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Friday's Fancies!Posted by Alexa
Hi darlings! Well it's finally Friday. I must say that I've been enjoying my time at my parents' house. It's always nice to have extra help chasing Mila around. Plus, my Dad makes me breakfast AND dinner, for goodness sake. No complaining here. Also, I get to go on wine dates with my BFF (who has a daughter Mila's age), and mommy escapes are the best. One more thing that sounds pretty darn marvelous right now, is a picnic. With 10 different kinds of cheeses, and a big old French baguette with a side of honey paired with a lovely bottle of Riesling. This is what I'd wear. Would you like to join me, my friends?
Hop on over to Long Distance Loving for more Fancies!
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6
37 comments:
- Hannah said...
Picnic sounds great! Love picnics.
Love the ring too, lovely shade.
- April 20, 2012 at 5:14 AM
- Ana Carneiro said...
I wish the weather was somewhere good enough around here for a picnic!!!
- April 20, 2012 at 5:18 AM
- Susan said...
Sounds perfect! I'm so glad you're enjoying your getaway! Very well deserved! Enjoy your weekend too!
- April 20, 2012 at 5:29 AM
- Lucinda said...
I will take EVERYTHING!! Amazing picks!!
- April 20, 2012 at 5:34 AM
- jeanette from everton terrace said...
I have absolutely been craving a picnic. Haven't been on one since my daughter was little and she is 26 now!
Unless you count eating sandwiches on a bench at a museum in Germany, I mean it was fun but I'm looking for blanket in a meadow kind of deal :)
- April 20, 2012 at 5:35 AM
- Taylor said...
LOVE that blouse! Oh my goodness, it couldn't be any more perfect. I also really like those shorts! This is an adorable outfit.
Check out my Friday's Fancies post at http://covergirlandconverse.blogspot.com if you have the time!
Taylor {CoverGirl and Converse}
- April 20, 2012 at 6:04 AM
- Courtney Erin said...
A picnic would seriously be the best today!
Courtney ~ http://sartorialsidelines.com
- April 20, 2012 at 6:06 AM
- Jessica @ Lovely Little Things said...
I love every single accessory that is a part of this outfit :) Especially those sandals...I can't even tell you how many pairs of sandals I have in my closet...eeeek!
Happy Friday :)
- April 20, 2012 at 6:22 AM
- Elle Sees said...
this is the perfect picnic outfit!
- April 20, 2012 at 6:29 AM
- Cappuccino frío said...
nice things!!
- April 20, 2012 at 6:46 AM
- Allie said...
HAHA I would LOVE to join in on the picnic fun! Stripes and floral is always a winning combo and I love those high waisted shorts! Have a great weekend and hope you enjoy more "mommy escapes" :) xx, Allie
- April 20, 2012 at 7:01 AM
- Nuha said...
Hope you have a wonderful remainder to your vacation! Your picnic sounds absolutely blissful :-)
- April 20, 2012 at 7:05 AM
- Gloria said...
That sounds like an amazing picnic spread - count me in :-) Have a wonderful weekend!
- April 20, 2012 at 7:09 AM
- birdie to be said...
Great picks! Love the colors and that bag!
- April 20, 2012 at 7:27 AM
- natasha {schue love} said...
What a beautiful palette!! Perfect outfit for a picnic outing!! :)
- April 20, 2012 at 7:36 AM
- Morgan Stone said...
Riesling is my favorite so that sounds like perfection! I love those shorts and the floral top is perfect for a picnic.
On another note, isn't it so nice to go to your parents' house and be treated like a princess for a few days?! I love it! Have a good weekend :)
- April 20, 2012 at 7:38 AM
- Cafe Fashionista said...
I am in LOVE with that J Crew Tote! :)
- April 20, 2012 at 7:44 AM
- Hannah said...
This is perfect for a picnic! I love the floral blouse that you picked. Come check out my Kate Spade giveawy that is ending today.
- April 20, 2012 at 7:45 AM
- Dee {Strings and Buttons} said...
French baguette, honey and a bottle of Riesling sound like the BEST things on earth right about now. Loving your comfy but chic picnic choices! Have a wonderful weekend! x
- April 20, 2012 at 7:53 AM
- Jayme and Mendi said...
Mmmm, a glass of chilled Riesling sounds so good right now. Wait... It's only 11am here. Oh well! Your entire outfit looks like something that would be in my wardrobe. I've been eyeing that J.Crew bag for awhile now. I'm thinking that I probably *need* to go ahead & get it. Right?
We'd love for you to stop by & take a look at our Picnic in the Park. :)
Mendi @ Her Late Night Cravings
- April 20, 2012 at 8:03 AM
- Annie said...
Love that floral blouse, and that J.Crew striped bag is too cute! Definitely the perfect picnic outfit :)
The Other Side of Gray
- April 20, 2012 at 8:05 AM
- THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...
Glad you're having such a great time! And I've been craving a picnic too lately. Maybe I can make one happen tomorrow while the weather is still gorgeous. A storm is rolling in Sunday...
Happy weekend! xoxo
- April 20, 2012 at 8:21 AM
- swanntastic said...
Great outfit --especially those shorts! I want them. And I agree, a picnic DOES sound marvelous right now. I think I have my plans for today!
- April 20, 2012 at 8:45 AM
- Olivia said...
love this look! So cute
- April 20, 2012 at 9:11 AM
- Sarah O'Brien said...
love the shorts!
- April 20, 2012 at 9:42 AM
- angie said...
ah lovely, i'll certainly be joining and bringing some cake!
- April 20, 2012 at 1:35 PM
- Mandy Crandell said...
That IS a perfect picnic outfit! Loving the bag.
- April 20, 2012 at 2:47 PM
- Lena at A Crimson Kiss said...
Talk about a perfect outfit–and a perfect picnic! I'm game!
- April 20, 2012 at 3:01 PM
- Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...
Yes, I would like to join you! Thanks for asking :)
Such a great outfit for a picnic!
- April 20, 2012 at 4:41 PM
- Natalie Cottrell said...
Fantastic look! These colors are awesome.
- April 20, 2012 at 5:45 PM
- Halle said...
ah too funny! I used the exact same sandals in my post :)
- April 20, 2012 at 9:49 PM
- Laura said...
Love the colours in this outfit! Have a great weekend :)
Laura xo
- April 20, 2012 at 10:37 PM
- Sarah said...
Seriously now, can we just call it a weekend and meet in the park for a picnic?! Because this is the cutest outfit in the history of outdoor outfits :)
- April 21, 2012 at 6:34 AM
- Alex said...
I definitely need this exact outfit on my body immediately.
- April 21, 2012 at 1:40 PM
- Selma @ Crazy Little World Of Mine said...
This is beyond pretty...I need to get going and get something like that. Awwww. Just sooooo pretty!
- April 21, 2012 at 4:37 PM
- Amy Powell said...
what a pretty outfit! i love how dainty it is :)
hope you had a great weekend! {I have a giveaway going on right now & would love for you to enter! amyreneonline.com}
- April 22, 2012 at 4:44 PM
- Diana Mieczan said...
Oh boy, picnic sounds great and those shorts are amazing!!! Muah,sweetie.
- April 23, 2012 at 4:38 AM


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Talking South Park Hearts is an app from the category cartes, whose license is gratuit which is available in français. It is developed by Marc Aarts for Windows operating systems with the version or higher. The version 1.2, updated on 07.07.03, takes up 1.03MB of space in comparison with 39.91MB of media among other similar applications such as Yu-Gi-Oh! - The Legend Reborn, Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL - Power of Chaos, Magic Set Editor, Scopa, HEX: Shards of Fate, BVS Solitaire Collection. Its 3,894 downloads put Talking South Park Hearts in the position number 15 within its category and 13627 of all Windows apps. The 2 screenshots available on Uptodown, along with the link to the official website (https://www.gamewizardpro.com/southpark/hearts/hearts.html), also allow us to get a great idea of the app we're going to download. In addition, the official report from Virus Total gives you the guarantee that the app is 33% sûr for this and any of its previous versions.
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Rimini Street to Oracle: don't expect us to roll over
As everyone knows by now, Oracle won a huge ($1.3 billion) judgment in its lawsuit against SAP/TomorrowNow (TN) for copyright infringement. SAP had acquired its now-shuttered TN unit to provide third-party support for some Oracle business applications in hopes of winning those customers over to SAP. SAP is considering an appeal of the jury verdict, the largest ever in a copyright case.
In the meantime, Oracle has a lawsuit pending against another third-party support provider, Rimini Street. At first glance, Rimini Street "looks like" TN in that both are/were providers of third-party support for Oracle applications. Furthermore, Oracle's lawsuit makes similar allegations--some of it appears to have been cut and pasted from its suit against SAP.
So it would be easy to assume that Oracle's hand against Rimini Street has been strengthened by its win against SAP.
Why Rimini Street isn't TomorrowNowIt would be easy, but it would be wrong. Here's why:
I suspect Oracle would like to have these two lawsuits run together in the mind of customers, prospects, and the general public. But, Rimini Street appears determined not to let that happen.
- Admission of liability. Nearly from the start, SAP admitted that something was wrong down at its TN unit. By the time the case went to trial, SAP had basically thrown in the towel, admitting not only that TN had violated Oracle's copyrights but that SAP itself knew about the illegal behavior.
