October 16, 2003

SYNERGY/DE 8.1.5 BETA TEST ENDS; GENERAL RELEASE PLANNED FOR OCT. 22
Throughout the months of August and September, a beta version of Synergy/DE 8.1.5 was tested by a number of Synergy/DE customers. Beta testers focused on the important new xfServerPlus features, including performance improvements such as the new compression feature that will enable developers to compress the data transmitted between xfNetLink and xfServerPlus. Testers also concentrated on new client/server debugging capabilities. Lastly, testers used the other Synergy/DE products to validate the numerous quality improvements that have been added throughout the Synergy/DE suite.

Feedback from beta testers has been very positive.

"We've completed our beta testing of Synergy/DE 8.1.5...you folks have done an outstanding job! My hat goes off to the support and development teams."

Tom Scaff
Software Engineer
Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.

Synergy/DE 8.1.5 is on target for general release on October 22. For more details about 8.1.5, visit the Synergex Web site.

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LARGE REGIONAL EDUCATION CENTER REPLACES VISUAL BASIC APPLICATION WITH SYNERGY/DE SOLUTION

VOORBURG, Netherlands and GOLD RIVER, Calif., Oct. 15, 2003 – Netherlands-based JPD Automatisering (JPD) has been selected by a leading Dutch Regional Education Center (ROC, or Regionaal Opleidingscentrum in Dutch) to use Synergy/DE from Synergex to rewrite its existing Visual Basic human resources application. Lacking the resources to extend the existing application and accommodate its growing user base, the ROC has commissioned JPD to provide the increased functionality, performance, and flexibility its application requires.

To read the entire press release, visit the Synergex Web site.

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SUPPORT TECH TIP: ERROR WHEN RUNNING REGSVCS TO CREATE A POOL IN xfNETLINK .NET
Question: When I use the regsvcs utility to create a pool for the classes in the assembly I built with xfNetLink .NET, I get the following output:

     Warning: No Serviced Component-derived classes were found in      the assembly.

    (Use RegAsm to register ComVisible types)

What does this mean?

Answer: You did not include the -p option when you ran the batch file to build the assembly. The -p option indicates that the classes in the assembly will be pooled. (The batch file is created by gencs. See the Developing Distributed Synergy Applications manual for more information on running gencs, building assemblies, and running the batch file.)
(Attention HelpDesk customers: After clicking on this link, log into the Resource Center. You'll then be redirected to the Synergy/DE 8.1 Online Manuals Web page.)

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PLATFORM NEWS: MICROSOFT WINDOWS RETIREMENT PLANS
Are you aware of Microsoft’s retirement plans for the various Windows platforms? Are you making plans to upgrade soon-to-be unsupported platforms?

In August, Microsoft updated their published life-cycle information, including details of their product life-cycle policies, phases, and license availability. The information in the following table is extracted from the Microsoft site, and includes Microsoft’s plans for the platforms supported by Synergy/DE. The End license availability dates in the table indicate the end of license availability for system builders. The Non-supported dates are the dates when the Windows system will enter non-supported phase or exit extended support phase.

System              End license availability     Non-supported
Windows NT       June 30, 2003                      June 30, 2003
Windows 98       Nov. 30, 2003                       Jan. 16, 2004
Windows Me      Dec. 31, 2004                       Dec. 31, 2004
Windows 2000    March 31, 2005                    March 31, 2007
Windows XP       Dec. 31, 2006                      Dec. 31, 2008

The current Synergy/DE version, 8.1, will continue to support all of these Microsoft platforms. The next Synergy/DE version, version 9, tentatively scheduled for the end of 2004, will not support Windows NT, Windows 98, or Windows Me. So, make sure that your 2004 plans include upgrades to Microsoft platforms that will be supported beyond 2004.

For complete details about Microsoft’s retirement plans, go to their Web site.

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FIND THE SOLUTION TO MANY OF YOUR DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS IN THE SYNERGY/DE ONLINE KNOWLEDGEBASE
Part of the Synergex Resource Center, KnowledgeBase, or KB, is a fully-indexed, searchable technical library where you can research thousands of solutions to previous Synergy/DE HelpDesk Support issues, such as

• Why isn't the Synergy/DE Client installation supported on Terminal Server, Windows 2000 Server, and Windows Server 2003?
  
  
• Find out the solution to connect errors for Synergy/DE 7 xfODBC

• Learn how to correct the “You must be part of the administrator group to use –NS” install error

Find the answers and solutions in KB today! To get to the KnowledgeBase, start from the Synergex Home page. Next, log into the Resource Center. Once at the Synergy/DE Resource Center main page, scroll down to the HelpDesk Online section, where you will see the KnowledgeBase link.
(Not yet on Synergy/DE HelpDesk Support? Take a tour of the Resource Center as our guest. Just click on the Synergy/DE Guest User? link in the upper right corner of the Synergy/DE
Solutions page of the Synergex Web site. As a guest user, you will be able to tour some of the areas of the Resource Center and discover all of the resources that are available with a HelpDesk subscription.)

Need more information about accessing the Resource Center? Visit the Synergex Resource Center FAQs Web page.

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WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SYNERGY/DE NOW?
Rewards are Sweeter with Nectar

Imagine getting rewarded for grocery shopping! If you’re shopping at Sainsburys, Britain's second largest supermarkets group, you can. Simply swipe your Nectar card at the checkout stand, and your grocery money will turn into “loyalty points,” redeemable for a number of valuable and exciting rewards.

Nectar is a reward program that lets you earn points with a variety of sponsors, including the Sainsburys supermarkets group. Once you've collected enough points for the rewards you want, you can redeem them for free meals, flights abroad, cinema tickets, or even a champagne balloon ride—the choice is yours. You can even use your points to save money on your next shopping trip at Sainsburys.

Launched in 2002, Nectar already has more than 11 million active users, representing a third of British households. Nectar uses the Synergy/DE-built GH-Fulfillment system from Gould Hall to manage a variety of functions for both consumers and sponsors. When a customer decides to exchange his loyalty points for a rewards voucher, GH-Fulfillment sends out the vouchers. The Synergy/DE-based application also enables Nectar to coordinate correspondence on behalf of the reward partners, send out welcome packets to new members, and replace lost or stolen cards.

The GH-Fullfillment application takes the raw files supplied electronically by Nectar and incorporates them into a structured database to be used in the fulfillment process and for mail-merge purposes. Utilizing Synergy/DE xfServerPlus technology, the application can interface with external Post Office files to ensure accurate addressing.

The Nectar card has proven so popular that the number of reward partners is constantly growing. As a result, Gould Hall has recently been commissioned to develop a “generic” transfer format to incorporate the new partner rewards into the scheme.

For more information, visit Gould Hall’s and Nectar’s Web sites.

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ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE 3rd QUARTER SYNERGY/DE ANNIVERSARY CONTEST!
Steven Parish of BusinessCraft Pty. Ltd.
Company anniversary date: July 1986

Congratulations Steven, and best wishes to BusinessCraft, which celebrated its anniversary in July.

Based in Newcastle, Australia, BusinessCraft provides Synergy/DE-based commercial accounting and mission-critical software systems to the manufacturing, service, and building industries. BusinessCraft's applications are widely used by builders, manufacturers, and engineering shops to manage estimates, workflow, and job costing of their operations.

Do you know when your company's anniversary is? If you do, enter our Anniversary Contest! Every quarter we'll draw from the companies celebrating anniversaries during those
months, and the winner will receive a $100 American Express gift certificate. Good luck!

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