The Brother that just keeps on going

Had an interesting conversation with a good JobCardTs client, Arno from Anderwald Automotive the other day.

We got around to talking about printers. I know, not the normal conversation you'd have, but still Arno knows that I'm a Brother "fan boy" and was telling me about how he saw the light and became a Brother brother.

 Arno had a number of printers (brand name will remain anonymous to protect the guilty), over a 12 month period. Every printer failed when a new ink cartridge was loaded! Let me just re-iterate. Every printer failed when a new ink cartridge was loaded!

Now to be fair, the workshop does get dusty and greasy from time to time. Arno probably thinks it's worse than it really is, I think it seems fairly clean for a large workspace.

Arno has three Brother printers! Yes, you heard right. Three. Two in the workshop (not in an office in the workshop!) and one at home.

He was telling me that a mate of his told him to get a Brother after the third previous printer failed. He was sceptical, the Brother cost a bit more, but he was told he wouldn't regret it.

And he hasn't.

In the workshop.

Two printers.

Been there for over two years.

Still working perfectly, every time!

It's been a while.. etouchOS Retail update

Well here we are, late November 2012 and we're still testing the etouchOS Retail point of sale.

With help from the fellows at Il Toro and Subito the product is becoming much more stable and very user friendly.

Needless to say the Brother TD4000 printers haven't missed a beat. In fact, Jim at Il Toro has also been using the printer to produce his food labels for the prepared meals he creates.

Hard? Not at all, Jim removed the receipt paper and loaded his label roll and then created his labels in Brother's P-Touch software, and hey presto! Done.

A really simple process that gives Jim the productivity tools he needs. No need to have several printers dedicated to one function. Oh, he does have the fantastic Brother A3 printer for printing his menus. A huge saving, no traipsing off to the local printer, just do it yourself. A4 or A3, in colour. His choice.

Anyway, enough of the Brother cheer squad here.

Why is etouchOS Retail taking so long?

When we began, we were a bit naïve, well certainly I was, I'm sure my son realised that it was going to take more than I did to create a comprehensive Point of Sale solution.

The feedback I've been getting from Jim and Damian (Subito) is making the product more robust and better featured. Damian and Sam (his brother) had a two week period where they were unable to use a POS.

Their existing subscription with their previous supplier had expired and I still had a bit to do to get the network version of etouchOS Retail working. Damian tells me that they went back to the old manual paper dockets for that fortnight. Doesn't want to do it again!

I feel that I can quote Damian when he says that, "etouch Retail is the best POS he's ever used". So as the developer I feel that I'm heading in the right direction.

So, here's an offer, if you need POS (or want to update to the latest and greatest!), purchase a Brother TD4000 (or TD4100N) and we'll let you have the beta version of etouch Retail - and only bill you once it goes gold! You can purchase these printers through us or talk to your IT support to source them..

New features soon... street address lookup (Australia Only at this stage)..

Productivity
Anyone who knows me knows that I bang on about productivity all of the time. Even if you don't have a need for POS, checkout the Brother offers.  Do it smarter not harder!
 

etouchOS Retail Network Version

Well testing of etouchOS Retail Point of Sale is going well.

Our friends in Adelaide at Il Toro and at Subito have been putting the software through its paces. We're updating every couple of days now as we fix bugs and add in new features. There's still a fair bit to do, but the list is getting shorter.

Tomorrow (Saturday 13th Oct) we're going to install the beta network version at Subito, so fingers crossed! So far internal testing shows that the performance once loaded is very good.

We imported all of Subito's clients the other day from their old system using CSV (Microsoft Excel) format structure. In addition this next release incorporates the ability to set-up special offers and combo deals.

The one thing we haven't had to worry about is the Brother TD4000 printers. Ask any programmer what concerns them the most with business applications, and I'll bet that the majority will say "printing".

Our colleagues at Brother have lent us a Brother TD4100N for testing, it's the network version of the TD4000 and it's been a really good unit, no matter what errors have come from my keyboard, it's still churning away!