In contrast, Rimini Street is making no such admissions. It has from the beginning steadfastly rejected all allegations that it is violating or has violated Oracle's IP rights. In several interviews I've conducted with the firm's executives over the past three years, it has claimed to have established clear policies and standards to prevent such misuse and has offered to have Oracle audit its practices. Oracle has refused such offers, choosing instead to file a lawsuit. So much for allowing Rimini Street to compete fairly.
- Counter-punching. From the start, SAP was playing defense against Oracle's allegations. It never counter-sued or alleged misdeeds on the part of Oracle.
In constrast, Rimini Street is fighting back. In a statement sent to me by Rimini Street last week, the firm writes, "While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations of liability, Rimini Street is aggressively challenging Oracle's allegations and prosecuting its own claims against Oracle."
It goes on, "While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations, Rimini Street has countersued, accusing Oracle of defamation and using illegal and unfair practices to stifle competition for the lucrative support and maintenance business. Rimini Street intends to stop what it believes are Oracle's illegal actions and is seeking to hold Oracle responsible for its conduct."
In other words, if Oracle thought Rimini Street would simply roll over, it thought wrong.
SAP's hands were tied against OracleThe ironic part of the Oracle v. SAP/TN case is that SAP couldn't mount a vigorous defense without shooting itself (forget about the foot!) in the head. SAP, like Oracle, is addicted to its lucrative maintenance business. It is baffling why SAP chose to acquire TN in the first place, for some tactical advantage in converting a few Oracle customers to SAP? While undermining its whole business model for sustaining revenues from its installed base? What was SAP thinking?
So, when Oracle filed suit against SAP, what was SAP supposed to do--counter-sue Oracle for restraint of trade and unfair competition, and thereby conceding to any large hungry system integrator or competitor (think, IBM or HP) that its own installed base maintenance revenues were ripe for picking? Of course, SAP had to defend itself. But it couldn't defend itself too strongly, lest it wind up giving legal precedent to the third-party support industry. As it turns out, as the case proceeded through discovery, Rimini Street announced it would begin offering third-party support services for SAP's customers in addition to the services it was offering to Oracle customers. So, SAP was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Rimini Street has no such baggage. It can and appears to be willing to mount a vigorous defense of its own rights to offer third-party support services, based on the contractual rights of customers to self-maintain their licensed software, while respecting the IP rights of OEM software vendors.
Why Rimini Street's case is importantAs Rimini Street stresses in its statement this week, "both Oracle and SAP have acknowledged that third-party support is legal." I covered this point back in 2008 in a post entitled, Legal basis for third-party ERP support industry. In a little-noticed letter filed by SAP as part of pretrial discovery, TomorrowNow strongly asserted its legal right to offer third-party support for PeopleSoft customers, and PeopleSoft backed down from its claim that such support was illegal. Furthermore, to my knowledge, Oracle has not gone so far as to argue that TN had no right to offer support. Only that it did so by stealing Oracle's IP.
Rimini Street is strongly claiming not to be infringing on Oracle's IP. If it can back up that claim in court, then, in my opinion, a strong legal precedent will be established for the third-party support industry. Furthermore, if Rimini Street is successful in its counter-claim against Oracle, it will strongly restrict the attempts of vendors to prevent customers from seeking third-party support--which, ironically, SAP itself appears to have tried to do in 2009!
Strange, isn't it? SAP was defending itself as a provider of third-party support for Oracle customers, while at the same time apparently trying to prevent its own customers from using third-party support.
So, SAP was fighting Oracle with one hand tied behind its back. As Rimini Street's statement now points out, "Had SAP availed itself of the claims and defenses pleaded by Rimini Street in its case against Oracle, SAP would have placed its own policies and third party revenues in jeopardy. "
So, why is the Rimini Street case important? Because the rights of customers to not be locked into a single source for maintenance and support needs to be preserved. As I've written many times in the past, when you buy a Lexus, you have the right to take that Lexus to any third-party repair shop. Lexus cannot try to stop you or threaten to void your warranty if you do so. If they tried, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and 50 state attorneys general probably would file suit. Why should the enterprise software industry be any different?
DoJ is reported to be looking into the Oracle/SAP matter. If so, and while it's learning about this industry, it should also take a look at the restraint of trade and antitrust implications of both SAP and Oracle's behavior in attempting to prevent a viable third-party support industry.
Statement from Rimini StreetHere is the full statement from Rimini Street, sent to me last week.While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations of liability, Rimini Street is aggressively challenging Oracle's allegations and prosecuting its own claims against Oracle.Update, 1:40 p.m.: Dennis Howlett has a good post on the long-term implications for customers if vendors can get away with squashing the nascent third-party maintenance industry.
We believe the resolution of the Oracle vs. SAP case does not impact Rimini Street's case against Oracle and does not change anything in the fast-growing third-party support market.
A few key facts:
Both Oracle and SAP have acknowledged that third-party support is legal. Oracle's claims relate to the specific processes and procedures used to provide support for their products. The processes and procedures used by Rimini Street are very different from those used by SAP.
The only substantive similarity between the offerings of SAP/TN and Rimini Street is that they both provide third party support at 50% off the software vendor's annual fees. As clearly articulated in the court documents and the thousands of pages of process documents provided to Oracle by Rimini Street, every other aspect of Rimini Street's operations is significantly different that the operations of SAP/TN. Oracle knows this to be true.
We believe the magnitude of the damages award is a result of SAP's peculiar decision to concede liability and ultimately not challenge Oracle's claims. It bears noting that SAP, like Oracle, derives many billions of dollars from maintenance and update services to its customers with profit margins not unlike Oracle's.
SAP's practices and conduct in their attempts to chill growth of third party maintenance are similar to Oracle's. Had SAP availed itself of the claims and defenses pleaded by Rimini Street in its case against Oracle, SAP would have placed its own policies and third party revenues in jeopardy. SAP abandoned these claims and defenses at its own peril, as the size of the damages award illustrates. While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations, Rimini Street intends to stop what it believes are Oracle's illegal anti-competitive actions and will hold Oracle responsible for its actions.
While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations, Rimini Street has countersued, accusing Oracle of defamation and using illegal and unfair practices to stifle competition for the lucrative support and maintenance business. Rimini Street intends to stop what it believes are Oracle's illegal actions and is seeking to hold Oracle responsible for its conduct.
Related postsSAP and third-party maintenance: good for me but not for thee
Legal basis for third-party ERP support industry
Oracle slams Rimini Street with lawsuit over third-party maintenanceby Frank Scavo, 11/29/2010 07:07:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Sunday, November 21, 2010
Oracle applications customers: wedded bliss or battered wives?
The results of my Oracle Apps customer survey have just been published by Computer Economics, and I've been fielding calls from media representatives on the findings. The most common question: if customers are so unhappy with the quality and cost of Oracle apps support, why do they keep spending money with Oracle? Why do they stay in this relationship?
It's not an easy question to answer. But first, let's summarize several main findings of our study.
Three negatives for OracleThe Computer Economics Media Alert and Research Byte provide a more complete description of the report. But let me point out three major negatives for Oracle in the findings:
As I said, not good news for Oracle.
- Apps customers unhappy with Oracle support. There is no way to avoid the conclusion that there is tremendous customer dissatisfaction with the quality and cost of Oracle support. Specifically, 42% are dissatisfied with the quality, while 58% are dissatisfied with the cost. This is across the board for all products, including E-Business Suite users, but is especially pronounced among PeopleSoft customers. The respondent comments in this section are devastating.
- Fusion apps not top-of-mind for Oracle customers. Oracle's next-generation applications, dubbed Fusion Applications, are not on the radar for most customers, with only 10% planning to migrate to Fusion. There is substantial difference in migration plans, depending on the Oracle product currently installed.
- Oracle apps customers not flocking to Sun hardware. Only 25% of Oracle application customers are currently users of Sun hardware, but among these customers, expectations for increasing support costs are high. Very few Oracle application customers have plans for Oracle's new Exadata storage systems.
But most customers sticking with OracleAt the same time, despite their dissatisfaction with Oracle support, their lack of interest in Fusion, and their complaints about Sun costs, only 25% of our respondents expect Oracle to have a smaller share of their IT budgets over the next three years. Another 37% indicated such factors as organic growth, purchase of additional Oracle applications, and standardization on Oracle technology would result in Oracle having an even larger share of their IT budgets. The remaining respondents judged Oracle's share of their IT spending would be about the same in three years.
In other words, whatever their complaints, the majority of Oracle apps customers do not plan on changing course.
So why do customers stay?This is the big question. If things are as bad as our respondents say they are, why aren't they moving en masse away from Oracle? We didn't specifically ask this question in our survey, but based on many of the comments, I can postulate three types of Oracle apps customers:
Nevertheless, comments from respondents make it clear: a substantial minority of customers are planning to completely or partially replace Oracle in their applications portfolio. They are planning either for a total replacement of their existing apps, or to make new investments with technology from other vendors, around the edges, especially with SaaS solutions.
- Organizations that have standardized on Oracle products. These are like married couples in a committed loving relationship--they may have their squabbles from time to time, but their commitment is secure. These include died-in-the-wool "red stack" customers, those that have committed to do most new development on Oracle database and tools. Most of these customers are running E-Business Suite and have no intention of leaving. These are the ones that are most likely to be considering a migration to Fusion Apps, when they are generally available. These also include users of other Oracle applications, such as JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and Siebel, who are generally satisfied and see no overriding reason to abandon them.
