Solid State Hard Drive are reaching the critical cost per gigabyte threshhold of $1/GB

Which means you can get a 120GB drive for $119.99 right now at Newegg.com

Whats the big deal about SSD's? Long story short, they are very fast in comparison to traditional hard drives and have no moving parts. which means much faster boot times with a much lower risk of hard drive failure.

Finally, please forget the old product names. Here are the four main products now available; two of them (the two with the most significant changes) are detailed in the press releases below.

WIN 1000 – This is suited for the smaller or mid-sized contractor.

WIN 3000 – A great product for the medium-size to larger contractor.

WIN 4000 – An intermediate step; a move up, in many ways, from the 3000

WIN 6000 – The top of the line (and the most popular product offering we have)

Next, there are three versions of the above new software products:

·         Single-user = A one man shop or a contractor with out a network.

·         Gold = Multiple Estimators sharing the same database, for a contractor with a local-area network.

·         Platinum = For contractors with a WAN (Wide Area Network), available to multiple users in multiple locations.

Unprecedented Scalability

Mark Your Calendar: 2012 Users Conference

May 2-5 are the dates for the 2012 McCormick Systems Users’ Conference. It’s a special event for us (and, we hope, for you) – our 30th conference.

To make it memorable for all of us, we’ll have it at the Talking Stick Resort (Scottsdale AZ) – which is only two years old. Yes, it has a golf course on the property. And it’s a four-diamond resort, an “exalted” rating according to this March press release.

Too upscale to be affordable? Not at all – the rates we’ve negotiated are right in line with what McCormick customers have worked with in previous years.

Please put this on your calendar; details (including your U.C. agenda) will be coming to you soon. See the registration form below. If you have questions, please ask!

As part of a dramatic revamp of estimating systems it offers to contractors, McCormick Systems has rolled out the new WIN 1000 system – a great place to start for the small to mid-sized contractor.

 A company seeking an estimating program to meet and exceed their needs will find this system designed to do just that – and at an affordable price. The WIN 1000 comes in editions for electrical contractors, those doing automated building systems (“low-voltage”) work, transmission & distribution contractors, and plumbing & mechanical companies.

 “We had an ‘entry-level’ product before,” said President Todd McCormick. “With the 1000, we’ve refined it, improved it, and we now offer more features. A contractor starting out with this system could use it and be successful for many years.”

  Notable features:

Database (included as standard) Complete with items and assemblies.

  Three versions – pick one:

·         Single-user – a stand-alone system.

·         Gold – networkable on a LAN (Local Area Network).  More than one estimator can use the WIN 1000 in one location. What the contractor gets: No need to “merge” estimates from two or more people; a dramatic reduction in the chance for mistakes.

·         Platinum –networkable on a WAN (Wide Area Network). Employees at various locations can work with the WIN 1000 – a true multi-user estimating system.

Upgrade: McCormick also offers WIN 3000, 4000, and 6000 systems. When the contractor who has purchased the WIN 1000 is ready to upgrade, there is a 100% trade-in credit (no matter for how long the product has been owned and used). 

  “We now offer four estimating systems, which can also be used for project management, each in three versions,” explained Todd McCormick. “And they’ve each been created to serve contractors in each of four markets – electrical, ABS, T&D, and plumbing & mechanical.

  “We’ve done this in response to contractor requests. With these choices, the customer literally can have what he or she wants, and in precisely the way it needs to be.”

An exciting enhancement and upgrade of its estimating systems has led McCormick Systems to roll out the new WIN 4000 for electrical contractors – a product developed for the mid-sized to larger contracting firm that has broad horizons.

  Included (standard):

·         Multiple levels of pricing, labor, and literally hundreds of ways to break out a job.

·         Estimators can have four windows open on screen during take-off – cutting estimating time.

·         Database (regularly expanded & enhanced) with numerous individual items and ready-to-use assemblies.  

·         Integrated scheduling program – allows the contractor using the WIN 4000 to be the leader in a project’s scheduling and management.

·         Attach documents & photos to the file for reference.

·         Configured – to the customer’s specification – as single-user, LAN-networkable (Local Area Network), or ready for users in multiple locations (via a WAN – Wide Area Network).

“We now offer four complete systems – including the WIN 1000, 3000, and 6000,” explained President Todd McCormick. “The WIN 4000 is designed for the company that will estimate many projects.”

  Created especially for use by experienced electrical contractors, plumbing & mechanical companies, those doing automated building systems work, or firms pursuing transmission and distribution projects, the WIN 4000 speeds the estimating/project management process and offers accuracy, flexibility, and adaptability as well.

  “We’ve worked for diligently on this new product. We conceived it after listening – closely – to the contractors and their estimators,” McCormick added.

  “We created it only after learning more about how they estimate and working with them to determine their needs.

  “While this system is not as sophisticated as our top-of-the-line WIN 6000 product, it certainly provides – as standard – all of the functionality, the ability to customize the estimate, and even project-management choices.”

For Your 2011 Calendar

As you may know, ENR generally puts its stuff behind a firewall after a few days of free exposure online. So we grabbed a copy of this to make sure you don't miss it. View it here.

Phosphors Propel CFL Prices Upward

This year, the cost of fluorescent-lighting products rose 24 percent or more because of market conditions for rare-earth minerals used in making phosphors, said Joseph Higbee, a spokesman with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. Most rare earths used in lighting are three heavy elements — yttrium, europium and terbium — two of which the Department of Energy expects will remain in short supply globally for awhile, he said.