2005 - 12 - 25,
10:50 pm:
Salary Hikes, Taxes,
and a
new version of
WinPower is available, which
includes
the
new, below-rate
base for Local 74 people... Go
to the
"Easy Download
Page..."
Here are the release notes for the prior
version --769.exe:
769.exe was released mainly
to increment the number for the benefit of all the new Custodians...
The major new feature of release 768 and up is that you can now test the integrity of your backed up data.
Quite often – especially with 3.5" floppies and
CDs – the computer will seem to
indicate that it has performed back up, but has not. Now you can test.
There is a new command button in the first "Welcome to:" screen (third
command button down) and the final "Save" screen. It is entitled "Test
Backup Data." Give it a whirl.
As always, we urge people away from the unreliable 3.5" floppies, and
recommend either Iomega's Zip Drives, or the newer technology of memory
sticks (or flash drives, or thumb drives, et. al.)
This new version also warns you of impending expiration dates
– if any – in WinPower, pending overdue payments.
Another feature: You can now write multiple checks to Locals 74 and 94
within the same quarter, without workarounds... (Thanks AC and DM)
Of course, it has a splendid and striking array of new, though somewhat
modest features, suggested by our many newer clients ! There are
fixes, too...
2005 - 08 - 01,
9:00 am:
Vacation for 2M,
and,
So Many New Custodians
!
if you don’t mind, please share the following with your WinPower-ed colleagues who don’t receive their mail in the summer, or, who don’t have (or pick up) their email… Thanks !!
We write mainly for two reasons:
First,
we are taking our first vacation since well before our 9/11 evacuation, Yuko’s
surgery, Kai’s birth, and so much more… We are going to Japan; young Kai will
first meet his relatives there. We are leaving August 5th, and will
be returning September 10th.
You don’t go to Japan for just two days. (!)
In the past, we were so well treated by you when we went on vacation that we still remember it !
As you have done in the past, we ask that you communicate with us exclusively via email or through our web page during this time. We will be able to process TCs and New Assignments, and even new orders this way (go to www.2m.org/tc.htm – more on this later). We will be checking our email constantly, and responding in as timely a manner as we possibly can, as we have done in the past through crises, and/or vacations…
We ask that you refrain from leaving messages on our voice mail. Picking them up is very costly, and returning them, even worse. Besides the cost, there is a 13 hour time zone difference. However, if you do have an emergency, we will respond with phone calls, if need be. Regardless, if you do not have email, for this period of time, could you use a colleague’s?
♦ ♦ ♦
Second,
we are aware that there have been many new hires added to the ranks of Local
891.
Congratulations !!
In the past, we have taken pity on these courageous souls, who are starting with no money, and few advantages. As many of you know, I am a public school graduate, and have great admiration for those of you who kept me safe, and are now doing the same for more than a million other children.
What I mean to say is that we have fronted the program to new Custodians, knowing the state of affairs when they start. All we have asked is that a client in good standing vouch for them when requesting WinPower. For people coming in from the outside, we even waive that request… We really do understand what they face, and seek to accommodate them as much as we can.
This year, obviously, we will not be around when
some of your new colleagues are finally able to contemplate automation.
However, they can use the web site to request
WinPower. If you are in a position
to do so, and you do endorse WinPower, please advise them of this: www.2m.org/tc.htm.
Once again, thanks again !
If you are wondering, yes, we hope you miss us very, very much, as we will surely miss you !!
-Eric (Mandelbaum) & Yuko & Kai
2005 - 03 - 29,
6:34 pm:
Old Release Notes
for Version 767
YOU MUST RUN 767.EXE FOR YOUR
YEAR-END PO1 TO WORK !! SPREAD THE WORD.
Use the same instructions above (for Tax2005.exe) for installing version
767.exe.
You will know the installation was successful if – in the upper right hand
corner of the first, "Welcome To" screen – the date and time is: "Tuesday,
12/21/2005, 1:00 am."
