platforms such as Windows and Linux and install and/or configure the web server and SVN repository.
• Migrate your current application or website to PHP.

The Zend Framwork utilises the MVC design pattern and allows an application to be built on the platform rapidly thus cutting down development time and improving application stability and functionality.

Our previous experience includes part development of the MiWay Insurance online portal where you can register, quote, buy a policy and manage it all online.

Please contact us for any additional info, queries, pricing and features.

We offer a complete PDF document security system that will keep your documents safe from prying eyes and will also allow you to control if they can print the documents as well.  We use a product called FileOpen Systems that provides digital rights management software to prevent piracy and control access to documents, on your Web site, via email, on DVDs, CDs and mobile devices.

How it Works
Each document is encrypted to connect to a specific permissions server which is a PHP or ASP script running on a web server connected to a database. When the user opens the document they will be prompted to enter in a username and password. If the username and password matches the record in the database they will be allowed to open the document. Depending on the permissions granted the user may or may not be able to copy text, save a copy etc. When the user prints the document, the document will contact the permissions server to get permission to print and if granted the document will be printed out.

The package comes in 3 parts

1. Client-side requires Adobe Reader or Acrobat and the plugin to open the encrypted and protected document which is free to the user.
2. Server side permissions server which grants access to the document being opened. This server is web based and has currently been developed in classic ASP and PHP. The server can be installed on the internet and an intranet on any OS platform.
3. The package includes an encryptor to encrypt the document and specify the permissisions server

Uses

• Only authorise certain users to access certain documents and protect sensitive and confidential documents. Very useful in large organisations with different levels of staff heirachy accessing multiple documents. You can completely control documents access and maintain a complete audit of who, where and when the document was opened.
• You can charge your clients each time they open or print a document for example contractual documents. You can implement a pre-paid facility or online shopping cart to sell your documents and charge your clients each time they make a print.

What we offer you

• Supply you with the licence for the Fileopen software.
• Develop the client web interface front end where your clients can login, view their prints, adminsiter details etc. This feature is avaialble on the internet or your intranet.
• Develop the administration web interface where you can manage your clients, documents and prints etc. This feature is avaialble on the internet or your intranet.
• Create the batch encryption process to encrypt your current documents and allow you to easily add additional documents.
• Develop an online shopping cart facility if required where your clients can purchase your documents online.
• Develop a pre-paid facility where your clients can purchase a pre-paid balance and make as many prints as they require and top up the balance when required.

Current Clients we have developed solutions for:

• JBCC – Joint Building Contracts Committee
• PROCSA – Professional Consultants Services Agreement Committee

Let us set up a meeting and I can give you an online demonstration of how the solution works and what your requirements would be.

Once your speedpoint device is installed you will require a communications device to connect to your speedpoint so the terminal can communicate with the bank. We recommend that you install and Xlink communications device and the reasons are listed below.

Xlink Communications have developed a GPRS based speedpoint communications device to provide an economical, reliable and fast communications device to link your speedpoint to the bank. Older types of speedpoint devices were slow, unreliable and often very costly as each call was charged. Here is how the Xlink device is the most beneficial solution for your speedpoint communications:

Benefits and why it is better than other products

• The communications is GPRS based and therefore used the cellular network which is very reliable and very fast.
• The device’s price is a fixed monthly price which means that you are not paying every time it dials out. This will can save the average user about R10,000 a year. As the device is rented there is no initial up front cost to purchase which means that you will never have to pay for device upgrades, maintenance and repairs.
• The device is plug and play which means the device can be installed, configured and working in under 5 minutes to most South African based speed points.
• The device has been approved by all the major banks in South Africa.
• The devices are dual SIM enabled so in the event of a cellular network failure the device can be swapped to the alternative network and you can resume operations.
• There is a dedicated helpdesk which can help you with any problems and in the event the problem cannot be resolved, a technician will be dispatched to assist.

Xlink currently supplies a large number of retail and petroleum chains such as Spar, Mr Price and Engen so you can be guaranteed of a reliable, cost effective and efficient communications system.

If you would any more additional info please contact us and we can help find the most beneficial solution for you.

