1. Upcoming Vacation

This is a reminder that I am away on vacation at the end of Thursday 7^th May and back at my desk on Monday 25^th May.  I will have email and some Skype capability, however this is only for emergencies so please don’t make any major changes to your computers or network until I return.

2. Support Hours

Standard support hours (when I am not on vacation…) are from 1:30pm to 6:30pm Monday to Friday.  I may be available after 6:30pm by appointment only.  Since most customer businesses close around 6pm or earlier, I am sure you will appreciate it is not a good use of time for me to wait for an occasional phone call outside of these hours, unless it is by prior appointment.

3. Mercury Systems - Annual Software Maintenance, And What It Covers...

Occasionally I get requests for new work that customers mistakenly believe should be covered by their annual software maintenance premium.

• So just to clarify, the annual software maintenance premium covers the following:-
• Software updates relating to bug fixes
• Software updates relating to new features and additions
• Technical support (by remote connection, email and telephone) during standard support hours
• Training / “How do I do…” questions during standard support hours

…essentially anything that relates to an issue with Mercury Systems (that is caused by Mercury Systems, and not due to other external factors), is covered by the maintenance premium.

I am also happy to assist, for an additional fee, if you have other issues with your network or computers such as:-

• Development of new programs, utilities and data-import routines to suit your specific requirements
• Removal of virus infections
• Printer and printing issues
• Router and firewall issues
• VPN (e.g. Hamachi) / remote connection
• Email / Internet
• Consultancy and general advice
• Additional custom reports

Please note that if you buy a new pc or server to replace an old machine running Mercury Systems, or if an existing pc or server operating system is damaged and everything needs re-installing, I can of course re-install Mercury Systems but be aware this is not covered by the annual software maintenance premium.  It is classed as ‘new work’ and is chargeable in most instances since it is the computer that has failed and not Mercury Systems (although you won’t need to purchase the software user license again).

If you have any queries re the above, please give me a call.

Sipcentric Telephony Integration

A Hatchgate customer recently switched from their regular BT phone system over to an IP- (internet) based telephone system hosted by Sipcentric, and as a result they are making some considerable cost savings plus they now have access to a range of additional telephony features they never had before.

If you think your current phone system is costing too much, it may be worth taking a look at Birchills Telecoms (www.birchills.net) who can supply a Sipcentric SOHO (small office / home office) phone system to your business for hopefully a lot less than you are currently paying.

In addition, Mercury Systems can now integrate to Sipcentric’s internet phone service, meaning that if you were to set up a Sipcentric account coupled to either virtual desktop phones or standard IP phone handsets, you can then click a ‘Call’ button within Mercury Systems to automatically phone your customer or supplier etc. (saving time and generally making life easier).

(Please note I am not in any way endorsing Sipcentric / Birchills Telecoms – I am however passing along favourable comments from an existing Hatchgate customer who has made the switch, and is very happy with the cost savings and extra features)

Vacation…

I am away from Thursday 7^th May until Monday 25^th May (12 business days).

During this time I should be able to respond to emails and occasionally hold a conversation using Skype, as I am taking a laptop with me.  It may also be possible for me to connect to your pc’s / server’s in the event of an emergency (only).

As most of you know, it is my policy to not issue program updates for a couple of weeks before going away, so updates are going to cease in the next few days.

Therefore, if you have any issues that cannot wait, please phone or email me soon.

New minimum supported SQL database engine version…

At the end of this year (2015), Hatchgate Software will discontinue support for SQL databases that are still using the old Microsoft SQL 2005 database engine (SQL Server version 9.x).  From 2016, the minimum supported SQL engine will be SQL 2008 (SQL Server version 10.x) and above.

Only a few customers are affected – most customers are already using SQL 2008 and higher.  This notice will only affect you if you are using very old server hardware that is likely to be running Windows Server 2003 (inc. SBS version), or if you have a pc (acting as a server) and it is running Windows XP or Windows Vista.  Any servers running Windows Server 2008 or higher, and pc’s (acting as servers) running Windows 7, Windows 8 will already be using Microsoft SQL 2008 or higher.

The reason for the change is that as Microsoft release newer database engines (e.g. SQL 2012 is now available), it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue support for old versions.  You can check what version of SQL you are using by opening the SQL Server Management Studio icon (usually within the ‘Hatchgate’ folder on the desktop) on your server machine (or pc acting as a server).  On the splash screen and on the login screen, it will say ‘SQL 2005’ or ‘SQL 2008’ etc.

Please contact me if you are still unsure what version of SQL you are using, or if you want to discuss the implications of this change.

Vacation…

I am away from Wednesday 18^th February until Monday 2^nd March (7 business days).

During this time I should be able to respond to emails and occasionally hold a conversation using Skype, as I am taking a laptop with me.  It may also be possible for me to connect to your pc’s / server’s in the event of an emergency (only).

As most of you know, it is my policy to not issue program updates for a couple of weeks before going away, so updates are going to cease in the next few days.

Therefore, if you have any issues that cannot wait, please phone or email me now.

Mercury Systems, Windows 8 and Adobe PDF Files

If some of your workstations are running Windows 8, you may have noticed that Mercury Systems cannot automatically open Adobe PDF files. I have been searching for answers but the reason for this still isn’t clear, and the only option so far has been to switch the output to ‘Crystal Reports’. This is okay but not ideal.

I have found that you can use a free alternative to Adobe Reader called Foxit Reader, which does open correctly via Mercury Systems. You can download Foxit Reader from Foxit Software using this URL: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/.

Foxit is also much more preferable than the generic ‘Reader’ app that comes with Windows 8. Foxit Reader works well and does everything that Adobe Reader does, so if you are using Windows 8, give it a try…

Phone numbers within Client Details screen

With the decline of landline phone numbers in general within the UK, a customer has suggested that the “Mobile No.” field should be the 1^st phone number collected, followed by “Home Phone Number” (currently set to “Main Phone Number”).

Would any of you have a problem if the sequence of these 3 fields on the Client Details screen was changed?

If you do not reply, I will assume you are not concerned if the change takes place.