If you take advantage of our Brother special offer before the gold release of etouchOS Retail, we won't bill you until 3 months after the gold release for your etouchOS licence/s. (of course you will need to purchase the qualifying printers).

Drop us a line if you want to take up the special offer and you're feeling adventurous.  We'll let you install the beta version of the software and participate in the joy (and pain) of creating a great product. (on the understanding that you know that the software is still in development and the software is designed for Australia).

Anyway, enough about the printers, I don't have to worry about them, although I still have a bit to do to provide the etouchOS link to Brother's P-Touch software for the label printing.

Thankfully Jim (Il Toro), Sam and Damian (Subito) have been run off their feet (my waist can attest to their excellent culinary skills) and haven't been in my ear about labelling yet.

If you're in Adelaide, look them up, home cooked food like mama used to make!


For the Geek within;

Our internal testing has shown that the network version performs as well as the single user version after the initial load. The approach I've taken is to cache everything in memory and only write new and changed records back to the server.

The initial load takes about 5 seconds on the network version, which should be acceptable. The response time is blisteringly fast once loaded (RAM is cheap these days). The downsides of this approach are;

1. the loss of data if there is a power failure mid-sale
2. unusable if the data server is unavailable 

We are planning to build in an offline mode (similar to our etouchOS Wholesale product) once we've got all of the planned functions working.

The data server uses TCP/IP communication and transfers the records to the workstation in groups (packets) at a time. There is a real improvement in performance using this method rather than the traditional mapped network drive.

Because the data server is handling the file I/O there is no file locking occurring which makes a huge difference when writing data back. In addition this also means that you can locate you data server in a different location to the actual workstation if you need to. (Not that I'm suggesting that anyone should do that)

Our approach was to try and make it as easy as possible for our users to manage their systems as most of the people considering etouchOS Retail are not going to want the expense of installing and managing an SQL server. Although Microsoft (and others) do offer a very good free version of their SQL product, I think most users would find installing and maintaining SQL a bit daunting.

That said, should someone with a multi-site operation want to use etouchOS Retail we'll look at providing a connector that writes data (in the background) to an SQL server located at a head office.

The etouchOS suite is scalable.


Product: etouchOS Retail Point Of Sale (Beta)
User Interface: Australian English (en-au)
Input: Touch-screen * (works with standard screens as well)
Single User : Yes
Network Version : Yes
Data Server on Primary Workstation: Yes
SQL : No
Windows 32 bit: Yes
Addresses Extended RAM (4gb) : Yes
Programmed in Clarion
Supports Offline Mode : Not yet (planned)
Memory Caching for performance : Yes (Clarion In-Memory)

File Systems
Clarion Topspeed ISAM files
Clarion IP Data Server (Networked Version)
Clarion In-Memory File Driver

Limitations
File Size 2gb per file
Concurrent Users (Network Version) ~200 (depending upon server)
Designed for Windows 7 Desktop and Windows 8 Intel/AMD Tablet

Hardware
Processor : Works on an Atom processor. Recommended minimum Dual Core (Intel/AMD)
RAM (Memory) : Will work with the minimum supported by the operating system  Recommended 4Gb+
Hard Disk : SSD or SATA 7200rpm+ 
Network Card : 1gb recommended.

Printers
Brother: TD4000/TD4100 series,  RJ4030/40, Mobile A4/A6/A7

Fast Clean Web Sites

It's interesting reviewing the history of web sites. I remember when the Internet first became a mainstream option, we all rushed to put as much as possible on our web sites. More colour, good. More images, good. More text/content, good. Flash, good.

In the rush to load more and more onto our web sites we've forgotten that not everyone in the world has high speed Internet access. The more we load our web sites the more frustrating for those without high speed access.

It's become even more important with the advent of smart-phones and tablets to be aware of how long it takes to load a web site. In the era of instant gratification we need to have a compelling reason for people to wait while our digital "works of art" load.