How it works is you will give us a list of clients that would like to send the newsletters to (their details are kept private and confidential) and we will design the newsletter for you and send it out to your clients when required. This newsletter facility is completely legal with the option for any of your clients to opt out if they want to and we will only send your newsletter to those clients that you give us. Once the newsletter has been sent we will email you a report each time the newsletter facility has been run.

For more information or pricing enquiries please contact us.

How it works is we will get a list of your clients details and load into our database (your client information is kept strictly private and confidential). You tell us what text your would like to send and when you would like the SMS to be sent and we then will send that list for you. After each SMS run you will receive and email containing a report on what was sent.

As a client you will be given a username and password which will enable to login and view reports. For businesses we have catered for different divisions so a staff member(s) will only be able to view the reports for that specific division and not any others.

For more information or pricing enquiries please contact us.

Open source software is computer software that has been designed by a community of developers and is available free for anyone to install and use. Open Source software offers better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost and an end to vendor lock-in.


How can open source software help me?
Open source software can provide me with a completely free operating system, compatible office suite and a host of free software programs that I can install legally on as many computers as I would like to.

The Linux/Debian/Solaris Operating System
Linux and Debian etc. are free operating systems that provides you with a very stable and feature rich operating system being either a desktop or a server. Common examples which you may have heard include Ubuntu, Suse, Red Hat, Centos, Fedora core and many more. They can do everything, if not more than your current operating system so you can browse the Internet, download your photos and edit them, retrieve email and open and create Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents. The advantage is the operating system is free, compatible with your PC hardware, very stable (no more shutting down every day) and fast. Below are a couple of screenshots of Ubuntu 9.10.

[Show as slideshow]

OpenOffice – Microsoft Office Replacement
OpenOffice is a freely available but fully featured office suite that can run on most operating systems and can be installed freely on any PC. Open Office is compatible with Microsoft Office and can open and edit Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents and save them as Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents as well as provide a drawing, maths and database utility program. Instead of purchasing an expensive Office Suite why not try Open Office first? You can read more about Open Office here. Below are some screen shots of Open Office programs.

[Show as slideshow]

Other Free Open Source Software

• Firefox and Google Chrome: Free Internet Browser.
• Thunderbird: Free email program.
• Gimp: Very powerful picture and graphics editor.
• Pidgin: Free social network instant messenger.
• GnuCash: Accouting and financial application.
• MySQL: High performance and easy to use database.
• GParted: Hard disk partition editor

Below is a cost comparison between Microsoft Windows and Office compared to Open Source. Approximating a Microsoft Windows licence at R2000 and a Microsoft Office 2007 Professional licence at R4000. Support for both Microsoft and Windows approximated at R350 p/h for both operating systems. As you can see below Linux is by far the cheaper option as it is free, yet it is a proven, stable and reliable desktop and server operating system.

Are you looking for Linux or Open Office or a suite of applications? We have a number of Linux and Open Source software and applications available and we can burn it onto disk and post to you anywhere in South Africa.

We also compile disks of any software you may require. If you need a disk with certain applications we will get them (if we do not have them already) and burn them onto disk for you and mail it to you.

For example here are some of the applications and operating systems we have available:

• Linux
  • openSuse 11.2
  • Ubuntu 9.10
  • Ubuntu Multimedia Studio
  • Fedora Core 12
  • Knoppix
• Applications
  • Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird
  • Google Chrome, Opera, Safari
  • Skype and MSN
  • Open Office
  • Dia Diagrams
  • DVD tools
  • Audio recorders
  • Google Earth, Chrome, Desktop etc.
• And many more…….

The cost is R120 including the disk and postage. If we don’t have it we will get it for you! Just let us know which one or ones you would like, the architecture (32 bit or 64 bit) and we will do the rest for you and the disk will be delivered to you.

For more information please contact us.

]]> http://www.tomthumb.co.za/open-source-software-solutions/feed/ 0 http://www.tomthumb.co.za/systems-development/ http://www.tomthumb.co.za/systems-development/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:49:22 +0000 admin http://localhost/?p=34 We can design and implement and develop applications to your specification. If you have an idea that requires a computer system or application we can design and implement your solution from the drawing board to release.

Our previous projects include:

Secure PDF Printing Facility for the JBCC: This project was designed to allow clients to purchase on-line documents. They can download contract documents to their computer and then pay each time they print a document. The system uses encrypted Adobe PDF documents (system using FileOpen Software)  that connect to a ASP web server to get the appropriate permissions. This system was extended to allow clients to purchase pre-prepaid contract documents using their credit card through MWEB Safeshop.

