Hardware technology
continually advances along the lines of versatility, intelligence, speed,
capacity, and manageability. Not all hardware traits advance at an equal rate but
they all continue to change. This makes it difficult to offer specific
recommendations on what is best to buy in order to support Active Accounting.
No sooner would we give it and a better product will come along. There are a
few directions in which we can point however. Additionally the reader should take what is said in this article
in general terms even if you don’t always hear those two words used in
the sentence.
Active Accounting is a
software application that performs a lot of work. Naturally how much of a work
load is placed on your Server, Workstation, or Network hardware depends on how
large a scale of operations are involved. We might consider how many Active
Accounting Workstations are attached to the network and what the average level
of use will be. It is safe to say the faster the overall performance the
network can sustain under any load level likely to be encountered, will
increase the satisfaction of the individual Active Accounting users. Spend what you can afford on higher performance
hardware as it will serve to also extend the useful life of your investment,
but do not pay the punishing incremental costs demanded of the latest “cutting
edge” hardware just appearing on the market.
“Manageable” or intelligent
hardware that can give you or your network support vendor feedback on how it
alone is performing or even how the network may be performing is worth an
additional, reasonable investment. When network performance issues arise
it is a whole lot better than staring into the dark and wondering why.
Consider continuing this discussion with your network support vendor or
consultant.
Displays: Your display system or monitor is very important
when it comes to user satisfaction. Primarily, we are referring to the viewable
area the display offers and simply put, the larger, the better. UDS has
consistently recommended a minimum viewable diagonal measurement of 18 inches
or greater. Considering the lower display system costs enjoyed by consumers
these days, a larger display would be a worthwhile
investment. The ‘right’ display could serve you longer than the ‘right’
computer. The more Active Accounting windows opened at one time the more
satisfaction a larger monitor will provide the user. The more space you
have for non-overlapping windows the more convenient the AA software is to
use. Flat Panel displays: if you have ‘deeper pockets’ or are perhaps
impressed by their lower power consumption and heat generation, definitely
check them out!
Printers: Laser printers
‘rule’ with MS Windows printing and therefore are the recommended norm
for use with Active Applications. Preferred models should have two bin feed
capability so that legal size paper can be loaded and ready for use by any
Active Accounting reports requiring wide output. At
least one of your ‘shareable’ printers should be two bin feed. Most
forms including checks printable in Active Accounting are based on an 8.5 inch
by 11 inch sheet of paper.
Network
Servers: A fast server with a
sufficient amount of RAM memory is a better choice for running Active
Applications. Don’t “scrimp” on the server
investment. RAM memory (chip memory) is cheap, so when in doubt,
buy more than you know you need to support the Operating System. Hard
Drive space is even cheaper nowadays- don’t go with less than 60
Gigabytes. A 7200RPM hard disk is faster than a 5400RPM hard disk.
Speed and reliability of disk access on the Server is a major factor in the
performance of Active Accounting over a network.
Workstations: Faster is better and
again it is wise to load more RAM memory than that required just to support the
Operating System. Large hard disk storage capacity on the
workstation is not demanded by the Active Accounting application. This is
not to say you should waste time looking for the PC with the smallest hard
drive currently available. You won’t save much money doing so and other
features like a fast processor, good built-in diagnostics, and available
support for the hardware are more important than that.
Backup
Device: Consider a removable disk
system over a tape drive. Zip Disks, CD-ROM, and CDRW are methods that
rate a high opinion here at UDS. We are not saying ‘no’ totally to tape
drives, but you should compare closely the speed, capacity and cost of a tape
drive to other choices available. If your local network support vendor or
consultant convinces you that a particular tape drive is ‘right’ for your
operation, then go for it. Ultimately the best
backup media is the one that is actually used almost religiously, is easy to
use, and works properly. Once in a while restore a file from your
backup device just to insure that it works. As with any back device you might
use, if you have any doubt about whether it is working properly, have it
checked out. Use the Windows Copy/Paste function to create extra backups
just for safety's sake while you are having your backup device checked out or
replaced. Never go without a backup of your
database.
Network
Devices: Speed, reliability, manageability, and the
capability to sustain the desired level of performance under peak periods of
network use are the major factors in evaluating network components. It
may require some help and planning from your local network support vendor or
consultant to properly evaluate these factors against current hardware
offerings on the market. Rule of Thumb: If they can support it and you can afford it,
additional network speed will provide increased user satisfaction.
Pointing
Device/Scanner:
"Microvision"
has a new device they have made available to UDS that changes the cost to
benefit ratio significantly.
Are
you ready for greater benefit from your system? Are you ready to reduce data
entry time? What job is it that you do every day that requires too much time to
capture the data? Chances are this device will solve a number of those
problems.
Click
on this link to see the device: http://www.udsgis.com/flic_bar_code_scanner.htm
It
is a laser bar code scanner with two modes of operation. If connected directly
to your computer it acts as a laser scanner. If not connected it stores what is
scanned until it is connected then dumps it into your computer for
processing.
With
this device and a little UDS supplied creative programming, you can automate
the data capture job that most irritates you. Automate your order entry
application or speed the physical inventory process and do it Cheaply. Capture
materials as they are issued to a job. Scan a point of sale transaction at the
car or in your nursery. Plug it in when back at the register to process the
sale.
Because
it is a simple scanner it cannot look up information like a Pocket PC or a
Tablet PC application can. It can only record the scanned information. It also
has no long term memory of what was sent to your PC so information could be
lost if you are not careful. The Flic can be used with the POS application just
like the Pocket PC I have demonstrated at trade shows for years but the cost is
much less.
The
routines we develop will have to classify transactions and add a special import
routine but we will make sure you have the functions available for the device.