Lacerte not supporting Vista for 2006 tax season

American tax prep program (Owned by Intuit)will not support Windows Vista this tax season.

"Just a FYI, Lacerte announced that they will not support MS Vista for Tax Year 2006. See link below:

http://www.lacertesoftware.com/products/tax/sysreq.aspx

We typically "lock down" our systems before the end of this year for the tax season. Vista would have been a stretch to implement before tax season, but this announcement will delay our implementation until November 2007"

Why? Windows Vista enforces the security improvements introduced and made optional in Windows XP. Software manufacturers have had 5+ years to get ready for Vista but many have waited until the last minute because complying with modern security rules means fixing up code written years ago and that isn't an easy task. Vista also introduces some new security options. So expect to see more software manufacturers having to admit that they aren't ready to run in a secure computing environment.

Detroit Chamber Small Business Conference

Two posts in one day is pretty unusual for me. But this information just came through and I thought it was worth passing along. You can click the link below to visit the website and find out more about the event.


WHERE ENTREPRENEURS GATHER FOR SMART STRATEGIES TO THINK BIG

Thursday, November 9
7am - 6:15 pm
Ford Conference & Event Center, Dearborn

Preparations are currently underway for the Small Business Conference 2006 - Michigan's only event exclusively dedicated to small business success. Over 1,200 entrepreneurs will gather to gain smart strategies for success.

Exciting sessions are being planned on topics including but not limited to Franchising, Finance, Customer Service and Recruiting and Retaining Talented Employees to help grant your business continued success.

Keynote speakers will provide a fresh perspective on how small businesses impact the economy.


This year's speakers will include:

Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts
Dennis Archer, former Detroit Mayor and current Detroit Regional Chamber Chairman of the Board
Allen E. Fishman, author, 7 Secrets of Great Entrepreneurial Masters
Melvin Gravely, managing director, Institute of Entrepreneurial Thinking & author, When Black & White Make Green
Andrea Nierenberg, author, Million Dollar Networking
Edward McMillan, certified public accountant, consultant, fraud examiner & author

The 2006 Conference will also have a Business Resource Gallery packed with over 60 service providers ready to help you make running your business easier and more productive. Plus! The Detroit Regional Chamber will be onsite ready to educate members on how to get the most out of your membership investment.

SMBNation Conference this Week

Tomorrow I leave for the annual SMBNation conference at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond. I'll be there learning how to grow my business and become technically better adept.

The Art of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) in SMB
Phone In! Backup! Build Out! - Virtual Server Scenarios for SMB Networks
Trade Secrets Revealed: Profit leaders follow these six strategies
Life, the Universe and Everything You Want to Know about Strong Authentication for Small Business
Creating Predictable Revenue With Strategic Sales Management
Communication Combination: Exchange Server 2003 SP2 and Mobility
People Networking – Networking Up, Down and Sideways
E-myth Panel = One To Many - Growing Beyond Yourself

And that's just a sampling of day one. This is the reason why we throw our hat in with Microsoft. They are the only company that understands that those of us out here using and installing the software will make more money for them if we are successful! No other software manufacturer gives a hoot about our company or yours. They are just selling software and trying to get out of supporting it as much as possible. Ouch, did I really type that? It seems to me that it's true. This is the secret sauce that Microsoft has that other companies don't.

In the coming months I'll be pointing out events, online training opportunities, online conferences that are available to help you learn to use software better and gain some buisness accumen as well. All without travel or having to fork out huge sums. Sometimes it's good to go to these things just to hear wihat others are doing. You never know when you'll pick up something that turns into the next great growth generator for your business. I'm hoping to pick up one or two of those ideas for my business.

I'm back to work on Tuesday, so I'll let you know how it went then.

Amy Babinchak
Harbor Computer Services