S u r e - W i n: September 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008

Cost (Project Management)

Costing is a calculated cost of something: the cost that has been calculated for undertaking a project

All manufacturing companies sell their products to make profit. The profit on each product sold can be defined as the difference between the selling price of the product and the total cost of making the product. Cost therefore plays a very important role in the product design process. To be successful, a product must not only satisfy a set of functions defined in the product design specification, but it must also be possible to build the product within the cost criteria set out at the start of the project. Before the development of any product begins, it is essential to perform some form of economic analysis on the product to determine if it is worth making. This may involve some form of market analysis to determine what the customer is willing to pay for a product.

Sun Explosion

I heard the Sun is expanding with the time, will it ever explode, if not how big could it get?
It is true that the Sun is very slowly expanding and getting brighter right now. The reason for this is that as it is burning hydrogen to helium in the core the amount of hydrogen there gradually decreases. In order to keep the energy generation rate the same, the temperature and density in the core must rise. This has the effect that the energy can flow to the surface a little faster and it puffs up the outer layers (as well slightly brightening the Sun).
When the Sun runs out of hydrogen in its core completely (which won't be for another 5 billion years or so) nuclear reactions will stop there, but they will continue in a shell around the core. The core will contract (since it is not generating energy) and as it contracts it will heat up. Eventually it will get hot enough to start burning helium into carbon (a different nuclear reaction). While the core is contracting the hydrogen burning around it heats will heat up the outer layers which will expand, and while they do that they will cool. The Sun will then become what is called a Red Giant and its radius will be large enough to envelop the Earth!
Eventually the Sun will also run out of helium in its core. When this happens the core will contract again, but it will never be able to get hot enough to start burning any other elements into anything else. There will still be nuclear reactions of helium and hydrogen in shells around the core though, and these will continue to heat up the outer layers and cause them to move outwards. The core will eventually turn into what we call a white dwarf star, which is an extremely small (roughly Earth sized) dense star. A white dwarf does not generate energy so it will just slowly cool as it shines. The outer layers of the Sun will turn into what we call a "planetary nebula" (although it has nothing to do with planets) and gradually drift out into the interstellar medium. Planetary nebulae are some of the most beautiful objects you can see in the night sky. Shown below is the ring nebula, for some more pictures look here.

So the Sun will never explode (even though more massive stars can and do). The difference is that the Sun isn't massive enough to ignite anything past helium in its core. More massive stars continue nuclear burning until they start making iron. This creates an unstable core which will then explode in a supernova explosion.

ViRUS Prevention

Did you know that if you buy a new PC computer, turn it on, and connect it to the Internet, you will probably be infected with a virus, spyware, or adware within 20 minutes? You have about that long to update Windows (if you're on a PC), turn on a firewall, and update your virus protection software! Macs are much safer against these threats, but all users should read on.

Viruses

A computer virus is a program that "infects" your computer. "Trojans" and "worms" are similar. While many are not dangerous, some can cause extreme damage to your computer system. For example, they can:

Delete some or all of your files
Send themselves to everyone on your e-mail address list

Here are some steps you can take to prevent a computer virus infection:

Every computer should have anti-virus software on it. (This is also true of Macs, although they are much less vulnerable to viruses, especially with the newest OS X operating system.) The virus definitions that the software uses should be updated daily. (Usually, the software does this automatically when you connect to the Internet.) When your annual license run outs, update it immediately. Hundreds of new viruses are discovered each month. Here are links to two leading vendors and a review of some free options.

Symantec Norton Anti-Virus: (for both PCs and Macs).
MacAfee Anti-Virus: for the PC.
PC World magazine's review of four free anti-virus software products for the PC.

Use your anti-virus software to check every file that you receive from another person, especially files received over the Internet or on a diskette.
NEVER open attachments to e-mails you receive unless you are expecting them. That means you knew in advance that it was coming. Even if the e-mail comes from a friend or colleague, do not open it. Many viruses use a person's e-mail address book to spread the virus, so that the virus comes from someone you know (although the person did not knowingly send it to you).
The following file types are the most dangerous because they contain programs (as opposed to documents). NEVER open attachment with these extensions:

.exe
.com
.scr
.vbs
.cmd
.bat
.reg

Don't open attachments with no extension at all. Often, attachments sent from a Mac have no extension, so you cannot tell the type of file.
On a PC, by default, Windows does not show extensions. File extensions provide information about the type of file. Change this setting so you can see file extensions. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer. On the menu, choose View > Options to open the Options dialog box. If there is a View tab, click it. If there is not View tab, click the File Types tab. Then uncheck (by clicking its checkbox) "Hide file extensions for known file types." Click OK to close the dialog box.
Even Word documents (.doc), Excel documents, and other files can contain macros that functions as viruses. Make sure that you have virus checking turned on (this is automatic in later versions). In Word, choose Tools > Options (PC)/Preferences (Mac) to open the Options/Preferences dialog box. Click the Security tab, if you have one; otherwise, click the General tab. (This depends on the version.)

