Software Is No Longer an "Afterthought" in Traditional Brick-and-Mortar

I've noticed that the people who should at least understand how software licenses work, and how that impacts the they own or distribute, don't understand how it works or impacts their business.

Currently, I'm in the process of setting up a laundromat, and as part of the set up the people who are setting it up bundle the app that helps running it. As such, a member of the management team wanted to know if could install the app on as many computers of the management team as we wanted, or if the license of the app had any restrictions on it. To which the person doing the setup didn't know, or had an answer.

Which is important, because we have plans to expand to other locations around the city in time. And knowing if we could just keep using the app without paying for each install come into play, since the license isn't all that cheap. Which is not a problem, since it works, and it seems that we could work with the developer to add functionalities to the app to better work with how we want it to work for us. Like being able to connect remotely  without the use of remote access tools like TeamViewer, and add more reports to help with other the administration of the laundromat.

With the app being such an import aspect to the administration of the laundromat they sell their service to setup, it would seem that knowing how the licensing works on the app the bundle it would be a lot more important for them. I can understand that they wouldn't have deep know how on the development side of it, but at least they should know details like if you could install it on more computers as needed.

It could be argued that not that many people who are setting laundromats know, or care, about how the app is licensed. Yet, with such apps becoming much more important to help owners manage their laundromat, and the chance for expansion, such knowledge is becoming far more important.

To be honest, I'm seeing a business opportunity for an app that simplifies not only the laundromat operation, but also it's management in the same app for owners, or managers, who run only one to a dozen. Specially with the younger ones who are already used to using computers, and smartphones, to help them do so.

For know, I'll be focusing on first making the laundromat work. After that,  developing the app along side the needs of the laundromat, or the expansion to more locations, would be more interesting.

The Case for the "Micro-ERP": Why Small Businesses Need Better Integration.

Finding apps that cover all aspects of the administrations of micro, and small, businesses, is something that proves to be hard and expensive to do. Shopping around apps for a laundromat has revealed that apps that are affordable focus to much on the operational side of things, and leave out the administrative side.

Most give allow to manage sales, and what is in stock, but when you want to know how the stock is used or accounting for the period directly from the app it can’t be done. Managing the operation is easy, but managing the administration is something that the apps can’t help you with. Which is strange, since that is something businesses of all sizes need to do, and being able to do so from the app you use on daily basis would make it more easy to manage.

The worst part, is that the ones that have the option are far too expensive for a micro, or small, business to pay. While doing the administration on other apps is doable, using the same app for all the needs of the business would make the app a lot more useful and effective.

What I wonder now, is why I don’t see such integration. The two main reasons I see, are that micro and small businesses aren’t asking for it, or what developers need to add those features isn’t there. Or it could be a mix of both, that in some sectors users aren’t asking for those features, so developers don’t look into them.

Coming from being on the administrative side of thing on a medium size business, I might have different expectations on the tools that these kind of apps need to have to help businesses reach their goals. Yet, I’m sure that development of these features for micro, and small, businesses is doable. Not only that, is something that would make those kind of businesses more resilient.

Another feature I’d like to see on those apps for micro,and small businesses, is the ability of users to use the app remotely and without interfering with the day to day operations. The way most developers expect remote access is not one that helps with this.

To be honest, that these apps are available for micro, and small businesses, is a huge step forward. Yet, there is still a lot of development room to make those apps even more useful, and valuable, for those businesses.

Escaping Google’s Influence: A Review of the Zen Browser

I've been using the Zen browser for a couple of months now, and it is quite a great web browser. Before using Zen, I used Firefox for well over a decade and never imagined that I'd make the jump to other browser in that time.

Specially since I prefer open source apps, and most browsers out there are proprietary or heavily based on Chrome tech. While I used Android, Gmail, and Google Maps, I prefer my browser to be out of Google's influence. So, Zen being based on Firefox made it a good choice for me to at least give it a try.

To be honest, it took a really short time to make Zen my favorite web browser. Mainly because of two things, it is easy to easy to use, and I can use my Mozilla account with it. After a decade using Firefox, being able to use my Mozilla account made it a lot easier to make the jump, since all my history of use and other things came along to Zen without a problem. So much so, that I've been using Zen as I'd use Firefox from day one, with some minor adjustments that actually have made my web browsing that much easier.

So much so, that the only two web browsers I'd recommend are Zen and Firefox. Both work great on Windows and Linux, so they are some of the few apps I can recommend for users who use any of those OSes. I've personally used them on both, and they work the same, making them a no brainier to recommend.

If you are a Firefox user that is frustrated where it is going, or want a web browser that feels more modern that uses the same core tech, Zen is what you are looking for. The same if you want a modern web browser that uses none of Google's stuff under the hood.

At long last, there is and option to Google's dominance on the web browser arena-