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Vol. 1
- 'What Should Software Do For You'
- 'Camping and the Internet'
- 'Better Credit Card Processing Rates'
- 'The Importance of BackUps'
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WHAT SHOULD YOUR SOFTWARE DO FOR YOU 
The good, the bad and the ugly of computers and computer software has been the topic of discussion over the years, many people have had numerous opinions on the topic, but nevertheless, the computer is a device that is found in almost every household in the world. As most technologies advance in the world today it is believed by most that the smaller the device, the better it must be. Take for example, cell phones. I remember when cell phones were a handset with a battery pack that could pass for a briefcase. In those early days, answering your phone too quickly could result in a concussion. The next generation of cell phones were much smaller but still required two hands, if your hands were small. Today, we have cell phones that take pictures, connect to the Internet, contain more entertainment options than an early console, and are so small you can lose them anywhere.
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CAMPING AND THE INTERNET ARE TURNING A CORNER  The Internet is a tool used by many whether for communication, business or purely for pleasure. Affinity's branded RVTripsetter 'Online Reservation' is the way in which you and your camping resort can capitalize on the Internet to increase occupancy and this would definitely be good for business. The past decade has shown a slow but steady rise in the use of technology in the camping / RV lifestyle industry. Yet this increase in technology usage has been accompanied by an increasing concern among venue owners and operators that the technology is not providing the benefit they had hoped for, and promises made by some vendors of successful online systems have failed to materialize. Ongoing communication with campground and RV resort owners has highlighted some recurring themes with regard to the use of the internet in this industry.
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BETTER CREDIT CARD PROCESSING RATES 
RezCollect is the optimal credit card processing solution for your camping resort, JetPay Merchant Services has been able to provide the required support in the real-time / rapid response payments module (RezCollect) that makes transactions between you and your customers more convenient. The average operator's current effective rate (total fees divided by total Visa/MC sales) came to over 3.00% - significantly higher than should be - with in some cases as much as 60 percent of transactions not qualifying at optimal interchange rates. All were paying higher fees than necessary, with additional rate surcharges of between .50% and .79% just from downgraded transactions. JetPay was able to provide a platform where users can save between 10 and 20 percent or more on bankcard processing fees.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKUPS  SCENARIO: Camping resort operating over seven (7) years, some repeat guests and others new to the resort. One afternoon of horrible weather the power is abruptly interrupted creating a power surge and crashing the computer's hard drive. Luckily you have copies of the software program and the new hard drive has been installed and the programs are reloaded onto the new hard and now the time comes to restore the backup…(WHAT BACKUP?!?!) the only backup available is from a few months ago. Now as the resort operator must reconstruct all the reservations (seven (7) years worth of information) that are missing from the backup. An unfortunate situation but many computer owners and users do not perform computer backups on a regular basis. This causes great frustration if a computer should crash and the 'reservation' program needs to be reloaded. |