Read below for:
Instructions for 2-week PO1s, and the Year-End PO1, when the time comes,
for each:
|
1. |
Backup (always). |
|
2. |
Do the payroll for the period ending 12/30/2004. |
|
3. |
Do the two-week PO1, ending
12/30/2004. |
|
4. |
Enter employee hours worked
for 12/31/2004 (and beyond, if you like). But... |
|
5. |
Do the Year End PO1.
|
|
6. |
On January 13th, or earlier, if you like, do the 1/13/2005 payroll. |
|
7. |
Do the two-week PO1 for
period ending 1/13/2005. |
| Done !! |
Finally, WinPower's Calendar Year & Fiscal Year End splits for the 202 and
Pensionable Salary amounts are based on a 14-day pro-rating, not a 365-day
pro-rating, like the Board's. Therefore, WinPower will be pennies off.
Be on the lookout...
2004 - 12 - 10,
1:36 pm:
YOU MUST RUN 767.EXE FOR YOUR
YEAR-END PO1 TO WORK !! SPREAD THE WORD.
Old WinPower hands: Could you put this on a few disks (along with
tax2005.exe), and give them out to the very new WinPower-ed guys who are
just working their way through the Internet, and WinPower itself?
Thanks !!
2004 - 12 - 10,
2:19 pm:
Email:
Tax Tables are
available for download ! They were published by the IRS at 9am Monday, and we
posted them one hour later !
They will NOT work without new version 766.exe, which is also posted to the web
site, right below tax2005.exe.
Go here –
www.2m.org/easy.htm – to pick up these updates.
In our 7 years in this market, we’ve never asked this… But this year is
different… Veteran WinPower-ed custodians: Could you download 766.exe and
tax2005.exe to several disks, and bring them to check pickup Thursday, for those
very new WinPower-ed custodians who are just beginning to find their way through
the Internet, and through WinPower?
We are reluctant to ask anyone else to do what is unquestionably our job (and
we’ve never asked before), but this year is a bit different, and we think the
all-around benefits are higher if we swallow our pride here, at least this one
time…
Year-End PO1 instructions:
Make sure you’ve run the 12/16/2004 PO1, and…
When you have finished your 12/30/2004 payroll and inputting employee hours for
12/31/2004, just go to the PO1 Print Dialog Box.
There you will see the once-per-year occurrence of the BIGGEST Command Button in
all of WinPower-land: “YEAR-END PO1 !!”
Click that YEAR-END PO1 Command Button, follow the prompts, watch the printer
spit it out, and you are done. Don’t change any dates. Just click the Button.
You can do it and re-do it as many times as you want…
There are no “requirements” for this. Just make sure each day that you need to
include in the Year-End PO1 has the information for it. THAT IS ALL. Please
don’t be tempted to overcomplicate things on the basis of old programs you had.
If we don’t speak to you beforehand, have a very happy holiday season !!
2004 - 12 - 09,
1:00 am:
Small fixes and
additional features: In the Time In
and Time Out text boxes of Frames 1 & 2 in the Spacesheet Window, if the
values are blank, and you hit the up arrow on your keyboard, you will get an
"am" value, while hitting the down arrow will give you a "pm" value...
Fix in PO2
Section -- no longer get the boot with new Item after entering Split PO2
Item...
Employment
Record Date (in Staff, PO66) no longer requires 4-digit years...
Merge PO18
Address and Assignment Code now added...
2004 - 12 - 06, 8:00 am:
2004 - 11 - 14, 11:30 pm:
Quite a few people have
called over the course of the last year, recommending that we get our 2005
Annual Invoice out to you earlier than we did the last time.
They said it would be easier for them, vis-a-vis year-end budget planning, and
after we thought about it a bit, we realized it would be easier for us, as well
! And so, we did it !! You can probably expect it to reach you by the end of
the week, hopefully, sooner. If anyone believes they have received the invoice
in error, or has any problem with it whatsoever, please do feel free to call.
We simplified the language (again, at the strong urgings, in this case, of
almost everyone), and also took the opportunity to communicate on a variety of
issues, on the back of the invoice. To wit:
-----------------------------
* Anti-virus software -- We are spending more and more time helping people
determine that viruses are behind the gremlins on their systems, and walking
them through acquiring and running anti-virus software. IF YOUR COMPUTER EVER
GOES ON LINE -- AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE 'ALWAYS ON' T1 CONNECTIONS, YOU NEED TO
HAVE ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE !!
