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DiscoverRochester.com
August 14, 2002 Shareware Gems
by Paul Cassarino Beer steins, butterflies or Beanie Babies (tm); many of us collect something. Collecting can be a great source of personal pride and accomplishment and even sometimes lead to personal fortune. (A friend of mine sold his personal collection for millions of dollars!) Many collectors will obsess about the details of their collection, spending countless hours documenting seemingly arcane information. Unless you are a trained database administrator, managing all of that information can be a very daunting task. Few tools exist to manage such information with serious customization.
Now serious collectors have a serious tool for organizing and managing all of the information associated with collections of any type. Collectify My Stuff is a software package specifically designed to maximize the enjoyment you obtain from your collection. Whether your collection is of art, jewelry or any other type of collectible, MyStuff can help you describe your collection in great detail.
Easy-to-follow prompts help you build your database click by click. I was able to create the framework of a database for my daughters collection of stuffed animals in a matter of minutes! The information wizards lead you step-by-step through the process of entering all of the appropriate information. The information that you store is not just limited to text. MyStuff stores video and sound with your digital images.
MyStuff easily collects financial information about purchases and expenses associated with your collection. It will also keep track of insurance policies and claims with regard to your collection. MyStuff will even remind you of policy renewal dates!
One of my favorite features is the slideshow creator. MyStuff allows you to share the joy of your collection with friends or customers by creating slideshows of selected images and descriptions which can be sent via email.
The user of the slideshow can simply click on the DETAILS button while watching the images to arrive at a screen holding all of the important data about that item. The slide show file is self-contained so that it can be sent to anyone with a PC. They do not need a copy of MyStuff to be able to view it.
Appraisers will find MyStuff indispensable in cataloging collections for their clients. MyStuff can assist the appraiser in documenting all types of personal property including all pertinent details and digital images. Appraisal clients can use this information when obtaining insurance coverage, making a claim when part of the collection is lost or damaged, or when making a donation. Appraisers encounter collections deserving of detailed attention all of the time.
Small business owners will appreciate how easily MyStuff can help track their inventory.
If your collection is world-class, rest easy in knowing that MyStuff adheres to the CoPAT Object ID international standard for describing cultural objects. Your colleagues, national or international institutions and other registries will appreciate the communication of accurate information as you share your collections with them.
No matter what kind of "stuff" you have, Collectify's MyStuff will make easy work of tracking and documenting it. It appears that much research has gone into the production of MyStuff. Whether your collection is trivial, exotic or somewhere in between, MyStuff is the best way I have found to manage it. You will find many more features explained on their web-site. The fully-functional demo is well worth a try. For a shipping and handling fee, you can request a demo on CD, for those without a broadband Internet connection. www.discoverrochester.com
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