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Newsletter for First Quarter 2007
(January - March)
March 2007 - Issue 2
In This Issue
Quick Links
Greetings!

Here we are in 2007 and one of the first things we have to deal with is Microsoft's new releases. They've made major changes that force both software and hardware companies to change their products as well. For more on this, see article below.

We're beta testing Version 2.4 and expect to update all NX.gen users by the end of April. Some of the changes in this version include: Bank Deposit in time order and with credit cards grouped and totaled by type. We've re-written several parts of the system to make them faster. Percentage rent raises can now round to the nearest dollar. We'll provide a complete list of changes with the update.

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Microsoft has introduced their new Vista operating system and redesigned Office 2007 suites. They’ve made major changes to these products which will require both hardware and software companies to change their products.

Warning: The Space Control software is not compatible with these new Microsoft products at this time. Neither are many other software products, including pcAnywhere, as well as many computer video cards, printers, sound cards, etc. (On their web page, pcAnywhere says only that they will have a Vista-compatible version sometime in 2007.)

Why? In Vista, Microsoft has changed the way files are named and the names of the directories where files are stored on the computer. The Vista operating system creates some “virtual” directories on the hard disk, and moves files into those directories. Space Control---and much other software---can’t locate files in these renamed virtual directories. The Office 2007 software uses a new naming convention for Word documents. Instead of LetterOne.DOC, files are now called LetterOne.DOCX. Word templates are DOTX instead of DOT. So all software (NX.gen included) that refers to DOC files or DOT files won’t work.

So, what's new in Vista? Vista will tighten parental controls, make media (photos, videos, songs) easier to use and share, and improve graphics for games--- all more directed to the home user rather than businesses. Microsoft says Vista is "safer and more secure." But that comes at a price. Dan Fost, a technical writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, says that after clicking "yes" 20 times to get a video to upload to the internet, he decided it wasn't worth it. And, if you decide you want Vista, he recommends that you get it on a new computer---don't upgrade an existing computer. As a matter of fact, to take advantage of all that Vista offers, you might want to get a $4,000 PC with four processors and a monitor with high-definition capabilities.

We will be making changes to NX.gen to accommodate both the new operating system and the new Office products. But these are major changes that will require lots of research, programming and testing.
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In the last issue, we covered emailed reports, archived docs, creating your own letters and leases, discounts, batch payments, move-in quotes and user IDs.

NX.gen also has:
  • Improved multiple space accounting: each space has it's own ledger.
  • Downloadable reports (choose from over 15 different formats).
  • Instant reporting (to screen or paper) whenever you want the reports, not just at end-of-day.
  • Merchandise discounts and merchandise groups.
  • Discount schedules that are both powerful and flexible.
  • Separate dates for Overlocks vs. Gate Lockouts.

Further,
  • Users must enter reasons for allowances.
  • You can email notices, invoices, etc. to tenants.
  • Take digital photos of your tenants and their stored goods for increased security (optional).

Plus, with optional modules, you can:
  • Use Automatic Rent Increases to save time and increase profits. You can even attract new customers with low move-in rates and have NX.gen raise their rates in 4-5 months.
  • Increase your income by utilizing true Yield Management with Flex Rent, which will automatically raise and lower your move-in rates depending on occupancy levels and time of year.
  • With our Online.HQ, check on your sites' statuses and history (individually, by district, and company- wide) via the internet, from wherever you are in the world. You can even download the data into formats like Excel, Word, etc. This is the "best of both worlds": Your sites aren't dependent on the vagaries or speed of the internet, yet your management data (e.g. rental goals vs. actual performance) is instantly available.
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About Batch payments in NX.gen? It always a good thing to get paid. But if the mailman delivers a big stack of check payments it can take a long time to enter them all into your computer. In NX.gen, we did something about that.

Go to the Utilities menu and select Batch Payment. The list of customers is displayed. Double-click on one, enter the Bank Number (Tab), Check Number (Tab), and Amount Paid. Hit Enter and you’re on to the next customer. It’s that easy.

The program checks for options like No check or No Partial Payments and will tell you about these if they apply. The customer accounts are updated, the payments go on the Bank Deposit. And all in a lot less time than if you had to go to each account to apply the payments.

A running total is shown at the bottom of the window for the number of checks entered and the total of all the payments. This makes it easy to double-check your input.

We'll have a booth at the SSA tradeshow in New Orleans starting March 23. Do stop by and see us if you're there.

ramona
Ramona Taylor
Space Control Systems, Inc.

phone: 1-800-455-9055

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This email was sent to rtaylor@spacecontrol.com, by rtaylor@spacecontrol.com

Space Control Systems, Inc. | 206 Providence Mine Rd. | Suite 118 | Nevada City | CA | 95959