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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County is hardly known for its tech industry, but one local startup may help change that. Called Dash POS, they are developing Point-of-Sale (POS) software currently focused on benefiting the restaurant industry.
Some people may refer to a POS system as a cash register, but today’s computerized systems handle many aspects of sales and management.
Dash's unique POS system goes a step beyond to use tablet computers and downloadable "apps" to give restaurants new ways to automate.
While the Dash POS system is notable because your order can be taken with a tablet computer directly at your table, its most profound feature is its integrated app market.
The apps provide tools for such things as email alerts, kitchen management, inventory, scheduling, online marketing, and take-out ordering.
"We can offer the features restaurants are demanding at a reasonable price. With free trials, and versatile hardware options, upgrading our POS is a far more pleasant experience," according to Ryan Cole, founder of Dash POS.
"But, the key things are simplicity and automation. That pays off. That's the big deal," said Cole.
In October, Dash POS successfully deployed their software at the Heart Attack Grill, one of the newest and trendiest restaurants in Las Vegas. The reviews were very positive.
"I employ waitresses to be personable and engaging, not computer scientists! Dash POS lets us focus on giving a great performance," said Jon Basso, owner of the Heart Attack Grill.
Their technology has already attracted some attention from a popular internet company based in Las Vegas. They expressed interest in having Dash POS relocate to the desert city.
"Their interest is inspiring, but for now I am making plans here in Lake County," said Cole.
In October 2011, Dash became one of a few restaurant POS systems that run on the iPad and iPod. With their expected March 2012 release, Dash is in position to be the first with an integrated app market, the first to run on both IOS and Android tablets, and the first to offer website management.
For more information, visit www.DashPOS.com.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Mediacom Communications announced this week the availability of Ultra 50 broadband service to homes and businesses in Clearlake, Lakeport and communities throughout Lake County.
Mediacom Ultra 50 is a high-speed Internet service that delivers download speeds of up to 50 mega bits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps.
Deployment of Ultra 50 is part of Mediacom’s mission to provide the fastest Internet service to homes and businesses in communities of all sizes throughout its service areas.
Ultra 50 utilizes the cable industry’s breakthrough channel bonding technology known as DOCSIS 3.0 that is ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications such as movie downloads or online gaming.
A high-definition (HD) movie (6 gigabytes) can be downloaded in just 16 minutes using Mediacom Ultra 50, as compared to the 4.4 hours it would take to download the same movie using a common 3 Mbps DSL service from a traditional phone company, according to Shawn Swatosh, Mediacom’s senior operations manager for California.
“From the largest cities to the smallest towns, Americans are consuming more bandwidth and demanding a faster Internet,” Swatosh said. “With recent launches, Mediacom Ultra 50 is widely available to ensure that customers throughout Lake County can connect to the fastest Internet speeds.”
Swatosh explained that a variety of consumer applications have rapidly developed and changed how today’s consumers use the Internet. “We watch news and movies online; our use of social networking sites has skyrocketed; we check weather and sports scores online; find recipes; play games; share digital photos with friends and family. The list goes on and on.”
Mediacom was among the earliest cable companies to offer the new-generation broadband service of DOCSIS 3.0, which it makes available to both residential and business customers.
Each Mediacom Ultra 50 customer is equipped with a new, more powerful modem configured for the higher Internet speeds.
“The broadband power of Mediacom Ultra 50 is in greater demand today than even just 12 months ago,” Swatosh said. “It’s because families are using more digital devices that connect to the Internet -- multiple tablets, laptops and smart phones. And also, gaming consoles connect to the Internet to download software and offer ‘live’ interactive games with competitors and friends all over the world. With these dramatic changes in the way we use the Internet, the need for more speed has never been greater. Ultra 50 speed delivers a reliably better experience for the whole family, no matter what they want to use the Internet for.”
In recent months Mediacom installed additional technology in its northern California cable systems to expand the capabilities of its fiber communications network.
Those private capital investments made it possible to broaden the availability of the advanced Ultra 50 Internet service to residential and business areas throughout Lake County.
Mediacom Communications is the nation's eighth largest cable television company and one of the leading cable operators focused on serving the smaller cities in the United States, with a significant concentration in the Midwestern and Southeastern regions.
Mediacom Communications offers a wide array of broadband products and services, including traditional and advanced video services such as digital television, video-on-demand, digital video recorders, high-definition television, as well as high-speed Internet access and phone service.
Through Mediacom Business, the company offers affordable broadband communications solutions that can be tailored to any size business.
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SAN FRANCISCO– Pacific Gas and Electric Co. reported that its 2011 solicitation for new supplies of renewable energy brought in more than 300 offers, a new record for the utility.
PG&E’s energy procurement staff are reviewing them closely to determine the most viable and cost-effective projects to meet customers’ long-term clean-energy needs.
“The highly competitive proposals we received offer affordable power to help us achieve the state’s renewable energy targets,” said Fong Wan, senior vice president for energy procurement at PG&E. “The tremendous response to our request reflects the robust supplies being offered by the renewable energy industry, which California has fostered through its aggressive state mandates.”
Since 2002, PG&E has signed more than 110 contracts for about 10,000 megawatts of renewable power.
PG&E now expects to be able to meet California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, which requires all retail sellers of electricity to deliver 33 percent of their electricity by 2020 from eligible renewable resources like wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and small hydroelectric. The utility is on track to reach 20 percent this year.
Along with large hydro and nuclear power, PG&E now typically gets more than half of its electricity from sources that are essentially carbon-free, making it one of the cleanest utilities in the nation.
Once PG&E determines which of the new offers best suit its customers’ needs for clean energy, it will engage selected developers in negotiations, with the goal of submitting executed contracts to the California Public Utilities Commission by mid-year for review.
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SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang on Friday released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in January, showing monthly revenues came in $528 million below the latest projections contained in the Governor's proposed 2012-13 Budget.
When compared against the 2011-12 Budget Act, January revenues were $1.2 billion below estimates.
"January revenues were disappointing on almost every front," said Chiang. "Thankfully the decisive actions taken recently by the State to stabilize its cash flow will ensure that California can pay its bills through the end of the fiscal year."
The Controller's Office had warned the governor and Legislature that general fund cash could dip below the minimum safety level of $2.5 billion on February 29, and slip into the red in March.
To address this potential cash problem, the Controller's Office worked with the Department of Finance and the Treasurer's Office to develop a series of short-term cash solutions to get the State though what is expected to be a seven-week cash shortfall.
They include additional external borrowing through the Treasurer's Office, a small number of delayed payments, and temporary borrowing from the University of California and California State University systems.
The state also has access to an additional $865 million of internal borrowable funds, due to recent legislation (SB 95) signed by the Governor last week.
To offer a complete view of the State's finances, the report issued today by the State Controller compares actual revenues and disbursements to figures from 2011, estimates from the 2011-12 Budget Act, and the latest projections found in the Governor’s proposed 2012-13 budget.
When compared to the Governor’s 2012-13 budget, personal income taxes in January were down $525 million (-5.5 percent), and corporate taxes also dropped by $128 million (-48.8 percent).
January sales tax totals came in above estimates by $42.8 million (5.6 percent).
The state ended last fiscal year with a cash deficit of $8.2 billion. The combined current-year cash deficit stands at $21 billion.
Those deficits are being covered with $15.6 billion of internal borrowing (temporary loans from special funds) and $5.4 billion of external borrowing.
For more details, read January 2012's financial statement at http://sco.ca.gov/ard_state_cash_fy1112.html.