I'll add my agreement to  what Rob is saying here.  I've known quite a few
   entrepreneurs in my day and they are an odd breed.  If one of them like
   handwriting checks, I suspect that is just the way he is.  If the company
   is profitable and pulling in $60 million a year and the CEO wants to write
   his own checks, I'd let him continue doing so.  After all, it is his
   investment of time and probably a way that he feels that he keeps close
   tabs on what's going on.
   Rich Loeber
   Kisco Information Systems
   
http://www.kisco.com
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------
   rob@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
     Paul,
     At one time the founder here stopped the automatic signing of checks. 
     We
     still generated them by computer.  However each division had to hand
     sign
     them.  Turned out to be a pretty good edit for finding stuff that was
     already paid.
     Now if I could just convince my wife to balance our checkbook on
     occasion
     then we could see where the money is flying to...
     Rob Berendt
     --
     Group Dekko Services, LLC
     Dept 01.073
     PO Box 2000
     Dock 108
     6928N 400E
     Kendallville, IN 46755
     
http://www.dekko.com
     "Paul Nelson" <nelsonp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
     Sent by: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     07/24/2007 12:06 PM
     Please respond to
     Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
     To
     "'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
     cc
     Fax to
     Subject
     RE: Software update fees (was New redpaper: i5/OS Program Conversion...)
     Jon,
     Before I moved out of Chicago earlier this month, I had a client ($60
     million custom manufacturer; each order is unique) still running on a
     model
     436. The guy who wrote the software died a few years ago. Two years ago,
     I
     explained to them that there are custom manufacturing packages out there
     where they would have support for the application and everything. I told
     them they were working without a net. Nothing happened, except they
     would
     call every once in a while to help me get their machine back up and
     running.
     They began a project to migrate to Great Plains software, because a
     relative
     convinced them he could modify it to meet their needs. Then that
     relative
     got another job and no longer has time for the migration project. Sound
     familiar?
     Here's the topper: When it comes time to produce accounts payable
     checks,
     the clerk prints an aging list and gives it to the owner. He then pulls
     out
     a checkbook and hand writes each check! A $60 MILLION company! That's
     something that doesn't make sense. BTW, when the owner is out of town,
     the
     vendors have to wait until he returns.
     Paul Nelson
     Cell 708-670-6978
     Office 512-392-2577
     nelsonp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
     -----Original Message-----
     From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jon Paris
     Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 10:45 AM
     To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     Subject: RE: Software update fees (was New redpaper: i5/OS Program
     Conversion...)
      >> This doesn't make a ton of sense to me -- UNLESS the software
     vendors
     are charging ongoing maintenance for those old installations.
     It doesn't make much sense for me regardless.
     Rob alluded to one case where a vendor's announcement that they would no
     longer support out of service releases met with applause from their user
     community.  This is only one of a number of cases I have encountered
     where
     a
     vendor finally bit the bullet to find that their users had been praying
     for
     that day.
     I cannot understand why anybody would risk basing their business on an
     obsolete version of an operating system that has no vendor support and
     (because it is proprietary at its core) cannot be "fixed" by third
     parties
     in the event of a problem.  I don't care if it is Windows or i5/OS (or I
     guess OS/400 if it is that old) - I just don't see the risk/benefit
     equation
     making sense.
     It does seem to me that a significant part of the problem lies not so
     much
     with the end users, but with software vendors who charge ridiculous fees
     for
     simply allowing a customer to get up-to-date.  I include IBM in this
     category - in fact I think they are probably the worst of the lot and
     probably their own worst enemies.  Just about every OS release consumes
     more
     resource - their insistence on making it economically impractical for
     people
     to move to a new release must have cost them millions in lost hardware
     sales.
     Jon Paris
     Partner400
     www.Partner400.com
     --
     This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing
     list
     To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
     visit: 
http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
     or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
     at 
http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
     --
     This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing
     list
     To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
     visit: 
http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
     or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
     at 
http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
     --
     This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing
     list
     To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
     visit: 
http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
     or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
     Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
     at 
http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.