So, why blog about it? Well we've just completed two new sites one for our own product Jobcard Tracking System and another one for our friends at Il Toro Espresso & Pasta Bar . Both sites have minimal graphics and a clean simple look. After all isn't that what we want to impart?

The over use of text and graphics tends to lose people on occasion, so it's better to do something clean and effective. An example is the page that explains our Brother special offer , clean and reasonably fast.

Our first "clean" site was for Euro Pizza in Adelaide.


By making a site clean and fast you make it easy for everyone to see what your story is whether they're at home, work or mobile.

etouchOS Retail - first install

"It's killa!"

That's the vote on our first etouchOS Retail beta installation. Extremely fast and very easy.

Where?

Il Toro Pasta & Espresso Bar,
321 North East Rd  
Hampstead Gardens, SA 5086
Australia

Not all smooth sailing

It would come as no surprise that we've had a few interesting moments along the way (with more to come no doubt).

First pass? Void button wasn't working (fixed now!)

The printer? 
Originally we were planning for the receipts to be the Brother RD102mm size paper. Still on our todo list to get supply.  

So, in the short term 80mm paper.


See, most POS printers have standard size paper. In other words, if the printer takes 76mm paper that's what you get for it. The TD4000 (read more here), well it lets YOU choose (up to 102mm) the size you want.

It printed. No error, just the alignment was not correct.

No problem except we hadn't told the printer that we had installed 80mm paper. 


Now, this is where that TD4000 and Brother's printer software comes into its own.  You can create your own paper size within the printer software. Let me just say that again, "YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN PAPER SIZE!" 

We created a continuous roll with 80mm width in the Brother software. Save. Done. Print.

Simple! Thanks Brother über geeks!

We've got more to do with etouchOS Retail, but the printing is sorted!

etouchOS with Brother TD 4000

Some Background
Well it's been an interesting few weeks. For sometime, one of my sons has been on my case about writing a simple, fast Point of Sale system (POS). I had been quite dismissive of the idea until a couple of clients started to pressure me. They'd seen what I'd done with touch screen software with the original Windows Tablets and wanted me to do something for retail.

Enter Brother
I had a chat with my colleagues at Brother Printers as we'd been working together on my etouchOS Wholesale Sales and Ordering system and had successfully married Microsoft Windows 7 (and now Windows 8) Tablets with their range of mobile printers. They'd pointed me in the right direction when writing label printing from within my JobCardTS package as well.

Brother is one of those companies that everyone knows about. I do mean everyone, and the common theme? Their printers work. All the time and just about anywhere. No complaints.

The TD4000
So, what model printer?

The new TD4000 series (the TD4100N is net-workable)is a printer designed by the über printer geeks at Brother to allow for label and receipt printing. That's right! Label AND receipt printing!

Now I know printers are not the sexy part of IT, the sexy stuff;  the iPhone, iPad, Galaxy, Window 7 etc etc etc that's where the news is. Until you need to print your work. 

Back to the TD4000. Why?

• Bring your own paper. 
• Receipts up to 100mm wide
• Labels - yes labels. A compelling proposition when you're a small business owner and you can switch the receipt paper to print product/food labels. 
• Brother P-touch software - make your own labels!
• No serial ports needed in your POS (more on that later)

etouchOS Retail

Today (20th Sept '12), it's still a work-in-progress (see the first installation story here) etouchOS Retail (it's that new that the web site is not done yet!)

We've got a bit more to do yet, but it works. And it's FAST, SIMPLE and VERY EASY to use. Thanks to my son. Whenever  I strayed to the normal IT inclination of making it more complex, he stopped me. He designed the layout. Touch screen, user definable buttons. 24 to a screen. How many screens? As many as you want.

The other thing?
It has to work on anything from a Microsoft Windows PC to a Windows touch screen tablet. Yes, a tablet. And, it works on Microsoft Windows 8 (intel/amd).

That's why no serial ports. All usb or ethernet.

And the TD4000?
It works out of the box, install the software (Works with Windows 8 without missing a beat), plug it in and away you go.

