Pictured above is a desert plant found near a city just outside of Las Vegas called Mesquite, Nevada. It is a city built upon a handful of casino's. Although not necessarily a destination in and of itself, it's value is as a comfortable stopping off point for some of America's greatest treasures. Namely; Zion National Park, Dixie National Forest, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon National Recreation Area and Kaibab National Forest.
Optimism in the Economy
Customer Value
Kindle Fire
Greetings. Welcome to our Newsletter! We wanted to share the many photo's we have taken of places, people and things throughout the country and beyond. Each month, our headline photo will be something new and different. The caption will present a small explanation. We hope you enjoy. We do not want to waste your time. Articles will contain generally less than 250 words. Please have a look and give us your feedback. By all means, forward to a friend using the link at the bottom of the Newsletter. Thanks. Questions? Send me an email by clicking my Picture!
TRIF.COM
Technology Resources
Technology solutions are a part of doing business just like sales and marketing, It is an important component in servicing customers, managing costs and controlling operations. TRI has an uncanny ability to find affordable technology solutions for a wide variety of situations. Our capabilities bridge database design and development, Internet web-based programs, hosting and co-location services, network and computer sales and support, document imaging, bar code scanning, corporate communications, fax and email programs, mobile applications, cloud computing and help desk services. Interested in taking a step forward with technology? Looking to take advantage of the latest advances? Or just want to take advantage of your new computer?
Give us a call to discuss where you want to go - 877-253-2379 or email rmj@trif.com to discuss your opportunities. The first consultation is always without charge.
Optimism in the Economy
If we listen to the news, and I am not saying we should, all indications are that optimism in the economy is currently an
irrational thought. So what do we do to find the truth? We don't listen to the news but instead scour our sources for actual signs that our economy is moving and, in fact, moving in a positive direction. So this month, we look at truck tonnage figures. If you haven't noticed, truck tonnage figures are up month over month and near 6% ahead of last year.
Given that the largest mode of transportation in the US is trucking and therefore it is one of the leading indicators of a recession. When we see an increase in truck tonnage month-to-month and more importantly, year-to-year, we have reason to be optimistic. Optimistic that we are not heading into a recession and optimism in the fact that the economy is building rather than declining. This isn't just my opinion, it is shared by the ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
If we combine that with the increase in rail traffic which is seeing similar growth over last year, we have further reason to believe things are on the mend. Rail traffic has increased 3.3% over last year and a whopping 14% over 2009 levels. Intermodal is up more than 20% over 2009.
We Make Our Customers
More Valuable To Their Customers
There are a few reasons why our clients have come to us for customized software. Sometimes it is the only option available to handle their particular set of circumstances. Solutions can't always be found in a shrink wrapped package. More often than not, our clients chose to provide something distinctly special to their customer. It might be special data reports that summarize information in a special way, it might be web access to certain information that they otherwise could not obtain in real-time, it might be an automated notification or scanned document that serves an important purpose. whatever the product created, it generally increases the value our client in the eyes of their customer.
This was the subject of the webinar we gave a few months ago called Sticking to Your Customer. We have many terms for this, sticky, glue, enhanced connection or customer enrichment. What we really do is make our customers more valuable to their customers. We help our clients differentiate themselves. As a result, it improves communication and strengthens the bond with their customer. It can also help bridge gaps in changing personal relationships. Sometimes, it can be used as a bargaining chip to attain better pricing. In all cases, it helps build and reinforce a lasting relationship.
Learning about your customers' needs is a great place to begin developing a closer, longer lasting connection with your customer. If you have an idea, please use us as a sounding board. We will help you put that idea into practice.
Should You Buy A Kindle Fire?
The Kindle Fire is Amazon.com's entre into the tablet world providing not just books, but web, moviews, apps, games and more. 
It is designed to beat Apple at its own game by providing a less expensive option for multimedia. In fact, It is reported that it costs less than Amazon paid to make it. Read more here. It is predicted by some that the Kindle Fire might become the best selling tablet not created by Apple. The browser capabilities are supported by a browser called Amazon Silk. It is purported to be faster than other browsers by leveraging the power of Amazon AWS (Amazon Web Services). Much of the browsing power is shifted off the tablet to AWS in the cloud.
One of the big stumbling blocks for the Apple iPad is Apple's insistence on avoiding the use of Adobe Flash. Apple has maintained that opening browsers up to Flash is a security risk. Kindle Silk will display Flash. The Kindle Fire will last for 7+ hours of continuous reading or video playback, comes with Wi-Fi, a 7" color screen, 8gb of storage space. It is less than 1/2 inch thick and weighs less than a pound.
It sounds like a good competitor to the iPad2. In the end, it will come down to the Apps that are made available for the Kindle Fire. But at launch, it is pretty interesting. I'll report back after testing.
If any of the information here is of interest to you, please drop us a note. If you would like to see specific information on technology issues that affect you and your business, please let us know.
Robert McKay Jones
Transportation Resources, Inc. 50 Leominster Road, Suite #3 Sterling, Massachusetts 01564
877-253-2379
rmj@trif.com