Considerations of Alternative Solutions
A newsletter could be produced manually but it would be much more laborious than using a computer. You could draw an image by hand onto the page and then write your text underneath or a manual typewriter could be used. If you wanted to use photographs these could be photocopied onto the page or glued onto the page, text inserted either by hand or use of a typewriter and then a master copy made. You might be able to get different people to produce items for inclusion, although you would have a variety of hand writing and typewriter text. Cutting and pasting could be used to produce the newsletter, alongside photocopying.
Disadvantages of a Manual System
1) Time Consuming
2) Finished article looks unprofessional
3) Expensive – In respect of time and materials
4) Photographs might not photocopy clearly
5) All type would look the same unless produced by someone else on a different
Typewriter
6) All text (hand written) would look the same unless produced by someone else
7) Wouldn’t have access to information on-line that might be needed for inclusion
8) Frequency would be less due to the time it takes to produce each copy
9) Errors might not be spotted before publication
10) No facility to check spelling, grammar and punctuation other than a dictionary
11) If errors are made during production the entire project might have to be redone
Other Software
MS Publisher could be used to produce the newsletter. This is a Desktop Publishing Application that is widely used in industry and commerce.
Publisher is similar in some ways to Word, but it does have one major difference. Whereas Word treats a document in its entirety, Publisher treats a document as a collection of different objects. Each one is treated separately and can be edited, deleted, formatted, moved independently of any other object within the document.
Whilst MS Publisher and Word produce documents that look the same when you look at them, the ways they are actually created are very different.
Publisher comes with templates already set up which could be used as a basis for the newsletter. However these might not actually really look as you would want them to. The templates might give ideas but it would be more beneficial to start from scratch.
A variety of different features can be found in Publisher. You have the Tool Box which has a number of tools within it; Pointer, Text Tool, Picture Tool, Table Tool, WordArt Tool, Line Tool, Oval Tool, Box Tool, Shapes Tool, Wizards, Inserts Objects, design Gallery. Another Feature is the Popup Menus which assist you if you get stuck whilst performing a particular function within Publisher. It will offer you suggestions as to what you might need to do next.
My Choice of Software
I have decided to produce my newsletter using Word 2000 Professional as I am more familiar with using a word processing package than a desktop publishing application.
There are a variety of different features within Word that could be used to design the newsletter, e.g. clipart, fonts, graphics, columns, tables, text boxes, diagrams, hyperlinks, page numbering, objects, charts, organisation charts, shapes, word art, references. All of these features could be used to enhance the final result.
Analyse Stage
Appropriate Software
I will use Word 2000 Professional which is part of the Microsoft Office Professional Package. It is compatible with the operating system (XP Professional) that is going to be installed on the PC that will be used. Furthermore the user has had some exposure to Microsoft software applications although they are rather out of date now.
The package would also be upgradeable, so the designs for the newsletter could still be
used with the additional features that would probably be added to the software upgrade.
The user currently owns a PC running on Windows 95 and uses MS Works 95 for writing letters etc. Therefore they would need to upgrade their system including purchasing Microsoft Office Professional. As they already own a Microsoft product they might be able to upgrade to a newer version rather than having to purchase the complete boxed version.
As they have used MS Works 95 they have had experience of using a word processing package. Thus they wouldn’t have to adapt very much to using Office Professional. The help facility within Office Professional itself is very extensive plus they would have the option of seeking help on-line.
Appropriate Hardware
I would recommend buying the following computer as they are well made, have components that are made to a high standard and are very durable and reliable. The company also has a very helpful technical department if problems do occur after installation for both hardware and software. For a very reasonable sum you can purchase on-site cover.
Dell Dimension 4700 with an Intel Pentium 4 Processor 530 with HT Technology (3.00GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Operating System
512MB Dual Channel DDR2 RAM
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
19” Analogue Flat Panel Monitor (19.0” v.i.s)
Integrated Intel Pro 10/100 NIC
128MB PCI-Express ATI Radeon X300SE with TV-Out & DVI
16x DVD+RW Drive and CD-ROM Drive
56k Data Fax Modem
Keyboard and Mouse
Format of Information and Graphics
The newsletter will be divided into four main sections: General, Adult, Teenagers/Young People and Children. Page 1 will have a banner title along with a logo. There will be four text boxes entitled Introduction, Meeting Times, Missionary Projects and Forthcoming Events. They will be positioned in each corner with a picture or graphic in the middle of the boxes. The titles of each box will be coloured text. Page 2 will have an article on one or more of the missionary projects, testimony time and details of the forthcoming events that will be of interest to the adult readers. There will be a mixture of text and graphics. Clipart might be used along with photographs. Wrap around text might be used. Page 3 will be aimed at teenagers and young people so it will have to be zappy and interesting with the emphasis being on images and colour as well as some text. Page 4 will have a section for children which will be a quiz, crossword or wordsearch. This part will use a combination of text, tables and graphics. Colour will probably be used as well. The rest of the page will be mainly text. Possibly with the prayer requests and contact details in text boxes.
Output
The newsletter could be displayed on the Flat Panel Monitor however it might not look completely like the finished article in terms of colour depending on the graphics card installed in the PC. Any errors could be corrected immediately thus saving on time and money in printing copies that might have to be reprinted due to errors being present.
You might want to have a HP Deskjet to print off a hardcopy proof so that it could be checked for errors and omissions.
A HP Colour LaserJet 2550L printer would be ideal to produce the final copy. It is compact in design, easy to use, manage and maintain. Thus you will keep down your costs when printing. Gives a professional finish due to brighter colours, sharper text and graphics.
Backup/Security Strategy
I would use Veritas Backup Executive software to back up the system. The data would be backed up daily onto a DAT tape. Additional copies could be done manually onto CDRW or DVDRW. This method of backup has been tried and tested, is used widely in the business world and is user friendly. If you needed to restore any data it is very easy to do. The DAT tapes should be used in rotation and a copy kept off site.
It is important to protect the system against potential hackers and viruses. Therefore Norton Internet Security could be used. It would need to be configured to update daily. If a real-time scanning facility is available then this should also be used.
Another measure that could be taken is to password protect the system and also turn on the internal firewall within Windows XP.