As I said, nobody thinks about printers, until they stop working. These printers just keep on going.

The TD4000? Well the über geeks at Brother have designed it so you don't have to be a geek to get it to work, a major consideration for us.

The offer here.

More to come about etouchOS Retail later.







  

The Hype and the Cloud

I was having an interesting conversation with one of my sons about the hype surrounding the cloud. We were musing on the constant chatter about how the IT industry is really pushing the idea of cloud based systems. Of course we also had a chuckle about how the IT industry convinced everyone that aeroplanes would fall out of the sky with the advent of year 2000. Great work if you can get it!

So, it's no wonder the IT industry is considered with some suspicion. Just consider all of the different IT projects that have cost millions and then been of little benefit. The most recent example is of course, the Queensland Health débâcle.

It was interesting to read the article by Asher Moses (Fairfax Group) Apple cloud burst: how hacker wiped Mat's 'life' 6th August, 2012. I'm not saying that we should not use cloud based services, I'm saying that you should not totally outsource everything to a third party. We have to accept some responsibility for the preservation of our own data. I'm a big fan of Google Apps (and use the professional business edition), but I would not rely on Google for everything that I do.

During our discussion both of us could not understand why people would trust third parties to manage "mission critical" applications and data. I know that the IT gurus will tell you that you can access your data from anywhere with Cloud based applications and services. That may be true, but there is nothing to stop you accessing your data on your personal computer or server. There are a number of technologies available from many companies that allow remote access. Microsoft, Citrix, XP Unlimited and Thinsoft all offer solutions to allow you to log-in remotely. If all you need is to access data then you can use SQL based database engines (Microsoft SQL, Oracle, MYSQL, Postgres, Firebird and so on.

Some of the software I develop uses a Data Server component developed by Soft Velocity named the Clarion IP Data Server. It's fast, works in most flavours of the Microsoft Operating Systems and just requires a broadband internet connection to be effective. So, you can create your own "cloud". Because that's all the "cloud" is. Someone's computer, somewhere else, hosting your data and maybe your applications. Are you confident that they'll care as much about your data and business as you do?

Back to the Asher Moses article. They key is that social engineering was used in this instance. But have you ever wondered  how secure your passwords are?

I had a client who had forgotten his Windows 7 password. Stuck? Well yes, until I came across this handy little tool called Ophcrack which found the users and passwords within a second. I haven't tested its limitations yet, but apparently your password is only safe if it's more than 14 characters!

So, wrapping it up; think carefully about what risks you're willing to take with your applications and data, make informed decisions, backup, backup and oh yes, backup.

If you wouldn't give a stranger who knocked on your door, information and assets, why do it on-line without some careful thought.

Windows 8 Preview and etouchOS

Finally the Internet is back after my house move.
Had a look at the new consumer preview edition of Windows 8 and I have to say I'm very impressed.

Just to see how much work there would be in one of my key products I installed the etouchOS client module. It works like a charm! I will say that we'll need to improve the graphics resolution of the buttons and icons, but it didn't miss a beat.

Nice to know! Of course at this stage etouchOS will only work on the Intel version of Windows 8 and not the ARM version. More on that at a later date.

You can download a free preview copy of  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/consumer-preview

I ran mine in a Virtual Box ( free from https://www.virtualbox.org/ )

I haven't really stress tested Windows 8, after all I was just assessing its ability to run my software.

Productivity - some thoughts on IT

I’ll state upfront that I write computer software. That I’ve seen many opportunities for innovation through the smart use of information technology and all levels of Australian business (and Government) is an understatement.  

I believe that my discussion piece below is relevant whether you are a client of mine or not. There are many good software developers in Australia.

Choose the IT that best fits where you want to take your business, not where it is today.
Often I’m asked what’s the best way to take advantage of the revolution in information technology?

My response varies, but generally there are three questions to ask;

1. Will the introduction of a new IT device or software programme make my business more productive?
2. How will I measure the productivity?
3. What aspects of the business process will I be changing?

