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Other RWAP Websites
RWAP
Software
(supporting the Sinclair QL, Cambridge Z88 and ZX
Spectrum)
RWAP
Adventures
(Adventure gaming)
Internet Business Angels
(Providing advice to small business)
Proof Reading
Software
Automatic grammar and spelling checks - context based
www.whitesmoke.com
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RWAP Services offer a wide range of services to assist your
on-line business. We can provide in-depth reviews of software and
hardware, either for magazine publication or publication on our
website, as well as providing companies with the all important real consumer feedback
and opinions before a product goes live.
We can offer word processing facilities if
you prefer, but these can be purchased at fairly low cost, in line with desktop
publishing facilities, newsletter and advertisement production from a whole
wealth of various websites. We therefore do not attempt to match these
services, but concentrate on our specialist in-depth knowledge of a wide range
of subjects and the need
to ensure that documents are user friendly and utilise correct English grammar
and spelling - something which is easily overlooked in the rush to produce
documentation.
We support plain English and have many years' experience of
producing both technical and introductory documentation aimed at a wide range of
skills and understanding.
Proofreading is especially important for
analysing documents and websites of vital importance. We offer high specification
proof-reading and testing services guaranteed to be delivered on time and within
budget, complete with the knowledge that your documents will be treated with
strict confidentiality. The proof reading is performed by native highly
educated English speakers with varied areas of speciality which guarantees the
quality of the output.
Proof-reading forms the final editing
stage of a document, providing an independent review with checks for
typographical (typing) errors, grammar, punctuation, spacing, sentence structure
and consistency, as well as checks on the use of the correct terms for the
subject matter being proof-read.
We offer both a personal service and an
automated proof-reading service. The latter consists of a piece of
software developed by leading-edge company, and is called
WhiteSmoke. WhiteSmoke enables users to enhance their writing skills - the
tool instantly analyses the complete text and provides context-based
recommendations to replace words with synonyms, add adjectives and adverbs,
check spelling and proper use of grammar. This can work happily alongside
tools such as the spell checker and thesaurus provided in Microsoft Word, to
help improve your writing almost automatically.
The software is based on a unique and
patented technology of a dynamic, self-learning, constantly growing database of
millions of documents, and a proprietary dictionary database. A powerful engine
simulates the human mind by reading millions of carefully selected texts,
classifying and storing them, and ultimately providing the user with precise
choices. These choices are based on cross referencing between the written text
and the relevant database, and includes a content related thesaurus.
WhiteSmoke will pick up numerous spelling and grammatical errors (based on
context) which are missed by the majority of spell and grammar checkers, and it
then analyses the document to enhance the text by reference to a module -
currently there are modules for medical texts, legal texts, commercial and
literary. The software is priced by the number of modules you need and to
date, has around 50,000 customers and the
WhiteSmoke web site includes a clear demonstration of how the software can
be used to improve your documentation.
Although software can go a long way towards automating the
process and improving your writing skills, you cannot get past the need for a
real person to proof-read your final document, to check it both for style and
level of reading ability. For example, if you have a strong legal or
medical background, then you should not have problems in creating documentation
which is to be read and understood by fellow professionals, particularly using
software such as
WhiteSmoke.
However, if you want them to be understood by someone without
specialist knowledge, then you need the input of a third party who can read the
document from an unbiased (and non-specialised) viewpoint. This is where
our skills and expertise come to the fore.
If you prefer a more personal touch, we are
happy to proof read your document by hand, and turn it into a user manual,
guide, or plain English document as you require. We have a wealth of
experience in governance issues, housing, legal matters, health and safety,
diversity, computers (from a users point of view, through to programming and
even realtime coding), policy and procedural review, and report writing for both
Boards of Management and user groups.
With our range of expertise, we are able
to understand highly technical documentation as well as correcting the use of
English for documentation written abroad. We are also able to prepare
functional design specifications and user manuals to your requirements, complete
with graphical design and layout. We have a wealth of experience and
knowledge on which we can draw in order to ensure complete understanding of your
documents and provide a fast, high quality service which can ensure the use of
plain English.
Our dedicated team are able to offer high
quality typed documentation for any requirements, including providing technical
specifications, contractual documentation, program reviews, test reports and
HTML web-pages. This is often seen as much more than a standard
proof-reading service, as we will often provide useful suggestions for the
overall document, taking into account different viewpoints, diversity issues and
highlighting areas which may cause confusion, or conflict with other parts of a
document suite.
