NEWS CORP in Victoria now state that
The over-riding requirement for newsagents is that they must be able to transmit home delivery files automatically to HWT each week by the end of the 07/08 financial year
What this means is that from the end of June 1008 customer subscription data must be sent to HWT using an automatic facility every week in the new formats!
Our windows version already has this in place.
However since newsagents with DOS cannot do this now, to make this happen if you are such a newsagent with a contract in Victoria with NEWS CORP, NEWS CORP will give you an interest free loan. This amount can be up to $10,000 to upgrade your computer system by the end of March 2008. Included in this $10,000 can be such items as software, data conversion, computers, modem, broadband, software agreements and training. All are included. Whatever is needed to allow this to happen!
This is a fantastic offer. Motivated because everyone realizes that you cannot just dump people.
So for our DOS users we will be releasing in late February, a DOS version WHIZ that will have this function. As HWT insist on an Internet broadband in the shop, the minimum specification for WHIZ is windows 2000 although we prefer XP.
One warning WHIZ may need a trained engineer to come out on site to set it up.
We will not be supporting WHIZ on early operating system of windows for example Windows 98 or 95 or DOS operating systems. If you want to use some others for example Linux or freeDOS I would be interested as a theoretical exercise although I suspect that HWT will be reluctant to support such operating systems. So perhap run it though HWT first.
Also by the nature of the automatic facility, HWT will know instantly who is not doing this so although there is a lovely carrot there is a stick as well. My understanding is that after March 2008, the $10,000 offer is closed. Then NEWS CORP will state at any proposed newsagency transfer the software is not satisfactory if it does not have this automated facility. After June 2008, NEWS CORP intends to take action against newsagents with old software using penalty clauses in the existing contracts.
If you wish to discuss this further to discuss this further. Ring up our Head Office on (03) 95977222 and ask for me quoting "NEWS CORP $10,000 offer"