- Organizations that find breaking up hard to do. These are like wives that would like to divorce but decide to stick it out for the kids' sake. They are miserable, but they are going to hang in there, at least for the time being, as making a change is simply too difficult. Many customers have made substantial investments in their current Oracle systems, either in predecessor applications (e.g. PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Siebel) that Oracle acquired, or in Oracle's own E-Business Suite. In many cases, it's not easy to replace these systems. The apps are deeply embedded as part of how business is done, or if enhancements have been built on top of these apps.
- Organizations that don't see an alternative. These are like wives that would like to be married to someone else, but don't see any attractive choices. These organizations are likely to be running Oracle's E-Business Suite. If they are of sufficient size and complexity, they may perceive that there is really only one other choice: SAP, another large Tier I vendor. From what they've heard--rightly or wrongly--that might not be a happy marriage either. And, they don't realize that in many cases, there are other choices, whether as a complete replacement for Oracle or as a partially replacement as part of a so-called two-tier ERP strategy.
Make no mistake: Oracle has some great software and some great people. My own dealings with Oracle find that there are many outstanding professionals within the ranks of its applications business and its partners--smart folks that really care about serving customers.
For example, I know quite a bit about FDA requirements for electronic records and electronic signatures, and I find Oracle's approach with its E-Business Suite to be about the best I've seen from any vendor. Furthermore, by many accounts, its next-generation Fusion Apps raise the bar for ease of use, embedded analytics, and enterprise collaboration. I could list many other examples. As in any relationship--for many, being an Oracle customer has its good days and its bad days.
Chances squanderedUltimately, though, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Oracle is missing a major opportunity. By its own admission, Oracle makes at least 85% margin on its maintenance and support programs. In fact, it's nearly ALL profit. If Oracle would just take a 2% or 5% hit on that margin and invest it into improving the quality and reducing the cost of its support programs, it could probably reduce the level of complaints and engender tremendous good will among its installed base. Customer retention would not only increase, but it would open the door to additional purchases from these customers. And it would be a positive response to the threat of third-party maintenance.
Postscript: So, is Oracle planning any improvements in its service and support programs? It's possible. Oracle recently brought Charles Rozwat, a respected Oracle executive, back from an extended leave of absence, to head up its worldwide support organization, and he reports directly to co-President Mark Hurd. But I have no idea what changes may be planned. Oracle refused my repeated requests to make Rozwat--or anyone else--available to discuss these matters.
The full report, Go-Forward Strategies for Oracle Application Customers, is available for sale on the Computer Economics website.
Related postsOracle confirms: maintenance fees are virtually all profit
Oracle profits strong, thanks to your maintenance paymentsby Frank Scavo, 11/21/2010 08:34:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Thursday, November 11, 2010
Update on Microsoft Dynamics products and plans
I'm participating today and tomorrow at Microsoft's Dynamics Fall Analyst Event--a series of briefings at Microsoft's facilities here in greater Seattle area. I won't attempt to do a complete rehash of what was presented, but rather a few key impressions.
Dynamics is in an interesting, and in some ways, difficult position. It is a business unit of one of the world's largest technology companies, with access to deep pockets and technology that for many organizations is "industry standard." At the same time, many of Dynamics' competitors, such as Epicor, Infor (Syteline), or Syspro, are building on the same technology--which means that the "big" Microsoft enjoys the same or similar pull-through of Microsoft technology, whether the deal is won by Dynamics or one of these competitors. So, in some ways, Dynamics is an independent software vendor (ISV) that happens to be located within Microsoft's four walls.
- CRM is where the action is. Although Microsoft Dynamics ERP products (AX, NAV, GP, SL) were presented, the discussion always seemed to lead off with MS Dynamics CRM. I'm left with the impression that many of the new deals are for CRM, although ERP deals probably carry a higher average price.
Why would this be? It is probably no coincidence that the CRM product is the most recently developed, with the most up-to-date architecture, and the most innovative features, such as new mobility options being introduced in the 2011 version. Such characteristics garner more mind-share from partners and prospects. Some good new features are being introduced in the ERP products as well (e.g. we saw some interesting new features in AX for retail) but one senses that these enhancements do not generate the sort of excitement as what Dynamics is doing with CRM.
It also helps that Microsoft is aggressively discounting the CRM product on a promotional basis, as discussed in a moment.
- Microsoft Dynamics serious about going "all in" on the cloud. Traditional on-premise license sales may still account for the bulk of Dynamics sales, but the most interesting developments are in its cloud offerings. These offerings are still in a state of flux--hosted deployments are currently provided by Microsoft partners. But uptake has been good, as evidenced by the four customers Microsoft put forward to tell their stories and take questions from the analysts gathered here. Microsoft's Azure services--primarily platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) are still being built out. But we had a fairly deep dive into what Azure's data centers look like, and what the build-out of services will include. It's an impressive initiative and an enormous investment by Microsoft.
- Microsoft not afraid to compete on price. As just mentioned, Microsoft is offering promotional pricing on its CRM product with online deployment, starting at $34 per user per month. This is well below the entry point for Salesforce.com, generally perceived as the leader in SaaS CRM.
I've often wondered why more vendors don't take this approach, to compete explicitly on price, especially under current economic conditions. As my late business partner, an expert on strategy, told me: there are only two basic business strategies--low-cost leader and differentiation (everything else). But most software providers choose to compete based on their claim to be able to offer something "unique"--something that demands a premium price. The reality, however, is that as the ERP and CRM markets mature, premium pricing for advanced functionality may not be the best path to success. Frankly, many prospects these days just want a good, basic product they can grow with, offered at a reasonable or low price. Never underestimate the power of lowest price.
Now, Microsoft will never concede the uniqueness or superiority of their product offering. Nevertheless, its willingness to compete on price shows that they understand what is really driving deals these days. I've heard that Oracle is also aggressively competing on price for its Oracle CRM On-Demand offering, further confirming where the basis for competition is moving--at least for CRM.
And, it's no coincidence that these two low-priced products are both on-demand offerings. To sustain a low-price strategy you have to have a low-cost delivery model, which only an on-demand offering can provide.
- The partner channel continues to be a key to success. Microsoft Dynamics sells nearly all (if not all) of its deals through sales and implementation partners. For all the changes in the products, there is no change in this sales model. Nevertheless, I was interested to find that the Dynamics partner classifications of gold, silver, etc. has become muddled, with the majority of partners listed in the "gold" category. This is upside-down and absolutely of no use to prospects or customers. As in the mythical town of Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average. Or, more directly, if everyone is gold, then no one is gold.
Microsoft realizes the problem with the classification of its partners and is taking steps to address it. However, I had one Twitter conversation with a Microsoft business partner who feels the certification exams are meaningless--a complaint we've heard concerning other vendors as well.
To be fair, some impartial observers consider Microsoft's partner program to be better than most. Nevertheless, as critical as its partners are to Microsoft, it is essential that it put real teeth into its certification and classification processes.
Current economic conditions are not easy times for Dynamics competitors, however. The new developments across all of Dynamics products show the benefits of being inside those four walls.
I'll update this post, as appropriate, based on additional insights gained tonite and tomorrow.
Related posts
Key success factor for SaaS suites: functional parity
Shifting strategy: Infor casts its lot with Microsoft
Enterprise software: who wants to be the low-cost leader?
Recession prompts great financing deals from IT vendorsby Frank Scavo, 11/11/2010 03:52:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Monday, November 08, 2010
Outlook for IT spending in 2011: call for survey respondents
Is the IT spending recession over, or are there still tough times ahead? Will companies hire IT staff in 2011, or are we facing more layoffs?
To answer these questions, we're looking for IT managers in the US and Canada to participate in a 10-minute survey about their IT budget and staffing outlook.
What's in it for you? A free copy of the final report, which will otherwise only be available to Computer Economics subscribers or to those who purchase the report
Take the 10-minute survey nowby Frank Scavo, 11/08/2010 06:05:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Manchester United have been joined by arch rivals Manchester City in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski.
New Citizens boss Manuel Pellegrini reportedly sees the Polish striker as the man to lead the Etihad Stadium club back to the Premier League title next year.
However, Old Trafford manager David Moyes is also keen on Lewandowski and the two clubs are heads for a transfer tussle over a deal expected to be in the region of £22.5million.
New Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho claimed the Blues' £50million record signing Fernando Torre has been "so-so" since he moved to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool.
Mourinho has reportedly been considering selling Torres this summer as he looks to revamp the squad for his second spell as Chelsea boss.
Arsenal are the surprise favourites to sign Manchester United winger Nani after Galatasaray pulled out.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is reportedly ready to splash the cash this summer and Nani is one of his possible targets, though he is not expected to be a big-money signing as he is entering the final year of his contract.
Tottenham Hotspur have made an enquiry over highly-rated Saint Etienne forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Andre Villas-Boas is keen to reinforce Spurs attacking department but the Gabon international is being watched by a number of Europe's top clubs.
Barcelona have made contact with Arsenal over the possible transfer of centre-back Laurent Koscielny, according to reports in Spain.
The France international was one of the Gunners most impressive defenders last season and Barcelona have highlighted him as the man Tito Vilanova believes can fix the Camp Nou club's problems at the back.


