TechSoup Town Hall

What software solutions do you wish were on TechSoup?

MeganKeane — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:19:00 GMT

Ever said to yourself, “I Wish TechSoup Carried [insert product name]?" Well, TechSoup would like to hear from you! What would you like to see on TechSoup?What kind of software solutions is your organization is looking for that aren't currently on TechSoup? Are their specific types of products that we carry, but not the specific product that you are looking for?

Let us know! Consider this topic your TechSoup Technology Wishlist and post your suggestions here.

Best,

Megan

IT Certifications

CALIFMARY — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:41:33 GMT

What certifications would you deem most valuable at this time? Taking into account your own personal job history and I. T. experience. Functionally, I am a Windows sysadmin but I only have an A+ cert. I need to get a certification and am undecided between CCNA and MCSE.

With MCSE (2003) I see a never-ending process of studying to re-cert as Microsoft continuously evolves its OS. With CCNA I see less frequent changes.

I have nothing against learning and training and I have taken several of the MS courses. But in my work I have had to focus primarily on learning and training in a wide variety of I. T. areas and never had the need to get certified (like many of you):

Learning how to configure an ODBC setup so the client can talk to the SQL server.

Learning the enterprise antivirus program inside and out in order to fully understand and maintain its most effective use.

Learning how to access and configure a router for optimal performance.

Learning though day to day hands-on experience to immediately recognize that a subtle symptom on a PC indicates the presence of malware.

Learning the ERP so I could troubleshoot it when needed.

And on and on. So this makes one an I. T. "Generalist". But there's no certificate for that. So, if you area a sysadmin and were faced with the need to get a cert, what would you get?

free server to non-profit

alin84 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:15:45 GMT

The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley would like to donate a used server to another non-profit.

Description:

HP server tc2120

Pentium 4 - 2.66 GHz processor

30Gb scsi drive

1.2 Gb RAM

Floppy drive

CD-ROM

CD-R/W

We can also donate Microsoft SBS 2003 Premium along with user licenses if you need them. The server is 100% functional, but would need to have the operating system re-installed.

Feel free to contact me, Andrew, at the Law Foundation - andrewl @ lawfoundation.org (spaces omitted) for information or to obtain it.

Secular designation

cathedralvp — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:41:59 GMT

A lot of products seem to require a part of a religious organization to have a "secular designation". However I can't find anywhere any discussion as to how one obtains a secular designation and who does the designating. Many religious orgs have homeless shelters or soup kitchens which don't discriminate and don't require religious affiliation.

Any ideas?

live video streaming - how do you choose?

corgee — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:34:11 GMT

Does anybody do livestreaming and who do you use? I've looked into some and just don't know what exactly I'm doing. I'm new to this and don't know what to look for. Should I pay for the service or should I not have to?

Please leave me any suggestions or tools I can use. Maybe tell me about some features I should make sure to look for.

Thanks in advance

CompTIA A+ training

relztrah — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:24:00 GMT

I know there are organizations that offer training for the CompTIA A+ certification for a huge fee, but I'm wondering if there is an alternative. Perhaps a web-based preparation or some self-taught method? I already have years of experience with PC troubleshooting and some real-life hands-on networking experience, but I need to know what is on the exam and how best to prepare for those areas I'm not familiar with. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

What web services are worth paying for?

Susan_Tenby — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:46:46 GMT

Mashable had a recent poll that I wanted to cross post here, to see what the NP tech sector has to say on this issue.

mashable.com/2009/09/06/paid-web-services/

Read the article, but please post your reply here, so we are all able to see what we, the Nonprofit Tech community feels about this issue.

I posted to my Facebook profile and I got a reply that i wanted to share with you all:

Carole Roberts said:

Good question! I'm willing to pay for web services that:
1. Provide reliable email support.
My solution: For 12 years, I've paid for basic email (POP and web) from a small provider run by reliable people I know, who respond via... one email query to solve any problems I can’t solve myself. Perfect!