MOREOVER, YOU NEED TO 'UPDATE' THE VIRUS DEFINITION FILES DAILY !! In Norton
terms, this is "Live-Update."
-----------------------------
* Good news for the people who don't like to do backup. There is a new
technology that is fast, easy, reliable, small in size and price, but big in
capacity -- These backup devices are known as: Thumb Drives, Memory Sticks,
Flash Drives, etc. They cost around $30, are smaller than your thumb, and the
smallest capacity is 64 MB -- enough for your career times two. If you are
still using floppies, or if you are not performing backup, and you have a USB
port, please consider this device. Make sure your operating system supports it.
-----------------------------
* Please advise your colleagues who don't have email to continue to consult
www.2m.org to learn of the latest about WinPower from the 2M Corp.
-----------------------------
* Given the withdrawal of our last colleague from the Custodian Software market,
and the wonderful arrivals of all your new colleagues, we have been a bit busier
than we could have expected. A special thanks to all of you who have been
"mentoring" your colleagues who are new to WinPower !
-----------------------------
Finally, congratulations on all the wonderful achievements of the past year !!
2004 - 07 - 14, 11:05 am:
The program that updates School
Holidays and Universal State Insurance Fund Rates is now available.
Go to
www.2m.org, and click the link that says “Easy Download Page” HDAY2004.exe
is the name of the program, and it can be found in the second row in the table
of programs to download. (You may need to scroll down a bit.)
Even if you don’t use the PO67 or SIF components of WinPower, the payroll is
keyed to these values, as are many other parts of the program. Therefore, you
MUST download and run this program, for each of your computers that host
WinPower.
2004 - 07 - 02, 5:17 am:
First, congratulations on
yesterday – a real Red Letter day. I remember what was supposed to be happening
now, as of a year ago. And I imagine – as crazy as it is right now – that this
is a whole lot better !!
I write now on 5 topics:
1) If you have gotten – or will be getting – a TC, please remember that you should request it through our web site at www.2m.org/tc.htm. Please do it this way – it is a whole lot easier than playing telephone tag all day, and your giving dictation while being interrupted by the beeps of call waiting. (!)
2) New
Custodians: We know how it is for them, as compared with how it should be.
They have a thimble-full of floor wax to do all the summer cleaning for the
whole school, they won’t be getting any money for a while, and they have
received virtually no training from the Board.
Increasingly recently, we have been willing to work with New Custodians about
getting WinPower into their hands as quickly as possible. It involves some risk
for us, but recent history shows us that it is really almost no risk at all.
We know that many feel that New Custodians should start with the paperwork
manually – to force them to learn this part of the trade – but one might
consider that under the circumstances, it might not be a bad idea to ameliorate
any burden that they currently face.
Moreover, it has been reported that the mentors of New Custodians have a lighter
workload when performing paperwork with the benefits of automation.
Finally, if a New Custodian STARTS with WinPower, then they have the opportunity
to have their whole career electronically stored…
So, if the above makes sense to you, and you are mentoring a New Custodian, or
just know one, it is really ok to send them our way. Our experience tells us
better sooner than later, and if at all possible, avoid December.
3) Regarding the 15-Day Pay Period / 29-Day PO1 Period, we have instructions for how to do this on our web site, for those of you who need it, or know someone who will. Go to www.2m.org and click the link in the box with the red border entitled: "7/1/2004 hires and 7/1 TCs: 15 Day Pay Period, 29 Day PO Period..."
4) The PO66 Starter Program had a typographical error in it that would derail it. It said 7/2/2004, when it should have said 7/1/2004. We corrected it quickly, but if you experience this error, just go back to the Easy Download Page of www.2m.org, and download the (corrected) program (again). I’m really sorry about this…
5) As promised, I have completed my dissertation on what I perceive to be the relative merits of the various methods for performing backup. It is on the web site, under the link entitled: "Backup Device Advice" … (catchy?)