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I am an architectural technician employed part time by a CIAT accredited practice in Plymouth, but I also free-lance. I am young and enthusiastic, with competitive rates and not VAT registered. Using latest versions of AutoCad and Revit, and 3D modelling in Sketchup. I can... read more
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By allstar1474 on 4th Dec, 2018
Research + Design2 Feedback reviews, 100% positive
25 years of professional award winning architectural and biophilic design. Current projects: community space, childrens theatre, garden room,extension to a listed house, residential developments of 6 homes and 7 flats,conversion of bank to flats. Alan King Award in 2009 for... read more
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Ward Design2 Feedback reviews, 100% positive
Planning an extension, conversion or new build? Need someone to advise, design, draw plans and deal with Planning Permission and Building Regulations? Warddesign provides an experienced, personal and affordable quality design service to domestic clients,... read more
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Lebrasse Partnership2 Feedback reviews, 100% positive
Lebrasse Partnership is an architecture practice based in Torbay offering a wide variety of architectural services including planning applications, building control submission and 3D visualisation services. We endeavour to work extremely closely and collaboratively with our... read more
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Bowthorpe James was founded by Tom Bowthorpe in 1999, and has completed a wide range of architectural projects in London, the West Country and beyond. Tom has a broad experience in architecture and planning knowledge, with the added advantage of a creative and practical,... read more
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I am passionate about all areas of architecture and design within the built environment from housing developments to individual new-builds, replacement dwellings, extensions, conversions and garden design. read more
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Russell Baylis Ltd is an award winning architectural design service with 20 years experience specialising in both individual residential property remodelling and new build to planning residential development opportunities. We offer flexible and unique bespoke design... read more
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Trotman & Taylor Architectural Consultants offer a complete design service for all Planning & Building Regulation Applications. We have over 25 years of experience in the Architectural field with a proven track record. We have gained a professional understanding with local... read more
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B W Construction Services is a building company based in Hartland, N. Devon. I have been in the construction industry for 9 years gaining experience and qualifications in a varied amount of trades. I have a great enthusiasm to get a good job done, big or small. I have a... read more
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Self employed, Architectural Technician by profession, however I prefer to work as a handy man to complete jobs for customers who would like an honest price for a job well done. Decking, fencing, painting, building furniture (flat pack etc), tiling, stud work etc, kitchen... read more
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By brown_64 on 29th Nov, 2018
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text:
Selecting your vehicle's make, model, and year allows us to display only parts and items specific to your car's model and year.
Part# CH27371
4 Reviews
OPGI Price: $58.99
Part Type: (A) Aftermarket product, usually an enhancement product
Years: 1967-1972
Sold As: EACH
Originally engineered for disc brake conversion kits, these new master cylinders are excellent replacement units for use with either a 9" or 11" power booster. Each unit has been meticulously produced for a quality OE look that will bring your Pontiac to a halt.


text:
When a family member doesn't have an apparent illness, and death doesn't appear imminent, we just live our days. We take things forgranted and don't say goodbye after visits, but say 'see you next time'. We don't think about loss, believing there will always be more visits and conversations, more shopping trips and more everyday tasks.
The last time I hugged our mother goodbye as we left her home, I didn't think we would never again see her standing in the front doorway of the house, making us laugh, as she waved and chanted farewell in Italian. 'Arrivederci, arrivederci!', she called out, as she always did to us, an Irish woman using the farewell word of Italy, the country in which she enjoyed one of her most memorable holidays. Sometimes she would make a short hand of it and say, 'rive, rive', but the sentiment was always the same, 'farewell, until we meet again'.
My mom's illness and passing took place over a very short period of time. Mom had been hospitalized a few times over the course of her senior years, but she always recovered and came back better than ever. This time it was different. Mom was admitted to hospital on Thursday, and with all of us around her, on Monday evening she died, the day after she had celebrated both her 81st birthday and Mother's Day.
When did I last truly see my mom?
Was it the last time Mom was wrapped in Dad's arms and the two of them danced together?
Was it the last time I had an argument with her, or the last time we completely agreed on something?
Was it when she turned her face up to the harvest moon, and seemed to be dreaming of another time and place?
Was it when she laughed out loud at the birthday party of a friend, or quietly dabbed tears of pride at a graduation?
When did I last truly see my mom?
Was it on the afternoon of the day before she died? In her hospital bed Mom closed her eyes, and with the buds of my iPod in her ears, she listened to Andre Rieu, her favourite violinist, as he played Les Patineurs, one of her favourite pieces of music. She rocked back and forth in the hospital bed, sweeping an invisible conductor's baton through the air, bringing the orchestra in her imagination to crescendo.
On that Sunday, we thought Mom was on her way back to us, but with each one of those musical trills she was moving closer to heaven.
|Bella Mamma, out and about on a day in Rome.


text:
Jamcculloch1 needed a new button or icon design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 55 designs submitted by 18 freelance designers.
HomeSwapper is the UK's leading web service helping social tenants swap homes. We have over 155,000 members and over a million hits a month.
We are a company with an ethos of belnding commercial strategies in social areas to make a real difference to people's lifes.
We will be speaking to exisiting markets who are mainly female.
The audience are mainly made up of a lower social background.
We are currently re-designing/ re-branding our website and want to create a character (or two) to guide people through the site in particular the registration process.
The character we envisage is called 'Swapster' and is a house shaped person. We've found a photo library image of a character that would suit but really want something that is our own take on this (image has been uploaded).
The house needs to be quite visual and we need it to make the following actions:
Arms in the air celebrating
Thumbs up
Also, because we are a home swapping service we'd like two characters with slight differences, perhaps one could be a house and one a flat or even male and female...
Design layouts for new website and how the house character would be used are attached


text: This fun, energetic and intelligent California girl loves being a housewife and married to a Sergeant in the Marine Corps, she could just as easily see herself as a Playmate some day. Why, she explains. "I was born to be in Playboy!" To learn more about Megan check out her interview in the members area.


text:
- デジタルエコノミー時代のカスタマーサービス
- カスタマーサービスを継続した顧客とのエンゲージの場とするために必要なポイントとは?
- 「脆弱性対策の現状:パッチ適用への高まる関心」を発表
- 米国Ponemon Instituteとの共同調査レポートを発表
SAN DIEGO – Feb. 19, 2013 – ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), the enterprise IT cloud company, today announced that its president and chief executive officer, Frank Slootman, will present at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The live webcast of the presentation is scheduled to begin at 3:50 p.m. PST (23:50 GMT).
Individuals may access the live webcast from the investor relations section of the ServiceNow website at http://investors.servicenow.com. The webcast will be archived for a period of 30 days.
About ServiceNow
ServiceNow is the enterprise IT cloud company. We focus on transforming enterprise IT by automating and standardizing business processes and consolidating IT across the global enterprise. Organizations deploy our service to create a single system of record for enterprise IT, lower operational costs and enhance efficiency. Additionally, our customers use our extensible platform to build custom applications for automating activities unique to their business requirements. For more information, visit www.servicenow.com.
Any unreleased services, features or functions referenced in this document, our website or other press releases or public statements that are not currently available are subject to change at the discretion of ServiceNow and may not be delivered as planned or at all. Customers who purchase ServiceNow services should make their purchase decisions based upon services, features and functions that are currently available.
# # #
ServiceNow and the ServiceNow logo are registered trademarks of ServiceNow. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.


text:
dbm2008 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 32 diseños de 13 diseñadores freelance.
cartoon dog sleeping on bed w/ business name & tagline
Dog Bed Mall
We're designing a new site for http://www.DogBedMall.com and would like a new logo to go with the new look. The revamped site will be selling upscale dog beds at affordable prices. The quality is lightyears better than the beds sold at Petco, and the price ranges are reasonable ($50-100 per bed). The site will cater to people that think of their dog as an extension of themselves, and enjoy spending a little extra money to get their dog the best stuff.
Roughly 70% of the customers are female.
- Maximum size is 375 x 70
- On the left hand side, I'd like a cartoon dog, happily sleeping on a bed
- To the right of the dog, put Dog Bed Mall
- Under Dog Bed Mall, use the tagline, which is "Affordable, high quality dog supplies that reflect your dog's personal styleI understand that the tagline is a little long, do what you need to do to make it fit across the 375 px.
Here is the color scheme used in the new design:
AD0047 - darker magenta in speed bar and page border
D7527C - accent pink
42210B - text and border brown
E8D9BB - accent tan
And here's a mockup of what the site will generally look like:
(it's still a few weeks away from completion, but that's the general layout of the homepage)
There's nothing specifically that we DON'T want, as long as the stuff above is included, and the color scheme matches, we're open to any creative ideas for the logo.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Famine in Somalia can only be reversed with continued assistanceNov 21, 2011
Nairobi – Increased humanitarian assistance to Somalia has had a significant impact in the famine‐affected parts, bringing the three southern regions of Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle out of famine.
However, according to the latest data compiled by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit and Famine Early Warning System in southern Somalia, famine persists in parts of the Middle Shabelle region and in the areas hosting internally displaced persons in the capital Mogadishu and along the Afgooye corridor, northwest of the city.
Malnutrition and mortality rates in many parts of southern Somalia continue to be the highest in the world.
"Any improvements can only be sustained if the current level of humanitarian assistance continues," said Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, who also serves as the UN Development Programme's Resident Representative.
