Developers unite blog

Last year I spent 4 days in Toronto for BarCamp and Mesh…two terrific events. The organizers did a great job. After meeting about 100 people over the 4 days, it became clear that there is a change afoot.

For years there’s been a stereotype of developers being socially challenged, solely left-brained back-office kids who didn’t know a thing about the businesses they were coding for. The idea was that while companies needed developers to produce products (like assembly line workers), they shouldn’t be allowed outside of the office, never put in front of a customer, and should be micro-managed like children (don’t bother giving them the big picture, just feed them simple-minded to-do lists).

The majority of people (developers) I met at the events in Toronto (and continue to meet at similar events) were exactly the opposite of this stereotype. They were real entrepreneurs - well rounded and articulate. They are both right brained and left brained, genuinely interested in helping their customers, and have a keen sense of the businesses they are trying to build.

Granted, the profile of an entrepreneur is special, and not everyone is an entrepreneur. But the number of tech entrepreneurs is climbing like crazy with the traditional barriers to entry in the software space rapidly crumbling. The huge companies that have filled their cubicles with people that only know one thing or another but can’t hold the whole picture are going to see their dominant positions eaten away by the small and mid-sized teams who just get it - all of it, not just their tiny little piece. “Not my job” is not in the vocabulary of today’s tech entrepreneur - the new age developer.

The idea that a business should have developers packed into the closet to pump out code and hand-off their products to shiny sales people who don’t know anything about the technology but are strong socializers is no longer valid. Not when you’re going up against someone that can hold both of those traits at the same time. Imagine a sales person that actually understands the technology - and a developer that actually understands the customer.

The mistake that many online entrepreneurs make is that they cut corners when it comes to their web design. Your website is the “face of your company,” and you should not trust its presentation to just anyone. The next time someone says to you, “My cousin did my website and he can do a good job for you,” just say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” The teenage kid three doors down calls himself a webmaster. That doesn’t mean you should trust him with your livelihood. You should treat your website design as if your business depends on it…because it does.

Before you take the first step toward hiring a web designer, you’ll need to determine the goals you want your website to accomplish. Whether your business is totally online or this website is another channel to market your existing bricks and mortar storefront, the impression you give will have a direct impact on your bottom line.

The problem with hiring someone who knows someone is that you may not get an honest assessment of his work. Get a list of his past clients and contact them. Ask them about their experiences with this particular web designer. Look at their sites. Is the website consistent with their company’s goals? Are their sites easy to navigate? Would you buy merchandise from this website?

The best way to find a good designer is to ask existing business owners to make recommendations based on their experiences. Get a list of possible candidates, but don’t make your decision too quickly. Check out each web designer’s personal site. Look for these essential details:

* Is the site visually appealing (colors, design, alignment, consistency)?

* Is the site easy to navigate?

* Do the pages load quickly?

* Is it easy to read?

* Is the contact information, privacy policy, terms of use, etc. clearly visible?

This is just the beginning. You’ll want to work with a web designer that understands the goals of your site and how it complements your business. If you’re building an e-commerce site, you must hire someone who has e-commerce experience.

What could happen if you decide to “save some money” and hire that guy your cousin knows? I heard about one business that was more concerned with making their site look cool than making it easy to navigate. The result? They lost countless dollars in profits because their website visitors just didn’t know what to do once they landed on the page.

Just today, I read about a website owner that hired a friend to build his site. The problem was that the friend registered the domain in his name, and the business owner had to threaten legal action to get the domain back.

Still want to hire that guy your cousin knows?

When it comes to website design, it’s best to keep business matters separate from personal matters. Don’t cut corners to save a buck. Outsource the work to a reputable web designer who will look out for you and your company. If you hire just anyone to build your site, the money you “save” today will cost you a lot of business tomorrow.

Do you realize your choice of web developer plays a major role in determining the success of your online business? An award-winning Vancouver web design and development company offers you benchmark guidance on choosing the right web developer, so you can avoid fatal mistakes that could cost you your online business.

