SMB IT | Curtis Franklin » TAG: Reader Posts

September 22, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Dell and Mandriva Update

TAGS: Reader Posts

Being as us bloggers are not only broke but sleep deprived, too; I do a lot of surfing late at night. On some Penguin site somewhere was an announcment that Dell was pre-installing Mandriva Linux on its notebooks.

Seeing as how SMB and Linux have long sought a suitable partnership, I was intrigued. But after querying our Dell press rep, the talented and dedicated Marco Pena, on the subject, I got this reply:

"Got some info on the Mandriva thing. This is really nothing new. Dell installs any distro or software that a customer requires through our CFI (Custom Factory Integration) program. This is usually for larger customers with very specific needs rather than your typical consumer. In this case, Dell won a bid with the French Ministry of Education. Based on the needs of the end-user, Dell opted to leverage its CFI capabilities to offer French students the 'n-series' Latitude 110L notebook with Mandriva Linux pre-installed. [So] the Latitude 110Ln with the Mandriva OS is limited to a French Ministry of Education program available only to students. When Mandriva saw this they quickly put out a press release without Dell's authorization or knowledge which made it appear as if Dell was pre-installing their OS on Dell systems [in general] rather than the more accurate CFI story."

Thanks Marco. Not exactly what we wanted, but there you have it. Close call for the Penguin, still no cigar. But it's nice to know that Dell has the capability. Especially concerning CFI in general. May not help a lot of the SBs, but there are plenty of MBs out there who may have need of custom software images in the future.

Now where's my DJ Ditty?

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 22, 2005 01:08 PM

September 20, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Two Microsoft Accounting Reader Posts

TAGS: Reader Posts

Some of you good folks decided to weigh in on the Microsoft accounting furor raised by Redmond announcing that it's got big rebranding plans for this product line. And since I'm dying to show that people actually read this stuff, I'm posting some of these responses here. In case you're wondering which column spawned these responses, you can see it here. No cracks about the photo.

Lee Adler writes:
Oliver, you're absolutely amazing and I want to be just like you. Really. {This may or may not have been part of the original message, I always forget.}

Small Business Financials is actually a subset of the Great Plains code. It used to be called Small Business Manager, and it shipped long before Microsoft acquired Great Plains. It happens to be a great value as well, but few Microsoft partners want to sell it because they cannot make money on the software due to the low cost, and they cannot make money on the implementation due to the scaled back nature of the product and its target market, businesses with under 25 employees. However, it's the best SQL Server-based accounting package that $1,000 can buy, in my opinion.

That's a nasty run-on sentence in the middle there, Lee, but we'll forgive that because you're honestly and fearlessly opinionated. We love that. InfoWorld is going to send you a car. Probably.

Clive Parker wrote:

Hi Oliver,
I enjoy your column, so I wanted to give you some added information on your latest column.

As a dedicated fan and user of Navision since 1994, the pre-Windows version, I wanted to mention that this is also a SUPERB accounting system, far better than Great Plains or Solomon. It is fully user-customizable and very friendly. Coming from Europe, it is inherently multi-currency and also includes all sorts of tax features like VAT which we fervently hope we will never have to use here. I believe it is the finest middle-market accounting software, and it does expand into the more esoteric areas you described. Its native database engine includes features not found elsewhere, such as "bucketless accounting" which permits analysis of anything over any time period, and eliminates 99% of the "monthly closing" process. This alone makes Navision worth using.

It was scary when Microsoft took over. Maintenance costs jumped to 16%. You don't have to maintain, but then you can't buy things like added users or tables!!! We are still holding our collective breaths, hoping that Microsoft doesn't ruin this software.

Thanks.

Thanks to you also Clive. Frankly, before starting that column, I didn't even know what Navision did. Check out the Oct. 3rd features to find out that Microsoft probably will...do something to your software baby.

I don't know if InfoWorld will send you a car. Maybe a Hot Wheels car.

Keep reading and writing folks. It's lonely out here.

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 20, 2005 07:54 AM

September 14, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Another Reader Post...Sort Of

TAGS: Reader Posts

This one's from an almost-reader, Bill Landon of PDAToday.com. He just wanted me to point out that his org just finished reviewing the Harmony 688 Advanced Universal Remote. It's not strictly SMB technology, but it would sure impress the hell out of any visitors to your office. 'Nuff said.

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 14, 2005 10:26 AM