2004 - 06 - 28, 4:11 am:
1) WinPower automatically does the Fiscal Year-End split with respect to Day Money (202) and Pensionable Salary, in your DAR. However, the numbers are a bit off because WinPower works on a 14 day formula for prorating, while the Board uses a 366 day formula for prorating. Moreover, this may be a good time to check if your standard 202 and Pensionable Salary amounts correspond to this year's 366 day calendar (leap year). Check by going to the DAR Window, and looking at the upper right hand region for "Set Amounts."
2) As amazing as today's computers are when it comes to the lack of a need for climate control, the past two years have been characterized by excessive heat and humidity. And not altogether too surprisingly, not only have our own computers acted a bit weirdly as a result of this, but we've received quite a few calls from people experiencing weird problems that were corrected when an air conditioner was either turned on, or brought in and turned on. So ! Take note: If you use your computer in a hot and steamy environment (and maybe even if you don't), and the thermometer and humidity is climbing as it does during the summer, take steps. Most problems are simply of the keyboard-not-working-so-well variety, but also, databases can become terminally damaged, too.
3) For those of you who are using the PO66 component of WinPower successfully, please take note: The program does NOT automatically convert un-used PDs to VCs. You need to do that yourself, manually, through the "Edit and History" frame under the "PO66" Frame of the Staff Window.
4) If you are unsure of how to do 2nd checks for staff who worked through their vacations, or how to make a note on the PO1 that an employee took vacation days that were not put in for reimbursement, please consult our web page entitled: "P066 Primer, Working thru Vacations..." Go to www.2m.org for this. Look for the "link" in the white panel on the left. For 2nd checks, you can also click the green label in the very first payroll screen of WinPower that says: "Click here for 2nd Check" for instructions.
5) FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT USING THE PO66 MODULE, BUT WOULD LIKE TO START (especially new clients): The PO66 Starter Program for 2004 is ready. It is called po662004.exe, and it has been posted to the "Easy Download Page" of our website (
www.2m.org). Go there to download it, but also visit our page entitled: "P066 Primer, Working thru Vacations..." for instructions. It is easy to use (that is the point), but you might be reassured of this after reading this page. Once you finish with po662004.exe, delete it. You are set up for the entire stay in your building. This program must be run AFTER the production of the 7/1/2004 PO1, but before the 8/12/2004 Payroll.6) I won't be in the office after 3pm this coming Thursday and again after 3pm on Friday.
7) We will soon be taking down our old web address of
www.732-2m2m.com. Please remember to use www.2m.org at all times from now on.8) I have been getting an increasing number of technical support calls regarding backup and anti-virus protocols. This is really a good thing. In fact, in the coming weeks, please look for separate pages on our web site dedicated to these issues.
9) Each year we distribute a program that updates the data for the State Insurance Fund that is universal to all custodians, and also updates the School Holidays for the coming year. We do not have that program ready yet, but will in the next few weeks. Stay tuned...
10) Please continue to consult your email inbox for more from us. I might have missed something in the notes above. If I have, I will send out another email.
Of course, please feel free to call about any of the topics above, or for anything else for that matter...
Thank you for being the great clientele that you are !
Take care,
-Eric
2004 - 05 - 04, 9:54 am:
2004 - 04 - 19, 5:57 am:
2004 - 02 - 25, 4:23 am:
Tomorrow (today?) -- 2/25/04, we will be out at the office in the
afternoon, on our way to the last pre-natal checkup before the c-section, which
has been scheduled for March 2nd.
And, for obvious reasons, we will be less accessible for the week of March 2nd.
We apologize for not being around for all of tomorrow, but we figured it would be better to miss one day of a pay period, rather than a whole week.
(How will we be able to explain to our son that his birth was scheduled to correspond with Custodian pay cycles? Just kidding -- we are not that nuts.)
We will be available to respond to emergencies next week, but we do ask that you please limit requests for technical support to genuine emergencies.
For those of you who are offended by all this information (and we know who you are), we apologize...
Wish us luck,
Take care,
-Eric