Hi Tore,

Our first client of this type was also a relative (married to my cousin) so I bent our rules a little. They agreed, however, to have one PC that would be their "server". A couple of years later I got a call "Our Sales are Not Saving!!"

Turns out that their data had been corrupted about a week earlier because thay did some betwork work themselves, new wires etc AND during that process some one used the server as a work station. AHA!!!!

I was able, with considerable effort, to reconstruct all of their data. Then I called the owner. I told him my invoice for the reconstruction work was $3,000 but, since he was a relative, I would cancel the invoice provided he used that money to buy a real server and a real NOS.

Last time I checked, they still had not done it. I am waiting for the next data corruption call.

Ken


>Hi Ken
>
>We have many customers of that kind, and in our contracts we clearly state that if they use the server also as a workstation, they do so on their own risk, and our warranty MAY not be valid. So far, our customers are happy, and we have no complaints. However, with the low PC prices now, most of our customers prefer to buy a new PC after a while, and let the server be just that, a server.
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>We have been in the custom app development business (primarily FP and VFP) for 14 years. During the first 13 years, our client base consisted of medium size companies ($50-$500 million in sales), and it was easy to insist that they have a "real" network including a real NOS.
>>
>>More recently, our client base is shifting towards small and very small businesses. We have a POS/Inventory Control app with fully integrated accounting that is attractive to these small businesses BUT...... it is becoming more difficult to insist that they have a "real" network. Most of them balk at the price, especially when they have been a 'Quickbooks and Excel' type of operation from their inception.
>>
>>In some cases we have agreed to a 'Peer to Peer' network with the stipulation that one of the work stations is "server only" and not to be used as a WS.
>>
>>I would like to hear how others who are in the Mom $ Pop market deal with this issue.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Ken