An update has been made to the POS Linker User’s Manual that includes a step-by-step guide to creating work orders. This information has been added to the bottom of Chapter 7 Service Labor (pgs 13-16).

Additionally, we do encourage all of our valued clients to let us know if there is anything not included in our manual that you feel could be of use. You may contact us via our Suggestions Page or by calling us directly at (703)665-4206.

We now have a fix for the problem created by the Microsoft security patch, (KB943460)issued November 13, 2007. This will involve having one of our techs log on to your system to modify some files in order to eliminate the problem. For those of you who have selected “Do Not Show This Update Again”, once the files have been modified, the patch can then be downloaded and installed. The Microsoft update only affected Windows XP or 2003 servers. Windows 2000 was not affected.

Our standard procedure for Microsoft Updates is to set your system to automatically download all updates, but allow the customer to choose when to install them. The reason for this should be obvious, as there are patches from Microsoft that have caused problems in the past, and most recently, this one.

If you haven’t already done so, please contact the support desk, 703-665-4206 X105, to schedule this important modification to help prevent future problems.

The latest release of the POS Linker User’s Manual is now available. You can access the manual on-line or download it directly to your desktop for easy access. The manual is located in the User Manual section.

Changes include:

With the ability to capture screen shots (which was used for this first draft update on the manual), as well as capturing keystrokes and full motion interactive processes, we will be announcing additional training videos for POS Linker soon.

One of the problems our customers face is that of training new employees. Soon, a new employee will be able to go to our web site and watch a short training video on how to perform tasks like parts invoicing, service order creation/update, time clock punch on/off, whole goods invoicing, and a long list of other functions. The videos will be accessible anytime, day or night. This process is also good for refresher training for existing users as well, since some steps may change over time as the software is updated and new features are added.

We will send out an email announcement letting everyone know upon completion of this project. This process will be accessible only to our existing users who are on a software support agreement, and will require both a user name and password to log into the training area.

Blue Ridge POS is pleased to announce that Jason Brown has joined our technical support team as a Field Service Engineer. Jason comes to us most recently from Virginia Broadband, a local wireless Internet Service Provider with headquarters in Culpeper, Virginia. Jason grew up with POS Linker, as his parents own and operate Brown’s Garage, also located in Culpeper. With a strong computer technical background, and an understanding of POS Linker, Jason will be up to speed in no time at all assisting customers with problems.

Please join with us in welcoming Jason to our company. He will be visiting customers as service calls require him to be in the field on an “as-needed” basis.

When we moved to our new consolidated location in August of this year, we chose a location that allowed us to expand as we grew. Since we moved in we have hosted a number of training sessions. These training sessions made us aware that a number of our customers would like to have more refresher classes, along with the ability to get away from their normal business environment to eliminate day-to-day distractions. As such, we took a closer look at our current and future needs and decided to expand into two adjacent office spaces which abutted our existing location.

Our tech depot was also a bit crowded, and equipment storage was a bit of a problem. We now have a dedicated training/customer meeting room that can accommodate at least six people. With a high resolution projector system and access to high speed Internet, we can log on to the customer’s server and actually work on their existing data, or work on the training area as well. For new customers, our own servers are used, along with local computers for classroom instruction.

Additional storage space, coupled with a parts room and staging area allow us to custom build systems and connect them in a completed configuration prior to shipping. This speeds on-site setup and minimizes field issues. Another room in the parts area will be used for PC and server system building/testing, with yet another larger room for adding additional software support staff as we start to roll out our recently completed WINLinker software announced in September.

We are excited to see the growth and interest in POS Linker as we migrate the software to an even more powerful platform over the next couple of months. We will be testing WINLinker on the new Windows 2003 Terminal Server soon. With the initial Windows POS Linker performance extremely high on an Intel Core 2 Duo platform, we are expecting to see lightning fast response on the new Window 2003 server. More announcements are forthcoming in early 2008.