2. Provide global news information and reportage.
My solution: Patronize a few services that offer information at two levels, i.e. one for-free-overview level, and the second-for-fee more in-depth coverage in articles, reports, white papers, etc.

3. Provide reliable, secure, large-scope meeting and conferencing online service.
My solution: Access to license-based products of various capacities and costs, i.e. open-source DimDim, and other proprietary products such as Microsoft LiveMeeting, Citrix GoTo, for meetings, trainings, and conference-type gatherings , with global reach, and effectively limitless scope.

What do you all think?

Not a 501c3

XcntrK — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:08:54 GMT

Howdy Y'all from South Texas on the Gulf of Mexico.

I am the promotions director and a moderator for http://www.menwithfibro.com. It is a website for men with Fibromyalgia. Mainly a forum based community where men with Fibro can find info, support etc. We are not yet a 501c3 but have been talking about it, it will be a big step for us and we are not sure if we are ready.

My question is this, do we have to be a 501c3 to get any of the TechSoup products for our site. I am currently working on a Tutorial with Camstasia donated by Tech Smith and want to make opening and closing signs if you will and instructions to appear in the tutorial. I would like to clean up our logo and do other things for the site also. I was told that I need PhotoShop Elementsa to do these things. I was told that it is much easier than the full blown PhotoShop which is good as I am learning as I go. Is there a way that it would be available to a website/forum that is not a 501c3?

Thanks ahead of time for you help with this matter.

XcntrK

Npower NY

sisyphus — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:54:41 GMT

Has anyone used Npower NY for any consulting, upgrades etc? Just looking for any reviews or comments on their work.

Thanks

Final chance to submit your nonprofit video to Lights, Camera, Help

MeganKeane — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:53:15 GMT

Today is the last day to submit your nonprofit video to Lights, Camera, Help, the Nonprofit Technology Film Festival. Even if you aren't submitting to this, I highly recommend checking out some of the amazing causes submitted. And if you like this idea of video, but aren't sure where to start, TechSoup blog has lots more details and helpful resources for you.

Google Analytics and TechSoup

tsg_kevin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:41:15 GMT

Since implementing Google Analytics, a web analytics tool, on parts of the TechSoup Web site, there were some concerns raised about user privacy regarding its use. We have created a page with details on how this may be disabled, and would like to have an open forum for any further questions or feedback. You may do so on this thread, or by contacting Lea Policoff, Senior Director of Community.

Help TechSoup get a Social Media Make-Over

MeganKeane — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:10:22 GMT

Cast your vote! By voting for TechSoup, you'll help us to win a $25,000 social media makeover through Communicause. It only takes a minute to do and only requires a name and email address. We would love your help, so please help us along by casting your vote and spreading the word.

Best,

Megan

Has Acronis been approached?

scotH — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:41:34 GMT

Acronis makes good backup and recovery software. Have they been approached for software donations?

TechSoup projects in the news!

MeganKeane — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:18:45 GMT

We're excited to have some TechSoup projects in the news! I just wrote up a blog post about the recent press we've received about our annual NetSquared conference, featured projects, and our Nonprofits in Second Life mixed reality event that took place at the conference. Check it out and find out more about some inspiring organizations making a difference.

What projects do you find particularly promising? Do you see mobile technologies and/or virtual worlds playing a large role in the future of nonprofit technology?

Best.

Megan

Anyone going to Interop this month?

rrci — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:41:54 GMT

I'm going to Interop (it's an IT conference) in Las Vegas. It's from the 17th to the 21st, but I'll be there on the 19th and 20th. If anyone else is going there, maybe we could meet up. http://www.interop.com

Morris Cox | Hour Destiny (SL)

Online Community Unconference June 10th, Mountain View, California

MeganKeane — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:51:29 GMT

Next week, I'll be attending The Online Community Unconference (OCU), along with my TechSoup community colleague, Susan Tenby.

The event description and registration details from my blog entry about it are below. If you're attending, please respond to my post and let us know you are coming!

Best,

Megan

****************************************************

The OCU is a gathering of online community practitioners - managers, developers, business people, tool providers, investors - to discuss experience and strategies in the development and growth of online communities.