Of course the alternative is to really take a good look at how you can actually improve your business processes. Then when you come to selecting a software programme to meet your needs you can select the programme that comes closest to meeting your needs and perhaps having the developer add functions where they’re missing.

The thing to understand is that like business and life itself, IT is never finished it’s a constant, evolving work-in-progress. You need to partner with an IT company that is continually looking to the future and finding ways to improve productivity where-ever possible.

Understand your key work-flow processes.
If you’re an Australian based business it’s probably time to have a look at how you’re managing your work-flow. Many business owners consider implementing a new invoicing system as all that’s required. That’s only one aspect of evaluating where you can improve the methods and management of your work-flow processes.

With respect to our colleagues in the accounting profession, the primary focus has to be on;
a. How to generate more profitable revenue
b. How to ensure a consistent return on the capital employed in the business.

Often business owners will say, “I need to talk to my accountant about my system”. I’d argue that while the accountants are important, the accounting function of your business is not going to generate revenue for you. (unless of course you’re an accountant or book-keeper).

I’m not saying that the accounting is not important, of course it is, but, the accounting process should not be the driver of the sales and production process. If you’re a mechanic, your clients are not going to care about how you do your accounting, as long as they can get a detailed invoice covering the work you’ve performed they’ll accept what ever you give them. Where it gets interesting for the mechanic, is ensuring that the clients are billed for the work done and the items supplied. If you can review the work history of a motor vehicle your computer programme becomes a valuable tool. This needs to occur without the operator having to spend too much time performing the the administrative function of doing data entry.

As managers it’s important that we can measure the performance of or staff, the return on our inventory and the profitability of our client base.

Complacency leads to extinction
One of the mistakes I think we Australians have made, is a complacent belief that everything will be okay and that we don’t need to innovate.

If we consider the situation of the Australian Motor Vehicle industry and the recent pay rise awarded by General Motors Holden, the immediate question springs to mind, “how can a company relying on Government subsidies be so generous to its work force without some sort of productivity gain?”. My own view is that manufacturing motor vehicles is not a strategic industry and that if we as taxpayers are going to support motor vehicle manufacturers why shouldn’t we support the hundreds of small family owned firms around the country.

I look at the above situation and see it as not viable for taxpayers to subsidise jobs to the tune of $160,000 each forever. What this leads to is a huge transfer of wealth from the rest of us to those participants in that industry. Even worse, it means that there is no incentive for the managers or work-force in that industry to innovate in any meaningful manner.

Constant Innovation to stay ahead of the game
So, back to the beginning of the discussion. If you’re not a vehicle manufacturer or related party then you most likely don’t receive Government handouts to run your business. Which is why you need to innovate. It’s human nature to believe that how we’ve done things is how we should always do things. It’s a denial of the fact that one of the few constants in life is change.  The key is to try and be ahead of the game.

This is why many retailers are in difficulty, they’ve failed to recognise that the Internet and IT are disruptive technologies, they change the game.

If you think about what it took to first create your business, it was stepping out and taking a risk. If you’re in a small to medium sized business you actually have a certain advantage. Why? Because unlike major corporations and governments it’s not in your interest to announce multi-hundred million dollar IT investments. Because of the budgetary constraints of smaller enterprises and the fact that the owners are often the business managers, they don’t endanger their businesses with outrageous “chest puffing” boasts when investing in IT.

So, if you’re a smaller enterprise you can innovate by finding the right IT partner. It’s not about being cheap, it’s about being cost-effective. There is no advantage in screwing your IT people on price if they’re not around to support and assist you in twelve months’ time.

Accountants are important but they don’t drive the business
Back to our accounting colleagues. When assessing a computer programme to improve or change your business work-flows the only accounting considerations that the programme supporting your income producing activities needs to provide are;
1. Calculates GST correctly
2. Adds up correctly
3. Categorises the transactions for the general ledger

The advantage of good IT systems is that they can give you the edge over your competition and improve your return on investment/resources deployed.