======================>  WSO Newsletter  <======================
              h t t p : / / w w w . w s o . n e t
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DECEMBER 2000                                         ISSUE: 039


-> Highlights
        1. Miva Merchant Upgrades
        2. Web Based E-Mail Alternative
	3. Empty Your Miva Merchant Baskets & Pack


-> Useful WSO Links
        Newsletter Back Issues - http://www.wso.net/news.htm
        Referral Program - http://www.wso.net/referral.htm
        Tech Support - http://www.wso.net/support.htm


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-> ARTICLE #1: Miva Merchant Upgrades ==========================
---> Relevant for ALL WSO Miva Merchant Users ==================
================================================================

Miva Corp has released version 3.0 of Miva Merchant. Many of you
have inquired about getting upgraded.  We are compiling a list
of customers who wish to be upgraded, so let us know if you are
interested by sending an e-mail to support@wso.net.  

If you have received a notice from Miva Corp saying that you
qualify for a free upgrade, please forward the mail to us
at support@wso.net even if you do not wish to be upgraded at
this time.

There are two situations to consider:

1. Your Miva Merchant license number was first registered on or
   after August 29, 2000. This entitles you to a free upgrade to
   Miva Merchant v3.x.

2. Your Miva Merchant license number was first registered before
   August 29, 2000. This entitles you to a $99 upgrade to the
   newest available version, currently v3.0. You can purchase
   these upgrades directly through WSO, just contact
   sales@wso.net.

These same rules apply to individal store licences as well. If
your store was registred before the free cut-off date, you'll
need to buy a $20 store upgrade.

For example, if your Miva Merchant mall contains three stores
(the one that came with the software initially and two extra)
and none qualify for the free upgrade, it will cost you $139 to
upgrade the entire mall, $99 for the mall and $20 for each
additional store.

Those who quality for a free upgrade must take advantage of this
oppurtunity by February 28, 2001. After that date you will be
subject to the normal upgrade fees.

There are some issues to consider when upgrading your Miva
Merchant software.

1. Have you made any changes to the software at the code level?
   Most people have NOT done this, you would know if you did.

2. Do you have any 3rd party modules installed? Typically this
   might be StarBase21s' OpenUI or other StartBase21 modules.

If you answered yes to either #1 or #2 then your upgrade
procedure is not as simple and must be cooridinated on a
one-by-one basis with us. If you ask us to upgrade your store
and you fail to warn us that #1 or #2 applies to you, then
your store will probably no longer function correctly after
the upgrade without more work.  We only provide free upgrades
for the main Miva Merchant software. If you have OpenUI or
other 3rd party modules installed, it will be up to you to
upgrades those or we can do this for you as a paid service.

Otherwise, we can usually upgrade your store quite easily and
for free (other than any license upgrade fees).

As a side note, it is our personal option that a little patiance
can go a long way when a new major version of any peice of
software is released.  While extensive testing is always done,
it is quite common for small errors and bugs to find their way
into new versions.  We usually recommend that people wait until
at least one incremental version is released.

You can view the release notes for Miva Merchant 3.0 ,containing
a complete list of the new features, at:
http://www.miva.com/products/merchant/



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-> ARTICLE #2: Web Based E-Mail Alternative ====================
---> Relevant for ALL WSO Customers ============================
================================================================

Currently WSO does not offer a web based e-mail reterive and
send system. But, all these features are available through a
great free service called POP3now. POP3now has paid preimum
options, but the basic service is free and can do everything
you'll need.

All WSO accounts except for the FP Only type come with a POP3
account (a real e-mail box).  POP3now will let you log into that
account to get your mail from anywhere that has a web browser
connected to the Internet.

1. Go to http://www.pop3now.com
2. Click on "Click to Login Now" button (top left).
3. Enter your e-mail Username and Password. This is your main
   Unix username and password you picked when your signed up
   for service with WSO.  This is NOT your SupportCenter info
   or your FrontPage publishing info.
4. Enter the POP3 Server. This is just your domain name. If
   If you are a Non-Virtual, use just the wso.net or mav.net
   portion of your web address.
4. From there, just follow the directions provided by the
   POP3now people.

Again, the service is free, it is secure (SSL encrypted), and
allows you to send and reterive e-mail (and attachments!!) just
using a web browser.



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-> ARTICLE #3: Empty Your Miva Merchant Baskets & Pack =========
---> Relevant for ALL WSO Miva Merchant Users ==================
================================================================

Most people want their on-line stores to run as fast an
efficient as possible.  One way to keep your Miva Merchant
based catalog from bogging down is to do some routine
maintenance.

Unfortunately, Miva Crop does not stress enough that you do
need to perform a few maintenance tasks regularly. The first
is to "Remove Expired Shopping Baskets".  You do this by
logging into the Miva Merchant administration side, choosing
the arrow beside your store name, then the arrow beside
Utilities and then clicking on the link.

What this does is mark all baskets in the basket database to be
deleted that are older than the expriation time limit (set
elsewhere in Miva Merchant).  To actually remove these
"to-be-deleted" entries, you must click on the "Pack Databases"
link.

This is true for all items that are removed or deleted from
your catalog.  They are first maked "to-be-deleted" and are
no longer available to Miva Merchant, but their data remains
in the database.  Packing your databases on a regular basis
removes these entries and can speed up your store. Remember to
do this for each store in your Miva Merchant mall.

Once you remove your expired shopping baskets and pack the
store database, click on the arrow next to the main Utilites
link.  Here you will be able to pack the databases associated
with your Miva Merchant mall instead of the individual stores
inside the mall.  Most people only have one store in their
mall, so don't be confused by the terminology.

The more active your store is, the more often you should remove
your exprired shopping baskets and pack your databases.



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