Fletcher CMC and Lifesaver pos

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The Great Gazoo

The Great Gazoo

True Grumbler
Joined
Sep 16, 2007
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Loc
Nashua, NH
Anybody use these two together? We're on the brink of buying a CMC and Pos software. One question was, if the Fletcher comes with it's own computer, can you load the Lifesaver software on it as well, and use them together. You can also tell me why I shouldn't buy either one of them.....
Any info would be great.....
 
Good morning

You'll be thrilled with both.

I'm sure LifeSaver and FrameVue will work fine on the POS computer. However, is it logistically practical to do so? Most shops have the CMC away from public view, in the back room; while the POS is right at the design counter. It lets you work up prices, and tracks the balance of what folks owe, when they come back to pick up their work. You'll want it within arm's reach.

If you need another inexpensive machine for this, there's one for $459 that will meet the needs of the POS. http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/hot_offers_dt?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

You'll also want a laser printer. The Brother HL-2040 light duty model is normally $119 but its $49 at Staples this week, after rebate.
Staples has the Brother HL-2040 Monochrome Laser Printer (20ppm, 2400x600dpi) for a low $49.99 after rebate. Free Shipping. Tax in most states.

...and 6 or 7 backup chips, depending how many days of the week you are open:
Buy.com has the Kingston 1GB Data Traveler USB 2.0 Flash Drive for a low $9.95. Free shipping. Tax in CA, MA, TN.

You can also tie both machines into the same internet feed, with use of a ROUTER. The Linksys WRT54g model is sufficient for frame shop use, and costs about $50. (It's almost always on sale) If you get one of these, just MAKE SURE you disable or secure the wireless transmitter within. (otherwise, the neighborhood can get in)

See the Hardware thread in the computer forum, for additional suggestions.

Good luck and congratulations on the new tools!

Mike
Lincoln, RI

PS: Hope to see you at the DonMar Days show on the 21st, or the PPFA meeting on the 22nd!
 
Thanks Mike.
Yea, Dave is my crack-er-fletcher pusher so we'll be at Don Mar Days.
We'll be the ones with two little girls shouting Hailey! put that down! Molly come here now! off of that!
 
Mike Labbe @ GTP said:
If you need another inexpensive machine for this, there's one for $459 that will meet the needs of the POS. http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/hot_offers_dt?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
Click to expand...

Mike--Piping in here--these towers are huge--is there anything like the Mac mini that is not a fortune? And smaller screens to not take up so much room? I will need at least 3 at my design tables and we are full underneath them. With what, you ask? Another story.
 
I can only add that I don't know what I did before purchasing LifeSaver (two years ago). Of course, there are a few aspects I would like to see changed, but that was true of all I had previewed. Once you get your customer database and pricing schedule set up, it is a breeze! It provides all the details while keeping it simple.
 
Kirstie said:
Mike--Piping in here--these towers are huge--is there anything like the Mac mini that is not a fortune? And smaller screens to not take up so much room?
Click to expand...

Howdy

The one I linked this morning was a mini tower, the largest one. Ours came in today and is now up and running. VERY nice :)
H: 16.10"
W: 7.36"
D: 17.52"

There are also "Slim Desktop" cases, which can either stand up; or lay down flat to serve as a monitor stand.
H: 15.65"
W: 4.59"
D: 14.25"

In all cases, they come with small and attractive LCD screens. Here's an example of a decent deal for the Slim Desktop style:

Dell Small Business has a Dell Vostro 200 Slim Desktop Dual Core E2140 1.6Ghz 1GB/80GB, 19in LCD, DVD, XP or Vista $379 shipped free.

They make a smaller one with these dimensions:
The "Optiplex 755 Small Form Factor"
H: 12.45"
W: 3.65"
D: 13.40"

and yet a smaller one called the "Optiplex 755 Ultra Small Form Factor"
H: 10.30"
W: 3.50"
D: 9.95"

The smaller it gets, the more restrictive it becomes as far as drive slots, pci slots, usb ports, video card, size of power supply and cooling fans, etc.


Here are the smaller ones, side by side: http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/optix_755?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

I always recommend the small business division, if you use Dell. Not only are the prices better, but the phone support is based in North America and not outsourced. (home division IS outsourced) Not that I have something against other countries, but it can often be challenging to communicate. (poor phone connections and language/dialect barrier)

If you can fit the base and printer under the counter, it goes a long way to keeping everything neat.

Happy shopping!
Mike
 
QD: That's an interesting link. I can't comment too much without testing the product, but it sounds like a pandora's box of potential trouble :) PC's have become so cheap these days, it's just as practical to do it the traditional way, IMO.

Mike
 
James,

I've been using my Fletcher/Valiani for a couple of years. It came with a basic Dell computer which only had 512 MB of RAM. Our computer techie added more RAM saying that the 512 was barely enough to run Windows XP, which is what that computer still uses. If your computer comes with Vista installed I'm told that you will need at least 2GB of RAM for it to run "nice".

I still have one computer that doesn't even have that much hard drive memory! It's not a doorstop yet...

Mike
 
Kirstie said:
Mike--Piping in here--these towers are huge--is there anything like the Mac mini that is not a fortune? And smaller screens to not take up so much room? I will need at least 3 at my design tables and we are full underneath them. With what, you ask? Another story.
Click to expand...

Kirstie -

You might want to consider putting the screen on a swinging arm that is suspended over the table. You can then swing the monitor out of the way when you need more space for designing. We are considering doing this but haven't yet decided.
 
My Wizard came with its own computer and XP loaded and it works just fine. However, the techie who installed it advised against connecting it to the internet or loading any other software onto it. His concern, if I understood correctly, was not so much the computer's capacity but the possibility of other software "fighting" with the Wizard programme. A couple of other non-Wizard salespeople have since told me they always give C.M.C. buyers the same advice.

Computers are so cheap these days that if I ever decided to use P.O.S. I would probably just buy another one for the front counter.
 
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