On the General tab, make sure Macro Virus Protection is checked. Click OK to close the dialog box. With this feature, when you open any Word document that contains macros, a message appears warning you about the macros and letting you disable them. When you see this message, you should disable macros if you didn't expect them to be there. Keep them if you created them or know that they were created to add functionality to the document.
On the Security tab, click the Macro Security button and choose one of the options, except the Low option, which doesn't protect you. Click OK twice.

For Windows, Microsoft keeps downloads on its web site that fix security and virus loopholes. Go to www.microsoft.com and click Downloads. Then look for your version of Windows. If you have Windows XP, choose Start>Help and Support and click the Office Updates link. There you can also turn on Automatic Updates. With automatic updates, whenever you turn on your computer and connect to the Internet, you will be notified if an update is available. Download it for the latest protection.
Here are some links to sites that monitor viruses. They provide information on current viruses. When you hear about a virus, before passing on the information, it's a good idea to check at these sites first. They also provide tools for getting rid of a virus.

All computers should have a software firewall. An often-recommended free one is Zone Labs' Zone Alarm. (They also have a "Pro" version that you have to pay for.) Another good firewall is Norton Personal Firewall ($49.95). Click the Macintosh link on the same page for their Mac products. If you have an always-on broadband connection, your modem should also include a hardware firewall.
Never download software from the Internet unless you are sure you know what you are getting. When a dialog box pops up and asks if you want to install some software (especially when you didn't ask for it), just say No, unless you are sure you need it. Download common free software from the companies' official sites, such as Apple, Microsoft, Macromedia, Adobe, etc.

Many reports of viruses are hoaxes. Here are three links that list hoaxes. Please do not forward any e-mails about viruses unless you check one of these sites first!

Remember that once you have an active virus, it easily spreads to others.

Spyware & Adware

Spyware is software that infects your computer and reports information on the computer back to a Web site or database. Spyware can capture your social security number, passwords, and personal information. It can lead to identify theft. Adware is software that creates pop-up ads when you open your browser, changes your browser's home page, or otherwise finds ways to force you to look at ads. Both can slow down your computer to a crawl. Very little spyware or adware is targeted to Macs. Here are some options:

Webroot's Spy Sweeper. $30
Lavasoft's Ad-aware. Free and well-recommended.
Patrick M. Kolla's Spybot Search & Destroy. Free (but donation requested) and well-recommended.

Many people use both Ad-aware and Search & Destroy. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is very vulnerable to adware, especially, and can even send you viruses. Instead you can use the free Mozilla Firefox, which includes an ad blocker. It is highly recommended by experts. In fact, even Microsoft has recommended disabling JavaScript capabilities in Internet Explorer. However, if you do this, many Web sites will not work properly, as they depend on JavaScript to function. Here's how:

In Internet Explorer, choose Tools>Internet Options. Click the Security tab.

Click the Internet icon and then click the Default Level button. Drag the slider to the High value. You can then click the Trusted Sites icon on the Security tab and add sites that you want to access. These sites will then function properly.

Gantt chart/ Milestone (Project Management)

Gantt chart/ Milestone is a graphical representation of the duration of tasks against the progression of time. Its is a useful tool for planning and scheduling projects. A milestone chart depicts key events along a timescale We have a thesis project Web based Ordering and Renting for the Fashion Designer base in Lucena City. These is our Gant chart.

Gant table

Milestone critical

Milestone Gant

Gant table

Milestone critical

Milestone Gant

Project management

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time effort, for example, construct a building or implement a new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are need, and associating budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes implementing the project plan, along with careful controls to stay on the "critical path", that is, to ensure the plan is being managed according to plan. Project management usually follows major phases (with various titles for these phases), including feasibility study, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance. (Program planning is usually of a broader scope than project planning, but not always.)

S Curve

The S Curve is a well known project management tool and it consists in "a display of cumulative costs, labour hours or other quantities plotted against time".The name derives from the S-like shape of the curve, flatter at the beginning and end and steeper in the middle, because this is the way most of the projects look like.