Those involved in online community development, for-profits and nonprofits alike share many common challenges: community management, tools, marketing, business models, legal issues. And often the best source of information on all of these challenges is other knowledgeable practitioners, which is what makes the OCU a rewarding event.

"What's an unconference?", you say? Well there's a good description of it here and a detailed FAQ here. Suffice to say, you won't be seeing the usual powerpoints and formal presentations, but instead the sessions and topics are proposed and chosen by the users. Topics might include online community metrics, new opportunities in social media, online community challenges in an economic downturn, building leaders in the community, and community management best practices. I was fortunate to attend last year's OCU and found myself inspired by all the interesting people I met and walked away with many new ideas for TechSoup's community and social media efforts.

Discounted tickets are available, including special deals for recently laid-off online community professionals. You can find more event information, or information about sponsorship opportunities here.

And you can tweet about the conference and follow the action on Twitter using the #ocu2009 hashtag.

What do you want to know about TechSoup?

BeckyW — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:32:14 GMT

If you're craving the inside scoop about TechSoup, join us for this free webinarr later today (starting at 11:00 a.m. Pacific) to learn all the ways TechSoup can help your organization. Here's the full description. We'll be continuing the discussion here in this thread after the webinar to talk in more detail.

Learn How TechSoup Can Help Your Organization

Thursday, May 21, 11:00 a.m. Pacific

Join TechSoup content creators, community leaders, and customer service support online for a tour of how your organization can use all that TechSoup has to offer to improve your technology and help reach your mission. We'll walk you through all the benefits of registering and requesting donated and discounted products from more than 35 donor partners like Microsoft and Adobe. We'll also take you on a virtual tour of other resources in TechSoup's tech arsenal including; interactive community forums, up-to-date articles and how-tos, free webinars and online trainings, cutting-edge news from the TechSoup Blog, online and offline nonprofit tech events, and more!

Attend this free webinar to learn more about how your organization can benefit from all the (free) services TechSoup has to offer.

Spread the Word - TechSoup is Hosting Health Panel Expo Event Today!

SamSlesinger — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:43:26 GMT

TechSoup Community Members,

The Nonprofit Commons, a project of TechSoup Global (TSG), today announced an all-day, innovative online event in Second Life to showcase recent developments in health care research, and to connect efforts in fighting disease and creating a cooperative and supportive environment for patients and their providers. The Health Panel Expo, an international online conference sponsored by FasterCures.org, will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST (also called Second Life Time, SLT) in the virtual world of Second Life and simultaneously in the real world, being broadcast live at the fourth annual NetSquared Conference at Cisco in San Jose, CA.,The Second Life online event is free to attend and open to all interested participants. It will be accessible through Second Life, and all information will be available at http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/healthpanel.

The Health Panel Expo panelists will include speakers from Aids.gov and Community Voicemail discussing mobile health initiatives; Virtual Ability, Inc., a nonprofit that brings people with disabilities and chronic health conditions into virtual worlds; and Susan Tenby, Online Community Director for TSG and the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life. Other panelists include experts from the disability, recovery services, nutrition, cancer, and AIDS communities.

The Health Panel Expo marks the official launch of the Health Commons in Second Life. As part of TSG's Nonprofit Commons project, Health Commons seeks to bring together real-world health-related nonprofits, academics, educators, thought-leaders, foundations, and volunteer-supporters to showcase recent developments in health care.

I'll be in San Jose, videoblogging the event with a trusty Flip Video camcorder by my side, but we could use your help to promote the panel around the world. Here's text you can use on all your favorite web portals, feel free to cut and paste:

Thanks!

TWITTER/PLURK:
Mixed reality panel today, 11am & events in Second Life all day:
8am-5pm, w/ Nonprofit Health orgs http://nonprofitcommons.org/
#npslexpo

Twitter hashtag: #npslexpo
Twitter account: @npsl

The event poster jpeg, along with NetSquared conference logo are
posted in the Google Group files. You can also find a link to poster
here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3567950465_61a3c903d3.jpg?v=0

I need old computers for villages in Pune Maharashtra,India

AMITSURI — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 20:25:00 GMT

I dont know if this the right forum for this.I was given this site by a friend of mine.
I would like to introduce myself as Dr AS, 41 years, a retired doctor from the Indian Air Force and for the past two years working in a small hospital in England,UK.