Through my professional online experience dealing with Think Profits.com Inc., a leading Vancouver web design and development company, I’ve learned to set my standards sky high when it comes to helping my clients choose the right web developer to handle all their online business needs.

According to this top-rated Vancouver web design and development company, an ideal web developer should do nothing less than to create more profits for your online business, by providing search engine optimization with leading-edge, search engine friendly, custom web site design solutions; successful Internet marketing strategies; and one-stop Internet services to fully leverage your business’s online marketing potential.

This Vancouver web design company also suggests that you should find out if your web developer has a strong ability to perform with creativity, integrity, and commitment to excellence. Find out whether they offer long-term value and know how to apply unique Internet marketing business strategy methodology that will give your online business initiative every competitive advantage available today.

With rising demand in the web development industry, it becomes imperative that you choose the right web developer to drive your online business. Some people simply choose a web developer from one of the first few people who contacted them, while others make their selection based on the prices offered to them from various companies or individuals. I must warn you…this kind of selection process can negatively impact the overall delivery and implementation of your online presence on the web!

What people most often forget to consider is the ability and track record of a web development company. How long has it been in business? Is it stable and will it still be in business once the work is done? Does it have the capability to deliver what you’re looking for? Are the prices offered feasible and comparable to market standards? Does its team have the technical competence to warn you about any potential flaws or problems that can creep in at a later stage? Does the web developer provide after-sales support when work has been done and delivered?

Another important factor you should consider when selecting a web design and development company is the client experience. Are client testimonials and references available for review? Have clients’ expectations been met or exceeded? Has the company maintained long-term clients, and proven its ability to successfully build long-term client relationships?

These questions may seem like obvious inquiries to some of you, but even then, how do you know what’s considered a satisfactory answer? Is it safe to trust that you’re in good hands? Really, how well is your web developer performing for you? Don’t waste another minute wondering! Start with some simple due diligence to make sure your online business is on track to success. Refer to the benchmark standards set in place by leading Vancouver web design company Think Profits.com, and use the site to learn how to make smarter decisions to fully leverage your business’s online potential!

Copyright ? 2007 Think Profits.com Inc. All rights reserved.

Do you have an online community developer on staff? Do you need one? If you are trying to move towards creating your own social networking site that is going to promote your business or be a stand alone product for your business then you probably do need someone on staff that can work full time on developing your community site.

An online community developer is someone whose job it is to make sure that everyone related to your community website runs smoothly. The community developer is responsible for letting the technicians know if there is a technical problem with the site, and also is responsible for making sure the day to day running of the site goes smoothly. More importantly, this person is also in charge of posting new content, organizing the site, keeping discussions going in the forums, policing and moderating the forums, answering any questions that new members have and much more.

In addition to the running of the site the community developer needs to be a forward thinker that is on top of the trends in the industry and can help the tech department plan out new features and site improvements that will help the community site run more smoothly and meet the users’ expectations. A good way to think of the online community developer is to think of that person as a liaison between the community site and the users of the site and the community site and the technical designers of the site.

Why do you need a community developer to do all this? Because chances are that you don’t have time do it and neither does your IT department. Wouldn’t you rather have your IT techs working on the next product release than on the community site? Most companies would. Plus, a professional online community developer has spent a lot of time on social networking sites and will know how to make the site run smoothly and be a fun, interesting, and exciting site that other people will want to join and come back to often to participate in discussions or network with other people.

So when you’re ready to get your online community site up and running it’s time to find a community development professional to run it. Where do you look for someone with the skills and experience to make your community site grow? On a social networking site of course. Many professional site developers can be found by doing a resume search on MySpace or Facebook.

Eventually, your business is going to need to have some software development. Your business is unique - you can’t rely on a huge, faceless corporation to handle your unique needs with a shrinkwrapped, mass produced, production-line solution. You need custom software, and to get it, you’ll need to pick an outside software developer. A hired gun.

