A First For Microsoft

Posted on by ccsretail

From Komo News

"Microsoft is for the first time letting consumers try out its upcoming Windows 8 operating system, which it hopes will be used to power a new wave of computer tablets and traditional PCs.

The test "beta" version of the revamped system was introduced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the planet’s largest cell phone trade show.

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday offered it up free for download, along with free applications in a new "Windows Store." Windows 8 doesn’t have the traditional "Start" menu and applications are spread across a mosaic of tiles in a design Microsoft calls "Metro."

The tiles, which resemble road signs, can be navigated with a finger swipe on the screen or with a keyboard and mouse."
So you want to see what Windows 8 looks like with out having to lose your files.  Try it in a Virtual Machine.  A while back I tried the "Preview" of Windows 8, and as the title "Preview" relates to, it was just that.  Most things were not ready for public consumption, as a "beta" things might still not work correctly, you can get a better picture of the look and feel.

Give it a try in a VM.  To me it was more like how a smartphone looks and feels.

-Bryan

The Linux “top” utility

Posted on by ccsretail

Monitoring a Linux Server with the Top Utility  (A Linux Tool like the Windows Task Manager)

One of the most useful utilities for monitoring load on a Linux system, is "top".  This is a text based display, so it is available remotely via a telnet session.

What top does, is display a list of active processes.  The list is limited to the size of the screen, it does not scroll off.  It is useful in that the list can be sorted by many different criteria.  Usually, I set it to sort by CPU usage, or the total time that the CPU has used for the process.  The output is sorted in descending order, so the highest CPU usage, for example, will be at the top of the list.  This makes it easy to spot a process that is hogging the CPU.

The "i" option is one that is very handy.  It toggles the "ignore" flag.  When the "ignore" flag is on, only processes that are currently running are displayed.  If a process is sleeping, or waiting for input, it is not displayed.  So, the result is a list of what is actively using resources.

Additionally, the top of the screen shows more useful information.  The 1, 5, and 15 minute average server loads are displayed.  The memory usage shows physical memory, and swap memory.  When memory is written to swap, or read from swap, it shows that occurring also.  With this, I can see that swapping is actively occurring.  While it may be a transient issue, it also is an indication that either more RAM needs to be added to the server, or processes re-configured to use less memory.

Other useful information can be obtained by sorting on memory usage.  Both the amount of resident memory, and the total memory, can be displayed for a process.  Sorting on these fields, gives a list of the processes that are using the most memory.

There is a help screen that does a good job of explaining the options.  Just hit "H" after starting top.  

There is a lot of useful information that can be found with the top utility.  It is definitely worth a few minutes to install it, and familiarize yourself with it, if you are running a Linux system.

Dave

 

Rsync for backup revisited

Posted on by ccsretail

Optimizing Backups With Rsync

Recently, we changed some of our systems to use Linux rsync to backup to a removable disk, instead of to tape.  We have been very pleased with the improvements.  We have reduced the time to backup dramatically and improved the value of each backup.

We scripted it to use a simple versioning system, so there are multiple complete backups being stored.  These are used in a round-robin schedule, with the oldest being updated every night.

Once a full backup is completed, rsync only backs up the changes that were made.  The beauty of rsync is its delta algorithm for incremental backups.  It bases what has changed since the backup that is being updated was changed, not since the last time rsync ran.

In a simple example, say you do a full backup to Backup-A.  Then the next night, you do a full backup to Backup-B.  The next night, you do a backup to Backup-A, again.

With many backup systems, the backup on the third night, to Backup-A, will only pick up the changes made since Backup-B was done.  In other words, they only track changes since the last time that a backup was done.  This means that Backup-A can be missing changes that are in Backup-B, but not changed since.

With rsync, on the third night, rsync determines what was changed since the original Backup-A was created, and saves all of those updates.  Therefore, each backup is complete with all changes at the time the backup was made.

In our case, the initial full backups took about 55 minutes.  Our tape backup was taking up to 3 times as long.  When the round-robin scheduling comes back to these rsync backups, the updates are only taking about 5 minutes to complete.  With the tape every backup was a new full cycle.  If the rsync backups are needed to restore our systems we now have the improved speed of the external USB 3.0 drive over the tape transport.   

We also put the external drive in an NAS enclosure and added RAID-0 for more complete protection of our backupd.

If you would like to have your Linux server configured to use rsync, contact us at CCS Retail Systems, Inc. support.

Dave. 
 

Daylight Saving Time

Posted on by ccsretail

Is Your System Time Correct?

