It is not uncommon to receive enhancement requests that sound simple such as "˜we want to use a customer loyalty program'. While this sounds very simple and clear, it leaves a lot of things to assumptions.

Do you want to just track customers and "˜a' purchase? Or actual items purchased? What about clearance items?

Do you want to accumulate "˜points' for purchases? Can they be redeemed as "˜cash' toward a purchase? Discounts? For "˜free' items? Can they be shared with spouses or other family members? Are they available at the local store only or any stores owned by the company? Do they expire?

What reporting is needed? Do you want an audit trail? A ledger?

Will you need to edit available points?

Without details the end result will most likely not be what is expected. The same principle applies when evaluation business procedures. The more details used to outline the change, the more closely it will be what is desired. It is also important to account for the things that don't "˜normally' happen as they always seem to come up if they are not thought about before hand.

Details "“ you can deal with them now or deal with them later. The later you deal with them the larger the headache.

Technology makes it easier than ever to 'monitor' what is going on in your business, home, parking lots, malls, etc, but it also makes it easier for some one to 'monitor' you as well.

Take a recent post on ABC News. Do you know the FBI can remotely turn on your cell phones microphone and listen to you even if you had you phone turned off?

With every advance in technology, some one will find a way to use it for both sides of the spectrum (good and bad). To read more about the FBI 'tapping' your cell phone, Click here.

Windows Vista is finally upon us and has a lot of nice features, but some are a little hidden.

The number of open windows prior to grouping on the taskbar is one of these features. If you want to change the value, you will have to use an addin or edit the registry manually.

For more information on making this change via the registry, click here...

If you are looking to upgrade the memory in your computer, I found MemorySuppliers.com to be very helpful in finding, selecting and ordering. They are well worth looking to for you memory needs.

They assisted me when I was looking for memory for a Dell Dimension 8100 desktop with RamBus memory. RamBus appears to be one of those real great ideas that works well, but lost due to price and acceptance (much like the Betamax).

Dell 'found' some 256 meg chips, but could not come up with any other sizes and/or quantities. Since Rambus on this Dell required installation in pairs, I had to look elsewhere and MemorySuppliers.com was that place.

With computers being so common place these days, retailers often purchase hardware and then attempt to make it work with software. While this is typically not too difficult with standard Windows software, POS Software can be some what different as it performs specific tasks and can require/support specific hardware.

Imagine purchasing a part for 'a' car and then trying to get it to work with 'your' car. No one would purchase a random part for a car without verifying it is the correct part for 'their' specific make and model, however, many retailers will do this with computer hardware and then ask 'why doesn't work?'.

It is always good to remember that your POS Software is a vital part of you business and to verify requirements/support for hardware prior to purchasing the peripheral. Think of your POS Software vendor as your partner in charge of helping your business run smoothly. The more questions you ask prior to hardware purchases, the smoother things will go. Planning and Preparation are always rewarded and often avoid frustration.

Backward compatibility is a key function that most users want and expect in today's upgrade products. Is Microsoft listening to its users? Find out what you should expect in terms of backward compatibility if a Vista upgrade is on your 2007 agenda.

Click Here to read the complete article at SQL Server Magazine.