"If humanitarian activities are interrupted or reduced in southern Somalia, many areas will fall back into famine. It is only thanks to the generosity of donors that we have been able to save tens of thousands of lives in the past three months. We need this support to continue or the price we pay will be the loss of thousands of lives."
The UN and other partners are working to increase access to food, markets and health services. UNDP has been working in Mogadishu and in some of the famine-affected districts building shallow wells, boreholes and water pumps, rehabilitating essential agricultural infrastructure, and helping to create short term jobs which allow households to improve access to food.
Somalia continues to face the largest humanitarian crisis in the world with over half of its population in urgent need of assistance.
Three million out of the four million people in crisis are in southern Somalia, where access to the population in need remains a major challenge.


text:
Having a made a name for himself with a trilogy of documentaries about Salvador Allende's brief socialist revolution and Pinochet's ensuing putsch called The Battle for Chile -- considered classics of Latin American cinema -- Patricio Guzman continues with his obsession the former Chilean dictator and his ignoble fall from grace.
Having been forced from Chile by Pinochet thirty years previous, Guzman recounts Pinochet's arrest, extradition trial in Britain and his own brush with Pinochet. Guzman sets out to recreate a document that proves that the former military strong man was the war criminal a Spanish court accused him of being.
He interviews victims of Pinochet's reign of terror, both survivors of medieval torture tactics and relatives of the almost 1200 disappeared. As Guzman documents, Pinochet was sent home by British Prime Minister Tony Blair for health reasons after 503 days of detainment, only to find himself facing a Chilean court and house arrest at home.
This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival.


text:
A Review of Rolfe's Collected Poems
By Bernard Knox
The University of Illinois Press, which published Milton Wolff's Spanish Civil War novel Another Hill, reviewed in the last issue, has also launched a project entitled The American Poetry Recovery Series, which "will consist of collections and anthologies by poets whose work has not been made part of the traditional literary canon, including labor poets, feminist and minority poets, and socialist and anarchist poets." The first volume in the series collects the poems of Edwin Rolfe, who fought in the Lincoln Battalion in Spain. It is a reprint of the three collections of his poetry printed in 1936, 1951, and (posthumously) 1955, together with a great many uncollected and unpublished poems, but excluding, except for a small selection, poems written "before Rolfe matured as a writer." It is an impressive body of work, set in its historical, literary, and biographical context by Cary Nelson's masterly introduction.
Born Solomon Fishman to Russian immigrant parents in 1909, he began writing when very young. By the age of fifteen he had published cartoons in the Daily Worker as well as stories, poems, and reviews in the Comet, the literary magazine of the New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn. In 1926 he "ran into difficulty in a trigonometry class" and was prohibited from publishing in the magazine until his grades improved. He began submitting contributions nevertheless, under "a series of playful pseudonyms"1 such as W. Tell and R. Hood, and in 1927 signed a review in the Daily Worker with the name Edwin Rolfe, which became his name in print and in real life from then on.
His life was a hard one. Writing could not earn him a living and he moved through a succession of temporary jobs--dishwasher in a restaurant, helper in a fruit store, punch press operator, laborer digging the subway, printing signs (at five to seven dollars a week)--interrupted by a year at the University of Wisconsin. Back in New York he lived from hand to mouth, publishing poems and reviews until in 1933 he was given the job of feature editor on the Daily Worker four hours a day at $10 a week. In 1936 his first poetry collection, To My Contemporaries, was published by the Dynamo Press.
The poems, though often technically interesting, are thematically fairly predictable Communist poems of the Depression era; typical titles are "Georgia Nightmare," "Homage to Karl Marx." "Witness at Leipzig," "Unit Meeting," and "These Men Are Revolution." Yet sometimes they create, with intense feeling and exact detail the misery of those Depression winters, the days when "the breath of homeless men/freezes on restaurant window panes--men seeking/the sight of rare food/before the head is lowered into the upturned collar/and the shoulders hunched and the shuffling feet/move away slowly, slowly disappear/into a darkened street." Spain transformed his poetry. The fervent advocacy is, if anything, heightened, but the lines now have a plangent, sometimes heart-breaking, lyricism.
He left for Spain in June 1937 and began training at Tarazona, but late in July was asked if he would like to take over the editorship of the Volunteer for Liberty, the English-language magazine of the Brigades, an assignment for which his experience as a feature editor for the Daily Worker in New York made him the obvious choice. He said no, but was ordered to take the job and move to Madrid. From his base there he made frequent visits to the American battalion at the front and bitterly regretted his noncombatant status, even though much of the time he worked in Madrid he was seriously ill. In March 1938, together with the Volunteer, he moved from Madrid to Barcelona, a city now under constant bombardment by Italian planes. When in April all able-bodied men were directed to report for front-line duty, Rolfe did so even though his position exempted him from the order. He took part in the offensive across the Ebro and in the disorganized retreat that followed as Franco counter-attacked in irresistible force. Rolfe had had his baptism of fire at last, and one of his friends remarked years later that "after Spain things about his personal life that Rolfe would once have talked about openly he now seemed to save for his poetry."2
In most of the poems he wrote then and in later years, the memory of Spain haunts the lines even where it is not mentioned. But it is usually explicit, as in the "Elegia" for Madrid, written ten years after the end of the war:
Madrid, if ever I forget you,
may my right hand lose its human cunning...
And if I die before I can return to you,
or you, in fullest freedom, are restored to us,
my sons will love you as their father did
Madrid Madrid Madrid
It is explicit too in the "Elegy for Our Dead," where he uses the alliterative technique of Anglo-Saxon verse:
There is a place where, wisdom won, right recorded,
men move beautifully, striding across fields...
where lie, nurturing all these
fields, my friends in death.
Honor for them in this lies: that theirs is no special
strange plot of alien earth. Men of all lands here
lie side by side, at peace now after the crucial
torture of combat, bullet and bayonet gone, fear
conquered forever...
And in "First Love," the title poem of the volume, he writes among young men training for war in Texas, but thinks of another war.
I am eager to enter it, eager to end it.
Perhaps this one will be the last one.
But my heart is forever captive of that other war
that taught me first the meaning of peace and of comradeship
and always I think of my friend who amid the apparition of bombs
saw on the lyric lake the single perfect swan.
These poems had a strange publishing history. "Elegy for our Dead" first appeared in the Volunteer for Liberty in Spain in January 1938; it was reprinted in The New Republic and the Daily Worker. "First Love" appeared in Yank: The Army Weekly in September 1945. But by 1948, when "Elegia" was written, "there was literally no place to publish it. Even the Communist Party-supported Masses and Mainstream refused it, partly because the biblical allusions offended the editors; religion, after all, could only be the opiate of the people." Rolfe sent a copy to Hemingway, who wrote back: "Your fucking poem made me cry and I have only cried maybe four times in my life...."
Rolfe also gave a copy to a Spanish exile, José Rubia Barcia, who translated it into Spanish and sent it to Luis Buńuel in Mexico City. There another Spanish exile, the printer and poet Manuel Altolaguirre, issued it in the form of a pamphlet and the poem was recited at gatherings of Spanish exiles in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. It finally appeared in print in English, together with the other two, in 1951, when Rolfe published his second collection, First Love, himself. In September of that year he sent out circulars inviting subscribers to pay the costs of printing and binding, for all the world like Alexander Pope collecting subscriptions for his translation of the Iliad--"the Subscribers are to pay two Guineas in hand, advancing one in regard of the Expense the Undertaker must be at..."3 Two hundred seventy-five copies, at $2.75 each, were issued under the imprint of the Larry Edmunds Bookshop, and by the end of January all were sold. But only two reviews appeared, one by Aaron Kramer in the National Guardian and the other by Rolfe Humphries in The Nation.
The last poems reflect the bitterness of the years of persecution, the time of informers, as in "Little Ballad for Americans 1954," written one month before his death of a heart attack.
Housewife, housewife, never trust your neighbor
A chance remark may boomerang to five years at hard labor.
Student, student, keep mouth shut and brain spry--
Your best friend Dick Merriwell's employed by the F.B.I.
But they often hark back to Spain as in "1949 (After Reading a News Item)":
His first official act was to bless
The planes that bombed their Barcelona home.
Ten years have passed. Today his Holiness
Welcomes the Catalan orphans into Rome.
But in the poem that gives the last volume its title he creates a moving lyric that has little to do with politics:
Permit me refuge in a region of your brain:
carry and resurrect me, whatever path you take,
as a ship creates its own unending wake
or as rails define direction in a train...
With the publication of these two volumes the University of Illinois Press has done a notable service to American poetry.
1. Edwin Rolfe: A Biographical Essay, p. 7. The guide contains some interesting photographs and facsimiles and extracts from letters of, among others, Ernest Hemingway and Albert Maltz. (back to text)
2.Edwin Rolfe: A Biographical Essay, p. 37. (back to text)
3. Alexander Pope, The Iliad of Homer, edited by Maynard Mack, et al. (Yale University Press, 1967), p. xxxvi, no. 5. (back to text)
from The New York Review of Books, Volume XLI, Number 21. (December 22, 1994) p. 18.
Edward J. Brunner
Edwin Rolfe: Collected Poems. Edited by Cary Nelson and Jefferson Hendricks. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1993. 337 pp. $34.95.
Edwin Rolfe. Trees Became Torches: Selected Poems. Edited by Cary Nelson and Jefferson Hendricks. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1995. 152 pp. $13.95.
