We regularly assess new hardware as to suitability for our needs.  While suppliers often come to us with hardware to consider, we also go out and buy hardware for more comprehensive testing.  This is what we did with the touch screen computer in the photo.

We’d heard good reports about this unit and wanted to test it ourselves.  Indeed, we were excited about what looked like a sexy unit.  Borrowing was not an option for the testing we wanted to do so we bought one.

After exhaustive testing, we found the unit not up to scratch for the needs of our retailers.  It’s too slow and physically cumbersome, especially for high volume retail.

While it’s a risk to spend the money on hardware like this, the investment pays off by knowing what hardware to avoid and what hardware we recommend.

The downside is that we find ourselves left with odd bits of hardware which we either give away or sell for far less than we paid.

Here are some tips to help computer hardware in retail businesses cope with the extreme weather this summer:

• Remove excess dust.  Do this with care when the computer is turned off.  better still, get it done by an expert.  If you want to do it yourself, disconnect the power and call cables, take the computer outside and clear with compressed air from a can.
• Ensure there is excellent ventilation around all the equipment.  Remove all unnecessary clutter, papers etc.
• Ensure you have a UPS, uninterruptible power supply, for each computer.
• Keep your aircon or evaporative cooler unit away from the computer.
• Keep water away from the computer - water bottles on hot days get spilt.
• Don’t have too many devices on a power board.

The main computer box generates considerable heat.  Take the above precautions and you are less likely to experience heat related outage this summer.

LG touchscreens are not on our list of recommended hardware because there is currently no driver from LG for the Microsoft Vista operating system.

Thanks to recent development and testing we are in a position to extend the list of hardware which is approved to operate with our software.  The new list will be published later this week and will include additional printers and other devices.  This increases options for our users.

We have a structured process for adding hardware to this list - it needs to pass considerable tests and be backed by good manufacturer support.

The Epson TM-T88IV is a good workhorse receipt printer, ideal for our high volume customers.  We use it in our own retail businesses and recommend it as do many other POS software companies.  Our price for the Epson TM-T88IV is $525 including GST.  This has been our price for a year despite the fall in the Australian dollar.  I mention it today because our price excellent.  It is evidence of our commitment to keep hardware prices low and help our customers save money when upgrading hardware.

It would be reasonable to ask what this has to do with software.  Our relationship with our customers is more than just for our software.  We are often a hardware supplier, general IT consultant and business advisor.  The commitment we make on price is important to us, even for a receipt printer.

The heatwave in Victoria and South Australia this week is taking its toll on computer hardware running in retail businesses. In some areas, rolling blackouts have been a challenge for retailers without appropriate battery backup and power filtering precautions. In other cases, heat inside the shop of 45 degrees Celsius and more is too much for the computers to remain stable.  Here is advice we have published to our user community to help:

1. Ensure there is good ventilation. Clear out unnecessary papers and other junk crammed around the hardware.
2. If the computer is in a very hot place and is acting in an unstable way, consider training a small fan to circulate air. Do not remove the cover because most boxes are designed for optimum airflow over important components with the cover on.
3. Place something under the case to lift it off the ground or shelf (but keep it stable) to improve airflow.
4. Reduce internal dust. Turn everything off, unplug the computer box, remove the cover, blow out dust, place the cover back on.
5. You will have more water around for drinking – be careful. Computers do not like to drink.
6. Don’t have too many devices running off the one socket.
7. Use a battery backup to deliver clean power in the event of a blackout or power spike. We sell these.

The heat problem is compounded in some situations by a considerable build up of dust in the computers.  Some preventative measures would have stopped this in most cases.

In our offices it is not too bad since we have airconditioning.  However, late today it was struggling - mainly because we have so many (warm) people in the office.

Here we are in January 2009 and our hardware prices are still at the same level they were through 2008.  This is good news for customers taking the opportunity to upgrade with us.

We have made a decision to delay passing on increased hardware prices for another two weeks. This provides prospects and existing customers considering upgrades to purchase at pre falling Australian dollar prices. In some cases, our decision will save up to 30% of some key items.

We have taken this decision as to prove our commitment to help our small business customers as much as we are able.

Our decision has been communicates with our users and sales prospects through our weekly newsletter and sales team contact.

We are yet to make a decision about hardware/software package pricing.

We are seeing computer hardware prices increasing as a result of the weak Australian dollar. Increases are ranging from between 10% and 20%. To protect our customers we have agreed to absorb the price increase for any orders placed up to the end of this month. This allows people talking with our sales team to complete negotiations before new prices apply.

We are accepting orders for up to two months in advance for people who want to lock in the current hardware prices.

Small business owners looking at buying computer hardware ought to be wary of any sales person saying there will not be a price rise. While there may be a few suppliers legitimately able to absorb this, others would have been selling with an excellent margin or they have a creative way of saving the cost of the Aussie dollar driven price rise which they cannot avoid.