November 2007 Newsletter

What Daylight Savings Shift Means to Computing

Congress is to thank (or blame) for the daylight savings change which meant daylight saving time started two weeks early. The thing is, computers weren't programmed with legislative intent in mind. Many gadget and software makers have issued patches to adjust to the rollover being a week later than computers are programmed for, though not everyone has installed the changes and even people whose systems are now patched could see some calendar items showing up an hour off. I know my DVD/VCR time had to be changed to add on the extra hour. Here is a list of questions you may want to ask yourself:

Most computers these days are set to automatically move forward each year to daylight saving and then back an hour in the fall. That's important, particularly for time-sensitive programs like calendars. Without a software update--and even with one in some cases--calendar items may be off by an hour.

So what do I need to do?
Microsoft released an update to Windows in November that prompts Windows to make the move. The company also has other patches available on its Web site. The patch was delivered in February to Windows XP Service Pack 2 users who have automatic updates turned on, but others may need to download the patch or manually adjust their PC's clock. Apple issued an update for Mac OS X Tiger in February 2006 and offered an updated patch last month for users of Tiger as well as Mac OS X 10.3 Panther.

Are all my calendar items going to be off by an hour?
No. Only calendar items during the extra daylight saving time (the additional three weeks of March and the last week of October) will be affected. Depending on how your business is managing things, many of your one-time calendar items might already be fixed, but it is worth taking a look at your calendar and double-checking the time for any crucial meetings.

Are there any precautions that I should take?
It's a good idea to start taking a look at your calendar for the next few weeks. Double-check when key appointments are supposed to be and note that in the text of the calendar item. That way, even if the time gets moved an hour off, you still know what time that appointment is supposed to be.

Is it just calendars that could be affected?
No. The move could impact time-sensitive applications other than calendaring, such as those that process sales orders or keep track of time cards. Gartner, for example, says the bug could lead to incorrect arrival and departure times in the travel industry and result in errors in bank transactions. In addition, trading applications might execute purchases and sales at the wrong time, and cell phone-billing software could charge peak rates at off-peak hours. Manufacturing operations that are computer-automated could also suffer.

What about my cell phone?
An update is available for Windows Mobile-based cell phones as well as Palm OS devices. Most standard cell phones set their clock based on the network time, so they should adjust automatically.

Are there other places around the world that are also making the early switch?
Yes. Canada is also changing its shift from daylight saving time, at least for the regions that observe daylight saving time, as are Western Australia, central Brazil and Tehran, Iran.

New SonicWall Security Appliances

Deepak Thadani, president of New York based SysIntegrators, is recommending SonicWall's security appliances and is using everything from the SOHO to the TZ-190 unit at all of his client's sites. He recommends the SOHO to the TZ-180 firewall for customers with 10 to 25 users. Anything larger than that, he is going with the TZ-190 with unrestricted nodes. He always looks for a device with wireless cards that gives wide-area connectivity, so you have the Internet backup and can also be used as primary Internet.

SonicWall appliances are a second generation product and the software is able to run through cable and DSL connections. The 'Total Secure' software includes support for anti-virus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention services, content filtering, view point reporting and one year of technical support.

Note: The TZ-180 and the TZ-190 have replaced the TZ-170 series appliances. When you purchase one of the new appliances, it automatically includes one year of Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite.

UnForm 7.0 Promotional Pricing

Some of our customers are still on non-supported versions of UnForm - versions 4.X and 5.X. As of December 31, 2007, version 6.X will no longer be supported. Now is the time to take advantage of the special fourth quarter pricing from SDSI to upgrade to the newly released UnForm 7.0.

Below are the upgrade prices being offered by SDSI for the fourth quarter of 2007:

• v7.0 Laser forms only upgrade from v5.0 – 65% of new retail price.
(Example: 3 print job license Retail $1595.00 x 65% = $1036.75 upgrade retail price)
• v7.0 Laser forms only upgrade from v4.x and older – 75% of new retail price.
(Example: 3 print job license Retail $1595.00 x 75% = $1196.25 upgrade retail price)

Current normal upgrade pricing from UnForm 6.0 to UnForm 7.0 for a 3 print job license is $797.50 - 50% of the retail price.

SDSI is now charging $125.00 for non-supported versions of UnForm to reset the license for the purpose of re-installing on another computer or for a one-time incident fee.

UnForm Version 4 has not been available for download since 12/31/05 and Version 5 will no longer be available for download after 12/31/07. Mindware Corporation does not support products that are not supported by the manufacturer.

Contact Mindware Corporation to take advantage of this special before the end of 2007!

Things You May Not Know About TOP

Total Order Plus has a feature that many customers may not be aware of named Automatic Invoice Generation. This program allows you to set up recurring invoices that will be billed every month to the same customers and with the same inventory items and amounts.

Invoices can be billed using a billing cycle that allows invoices to be generated several times a month. There is a start date and and expiration date. You would enter a start date and leave the expiration date blank until you no longer want to generate an invoice for a particular customer(s).

The invoices are automatically updated to the Invoice Data Entry file and is printed to a printer during the generation process. They can be updated using the Daily Sales Journal and Update.

Note: If you are using MailCall, you have the option to email the invoices rather than printing them to a printer.

Below are the screen samples of how to set up the customer selection file, how to process invoice generation and the actual copy of the invoice created.

Pricing for the Invoice Generation Module is $245.00. Contact Mindware Corporation if this is something your company would benefit from.

Question:

Last month our General Ledger displayed a message that the Monthly Summary of Postings was out of balance. Where do we start to try and balance the month?

Total Order Plus has a report 'Monthly Transactions by Day Report' on the General Ledger Report Menu. You can print the postings for the month that is in question and the report will tell you what days were out of balance. You can go back to the Daily Summary of Postings to find out what transaction needs to be adjusted.

The person that is responsible for closing out the day in the General Ledger needs to make note of the message that displays on the screen when a Daily Summary of Postings is out of balance. The update does not continue until you receive a message that tells you a journal entry must be made for correction. A one-sided journal entry can be made with the appropriate password.

If this is a situation that is occurring often, you will need to check the G/L Interface accounts from the appropriate modules and I/C Distribution accounts to see if there is an account that is missing or no longer is being used.

Changes to Total Order Plus and UnForm are made on a continual basis. We will keep you updated by listing the most recent changes in each of our newsletters. Following are the most recent:

Printer Cartridge	List	Prebate	Price
Optra S Series High Yield	230.00	Prebate	200.00
Optra T52x Series High Yield	373.00	Prebate	325.00
Optra T61x Series High Yield	348.00	Prebate	285.00
Optra T62x Series High Yield	414.00	Prebate	360.00

Location	Date
Veterans Day	11/11/2007
Thanksgiving Day	11/22/2007 *
Thanksgiving Holiday	11/23/2007 *
Christmas Eve	12/24/2007 *
Christmas Day	12/25/2007 *
New Year's Eve 1/2 Day	12/31/2007
New Year's Day	01/01/2008 *
ARA Trade Show, Las Vegas	02/25/2008
IMIA Indianapolis	09/04/2008