Before Cary Nelson and Jefferson Hendricks assembled the 1993 Collected Poems, Edwin Rolfe may have been the most obscure of those poets who had been admired in the 1930s for their revolutionary spirit. He could be glimpsed, briefly but affectionately, in a memoir that New Masses editor Joseph North used as a foreword to an anthology of the "rebel thirties." Rolfe's History of the Lincoln Brigade (1939) narrated the Spanish Civil War from an eyewitness point of view and kept his name alive as a spokesperson for the left. Even so, few recalled his first book, To My Contemporaries (1936) except as an example of the "Dynamo" group of poets--writers for whom (in Walter Kalaidjian's words) "machinery signified the new powers of industrial production as well as capital's contradictory relation to labor" (153). And fewer still were even aware of his two later collections, the by-subscription-only First Love and Other Poems, which Rolfe himself issued in 1951 (it was limited to 375 copies), and the posthumously assembled Permit Me Refuge, which Thomas McGrath edited in 1955, a year after a heart attack had claimed Rolfe at the age of 45. This once unobtainable material has been handsomely restored by Nelson and Hendricks in the inaugural volume of the American Poetry Recovery Series --three collections plus a generous sheaf of uncollected and unpublished poems, painstakingly annotated with an extensive introduction -- and now there is a collection of selected poems, Trees Became Torches, a reader's edition that presents about half the poems in five useful thematic clusters.
An overview of Rolfe's entire career reveals how he might have been especially prone to slide into unjustified obscurity. However you set out to peg him, he never quite fits in. In the 1930s, in the aftermath of World War II, in the first half of the 1950s, he is always out of place. He even escapes the profile of the '30s poet, the category into which he had been previously dropped. For one thing, he continued to write politically aware verse long after the decade had passed. For another, he was never particularly committed to a distinct ideological line--he was in fact "punished" at various times by fellow radicals for supposed transgressions. His "Elegia" (1948), a lament for all that had been lost after the Spanish Civil War (including its temporary sense of international solidarity), was rejected by Masses and Mainstream, whose editors were offended by the poem's soft handling of religion. Despite such rebuffs, Rolfe always remained loyal to social concerns. Unlike many in the 1930s who had turned to politics only after the economy had collapsed, Rolfe grew up in a political environment. His Russian Jewish immigrant parents were socialists, labor organizers, and Communist Party members. (As a prelude to their divorce, they aligned themselves with different party factions.) The political was as deeply embedded in his background as the liturgical was in T. S. Eliot's. What was natural was that he would sell his first poems (in the 1920s) to the Daily Worker and the New Masses, publications with which he was very familiar from his home life. What was unnatural was a year's break for college in Madison, Wisconsin. While he there learned to write poems that began "There's still some life left in an old red barn / half-hidden behind a rolling swell of earth" (268), he never managed to see Wisconsin--the sides of the barn "sag / like empty faces in Milwaukee flops"-- and he returned soon enough to the New York urban milieu he had never quite left.
Rolfes poems of the 1930s testify to the ease with which he moved in revolutionary circles and regarded himself as a witness to history. But they are also sophisticated technical exercises. Few volumes from Sol Funaroff's Dynamo Press contained sonnets, but Rolfe included three, one of them rhyming perfectly. As a "Dynamo" poet, Rolfe was supposed to incorporate the machine into his text, but few examples of machinery appear in any of his poems. Most are set against an urban backdrop, though even that turns unerringly literary. He sketches the unemployed along the East River--
the eyes
are focused from the river
among the floating garbage
that other men fish for,
their hands around poles
almost in prayer
wanting to live. . .
--and elaborately echoes T. S. Eliot, materially repositioning his Fisher King from alongside the Thames. Rolfe is always reaching across generations to speak to other poets who form a community of the wise. Perhaps from Hart Crane--a poet whose work he quotes from (the title of one poem "More than Flesh to Fathom" is from a line in The Bridge) or evokes ("Permit me refuge," the opening phrase of "Bon Voyage," recalls "Permit me voyage" from "Voyages III")--he derived the conviction that the lyric and the analytic are not so much differentials as mutually attracting poles.
Rolfe could include the lyrical in his essentially analytic texts because social concerns, not ideological debates, were what held his interest. Not surprisingly, the event that drew him out as nothing else ever would was the 1937-38 Spanish Civil War, so clearly a communal effort, a selfless gathering of volunteers from all nations. His Spanish Civil War poems perform transformations in which nobility and strength emerge from a testing situation. They are his first mature work, even as the strands show that still attach it to his earlier political verse are still visible. The phrase "trees became torches" describes the aftermath of a bombing raid that, instead of shattering morale, only motivates a greater resolve, as "the trees became torches / lighting the avenues / where lovers huddled in terror / who would be lovers no longer." It is as though the slogans that had previously existed in 1930s revolutionary poetry were turning into objective correlatives right before Rolfe's eyes.
But these original poems never really came before any large public. The book in which they were to appear set out to contrast the difference between the Spanish Civil War, with its volunteers from all nations, and World War II, with its conscripts arrayed against nation-states (its working title since 1944 had been Two Wars). "We must remember cleanly why we fought," he began one poem (dated 1939), and in another (dated 1945) he used the occasion of war's end to call for a renewed struggle on a higher plane. The manuscript, retitled First Love and Other Poems, circulated unsuccessfully among publishers. No one was eager, after World War II, for another call to arms. The poetry about war that succeeded in the late 1940s, like John Ciardi's remarkable Other Skies (1947), depicted war itself as the enemy. Of immediate danger to the soldier was the impersonal and dehumanizing military bureaucracy. Consequently, in Ciardi's lines individuals were always placing their mark on things, hoping to stamp a moment or a place as their own and so resist erasure. In his most inspired poems, their gestures are at once defiant and helpless and nostalgic--painting pin-up girls on B-29s. But they are rarely noble, at least not intentionally. And while Ciardi made it clear he planned to leave the war entirely behind him and pursue a vision of domestic bliss and upward mobility, Rolfe made it equally clear that he would be drawing lessons from history, using one was to measure the other. "Elegia," his homage to Madrid and the international spirit, ends with his vow not to forget that extraordinary communal moment. But after 1945, it was forgetfulness that people wanted to pursue.
Rolfe registers such cultural amnesia in "A Poem to Delight My Friends Who Laugh at Science Fiction" (1953). It depicts the postwar world as a place where horrifying events can occur -- the mass suicide of creatures, of humans, even of machines -- but without anyone taking notice. At the poem's end, only soldiers are left to wander in a ruined landscape, "like drunken stars in their shrinking orbits / round and round and round and round." The text is an iroinc performance, a negative staging designed to alert us to the way that manufactured images of catastrophe, such as those produced by the movies, encourage an audience to become oblivious. We have committed suicide when we yield to ominous events like those Rolfe records and do not even murmur a protest. Rolfe had been in Hollywood since 1944, scripting screenplays (one of which was entitled "Destination Moon") as well as footage for documentaries (he wrote the text for Muscle Beach, much honored in 1951); moreover, he co-authored a thriller that had been optioned as a vehicle for Bogart and Bacall. His poetic comment on science fiction was, then, an insider's critique of the industry. Yet ironically enough, "A Poem to Delight" fulfilled its title's promise: it was the single runaway hit of Rolfe's career as a poet, accepted by Poetry magazine, reappearing almost at once in two mass-market anthologies in 1953 and 1955, then later in three somewhat specialized collections. To Rolfe, its popularity must have been a curiously bitter triumph, for it would only have underscored the ease with which, in this era, even the most disturbing images could be consumed.
Thomas McGraths Foreword to Rolfe's posthumous volume of 1955 describes these last poems as "the first things in the beginning of his best period." These poems of the 1950s are both new and recognizably Rolfe's -- carefully cadenced in slow, almost sluggish rhythms that suggest thought occurring within pain, under a weight of immense sorrow. Writing as the homecoming Ulysses in a dedicatory poem, he speaks out of a knowledge that is hard-won: "And if, all my Penelopes, there's little you recognize, / blame Time, not me; nor strain your skeptic eyes. // Its the world that's altered." Like a survivor from a conflict that has become remote, Rolfe anticipates our naive responses and must brush them wearily away. How many poets became little Penelopes in this domestic time.... Now history enters the poems as a palpable weight as Rolfe shifts voices, sometimes to brilliant effect. He begins a sonnet, one of the many he composed throughout his career, by describing in the octet a person who has grown exhausted with the "dark forces/ phalanxed against him," and we think of the McCarthy hearings and the subpoenas to appear before HUAC that must have been on Rolfe's mind. But the sestet swerves and expands, and suddenly Rolfe is contemplating the simple man, the soldier "who never clearly saw the threatening shapes yet fought / his complex enemies." It was his example "who taught us, who talk so glibly, / what the world's true shape should be like." We have come a long way from the initial narrow view; we are artfully repositioned within a larger battle, one without petty ends, and our own talk has been opened to question for its glib assumptions. This dark voice of history, though, was utterly out of fashion in the ahistoricizing 1950s.
