Friday, August 21, 2009

How to launch new software items

The real issue is that it doesn't matter how your software is technologically advanced, how many great features it offers and how much it's more usable compared to competitors. Those are necessary conditions, even though if alone they will let you be far away from your software spreading (that is its success).
OK! Everything's fine as far as this stage, or rather bad...
How to launch new software items (maybe with fee!) among a lot of tools, many of them for free, available via web downloading and periodically updated.
Three tricks that must be used as boosts to find the right asset to launch your great software solution:
LAUNCHING SW LIKE a WEB-BASED tool
Forget about launching a SW for desktop, with no ASP (application service provider) version, you should better think about a web tool and then (if it's necessary) to a desktop version. It will straight allow you to be compatible with all software (Win, Mac, Linux... etc.).
There won't be any kind of sw to download, any installation to do, but it will allow you to monitor closely your tool employment by its first users, through a simple statistics sw (such as google analytics) getting a lot of suggestions about how and where to improve.
Moreover almost all (Google, Adobe...etc) are going to crank out systems able to remove the last barrier in order to use just systems completely online: access with no connection...
LAUNCHING SW LIKE a SIMPLE tool
The sw launching is not the end of its development process, but it's just the beginning!Try to launch your product just with its basic features, the core of your idea to be clear, nothing else... it would be easier to understand its critical factor of success.
You will decide the rest together with its first users, by watching and interacting with them... speaking of first users, don't forget that you are part of them, if you don't use it and you don't think it's necessary and convenient, start to worry about it!
LAUNCHING SW LIKE an ADD-ON tool
The problem is always the same: reaching the critical mass. No customers, no breaks even, no investments for the up-dates.
Ok! Here's a trick: try to integrate yourself IMMEDIATELY with popular tools (www.salesforce.com, www.37signals.com, etc...), they have always API libraries available for the interface, and they are absolutely interested in giving you visibility if you support them (because they can extend their solutions to new functionalities), but they have above all thousands customers looking forward originality.
Some examples:
- as examples of access with no connection give a glance to Google Calendar with off-line access or to the new Adobe Air platform.
- A couple of weeks ago I meant to buy a new cardio-GPS for my running training and I chose the Garmin Forerunner 405,not just for its characteristics, but above all because it was compatible with MAC (I use just Apple!) thanks to the fantastic Garmin Connect sw web-based.
- I tested and sometimes purchased a lot of new tools as ADD-ON toitems I was already using. It has been straight the Apple strategy withiTunes Apps Store that I cannot help quoting it.
About the Author
Simone LovatiMarketing consultant, Managing director and co-foundator of ADVBOUCLE & PARTNERS Marketing consultants

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Benefits of using Thermal Paper with your POS System

There are several benefits to using thermal paper for your POS system. Thermal paper is something that is quite easy to use, and it is a product that has many advantages as well. It is important to understand what thermal paper is, and how it works. Thermal paper is paper that is coated with color forming elements, which produce the right type of image when the paper is heated.
This description indicates that heat plays an integral role in the printing process of thermal paper. When heat is transferred to the paper, the images are made. The printer has a head on it that helps to contain the heating elements and allows them to work correctly.
There are several advantages to using thermal paper with your POS printer or with any of the other systems that might use thermal paper. Reliability is often associated with thermal paper. When using thermal paper, you should have fewer occurrences of paper getting jammed, and of the machine not working correctly. Thermal paper is also reliable when it comes to the actual printing, meaning that the printing will be clearer, and will be less likely to be smudged.
Another advantage to using thermal paper is that the paper and the products that come with it are both very easy to handle in all of the applications that take thermal paper. Unlike other types of paper, which might be more difficult to load and alight, thermal paper is actually quite easy to manipulate.
Another benefit of thermal paper is in the way that the thermal paper printers are set up. There are fewer moving parts in the printer, which means that the only part that is actually going to need to be replaced is the paper itself. With thermal paper and thermal printers, there are very low maintenance costs, which mean that you do not have to spend a lot of time, energy, or money making sure printers are working or fixing them. Not only that, but thermal papers have a low noise quota – because the printing process is non-impact, meaning that there aren't actual printer ribbons to print on the paper – it is all done through heat transfer. Of course, less impact parts means no noise as well as less parts to break and need to be replaced.
Another benefit to thermal paper and thermal printing systems is the fact that the printer speed. Thermal paper and thermal printers print much faster than other types of printers – so if you are interested in having your things printed quickly and effortlessly, thermal printers and paper might be the way to go.
Not only is thermal paper faster and easier to use, but it looks better too. One of the main benefits to thermal paper and printing is the high definition printing that you can get using thermal paper. The print is clearer, more readable, and is more defined than it would be from other types of printers or printing processes.
Thermal printers and thermal paper offer a high functionality no matter what the conditions might be. Some of the thermal papers are designed to work at different temperatures, and some are resistant to things like waters, oils, plastics, and adhesives. This means that if you have unusual situations in which you need to use a printer, or if you are going to be printing with other elements nearby, you might want to employ thermal paper, because this will give you a better chance of having your printing be clear.
When you are choosing thermal paper for your POS system, it is important that you look at the different types of thermal paper available. Remember that thermal paper can be used for just about anything - ticketing, banking and financial, kiosks, gaming and wagering, transportation, parking, and of course, POS. This means that although there are lots of benefits to thermal paper and printers, you still need to be sure that you are using the right types of systems for the right elements.
Look closely at the type of instruments that you have, and then figure out if you would be able to use thermal paper or printer elements with those systems. Once you have realized how helpful thermal paper can be, you should be able to get a lot of use out of it. Thermal paper is something that you can purchase easily with all of your POS supplies, and once you have the right thermal printers installed, you will find that it is much easier to use.
About the Author
Arianna Jordan is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about office management and efficiency tactics, such as utilizing a POS system and thermal paper.