The S curve can be considered as an indicator and it's used for many applications related to project management such as: target, baseline, cost, time etc. That's why there is a variety of S Curves such as:
-Cost versus Time S Curve;(appropriate for projects that contain labour and non-labour tasks).
-Target S Curve;(This S Curve reflects the ideal progress of the project if all tasks are completed as currently scheduled)
-Value and Percentage S Curves;(Percentage S Curves are useful for calculating the project's actual percentage complete)
-Actual S Curve;(This S Curve reflects the actual progress of the project to date)

In order to be able to generate a S Curve, A Baseline and Production Schedule are necessary because they contain important information for each task: -the Baseline - contains information about Actual Start date and finish date.
-The Baseline - can also contain information about Man Hours and costs.
-The Production Schedule contains information about the actual percentage complete.

There are some software scheduling packages that generate automatically S Curves. For example MS Project does not have this possibility so a third party software application is needed to process the Baseline and Production Schedule data and generate the needed S Curve.( for example S Curve Generator that integrates with MS EXcel to generate S Curves).

Sample project s Curve

PERT/CPM

We are dedicated to serve the needs of overseas market for Filipino professionals, craftsmen, technicians, medical, and support staff, hotel and restaurant personnel and had placed several thousands of them in the Far East & Middle East Market.

We know that making the RIGHT CHOICE for the right personnel is not always an easy task. We understand your need for timely mobilization of qualified personnel at reasonable costs, and so, PERT/CPM is here to help you make that RIGHT CHOICE.

Provide us with a list of your current and future manpower requirements and we will provide you with the details: quotation for recruiting services, documentation and processing costs, mobilization and suggested prevailing rates.

MILESTONE

A milestone or kilometre sign is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at regular intervals, typically at the side of the road or in a median. Milestones are constructed to reassure travellers that the proper path is being followed, and to indicate either distance travelled or the remaining distance to a destination. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts, or mile posts (sometimes abbreviated MPs), notably in the United States.

WBS

A work breakdown structure or WBS is a tree structure, that permits summing of subordinate costs for tasks, materials, etc., into their successively higher level “parent” tasks, materials, etc. It is a fundamental tool commonly used in project management and systems engineering.

KiLLer Weapons of the future?

Russian Tank Forces - T90 Technology

The Russians desperately needed to mount a response after the 1991 Gulf War, when the Americans stormed through the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq. The Russian economy’s defense sector was reeling, after the American military’s Abrams M1A1 Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles left the battlefield littered with literally hundreds of burnt-out and charred carcasses of once mighty Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks. As if the Russians weren’t already in bad enough shape after the collapse of the Soviet Union, now the international image of their largest defense export, the T-72 tank, and their newest model, the T-80, as no more than a flaming hulk.

V22 Osprey

Manufacturer: Boeing [NYSE: BA]

Obviously, getting troops to the battlefield as quickly as possible is a paramount concern for military planners. Choppers can carry many troops, but really can’t fly very far or fast. Planes can get troops there quickly, but where can you launch transport planes without a runway? Aircraft carriers are too small, nevermind the deck of an amphibious assault ship. Clearly, a solution is needed for high speed troop transport in a scenario of limited runway space. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, and respectively the Americans invented the V22 Osprey to fill this vital role. Employed by the United States Marine Corp, the V22 Osprey is the only tiltrotor aircraft in production by any nation’s armed forces. Combining the essential elements of the vertical take-off of a helicopter with the speed and mid-air refueling of a convential airplane, the V22 Osprey can get lots of troops to anywhere, and fast. The top speed of the Osprey stands at around 316 mph, where the closest helicopter comparison, the CH-47 Chinook transport, only reaches 196 mph. In support of a high speed amphibious invasion, this aircraft is intended to work alongside the Marine Corp’s new LCAC’s and EFVs, which will enable the US Marines to rush up to any shoreline with overwhelming force.

M230 Chain Gun - Apache Attack Weapon

The omnipresent adjudicator hovering over the skies of Iraq can deliver heinous death at any waking instant. You are taking a stroll down the street, plotting some terrorist attacks in your imagination, and suddenly, without ever feeling a thing, you are reduced to a full sized human splatter pattern. The reality is, only you know for sure what you were really wanting, thinking, taking, doing…better shape up for the eyes in the sky

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These dealings in death, the fine line between reality and the ability to play god with the lives of lesser men, are made possible by the ubiquitous ATK M230 Chain Gun mounted on the chin section of the AH-64 Apache Gunship. With a rate of fire of 625 rounds/minute, firing 30 mm depleted uranium or anti-personnel fragmentation rounds, this weapon enables the FLIR vision films of utter anhillation the likes of which were never seen until recently. People 100 years ago would label a death like the one below an act of God, fire and brimstone punishing the guilty.