Rolfe began his career by aiming to write the popular poem whose slogans would ignite feeling. What he moved toward, what he ended doing, was quite different but far more impressive: in the midst of barbarity, he discerns (and sometimes performs and always preserves) the civilizing gesture, the transforming twist that recovers a value. He ends his 1943 "First Love," one of the first poems in which he writes with history as a weight that burdens him down: "And always I think of my friend wait amid the apparition of bombs / saw on the lyric lake the single perfect swan." Violence is apparitional, transient; friendship endures in memory where it associates with beauty and perfection. (Strikingly, History of the Lincoln Brigade is organized around a similar rhythm: Rolfe interrupts the narrative of the war continually by importing autobiographical sketches of the volunteers, most of whom sacrificed their lives heroically; their memorialization in prose ephemeralizes military conquests.)
So often, indeed, does Rolfe deal with an impossible circumstance attempting to redeem it through an act of transcendence or a gesture of forgiveness, that it may be that for him the great poetic theme was betrayal. Betrayal is nothing like disappointment: betrayal rends the social fabic and cries out for a counter-action that will, even in a small way, restore us to order. It prompts an essentially selfless response. As early as his 1936 collection, in a sonnet entitled "Definition" (its text, incidently, reprinted almost as many times as "A Poem to Delgiht"), he acknowledges that others have betrayed the spirit of comradeship by acting in ways that are "mean, underhanded, lacking all attributes / real men desire." But he will respond by reinvesting the idea of the comrade with dignity, recovering it from misuse; that recuperation is notably figured as a mark of genuine power--what "real men desire" (in the atavistic vocabulary of the times)--not losing but winning, yet without a blatant sense of victory over another. Rolfe had ample opportunity to exercise that selflessness in the witch-hunting 1950s. "Night World," from the last volume, nightmarishly suggests the confusions of the time, even as Rolfe's redemptive gesture recurs. Its first stanza locates two lovers tossing restlessly on their bed. Why are they so unquiet? Outside their "bridal catacomb the moon / rides the cloud stallions, angry, bucking / the vindictive heavens." The moon is distraught because it wears the reputation of the treasonous--"numberless children still alive" will "deem him enemy, remembering / his guidance of the plummeting plane." But the moon, we are meant to protest, was innocent--not responsible for how others used its light. Yet somehow innocence has become associated with guilt, and the moon is now thought of as betraying "slumbers, mothers, dreams." In Rolfe's exceedingly intricate close, the moon dissociates itself, turning inward, away from the earth, becoming " a lone dream-misted eye / [that] rides its own beam to the most distant star." Elaborately encoded, this is, of course, Rolfe's own complex response to betrayal. Characteristically, it ends not in an explosion of anger but in an implosion that allocates resources elsewhere (the moon displaces its light to a remote star). Up to the end, even when he was stung by betrayal, Rolfe remained responsible, devoted to higher concerns.
Turning away from a devastated present to recover a deeper, now lost value becomes Rolfe's exemplary task in his final poems. The ending of his deeply moving "Bon Voyage" is a signature of this period:
Permit my memory refuge: but not the recent years
when grains of dross obscured the bars of truth.
Delve deeper back in years to your first youth,
passionate, clean, untarnished by small fears.
And if your conscience truly bears my memory,
rekindle if you can the dying candle-light:
let the wake not lose its contour, nor the bright
reflected sun waver as the rails glide by.
My wake and rail attend you, welded and wed,
through the blind tunnels of the years ahead.
Few voices so acutely register the loss experienced in these years when the bright dreams of social justice were virtually obliterated. As he says at the close of "Mystery (II)," who could have imagined the story would end in this way, "the lovely virgin with the dazzling hair won by the diseased roué / and all our golden Tomorrows wrecked on the boneyard of Today?" But that long-accepted story of the twentieth century is being rewritten by new literary scholars at this very moment. (The second edition of the Heath Anthology of American Literature [1994] includes a selection of Rolfe poems, and even the fourth edition of the Norton Anthology of American Literature [1994] presents for the first time the work of "Dynamo" poet Genevieve Taggard along with Muriel Rukeyser.) When that history has been revised--and no doubt continuing volumes in the University of Illinois Press American Poetry Recovery Series will hasten its revision--Rolfe's voice, eloquent and beguiling and exact, will effectively challenge his contemporaries.
Return to Edwin Rolfe


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-14k Gold Filled Ball Posts, Initials and Backs.
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Definitions of arise
v. i. - To come up from a lower to a higher position; to come above the horizon; to come up from one's bed or place of repose; to mount; to ascend; to rise; as, to arise from a kneeling posture; a cloud arose; the sun ariseth; he arose early in the morning. 2
v. i. - To spring up; to come into action, being, or notice; to become operative, sensible, or visible; to begin to act a part; to present itself; as, the waves of the sea arose; a persecution arose; the wrath of the king shall arise. 2
v. i. - To proceed; to issue; to spring. 2
n. - Rising. 2
The word "arise" uses 5 letters: A E I R S.
Direct anagrams of arise:
raise serai
Words formed by adding one letter before or after arise (in bold), or to aeirs in any order:
b - braise rabies c - caries cerias ericas d - aiders deairs irades raised redias resaid e - aeries easier f - ferias fraise g - sagier h - ashier k - kaiser l - ariels resail sailer serail serial m - aimers armies ramies n - arisen arsine o - ariose p - aspire paries praise spirea r - airers raiser sierra s - arises raises serais t - airest satire striae terais v - aivers varies z - zaires
Shorter words found within arise:
ae ai air airs ais ar are ares ars arse as ear ears er era eras ers es ire ires is ras rase re rei reis res ria rias rise sae sari sea sear sei ser sera si sir sire sri
List shorter words within arise, sorted by length
Words formed from any letters in arise, plus an optional blank or existing letter
List all words starting with arise, words containing arise or words ending with arise
All words formed from arise by changing one letter
Other words with the same letter pairs: ar ri is se
Browse words starting with arise by next letter
Previous word in list: ariosos
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Some random words: rebait nadir filch eking sforzandi cwm wo
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Do you want to get your precious photos out of the shoe box or off your computer? For those of you who want to get started, this class covers some of the basic techniques required. During this class you'll create a 2 page spread while learning how to crop and mat your photos. Please bring 8 to 10 photos of one event or subject to class.
Date: Wednesday, February 19th, 2014
Time: 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Cost: $20.00


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Brycehh necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 109 diseños de 32 diseñadores freelance.
We are real estate web technology professionals launching a new site that will enable users to rate their satisfaction with the features of their current home in much the same way that Amazon users rate products. The individual feature scores are rolled up into an overall score for the home. Multiple people such as a wife and husband can participate and their scores combined. Multiple homes can be rated and compared if the user is buying a new home.
The target audience is home owners and house hunters. Realtors are a secondary audience since they will be encouraged to link to the site and recommend the site to their home buyers.
The logo will appear both on our site and on business cards. The logo could also appear in banner ads, but that is not the primary purpose Transparent gif or png format would be preferred for the website version.
All the designs we have kicked around include some sort of representation of a house. We are open to the entire range between abstract and realistic. The second component needs to represent exploration or judgment. We have thought about images such as the Roger Ebert thumbs-up and thumbs-down or some sort of magnifying glass. Again, use your imagination. Finally, we would like the design to include "YourHomeScore.com".
We want to emphasize the benefit of accomplishing the task, not the drudgery of filling out a form.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Psycadelik Thoughtz
Tighter Slim Fit T-Shirt
Beautiful Girl Gold Plated Necklace
It's your lucky day. "Strange Clouds" is Amazon MP3's Gold Box Deal of the Day. It's only $2.99. Get it now.
Watch the official music video and the "Behind the Video" for "Both of Us" ft. Taylor Swift. As always, you can get the song off the album STRANGE CLOUDS.
"Don't Let Me Fall" is also on sale at iTunes for $0.69.
Enjoy the 4th of July tomorrow.


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Want to own a piece of "Merlin" history?
If you're a devoted fan of "Merlin," you might just recognize the prop in the photo above. If you don't, I can help--and offer you the opportunity to own it. It's a "competitor certificate" that explains the holder has been invited by King Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head) to compete in the Decennial Tournament in Camelot, which is held once every decade.
The certificate appeared in "The Sorcerer's Shadow," the 11th episode of Season 3, in which Gilli, a young warlock played by Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley in the "Harry Potter" films), entered the Decennial Tournament in Camelot. Despite the risk of his own excecution, he used magic to increase his chance of victory.
The producers of "Merlin" have made this prop available to fans, and if you want the chance to have it in your collection of cool things, you'll have to "like" my Show Patrol Facebook page this week. On Friday, I'll ask a trivia question and the first to answer correctly gets it. Any fan, anywhere in the world.
Syfy debuts new episodes of the fifth and final season of "Merlin" at 9 p.m. CT Fridays. Check back here each week for a preview of the new episodes.
Here's a little more info about the Decennial Tournament in "The Sorcerer's Shadow": The Decennial Tournament is a tradition as old as Camelot itself. The tournament is held once every decade and is open to all comers, both high and low born. All matter of weapons are allowed and the only rule seems to be that there are no rules. It's a dangerous undertaking but for the prize of a 100 gold pieces many are willing to risk life and limb. Uther Pendragon has won this tournament three decades in a row. It also is implied by Uther that by winning the tournament years ago, he became king.
Want more? Discuss this article and others on Show Patrol's Facebook page.


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Willis Edwards Succumbs to Cancer
"He fought the good fight. He finished the course. He kept the faith. At 4:40p.m. on Friday, the 13th of July 2012, my "bestest friend in the whole wide world," Willis Franklin Earl Edwards succumbed to cancer and departed this existence for his heavenly residence.