It’s hard - after all, most businesspeople aren’t technical people. You want a Clint Eastwood - tall, confident, and ready to solve your problems with cold steel - but you usually get a technoloser - short, geeky, sniveling wimp with no backbone and no ability to get anything done.

Unfortunately, I’ve heard stories about selecting developers from all sorts of people. Bad stories. I can’t even begin to count how many people have wound up with large bills and more problems then when they started. Fortunately, I’ve developed four dynamite questions you need to ask when you’re choosing a developer.

1: Does your developer solve problems, or just write code?

A professional software developer isn’t in the business of writing code; rather, he’s in the business of solving problems, and code just happens to be one of the way that he (or she) does it. On the other hand, many developers will want you to spell out exactly what kind of program you want him to write. He doesn’t solve problems; he just writes code the way he’s told, and hopes it will fix the problem at hand. With a real software developer, you wind up with a solution that leaves everyone happy.

The market is full of contract programmers masquerading as software developers. Be careful.

2: Are they trying to give a solution before they know the problem?

Some developers will offer to send you a proposal after a ten or twenty minute phone conversation. It is impossible to accurately assess your situation that quickly; they are trying to provide you with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ package. Real software developers will not provide you with answers, proposals, or fees until they know enough about your business to have an informed opinion. Unless your developer is willing to spend enough time to really know what your problem is, you won’t end up with the solution that you really need, because your developer is making random shots in the dark.

3: Are they in love with a particular technology?

Software developers can fall in love with their favorite technology; it’s not uncommon to see developers who only develops with Microsoft or Sun technology, for example. A professional software developer, though, focuses on benefiting his client, using whatever technology is necessary. You want to hire someone that will use the technology that’s best suited to your business, whatever it may be. You shouldn’t have to pick a developer based on what technology he’s familar with; he should be able to take care of almost any technological problem, either by doing the work himself or outsourcing to someone in his network of contacts.

4: Are they charging by project?

Amateur software developers tend to charge for their time, not by the value of the work they perform; so do contract programmers. Real software developers, though, charge based on value provided to you - by project - NOT based on time. This is because amateurs are afraid that they won’t be able to complete the project in a reasonable amount of time, so they want reassurance that they’ll be paid for their time in any situation. Experienced software developers, though, are confident in their ability to deliver code under their estimate, they are confident in their ability to provide value, and they that they can provide value that’s worth MORE than their time is. You shouldn’t be making an investment decision every time you consider calling your software developer.

That’s it. Ask these questions studiously, and you’ll get a programming dynamo. He’ll be able to handle the tough questions and give you the tough answers, and you’ll get bulletproof software.

After working in the website design and online marketing field for over 10 years I have looked at and analyzed thousands of websites and hundreds of website design companies. What I have found out over the years is that most “cheap” website design firms actually “scam” their clients by offering many additional services that are already FREE and only take a few seconds to setup or do!

Being in the marketing industry I fully understand what perceived value is, and how important it is to website purchaser to think they are getting the most for their money. Now after working with several hundred startups and entrepreneurs here are some things I just find border line unethical (just my personal opinion), to offer people without telling them that these things are free in the first place. Many companies do offer this as part of their “packages”. I will also touch on how they setup their fees in order to “milk the cow” for as long as possible and how you are loosing money in the long run.

# 1 Search engine optimized site

Most sites that are built today are already optimized. Unfortunately SEO is a highly misunderstood term and the buyers normally have no clue what they are getting with their optimized site. What is even worse is that many times these companies setup your optimization that actually works against you instead of with you because it isn’t done right. So before you fall into the optimized site trap, make sure that you understand what SEO is, that includes both on and off site optimization.

# 2 Search Engine submissions

A study was done on this and how it benefits businesses. The only benefit to doing this is that smaller search engines will pick up your site faster than they normally would. If you have a static site that and there is no content updates on it, this is rendered useless. Below we will touch on this a little bit more in regards to analytics. If you submit your site every time you do an update you are just asking the “crawlers” to update what they have indexed on your site. If the crawlers already visit your website on a regular basis, then submitting your site serves no purpose what so ever and you are paying to have something done that the search engines do automatically anyway.