Two other retired air force officers at Pune,India and friends of mine have adopted some village government schools ,60 km from Pune and are gradually bringing them up in terms of toilets, swings and desks,chairs etc. I have joined hands with them by funding the venture .Amongst other things the children are very keen to learn computers and many haven’t even seen one.
Since I’m funding the venture from my salary there are always financial constraints. If we could acquire old computers, I thought we could have more numbers to be put to good use and in this way we could also save money for other kinds of development of the schools.

We are not an NGO because according to my past experience they misuse funds and we mistrust them.The intention is charity work at a small level, just to do our bit, in our own way.This way our resources go to these children directly and the results can be monitored with gratification.

If anylike minded person/organisation in India could help it would be really nice

cheers
AS

Online Training Programs - Any comments on quality of training

apriljacks2000 — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:13:37 GMT

Hello, My name is April

I was wondering if anyone has taken the on-line training courses offered through the Institute of Nonprofit Workforce Alliance??? If so, can you reply as to the quality of the training. I am specifically asking in regards to the business management section, but other area comments are welcome.

Come and vote in this year’s Adobe Show Your Impact Design Contest!

Anna — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:14:40 GMT

Hey TechSoup Community,

Come see the incredible work that nonprofits and libraries have done using Adobe software in the categories of Environmental Impact and Social Change.

Check out their projects, read their essays, and learn how they have used Adobe tools to drive impact in their community. Get ideas from the submissions so that your future projects can have an even greater impact.

Voting will take place between April 17, 2009 and April 30, 2009
and will determine the finalists in each of the four categories:

Environmental Impact: Print/Photo and Other Media
Social Change: Print/Photo and Other Media.

Vote for between 3 and 5 projects that demonstrate great impact and great design.

Winners in each of the four categories will win a $1000 cash grant plus Adobe software.

Check out the voting guide for more info.

Webcast - Open Standards for Government Transformation

donc — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:01:11 GMT

OASIS, the international open standards consortium, the World Bank's Global Information and Communication Technologies Department/e-Development Thematic Group and World Bank Institute invite you to attend a live webcast:

Open Standards for Government Transformation:
Enabling Transparency, Security and Interoperability

April 17, 2009, 8:15 am - 3:30 p.m Washington DC time

Live webcast: http://www.worldbank.org/edevelopment/live

At this time of global economic crisis, when governments are planning major reforms of their regulatory regimens, it is imperative that consideration for open standards be part of the solution. Standards build trust, support greater transparency and accountability, and reinforce citizens' confidence.? - Laurent Liscia, executive director of OASIS.

This one-day workshop offers a unique opportunity for professionals from the World Bank, leading public administrations and the private sector to share experiences in using open standards for transforming government. Issues surrounding public financial management, e-procurement, cloud computing, electronic identification, security, and interoperability frameworks will be discussed.

This workshop will help practitioners in Washington DC and 8 other cities (as well as online participants) to better understand the different choices they have in order to make better policy, strategy and technology decisions when designing and implementing ICT components of their projects, which will maximize development impact and sustainability of these investments.

Open standards allow different systems, platforms, and devices to communicate, and are at the very core of the new ?open? architectures. Open standards provide choice and interoperability between systems. The Internet, based largely on the framework of the TCP/IP and HTML standards, is a strong example of open standards-driven innovation. Leading governments have begun to emphasize open standards as part of their policy frameworks on ICTs. For example the UK has recently come out with a Government Action Plan on "Open Source, Open Standards and Re-Use". Developing countries need to incorporate open-standards while leveraging ICT for development.