The time to change the clocks for Daylight Saving Time (DST) is coming up again.  Most of the newer operating system releases have the correct settings to change the clocks on the right day.  That is March 11 this year.

However, if you are have not updated your system with the latest update releases, it may not change the time when it is supposed to.

It is surprising to me how many people have not setup DST correctly on their systems.  This can have an affect on many things that people do not realize. 

  • One of them is email.  When you send an email, it is stamped with the time that it was created.  This time is the time on your computer.  Many email servers look at the time that an email was marked as being created, and compare it to the time that they actually receive it. 
  • While most email servers do not penalize for being off an hour, I have seen a trend of people being quite aggressive in anti-spam configurations.  This includes time differences of well under an hour between the creation time and receiving time being considered spam.
  • Another big area affected would be point-of-sale systems.  Some credit card processors will deny authorizations if the time on your system is off an hour from the time that they have.

If you have installed the latest updates for your system, it should change to DST correctly.  Still, it is a good idea to double check that the time is correct when you log in.

Dave.
 

Time for Changes?

Posted on by ccsretail

Keeping Your Systems Current Pays Off!

Recently my daughter and I went on a fabulous cruise of the Mediterranean which included tours to such places as Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome and Pompeii.  Needless to say, we took many pictures with our digital cameras.  When we got home from our trip, we transferred the pictures to our computers so that we could share them with family and friends,  I was disappointed to find that my pictures, though they were well-positioned, were not as clear as those taken by my daughter.  It turns out that her camera was a lot newer than mine, and had features that allowed her to take great pictures even if the light source wasn’t good.

Point of Sale Software can be much like that.  It may do the job O.K., but might not contain features that would simplify many tasks for your business. 

  • Collecting customer data,

  • tracking inventory accurately,

  • creating detailed reports of sales activity,

  • suggesting add-ons in the checkout lane,

  • and allowing customers to purchase with a mobile device 

These are just a few of the tasks that CounterPoint POS Software can help you accomplish more efficiently and more effectively.

Technology is changing more rapidly than ever before.  Keeping up-to-date gives you a competitive advantage in today’s world.  Increase your bottom line by investigating the CounterPoint Software features that would help you most with your unique operation.  What’s on your wish list?  What would you like your software to do better for you?  Read the testimonials on our website to learn how CounterPoint POS Software helped other companies much like yours increase their success. 

Call us at 800-672-4806 or email us for more information.

2012 – The Year of the Customer

Posted on by ccsretail

Great Customer Service is Paramount!

Customer interaction and customer experience will be the primary focus of retailers during the year 2012, according to a new survey from NRF Foundation recently released by the National Retail Federation. The NRF/KPMG Report finds that “67% of companies rank customer satisfaction as the top strategic initiative for 2012, and 82% say customer service strategies will be their top priority in the coming year, up from 75% last year.”

How will this be accomplished? The prediction is that retail executives will:

  • Invest in programs that directly resonate with today’s shopper

  • Emphasize increasing online sales

  • Focus on web personalization engines, enhancements such as location-based services and  tracking methods unique to shopping habits        

  • Enhance handheld technologies like mobile point-of-sale

  • Use accumulated customer data to create unique consumer interactions

Are you prepared to reap the benefits of great customer interaction? With CounterPoint’s CustomerConnect and CPMobile you’ll have the customer data and the mobile technology to serve your customers in the best possible way, while creating loyalty and return visits to your store or website. If you haven’t investigated these great features of CounterPoint POS Software, we’re here to answer your questions. Call us at 425-672-4806 or email us!

Proposed Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

Posted on by ccsretail

Proposed Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

On Thursday, 02/23/2012, the Obama administration put forth it’s proposal for a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, and has asked Congress to pass legislation that will allow the FTC enforce what will be composed of three primary elements:

1. A Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

2. Codes of conduct.

3. Strong enforcement support.

Part of the proposal includes:

Individual Control – That consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data companies collect from them and how they use it. Companies should provide consumers appropriate control over the personal data that consumers share with others and over how companies collect, use, or disclose personal data.

Transparency –  That consumers have a right to easily understandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices.

Respect For Content – That consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.

Security – That Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.

Access and Accuracy  –  That consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers (if the data is inaccurate).

Focused Collection –  That consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain, and is some case how long it can be retained.

Accountability –  That consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure that these companies adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill
of Rights.

For more information on this topic, you can read the summary at:

The White House Press Release  

The full proposal can be found at:

The White House Privacy White Paper

If you have question or concerns about how this proposal could affect your business and your customers,
 please contact the CCS Retail Systems Sales Department.