# 3 Google local registrations with “FREE coupons” for your local business

The Google Local registration is free, it takes less than 2 min to setup from beginning to end. You should already have a Google account and have this setup if you are doing business locally. Many website designers do not tell you about the fact that this is something you can do and update in a matter of minutes. There is no limit on how often you can change your local coupons, in fact you can setup coupons that never expire. All you have to do is setup your Google account and you can do this yourself.

# 4 Custom website tracking or analytics

This is normally something that is offered by companies that have built their own tracker, and in some cases you may even be paying for this service and your website designer or website design firm is getting a cut of the profits. If you have them install Google analytics on your site and make sure that it automatically inserts that code on any new page you add. By doing this you are not only are you getting one of the best analytics tools for free implemented into your site, you are also making sure that the Google crawler visits your site on a daily basis.

# 5 Designing your website for free and pay a “low” monthly fee

This is a great concept if you do not have the startup money to pay for a real custom design. In fact I offer this option through my own marketing company especially for startups because they ask me specifically for it. Here is the truth of the matter though. This is great for your first year online but the average lifetime of a website before you should do some type of design changes is about 18 months. If you pay the cheap fee of $90 a month, which is very common, you are paying about $1.000 a year for your website to be up and running. That means that in two years you have paid almost $2.000 assuming that you are still just using the basics that come with these “cheap” sites, normally they do not include e-commerce and in all honesty most of them are extremely hard to use. Now if you pay a marketing or website design company $1.000 startup to build your website, and normally many of these companies will have a CMS that is easy to use and include more options than your basic “cheap” site. The charge for hosting is normally about $30 pr month, your first year will cost you about $1.300. The kicker is that your second year will only cost you about $300. Now granted that this is comparing apples to oranges, simply because in the second part of this you are probably getting what these “cheap” website design companies call their “Advanced” packages which will run you anywhere from a $300 - $1.000 startup and then usually over $100 pr month. So now you are looking at spending about $2.500 a year for your “cheap website”. So are you really getting a great deal?

I would like to mention at this point that there are many great website design companies out there that can help you. In the website design industry and in the online marketing industry you normally get what you pay for, what I mean by that is if you are paying for a “custom design” that fits with your branding and your image, expect to pay more than nothing. Chances are that if you are getting a “free” custom design, you are really buying a modified template that anyone could have. Your monthly fee is then where they get you, overcharging you for something you should not have to pay all that much for, and offering you “free” services that you should expect to pay even more for. So here is how these “cheap” companies are really getting you.

They undercharge you on your startup because the websites are templates, they then promise to do several things for “cheap” that normally you can expect to pay a lot for. So of course you think you are getting a great deal, you are getting a really cheap startup and then even cheaper marketing services. Now we don?t know how you run your business, but we assume you are looking to profit. So ask yourself, how do you think these companies are profiting? Because you know it is not off your startup costs and it is not by over delivering services to you. It is by setting up the illusion that you are getting a great “deal” on website design and marketing services. Unfortunately the only one getting a great deal out of this is the “cheap” website design company you just decided to pay over a $1.000 a year for doing things that are free!

Living in the so-called “Information Age” dictates that information has a high value and that most businesses cannot function without a means of storing and managing data. Thus, industry and society in general demand not only the structuring of information, but highly effective and specialized systems of interaction with it. Databases provide the solution, and basically refer to places of stored information. In business today though, the term more specifically denotes computer systems whereby highly structured information is stored, handled and retrieved.

In this light, the database developer plays a crucial role in business management. Many companies and organizations need complex custom-made databases to accommodate their information management needs. Database development is a complex, long-term process which requires a reliable expert. It is therefore necessary that you dedicate time and effort to the process of selecting a developer, and the following guidelines should help you in this process.

