Slateboard Software March 2006 Newsletter

Slateboard Software March 2006 Newsletter

In this month's newsletter we are asking for your input on how to improve QuikCalc. Planning for Version 6.0 has begun and we need to know what you want in it. More details are below. We also have the answer to last month's puzzler and announce the winner of the free copy of DebtCalc and this month's Fun Fact covers St. Patrick's Day. Again we have tips and offers that we hope will be of interest to you. Here's what's covered in this month's newsletter:

QuikCalc Version 6.0 Now in Planning Stages
Special Offer for QuikCalc Corporate Logo Plug-in
What You Are Missing If You Haven't Updated Your Software
Upgrade To QuikCalc V5.0 For Half Price!
Tip Of The Month
Fun Fact - St. Patrick's Day and the Chicago River
Last Month's Puzzler Answer and Winner
This Month's Puzzler Contest

The staff at Slateboard Software hope you find our latest newsletter interesting and thank you for your business.

QuikCalc Version 6.0 Now in Planning Stages

We are starting to plan what features will be going into V6.0 of QuikCalc. This is your chance to influence that list! Send us your suggestions with as much detail as possible and we will make every attempt to add them to the next release of QuikCalc, due this summer. These can be requests for reports, additional features or changes to existing features as well as general things such as "I don't like how feature X works, can you redesign it?". Is there an area you find hard to use or could never understand? Let us know. Is there a bug that you never bothered reporting? Let us know. We need your help to make the product what you need it to be! Send your suggestions to suggestions@slateboard.com.

Special Offer for QuikCalc Corporate Logo Plug-in

As a reward for staying on our mailing list we have a special offer for those QuikCalc users who haven't yet purchased the Corporate Logo Plug-in. The regular price for this tool that allows you to add your own logo to QuikCalc report headers is $49.95 but the first 100 people who click the following link will get it for only $29.95. Note that you must have the latest update for QuikCalc V5.0 installed to access this feature. Click here for more information on the Corporate Logo Plug-in.

SORRY THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED

What You're Missing If You Haven't Updated Your Software

We recommend that you check for updates at least once a month. You can do this easily from your Help menu by selecting Check for Updates. For QuikCalc users who haven't downloaded an update lately, here are just a few of the things you could be missing out on:

10 Days of Free Access to the new Corporate Logo Plugin. Preview any report and click the new Corporate Logo Plug-in button for more information. Only $49.95 to buy.
You can customize the penalty message for payment coupons in the Office Edition and now also specify a message that includes both a specific penalty amount and a percentage amount.
Plus much more!

Upgrade To QuikCalc V5.0 For Half Price!

If you are still using an older version of QuikCalc, now is the time to upgrade! The number of enhancements in V5.0 compared to V4.0 are too many to list here (and comparing V5.0 to V2.0 or 3.0 would take far too long!). If you haven't done so already, download the fully functional demo from our website and then take advantage of our half price offer for existing users by using the following link:

https://www.slateboard.com/ORDERSITE/cat3_1.htm

Home Edition (Previously Amortization Edition) Users:

Upgrade for $14.95 and you can now specify a start date for your schedules plus override the calculated payment amount! As well, you get full access to the new Solve for Missing Number calculator that allows you to supply three parameters and solve for the fourth (loan amount, interest rate, payment amount and amortization period).

Plus! Edition( Previously Lite Edition) Users:

Upgrade for $29.95 and you can track up to 5 loans with the Premium Edition's Loan Manager! Also includes the new Solve for Missing Number calculator and much more!

Premium Edition ( Previously Personal Edition) Users:

Upgrade for $49.95 and you will have access to the redesigned reports, an easier to use interface for the Loan Manager, plus dozens of enhancements requested by users like you!

Office Edition Users:

Upgrade for $99.95 and access the many new reports and features that you have been asking for!

Tip Of The Month

Many have asked us if the new Corporate Logo Plug-in can be used to print on letterhead. The answer is YES! In Microsoft Paint (included on all Windows machines), simply create a blank image that is the height of your letterhead then save it to your hard drive. Specify this file as your logo and the QuikCalc Corporate Logo Plug-In will adjust the header down enough for you to print on your own letterhead. For only $49.95 you can not only use your own pre-printed letterhead but create your own simply by specifying a logo file. To access this new plug-in for 10 days make sure you have the latest QuikCalc patch installed and then click the Corporate Logo Plug-in button on the Preview window. Click here for more information on the Corporate Logo Plug-in. If you need help creating the blank image send us an e-mail with the height from the top of your page in inches to where you would want the printing to begin and we will send you an image to use.

Fun Fact

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17 every year. Originally a holy day, today it has become a day to celebrate everything Irish. One of the legends of St. Patrick deals with how he supposedly chased all the snakes out of Ireland. Depending on which legend you listen to, he either drove them into the sea after giving a sermon from a hilltop, or he fasted and meditated for forty days on a mountain, which drove the snakes away. While it’s true that there are no snakes in Ireland, there’s no scientific proof that St. Patrick (rather than an ice age) was responsible for this. What the legend represents is the driving out of paganism from Ireland, which St. Patrick was responsible for.

The Shamrock
Another tradition or legend associated with this patron saint of Ireland is the shamrock. According to lore, St. Patrick did use the shamrock to teach about the Holy Trinity, using each of the three leaves to represent Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Leprechauns, which have nothing to do with St. Patrick, do represent Ireland and have also become symbols of St. Patrick’s Day. Represented as cute green guys guarding pots of gold, the original leprechauns were actually thought of as mean spirits who were capable of great mischief.

Why Green?
Wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day is another custom many people observe. Green is the color of the shamrock, and also the national color of the Emerald Isle. Parades in the USA and abroad are another celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, and while New York might have had the first parade in the country, Boston is where the first observance of St. Patrick’s Day occurred in America, way back in 1737.

Ireland from 1km above the Earth's surface.

Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day

The Chicago River

The tradition of dying the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's day started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river—enough to keep it green for a week!

Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of dye are used, making the river green for only several hours. Although Chicago historians claim their city 's idea for a river of green was original, some Savannah natives believe the idea originated in their town.

They point out that in 1961, Savannah mayor Tom Woolley had plans for a green river, but due to rough water on March 17, the experiment didn't work and Savannah never attempted to dye its river again.

*Source: https://www.easterbunnys. net, www.robrob8. com

Last Month's Puzzler Contest Answer

Last Month's Question:

Joan and Jane are sisters. Jean is Joan's daughter and 12 years younger than her aunt. Joan is twice as old as Jean. Four years ago, Joan was the same age as Jane is now, and Jane was twice as old as her niece. How old is Jean?

Answer:

Joan is 32, Jane is 28, and Jean is 16.

Winner:

This month again proved to be challenging. This month's winner of the free copy of DebtCalc Home Edition is: Bob Hawkins of Massachusetts.

This Month's Puzzler Contest

Send your answer for the puzzler below to contest@slateboard.com for a chance to win a free copy of DebtCalc Home Edition. We will randomly draw a winner from all of the correct answers received by April 30, 2006. The winner and correct answer will be revealed in the next newsletter.

Question (in honor of baseball season starting!): A baseball team had just won the championship game and the players wanted to congratulate each other. They began shaking hands, but each player only shook hands with every other player just once. There are, of course, only 9 players on a baseball team. How many times did the players shake hands?