He left on the wings of angels and arrived at the Pearly Gates in God's own time.
Final arrangements are pending and will be announced over the next few days. Thank you for the outpouring of love shown to Willis while he was here with us."
Jackie Hawthorne
Willis Edwards at the NAACP Awards
Willis with Don Cornelius
He is regarded by those who know him well as the "go-to" guy; whether it's in halls of local, state or federal government; in the bright lights of Hollywood; in the church or the temple; or as a community organizer; Willis can get you what you need or where you need to go.
Willis Edwards (affectionately called 'Willis') is a fixture in Los Angeles and he cast a very unassuming shadow – if one does not know who he is and what he has done for his community – it would not show by his down-to-earth appearance. But he is a giant via his deeds and actions on behalf of others. He definitely does not seek fame or fortune; he has never held an elected office (though he ran once and has worked for, and on behalf of many elected officials), to state that Willis is one of a kind is not an understatement; he definitely is.
Willis was raised in Palm Springs and 'caught' the activist bug during his college years at Cal-State L.A. where he was elected as the first Black student body president with the help of his friend, Steve Cooley, who is now the L.A. County District Attorney. (That relationship has served Willis when, for as a community organizer and activist, he has had to reach out to the D.A.'s office while seeking a measure of justice for some in the community).
During the 1960s, Willis worked in the Robert F. Kennedy campaign for president and was at the Ambassador Hotel when the Senator was assassinated. Then he served in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War and earned a Bronze Star. After returning home, he eased into the fray of politics working briefly as an intern during Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally's first term; for Mayor Tom Bradley on the Social Service Commission; and was also active in the Democratic Party.
Willis lives a simple almost Spartan lifestyle – no show of elegance or luxury – just doing what he does from wherever he is … nothing fancy … but always helping others, be they well-known and famous or unknown and anonymous. And though an extremely private person, his work on social and political issues is very public and well known.
In the late 1970s, he ran for the California State Assembly but was unsuccessful. However, at one point during his campaign, when President Jimmy Carter came to town, Willis was at the airport to greet him. He was there too, when then U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young came to town.
Then the NAACP became the center of his activity; is activist role in the organization earned him the title, in some circles, as "Mr. NAACP." He became active in the NAACP through the Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch which took a gigantic leap of faith when it embarked on the journey to have the NAACP Image Awards nationally broadcast on television. Under Willis' leadership, the NAACP Image Awards was created by the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch. According to Clarence Avant, " Because of Edwards' tenacity, committed activism, and leadership, the Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch of the NAACP is responsible for more people working in Hollywood both in front of and behind the cameras today."
He has served on the National Board of the NAACP for 12 years; as vice chair of the Image Awards; member of the Board of Directors for the NAACP Crisis Magazine; member of the Executive Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee for the National Board. Willis is also a member of the National Health Committee of the NAACP and serves as chair of the sub-committee on HIV/AIDS. After having been diagnosed with AIDS and becoming a prominent voice on the issue of HIV/AIDS education, he has aggressively encouraged the NAACP to take on this issue as an important civil rights initiative since so many African Americans were suffering from health disparities associated with HIV/AIDS diagnosis, medical resources, and mental health counseling. Willis has also worked with the Minority AIDS Project.
In addition he has worked for and with Nelson Mandela, and Mrs. Rosa Parks, and has helped elect many African American politicians. As a volunteer and a community activist/organizer, Willis has helped many people attain their dreams and in the latter capacity, whenever there is a news story of hope, he is there.
Willis is Vice President of Development and Planning for the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute in Detroit, and is a board member of: the Rosa Parks Museum and Library in Montgomery Alabama. He also wrote and co-produced the critically acclaimed film, The Rosa Parks Story, which starred Angela Bassett.
From his days working for Mayor Bradley, Willis has continued working to help preserve the Bradley legacy. He works with the Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation for Intentional Civility and the NAACP.
Willis is not a paid employee for anything he does or has done. He is simply an active volunteer that gets things done for the people in the community. He lives out the saying that 'service is the price you pay for the space you occupy.'
About Willis, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, "Ever since I've known Willis (whom he met in college), he has been committed to uplifting not only his community, but all communities, ensuring we all have a chance to achieve our dreams."
Council President Herb Wesson said: "Willis Edwards is a courageous fighter, whether in Vietnam, where he was awarded a Bronze Star, or fighting against racism and discrimination as a leader of the local and national NAACP. We have fought many battles together. I am proud to call him my friend, and to stand with him in the battle he is fighting now."
In his own words, Willis has said, "I always wanted to make a difference in my community. I think that people should do what they can with what they have."
And this he has done.


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Consignment and pawn shops have an issue that is not a factor in other retail operations: the providers may want their merchandise back. Inventory tracking and auditing are the primary concerns for those looking for consignment tracking software, thrift store software or pawnbroker software. Pawn shops in particular have strict regulations concerning documentation. In most states, even voided receipts must be retained and filed. A number of states require that pawn systems be approved by the state. Pawn shops are also subject to PATRIOT Act Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and IRS Form 8300 requirements.
Consignment shops are not typically subjected to the same scrutiny, but the record keeping tasks are similar. Consignment stores do not generally buy inventory, they hold it for others and pay the sellers. Consequently, the inventory consists of all unique items which must be linked to the owners until sold, then the correct amount calculated and remitted—making consignment inventory solutions very specific to the industry.
For both consignment shops and pawn stores, general ledger and payroll are identical with general retailers. Both have special requirements for customer information, accounts payable and especially inventory. Pawnbrokers have unique requirements for accounts receivable to track payments from clients with items in pawn.
We often hear questions from users such as, "Are there free consignment software vendors?" and "What is the best consignment software solution?" These questions are difficult to answer—there are a number of consignment point of sale software and thrift store POS systems that can meet users' needs.
Screenshot of SimpleConsign dashboard
However, there are a number of features that users should look for when evaluating these solutions. Owners need core accounting, but should evaluate the following functions to meet their unique requirements:
|ID scanning
|The system should scan and retain ID information for sellers and consigners. The POS should scan IDs and verify that the format of the ID is correct. It is impractical to validate the IDs against government databases.
|Commitment to pay scheduling
|The system should calculate interest and the commitment to pay schedule for pawn clients, generating coupon books or bills as required.
|Unique inventory items
|Resale stores have inventories built from unique items that must be tracked individually from initial acquisition to final sale and payment. The system must track and value these inventories.
|Customer payment calculation
|When consignment stores sell articles, the system must track the date and the amount, and then calculate the total remittance to the customer, as well as the store's percentage.
|Customer history tracking
|In order to prevent and settle disputes, the system needs to keep complete time and date stamped records of all transactions, correspondence, visits and phone calls for any particular customer.
|Inventory disposition
|For resale shops, the ownership of a particular item may change. For example, a consigned item may not be picked up in the agreed time or an item may come out of pawn. The system needs to make all required notifications to the client and change inventory status as necessary.
|Employee audit control and inventory
|Shrink is a big issue in these industries and can have a big impact on the bottom line. An accurate and up-to-date employee audit, done frequently, is the best defense.
|Inventory authentication
|The system should help identify lost, stolen and counterfeit goods by interfacing with online data sources.
|Security system integration
|Pawn stores in particular benefit from integration between the POS system and security systems, linking security recordings with transaction records.
|Messaging integration
|The system should transmit customer alerts for payments due, items sold or changes in item status. Ideally, the customer should be able to opt in for email, text messages or robotic calls.
|PATRIOT Act Anti Money Laundering reporting
|The system should provide PATRIOT Act AML-required reports when purchases of "covered goods" of $50,000 or more are made in a single year.
|Support for IRS Form 8300
|If a person pays for merchandise with $10,000 or more in cash, the systems should flag the transaction and generate information for IRS Form 8300.
|Law enforcement reporting
|Any required law enforcement reports for a jurisdiction should be available from the system as required. These reports should be predefined but customizable.
There are many benefits of using a consignment and pawn shop software solution. The most obvious one is the amount of time saved in daily operations. Some of the advantages of consignment and pawn shop software include the following:
Ensure a smooth transaction process with POS. A consignment and pawn shop software solution helps users complete all the sales steps, such as conduct sales conveniently, buy products outright and consign items, in the same transaction. Its POS system handles online credit card processing, split payments, returns and voids.
Access to consignor information. This enables the user to find accurate information, such as payout history, account activity, account balance and inventory details, related to each consignor on a single screen. Also, users can add consignment inventory either in batches or one at a time.
Employ better inventory management. Users would no longer need to review every reporting page to locate stock items. With the consignment software solution in place, users can track and add inventory efficiently. Users can also search the inventory by brand, color, category, name or other keywords. Also, they can search for consignor inventories either by an individual consignor or as a group. The software helps in understanding and automatically tracking other metrics such as inventory level, the age of the stock items and price markdowns.
Real-time communication with consignors. The software sends automatic emails and instant messages to consignors regarding updates, such as sales conducted or inventory status, so that they remain up to date with the latest status.
Pricing and discount management. A consignment and pawn shop software solution allows users to price items correctly the first time and suggests pricing quotes as well. Also, the software suggests discounts for items and offers useful features, such as automatic item discount. This feature enables users to lower prices of consignment products at the POS system while preventing them from discounting below the acceptable price.
In conclusion, a consignment and pawn shop software solution has several significant benefits that will enhance the functioning of your business.
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