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A I V I R T S I N I M D A

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GET SAFE 4.0!
In case you didn't know, SAFE 4.03 is now available from www.suntowersystems.com/downloads/safeee/setupex.exe! This version will require a new install password. Please e-mail install40@suntowersystems.com with the following information in order to obtain this password. Please include the following information with your request:

1. From the Windows PC you will install on:
(this may not necessarily be your server; 
the machine you will be installing from!)

    Your User Name
    Your Organization Name
    Your Windows Product ID

    This information can be found by
    right clicking on My Computer and
    selecting 'Properties'. This info is CASE SENSITIVE!

2.  Your name, organization, phone, fax and support
     e-mail address.

As always, if you are evaluating SAFE (any version), you can obtain this version at no charge.  There is a $19.95 charge if you wish a new printed copy of the on-line help and or a CD.

One Note: Those of you who downloaded SAFE 4.026 immediately found it had 'put on a few extra pounds'.  The build we published to our web site inadvertently contained an extra five megabytes of dead air. There was no harm in using this file, however some of you with modem connections complained of extra long (read: frustrating!) download times. Sorry about that. This has been corrected and replaced with the the proper (11.8MB) version (dubbed 4.03) which is now available for download.

Check out the complete list of new SAFE 4.0 features by going to
http://www.suntowersystems.com/new440.htm.

MORE LEASING SPECIALS!
IBM Leasing reports the following offers:

Promotion running until May 31, 2001 for transactions over $25,000
   - $1 Purchase Option
   - 36 Months
   - 1 payment in advance
   - 9.5% Interest Rate (Prime Plus 1 Financing)

Promotion running until June 9, 2001 for transactions over $10,000
   - Buy out at Fair Market Value
   - 24 Months
   - 0 Down
   - 0% Interest!
   - 80% of the deal needs to be hardware
   - Just divide the total by 24 months and that's the monthly payment!

Promotion running until June 9, 2001 for transactions over $20,000
   - $1 Purchase Option
   - 36 Months
   - 2 Advanced Payments due at signing
   - 11.6% Interest rate.

Call us or Patrick Burke @ IBM/Fidelity for more information:
    P - 800-624-2960 x3228
    F - 800-624-3514

JCH TALKS XML
We have received a number of requests over the past year regarding our support of XML. There is a great deal of confusion regarding what XML is, how it can be integrated into distributor operations and so on. I took a call last week from a customer which went like this (really):

Distributor:    'Hey, you guys supporting XML?'

Me:                'Well, yeah, but that's a pretty broad question. Can you be more specific?'

Distributor:    'No, I got a guy here who's working on our web site and he just wanted to
                     know.'

Me:                'Maybe we should talk about it all together?'

Distributor:    'No, that's OK, so long as I know you guys are doing it, we're OK for now.

Me:                'Ummm. OK, have a nice day!'

This reminds me of a couple of street corner chats I had as a teen: "Hey have you done it yet?'. 'Who have you done it with?' (and about as useful as those early 'discussions'.)

There has been a lot of talk on the DMIA ListServ about XML and especially PrintTalk (www.printtalk.org), a proposed standard for transmitting graphic art transactions between computers. Currently, it is our intention to support PrintTalk. But I caution you: it will not be easy and it will not be cheap! There is a whole bunch of work which must go into making PrintTalk and XML a lingua franca for everyone in this supply chain. And someone will have to pay for it.

Many people have come to see the Internet almost as 'something for nothing'. We frankly expect that there are no toll charges for usage. This is coming to an end. Most of the free services on the Internet have been similar to ATM machines twenty years ago. They were free until everyone got hooked!

Those who assume that they can just wait for various services to come their way in operations software or end-user catalogs or through their manufacturers will have a rude awakening. Either one of two things will happen: Either standards like PrintTalk will become, well, standard in all software throughout the industry, in which case, everyone will pay for it, or, each vendor will have his own proprietary platform which will limit your options.

This is something that our auto supplier customers faced fifteen years ago: when the auto companies instituted their EDI system, they simply imposed their will on suppliers and dealers. If you wanted to be in the business, you simply ponied up the dough for a mini-computer, satellite dish and so on. That was the price of admission. In return, you got real-time access to the auto companies inventories and you got paid really fast.  (Think about that: since settlements became instantaneous, the whole cash flow model changed!)

Next time, I'll go over what PrintTalk does and how it can benefit you. And, just as important, how you can make your voice heard to help it's adoption!