Establish your Database Requirements

This is the most fundamental step in ensuring successful database completion. The necessity for a thorough study and articulation of your company’s requirements cannot be emphasized enough. It will give the developer a clear idea of your database needs, thus increasing your chances of being matched with a suitable database, and will allow for a more accurate quotation upfront.

An assessment of your data requirements will also enable you to decide if you need a custom-built database or whether purchasing an existing system would be adequate. Buying a commercial package will limit your expenses and efforts and provide you with a verified product, but be sure that a system exists that covers your needs. In this case, you should hire a database consultant to help choose and implement the system.

Define your company’s general data management requirements, and also be sure to consult each of your separate departments as to their specific data and data reporting needs. These may include functions such as retrieving all records that match specific criteria, retrieval of transaction history, an analysis of overall trends, e-commerce integration and production of budget summaries. Determine also the maximum amount of simultaneous database users, and if you may need different levels of access for different users.

Draw up a detailed requirements document, separating the mandatory needs from the optional, and send this, together with your company’s general information and budget, to various developers (every company you know of or that is recommended) as an Invitation to Tender.

Evaluate the tenders and conduct interviews

Carefully consider the tenders and proposals from the various candidates, ensuring that they are able to meet your specific needs efficiently and cost-effectively. Price should not be your ultimate deciding factor, as database development is not a job to be taken lightly and will require a substantial amount of your company’s financial and human resources. However, be certain that the developer aims to give you the most cost-effective solution and will not waste your money on unnecessary functions.

An assessment of the tenders will help to narrow down the prospects to a shortlist, but a final decision should be based on both an evaluation of written proposals and in-person interviews with the various candidates. The following are factors to consider when evaluating the contenders:

1. Experience and expertiseIt is recommended to opt for an experienced database developer, as they will have gained an insight and foresight into potential problems and effective solutions, and generally be au fait with the technical aspects of databases. They will also be more likely to still exist in the long-term, which is crucial when it comes to post-development assistance.

It is beneficial if the developer is experienced in your particular industry, although it is not imperative. A better indication of a developer’s suitability is their experience with databases similar in size to your requirements.

Ask to see a list of references that you can contact. Ask these clients specific questions regarding the actual database and its level of efficiency, the developer’s service, and the availability of the developer after database completion for any support and problem resolution needed. This will give you an invaluable insight into how your job will be handled. You may also ask to see samples of databases that have been created, and assess these to determine whether they are user-friendly and employ a straightforward and practical interface. (Keep in mind, though, that training in using the databases is usually supplied).

2.CommunicationTechnological know-how does not give someone license to offer explanations filled with jargon. The right developer will be able to explain aspects of the job clearly and be open to any questions you might have. Good, clear communication between your business and the developer is absolutely essential, especially as the professional relationship will be a long-term one.

3.Database SupportRelated to the issue of communication is that of support. Ensure that the database development proposal includes a certain amount of post-development technical and administrative support, as well as adequate staff training in using the database. The amount of support and training, as well as the types of user manuals or documentation to be provided, should be specified in the eventual contract.

Some developers offer back-up systems to prevent information loss, which is obviously beneficial.

Make the final selectionAfter considering the factors above, you should have a clear idea of which developer will be able to build you an efficient database. If there are a couple that are suitable, opt for a one whose personal skills and communication abilities most impressed you, i.e. choose the person who you liked the most. You will be working in a long-term partnership with the developer and it is therefore important that you get along and understand one another.

Commence the developmentOnce you have chosen a database developer, partner with them in planning the span and timeline of the project. To promote an organized and structured process, ensure that the job be divided into stages, with completion of stages linked to phases of payment. Firstly, let the developer produce a functional specification for your requirements document, which should include examples of how data entry and report production will operate. Once the functional specification is approved, let the rest of the development begin. To ensure thoroughness throughout the process, only commence a stage of development once the previous stage is complete. The last stages of the process will involve the testing of prototypes, the implementation of a fully-functional system, and post-development training, support and maintenance.