Open standards and interoperability are important for rolling out convenient 'one-stop' services for citizens and businesses. They are also important for avoiding waste in public expenditure and unnecessary duplication of investments.
These issues are particularly relevant in the context of the current economic crisis. For ensuring interoperability across government, it is necessary to focus on organizational structures that help exchange of data and information (organizational interoperability), evolving a common language for understanding various functions of government (semantic interoperability) and dealing with technical aspects to ensure that different systems can talk to each other (technical interoperability).

Distinguished speakers from all over the world will examine the relevance and promise of open standards to developing and transition countries in their pursuit of good governance and better service delivery. Onsite attendees will be joined via interactive video links with officials from client countries, including Russia, Moldova, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and many others will join via live webcast.

The following questions will be discussed among others:
+ What should be the institutional structures for ensuring compliance to
+ open
standards and interoperability across government?
+ What mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that interoperability
standards/frameworks are kept current in the context of rapid changes in technology?
+ What arrangements should be put in place for connecting developing and
transition countries with international standards bodies and leading public administrations in an era of cross-border interoperability?

This workshop is part of the broader Government Transformation Initiative (GTI), a collaboration of World Bank with the private sector and other stakeholders.
The initiative focuses on building capacity of government leaders to pursue ICT-enabled public sector transformation. The GTI will develop and promote viable business models and best practices through peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and training events. A project development facility to support selected Governments in setting up the enabling environment and initiating concrete related projects is also contemplated.

+ To attend in person in Washington DC register here:
https://www.oasis-open.org/apps/2009_eGov_Washington_Workshop/register_contact.php
+ To attend online via live webcast register here:
http://go.worldbank.org/BGZ8XU3KF0
+ To attend in person in one of these countries: Ghana, Kenya, Moldova,
+ Russia,
Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania please send an email to edevelopment@worldbank.org

For more information:
World Bank website: http://go.worldbank.org/ZCBGZ1FTK0
OASIS website: http://events.oasis-open.org/home/egov-dc-workshop/2009/about
This event is also supported on various social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and blogs: http://go.worldbank.org/ZCBGZ1FTK0

Starting A Non-Profit

clc9052 — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:31:59 GMT

Hi everyone. Glad i found this site :D.

We have two companies right now, one is our main company and is a computer repair and sales (which boast a whopping 25 employees :D ) and a side company which deals with used computers and sales. What my boss wanted to do is start a company that can in a sense work between both of the companies, and come up with electronics and computers to donate to our local community and 'less fortunate'. We get ALOT of computers that are a bit older, and not something we would desire to sell, but for free someone that has never had would love to have. We get on average around 20-40 computer systems per week PIII or less, which we would like to refurbish and give away. We dont want to invest alot of money in these but we do have some spare parts laying around we could use that wouldnt cost, and fix the computers up.

What would your suggestions be on getting this started? Would we need all the information like 501for our organization? Would you guys go for a windows operating system (can be costly though) or the free Linux operating system? And should we charge a small administrative fee for these (this is not nessary, since if we did it would be only a delivery fee or something if we gave it to the disable etc)

Thanks.

Who is going to NTC?

MeganKeane — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:28:47 GMT

Who is going to NTC (Nonprofit Technology conference) in San Francisco?

Respond here and let us know if you are going. Many folks from TechSoup will be there including yours truly and longtime TechSoup community manager, Susan Tenby. Susan and I will be planning an informal gathering there, so let us know if you are planning to be there.

Best,

Megan

Outsourcing practices & needs among nonprofits

joysuntechsoup — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:53:00 GMT

Market for Change aims to catalyze sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation by creating a thriving, active market for small and medium-sized business process outsourcing vendors in Africa and other developing regions.

Our target market here in the US includes non-profit organizations & socially responsible businesses. We are hoping you or someone else at your organization would be willing to complete this short survey on outsourcing practices and needs - it should take less than 15 minutes. It will greatly help us in the design & implementation of our pilot launch, currently planned for the second quarter of this year with a group of high-quality, socially responsible vendors in Kenya, Cambodia and rural India. You can access the survey here.http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BHgnOiZpGsYKAxxccPajLA_3d_3d

Many thanks for your time and support of this effort!