Yes, another newsletter in the space of two months! This one is especially for our users as we ran out of space on the May Newsletter for all the good news !
Congratulations to Emma on passing Grade 4 Guildhall Exam with her accordion. We at R.E.D. have hidden talents...
Congratulations also to Rachel and her family who will be leaving
at the end of the summer for a 3 year assignment in South Africa.
Rachel’s husband Ben is moving up in Reuters!
From time to time we are asked about Escrow agreements for R.E.D. software. We have always felt that while we had no objection in principle, Escrow is a cumbersome, slow-moving, expensive way of not quite being the answer! So, in our usual no-nonsence fashion, we have come up with our own answer.
The source code is now available to current support contract holders only, at £ 300 plus £ 100 per year (exc VAT), which would normally be added to your regular support fee.
Naturally, we need to protect our copyright, and we would attach certain conditions to the sale, such as the code must not be sold, given or otherwise passed on to others, and must not be used to set up a business in competition to R.E.D.
It could be that some clients might want to use the source code to write their own developments. There is no problem with this, but R.E.D. would then not be responsible for supporting programs changed in this way. In addition, development must only be done on the application for which you have a licence.
If you are considering this option, bear in mind that to produce an executable program from the source code, you will also need a compiler, Btrieve Programmer’s Interface, and probably a direct access screen manager for the DOS version of R.E.D. software or ZAPP for the Windows version.
If you would like to talk further about this, or see a list
of conditions of purchase, please do let us know.
Sometimes we get phone calls from clients who are in a tizzy, about lack of staff, buying more publications with all the data in a shambles, and other generally overworked, underpaid situations!
We are here to help, and can provide a data processing service, perform data tidying-up, list management and even data capture. Those of you who have already used these services in the past will know that we pay as much attention to detail as you would do yourself.
We also run a bureau service, either for short term temporary
/emergency situations, or on a long term basis. Smaller circulations
are handled here in New Malden, and larger circulations by our
associates in Sussex. So, next time you feel like screaming, or
sitting in a large hole and not coming out, or generally completely
miserable, ring us, our rates are as competitive as you’ll
find!
We offer system checks, training, installation/upgrages, consultancy and support. Some of you have already made use of these services, but some people are so concerned about the jargon and the complications, they end up struggling with out-of-date setups and clogging up their system with out-of-date files.
If you feel that your system is not performing as well as it could do, or if your would like help setting up or rationalising versions of DOS, printers, menus, backups, etc. etc. we can help. A full hard drive, for example, can slow a system down - if you are not confident about clearing down your drive, let us help.
A visit from us to look at your system or train you to use
DOS/ Netware effectively will cost £ 250 (plus VAT) if you
book it before 1st August.
How long have you had your support contract? We are now operating
a scale of loyalty discounts for support contract holders for
selected software packages. After the first year, you are entitled
to 20% off, plus and extra 20% per complete additional year up
to a maximum of 80% discount. So, for example, if you have been
using your R.E.D. software for 3.5 years, you are now entitled
to 60% off most modules and stand-alone products.
Our daily charge rates will be increased from 1st August having been static for over two years. Any training etc. booked before the 1st of August will still be charged at the lower rate so now is the time to book.