I don’t know about your country, but in mine, Malaysia, when you’re looking to buy property of any type, one of the important criteria you would want to look into is - the developer.

The project is important, but you would agree that the developer plays even a bigger role; in ensuring that you’re getting the best property deal in Malaysia.

So, you might want to read on to find out, who would be your ideal developer…

Well, basically, these are the criteria to look for:

1. Reputation and Reliability

Need I say more? You know this already, don’t you? But…

The most important thing is: How do you find out reputation and reliability of a developer, right?

Simple, just ask around residences or owners of previous property projects by your targeted developer! You should be able to get some hints from these neighborhoods.

While you’re there, open you eyes; BIG and WIDE! Observe their workmanship. Would you be happy with the quality of work that you see right before your eyes?

You can also check who their financiers are. Do they owe their contractors, vendors and suppliers? You wouldn’t want to be involve with a bad pay master, would you?

One more thing…

Find out if this is their first project? If they are not from a developer background, you should think again…

2. They should be registered under REHDA

REHDA, or the Real Estate and Housing Developer Association, is the association that keep track of a developer’s records.

Reputable property developers in Malaysia are members of REHDA… and if it is not registered… well, you know what to do, right?

3. Timeliness in Delivery and Quality

While checking out the previous projects by the developer, find out about their timeliness. Are they delaying project consistently? What is their compensation for the delay? Is the compensation fair and following the legal requirements?

4. Credibility, Management Effectiveness, After Sales Services.

These are the normal things to check. A MUST!

When you’re uncovering the background of the developer of property projects in Malaysia, find out about their credibility, their management teams and effectiveness, and what is the quality level of their services?

And now… the most outrageous criteria!

5. License!

Huh? Property developers in Malaysia MUST have a license, don’t they?

Alright, before I go about embarrassing my lovely state… let me explain:

You see, there are certain licensing requirements for properties in Malaysia. And not all property projects are necessarily regulated. Thus, there’s no pre-requisite to have a valid license for certain project types.

Property projects that requires a valid license in Malaysia are any buildings that are intended for human habitation, partly or wholly. Examples, low and medium cost apartments, condominiums, terrace houses etc.

But then again, The Minister may by notification published in the Gazette, exempt any housing developer from any or all of the provisions of the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Act, 1966.

So, these ‘exempted’ developers may not need any license as well!

Now, you probably would be asking: What else does not require a valid license?

Here’s the loopholes…

If the developer is building less than four units; or the units are only sold after full Certificate of Fitness for Occupation has been issued. No license is required.

Besides that, any approved commercial development, no valid license are required.

Examples, service apartments, commercial buildings, shop lots, shop offices, bungalow plots and/or land, orchard land and/or agricultural land, industrial and/or factory lots, and other types of properties not specified as ‘Housing Accommodation’ under the Housing Act

Ouch!

Now, how are you going to find out about these?

Well, frankly…

Information about these are perfectly rare. You can ask even an average Malaysian, who lives her whole life here - she may not know all these either!

So, the most important task you need to do is to get hold of reliable and information-packed resources to aid your property quest in Malaysia, don’t you agree?

And the good news for you is: There’s such a material now available online for immediate download. Check out the link at my bio-data. It’s a definite valuable resource for investors in Malaysia properties.

One question I get frequently from individuals who have signed a purchase agreement for residential real estate in Florida, such as a condominium, is whether they risk being faced with a lawsuit from the developer in the event they don’t (or can’t) show up for closing. Generally speaking, the answer to this question is not necessarily a simple “yes” or “no,” but there are some key principles of Florida law to bear in mind as a way of anticipating what might happen if a buyer does not close:

1. Many purchase agreements provide that the seller is entitled to a specified amount of liquidated damages as its sole and exclusive remedy should the buyer default, i.e., fail to close. The available liquidated damages are usually established as a percentage or the entire amount of deposits which the buyer paid. Where the contract provides an exclusive liquidated damages clause, the developer is precluded from receiving specific performance of the contract, or any other remedy for that matter. See Hatcher v. Panama City Nursing Center, Inc., 461 So. 2d 288 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).