 

 

All Together Now – “Service Counts”

Posted on by ccsretail

Customer Service Sharpness

Have you ever gone to a store with a very clear purpose in mind, knowing exactly what you need and then have to wait around for a long – very long – time for a sales person to finally notice you and see if you need help?  Even worse, did you have to go hunt up a clerk or actually ask the person at the register to pry herself from behind the counter and help you? 

We’ve all been in situations like this. But it never happens in your store, right? If it does, take a deep breath and read on…  

How To Help Insure Your Customers Are Being Served.  

  • Set specific standards for greeting customers

  • Do you want everyone greeted within 30 seconds? One minute? And how do you want them greeted? 

Sure, some customers prefer to browse around a bit, but some are on a mission. Unless your employees interact with the customer immediately, they won’t know which the customer prefers. Train you team to first warmly welcome every customer and then determine if they need immediate help or prefer some browsing time. 

Set up a Secret Shoppers Program

Training isn’t enough. Once you’ve trained your employees, you’ll want feedback. Are they doing it the way you want them to? Even when you’re not watching? You should expect the best – but you also must inspect. A Secret Shopper program isn’t supposed to be a trick or a punishment for your employees. It’s simply meant as a way to insure that your standards are being met – whether you’re there or not. 

You can also ask your customers for feedback – something simple like “How did we do?” And if you find that someone is mentioned more frequently than the rest, it’s time to think of some kind of reward for "above and beyond". It’s sort of the chicken and egg thing. Happy employees make happy customers make happy employees make…. 

Talk to you soon.   ~Norma

Mobile Apps and Ads

Posted on by ccsretail

My Smartphone Journey

I recently bought a new smartphone and boy am I amazed at what it can do and the apps that are available for free just blow me away.

Coming from a Blackberry phone to an Android based device is not a big change as far as a phone is concerned, but the amount of apps available for an Android device (As well as an iPhone) is amazing.

 What I have noticed, and does not surprise me, is that most free apps are ad supported, meaning that you get the app for free but have to deal with small ads for various products – similar to free software on a desktop.  Personally, I have not run into anything that really bothers me or takes away from the functionality I’m looking for.   I still need to be careful (just like on a PC) about what gets installed and what information it maybe collecting or sharing (Privacy).

I do my homework before I just go and download any old app whether it is for a PC or for a phone.  I look at the reviews of other users, a couple Google searches will also tell me what I may be installing. 

For those of you that don’t research as much as I do, there is now an app that will scan your device for you. According to the senior product manager of that company it will  "clarify the behavior of applications that display ads, and show users what privacy and information collection the apps does and what their ad networks are doing. We’re trying to provide transparency."

This is for apps already installed on your device. It can be used after you install a new app.  But I still recommend you do some research before installing anything on any device -a phone or PC.

If you would like to read more about this app and what else is going on in the ad world, take a look here.

If you would like more information, contact the CCS Retail Systems Support Department at 800-672-4806 or email us.

-Bryan

Is Pay-As-You-Go Software The Wave Of The Future?

Posted on by ccsretail

Is Pay-As-You-Go Software The Wave Of The Future?

With the number of cloud-based software offerings dramatically increasing, the options for using "pay as you go" software for businesses may soon be commonplace.

Recently, even government agencies under strict budgetary constraints such as the CIA have considered doing this in order to gain access to the latest software technologies without having to re-negotiate existing expensive  software licensing agreements.  The CIA already uses programs from companies like Hewlett Packard, Oracle and SAP.

Some of the benefits cloud based applications are:

  • Generally cloud based applications can have lower start-up/implementation costs and time frames.  For a start-up business, this may mean the difference between using computerized registers and invoice  calculators to write-up sales.
  • Cloud software is generally more basic and intuitive, the learning curve is generally much shorter than with more expensive programs.
  • Upgrade paths – Some cloud based applications have built-in upgrade capability that allows you to add features or upgrade to a full-fledged system.

Some of the Trade-offs are:

  • Cloud based software can have functionality inhibitors built-in to it.  This can limit some of the things that could be done in a more conventional environment.
  • POS and Inventory Management System may be limited, for example doing inventory management, or Open Item Receivables.
  • Monthly usage fees vary widely depending on the application and features.
  • If Credit Card support is included as part of the application, the fees involved could be higher that with conventional software.
  • System and application security is much more difficult in the cloud.  There are still many stories of hacker break-ins on the net.  This may be a deal-breaker for many.
  • The "cable company scenario" may be present for some vendors.  Creeping costs and poor customer service.

If you are interested in hearing more about cloud based Point of Sale systems, please contact the CCS Retail Systems Sales department