Copy typing and editing is available,
although we can also design your documentation from scratch if required, based
upon your short notes and actual product - please contact our dedicated
proof reading team for more
information.
Our proof-reading charge rates start at £5
per hour, dependent upon the technicality of the document - you should allow
approximately one hour per 1000 words.
Following requests from customers, we have
started to introduce a translation service and are looking for additional
operatives to perform translation services on our behalf.
Final proof reading of the translated
document, is charged separately if required.
With over 15 years experience of testing
software from a users point of view, we are amazed at the standard of some of
the software which is sold to PC users and websites available, which are
inefficiently coded and have errors at the time of release. Many people
claim that this is because there is no budget for software testing and they
would rather release a program and await customer feedback. The other main
response is to say that you should do something according to the manual.
We believe that this is short-sighted -
many users will not complain about software and simply do not use it if they
find a specific error. Sales of software tend to rely mainly on people
recommending it to their friends and colleagues, so if you provide a product
which fails to impress the user with look and feel, you will lose a large
percentage of your possible market.
For example, we have come across one Ad
removal tool which always downloads its update files over the internet, even if
you already have the latest files. This tends to lead to user frustration
and confusion, since it ties up some of their system resources whilst it
downloads already existing files. At the end of the day, this is an
essential point, since it will tend to prevent users from bothering with the
update function.
Our software testing rates start at £50
per hour which would include an overview of the user interface and manual, a
test of the main features of the program, and installation/removal tools, as
well as a detailed report on any errors or suggested improvements.
We regularly come across websites
which do not work in all of the major internet browsers (Netscape, Opera, AOL
and Internet Explorer) or which even destroy their own windows when the user
clicks on a link. We have also put our programming experience to good use,
by suggesting (and programming) methods by which the websites can be kept up to
date more readily (rather than relying solely on human intervention) and how to
ensure a much higher ranking in search engine results.
We also write Perl routines for forms
submission and internet robots (spiders), which can be linked to an SQL or CSV
delineated database, which are written based on our own library of tried and
tested routines, ensuring fast code turn around with thorough testing.
Our charge rates start at £50 for a review
of a short website, including marketing reports and comments on how to improve
your search engine rankings (if we cannot make any recommendations, then the fee
is refunded).
The RWAP Services team draws from
a breadth of experience in a host of different fields, as follows:
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Computer programming team with 15 years experience, including
68000 machine code programming, C, Perl, PHP, HTML
coding, BASIC, SCADA and PLC realtime programming
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Computer industry journalist with 12 years experience, who
has written both for web-sites and various top magazines - works include
software and hardware reviews, as well as beginner's guides, press releases,
programmers guides, functional design specifications
and general marketing material.
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Software test specialist with 16 years experience of testing
a wide range of software packages from an end-user point of view, and
providing in-depth reports on problems identified, how to replicate them,
ideas for improvements and often providing suggested code to rectify the
problems.
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Former Solicitor of 4 years standing with a wide experience
of conveyancing and property law, commercial law, trusts, probate and drafting
contracts and Wills.
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Company Secretariat skills producing
Board agendas, minutes, resident involvement documentation and other
prescribed documentation for housing associations
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Technical Author with 7 years experience, writing functional
design specifications, program workflows and end user manuals, including a
hefty 1000+ page guide to programming in SuperBASIC.
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Word Processing Skills including use of several word
processors and other documentation packages, including Word, Excel and
Access.
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Knowledge of the inner workings of computers and the skills
to build and repair computers.
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Strong organisational skills used to
create reports, agendas and minutes for Board and other meetings and reduce
the number of errors contained in all reports, including cross-referencing
the various reports and pulling together sets of papers for distribution.
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10 Years general office administration experience, including
use of office equipment, word processing, maintaining and devising review
systems, implementing health and safety reporting systems, letter writing,
database and telephone skills.
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In-depth knowledge of accounting and taxation systems in the
UK with experience of administering trusts up to £1m, including bank
reconciliations, accounts, tax returns and forecasts.
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Graphic and Website Designer, including breadth of SEO
(Search Engine Optimisation) Skills - see our
Internet
Business Angels site for general advice on setting up a business online.
Details of Rich Mellor's
CV
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