2. It is important to bear in mind that specific performance — which means that a party is compelled by court order to go through with the terms of a contract — is itself an extraordinary remedy. As one court put it, “specific performance of a contract for sale of land will be decreed only if the contract is capable of being mutually enforced with results that are just and practical, the moving party is not guilty of laches and there is countervailing equity against him, and there is no adequate remedy at law available to him.” Hembree v. Bradley, 528 So. 2d 116, 117-18 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (emphasis added). Accordingly, if the seller does in fact have an adequate remedy at law under the contract, then specific performance should not be available. For example, if the contract permits the seller to collect liquidated damages in the event of the buyer’s breach, then there are solid grounds for concluding that specific performance is not available, because the liquidated damages provision provides an “adequate remedy at law” to the seller — even if the liquidated damages clause is not “exclusive,” as described above in paragraph 1.

3. Buyers may have an additional defense to specific performance, especially given the current and continuing state of the housing market where mortgage financing could be very difficult or even impossible to obtain. (See, for example, the “blacklists” established by some banks for Miami condominium projects for which the banks are unwilling to extend financing.) Castigliano v. O’Connor, 911 So. 2d 145 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) dealt with a somewhat tangled set of facts involving a condo purchase agreement, and buyers who were seeking specific performance from the seller, i.e., to require the seller to go through with closing. The court noted that, “[a]s specific performance is an equitable remedy, the purchasers should be prepared to show that it will not be unjust or oppressive on the seller to have the contract enforced,” and found that the standard was not met because “the purchasers have failed to show that a decree of specific performance would not require the seller to make extraordinary efforts or expenditures to close on the sales contract.” By analogy, the same reasoning would seem to preclude a developer from obtaining specific performance against a buyer who is no longer able to obtain a mortgage for a real estate purchase and would thus be forced to bring cash by alternative means to closing. And this reasoning would hold true even in circumstances where the contract left open, or explicitly provided for, the remedy of specific performance.

Under the foregoing principles of Florida law, an attempt by a developer to sue a purchaser in an effort to obtain remedies beyond the contract’s liquidated damages provision will ordinarily be on shaky ground, especially if the developer is seeking specific performance. This does not mean, however, that a developer may not use the threat of seeking specific performance as a tactic to coerce the buyer to close. But whether such a threat is credible and could ultimately carry the day in court depends on the facts and law.

If you are software developer or database administrator - we would like to give you the clues on Crystal Report creation for Microsoft RMSDatabase: Microsoft SQL Server or MSDE - this means that you can deploy native SQL driver for connection or use ODBC for flexibility. Tables Structure - it is extremely self-explanatory: Customer, Transaction (invoices, returns, layaways and others), TransactionAmount, Cashier, Tender to give you examples Links - Usually master table has ID column and Transaction-related table links by [Entity]ID column: Transaction.CustomerID=Customer.ID to give the idea. This query will give you customer info of sales transaction: select b.FirstName, b.LastName, a.* from [Transaction] a join Customer b on a.CustomerID=b.ID. Please pay attention to the brackets around Transaction - transaction is reserved word in MS Transact SQL - the Microsoft blend of SQL92 Hints on dataflow/synchronization - Microsoft RMS uses worksheets technology and all the data goes from stores to headquarters database through worksheets. Headquarters database doesn’t create its own transactions - so be careful and do not try this type of data integration. SQL Views and Stored Procedures - yes - feel free to create them directly in RMS Headquarters database and deploy in your Crystal Report. Advanced Techniques - in MS SQL Enterprise Manager you can create Linked Server to all ODBC/OLEDB compliant databases: Ctree, PervasiveSQL/Btrieve, MS Access, ORACLE, DB2, Unidata, Navision (C/ODBC) and using OPENROWSET construction you can create geterogeneus view and stored proc - then you can have the data from multiple systems in your Crystal Report.Happy designing and developing! if you want us to do the job or use our product - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com