Certificate Generation Application for the JBCC: This project was designed in Microsoft Access and contains a number of forms that allow the user to capture data and then generate a specific certificate which they can print. This system included a licensing module to prevent unauthorised copying. The installation package was created using Nullsoft software installer software to install the application onto a Microsoft Windows based PC.

SMS Forum Integration: A forum was designed using ASP programming language that sends an SMS to the topic moderator each time a question was posted to that moderator.

User Certificate Generation: The company had a list of candidates that attended a training program and they required an automatic certificate generation program to allow printouts to multiple users all at the click of a button.

For more information please contact us.

We are now Apple resellers and you may purchase Apple products from us. We can supply you with iPods, Apple Mac Pro Desktops, Mac Books for when you are on the move, Mac and Adobe software etc.

For more info, availability and pricing enquiries please contact us.

* Please note: Some faulty computer parts cannot be returned to us but instead must be sent to the manufacter’s repair centre.

We can offer you the following services:

• Diagnose and repair faulty computers and small servers. This includes the computer hardware, operating system and software installed.
• Diagnose and repair Internet connection problems.
• Diagnose and repair network connection problems.
• Remove viruses and install anti-virus/anti-spyware protection.
• Perform backups (and store off-site) and restore if necessary.
• Install new software and drivers.
• Help you resolve any printing issues.

We can also offer you a monthly support service where we will regularly maintain your computer systems daily, weekly, bi-monthly or monthly at a set rate to keep your computer systems running 100%. We are not like other companies that will pop in, see nothing is wrong and then leave after 5 minutes. Here is what we do to maintain your computers:

• Check and remove any viruses
• System cleanups to clean up temporary and wasted space
• Optimise computer settings and drivers for speed and stability
  
• Install regular software updates
• Check computer hardware (hard disk, memory, motherboard)
• Fix any other issues that have arisen.

For more information or pricing enquiries please contact us.

Website Design and Maintenance
We can implement a website for your business or personal use. We will design it, get it hosted, get a domain name for you e.g. www.yourdomain.co.za and register it with the search engines. We can also update current websites with new content even if it was not designed by us. We can design any website from 3 pages to a corporate intranet solution depending on your requirements.

We can design the website in a number of ways depending on your requirements. Your website can include fancy popup photo galleries, contact forms, google maps business inclusion and directions to your premisis, booking forms, user registrations, business directories, latest news sections, bulk email and sms functionality and much more. Our websites also include a fully featured administration section where you can administer the content without knowing how to program via the internet.

Websites Developed or Part Developed
NHA – Natural Health Association: http://www.nha.org.za
RecruiTech Recruitement: http://www.recruitech.co.za (Click for Reference)
Pinetown JKA: http://www.pinetownjka.co.za
Durban Wedding Productions: http://www.durbanweddingproductions.co.za
Form Productions: http://www.formproductions.co.za
Toploge: http://www.toplodge.co.za
Sandbox CC: http://www.sandblasting.co.za
PBSTA: http://www.pbsta.co.za (Click for Reference)
MiWay MiXpress: http://www.miway.co.za (co-developer for insurance on-line portal)
Finmon: http://www.finmon.co.za (customer online portal and administration portal)
Figment Design: http://www.figment.co.za (administration portal)
Virtual Voucher: http://www.virtualvoucher.co.za (developer for administration portal)

Website Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
We also can register web sites with the major search engines including South African search engines e.g. Ananzi, Advaark etc. with Google being the preferred search engine. We can also setup access to Google Analytics and Google Webmaster to provide stats and marketing tools to market your website on-line. Google offer an analytical tool called Google Analytics that provide a wide range of stats to analyse website traffic and help you market your website to your clients. These stats are are accessible via a login facility on their website. It’s provides a great way to see who is coming to your site, from where, how long, what keywords were used etc. This facility is a must for any business or commercial website. Separately there is another tool called Google Webmaster which can help you with your crawling and indexing questions, introduce you to offerings that can enhance and increase traffic to your site, and connect you with your visitors. If you click on the images below you can see some of the screens that Google Analytics can give you.

[Show as slideshow]

For more information or pricing enquiries please contact us.