CIARAN'S CORNER
Since we are celebrating year five now, here in Seattle and have just released version 4 of our Windows software, it may be helpful to mention our process for adding value to SAFE. In other words, how do we decide what to add, and when to add it, and, what to take out. We've gone over this before, but emotions often run hot on this topic so it bears repeating. There are four factors which guide the development of SAFE.

1.    Bugs:    We are obliged to fix all known flaws in the software, aka 'bugs'. Often when users report a bug, they next sentence out of their mouth is: 'when will it be fixed'. And by that they mean: 'in how many minutes!'. There is a moment of silence before the tech breaks it to them: 'July'. Why? Two words: Version Control! Usually, a bug creeps in because of SAFE was not tested under enough conditions. Every time we 'fix' something, another round of testing is required. This takes time. It would be irresponsible to throw out a 'patch' to the software for every bug found.

Also, if we did something like that, it is likely that virtually every user of SAFE would end up with a slightly different version of the software. This is known as the 'Microsoft NT Service Pack Syndrome'. Microsoft used to issue 'patches' almost daily as bugs were reported in NT. The pace of these patches was so fast that users could not keep up. Plus, each patch tended to introduce as many problems as it corrected. Worst of all, users tend to develop 'patch fatigue'. With so many patches, users would begin to not bother installing them all, which is largely why NT gets hit by so many Internet hackers, not because there are so many current flaws, but rather that most users haven't bothered to install all the patches! So, the prudent approach is clearly to send out scheduled releases (as we do: every three months), even though this may seem like an eternity if you are bitten by one of the known bugs.

2.    Backward compatibility:    It is very important that new features not cause existing features to malfunction. Unless there is an overwhelming case to be made for the new feature. When we are asked 'why does such and such work that way', the answer often lies in maintaining some existing features. I don't think a day goes by that we don't wish we could start with a fresh page for each release, but that's how it is. Abandoning compatibility with any previous feature in SAFE is just about the same thing as saying 'Goodbye Mr. Customer!'

3.    New features:    A couple of questions usually come up along this line:
    a.    How do you decide what to change? User feedback: Since we are not forms distributors, we
    have no pre-conceived notions of how SAFE should work. We get everything from you. Which begs
    the question, of how we get that feedback:
    I.   Beta Testers:  If you beta test, your voice is heard LOUD AND CLEAR. Everyone who beta
          tests, in large part gets what they want. It's the least we can do. Many of you talk about how
          you 'partner' with your vendors and customers. Well, we consider our beta testers our true
          partners..
    II.  Written requests: If you are willing to take the time to write, then we will listen.
    III. Oral anecdotes:  Feedback you give to our trainers or reps at trade shows. Frankly these are
          the ones we argue about a lot. Reason being, many of us feel strongly that users who beta
          test and send in suggestions should be given preference over ideas chatted about over the
          phone or during training. Often it is those who natter the loudest over the phone about a
          missing feature who are the least willing to write down and submit their request. They expect
          us geeks to remember all these things.

    b.     When will you add it?    We maintain a schedule for updates which goes out nine months.
            Changes are made according to need (bug fixes), opportunity (how easy it would be to
            implement) and general usefulness (based on feedback from users). The programmers
            look at all these and put them on a big scheduling board. This allows us to plan the

    d.     Why do I have to pay for it? You and I may agree that a feature is useful,  would not
            harm any other users, and is easy for us to implement. But that feature may still not
            make it into SAFE right away. In that case, vote with your wallet! Often times when
            we ask users to pay for a feature, it  is simply because it has not been requested by
            other users. Whether or not they might find it useful is only relevant if you are willing
            to wait for us to check with the 'body SAFE', get feedback and schedule it. This all
            takes time.

4.    Removing features:    It is important that we, from time to time, remove features which are
       no longer used by the vast majority of users, or features which are used by only a few users,
       and are not life-threatening. Otherwise, the program gets unwieldy. Invariably, two days after
       a new release, we'll hear from someone who is unhappy that a particular feature changed
       or has been removed. This usually happens because we had no idea they were using it!

How Can I Change The World?
Well, you probably can't, of course. But you can exert undue influence and power over the development of SAFE! How you ask? Well, I already told you. But for review:
1.    Sign up to beta test (I'll have more on this next time!)
2.    Send us a letter or e-mail with your suggestion. Please include some background on what it should
       do matters, how it will benefit distributors, and so on. I'm told to mention that bribery is not strictly
       necessary at all.

Cheers!

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End of E-News From The Suntower, Volume III #6

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