Smartlaunch Pros/Cons

[Smokey1913]

I would like to know what the pros and cons of SmartLaunch are, in an effort to see if it is worthwhile for the licensing.

I am a computer engineer and have the knowledge/ability to write a custom software package that I could use in place of Smartlaunch.  From what I am hearing, the new monthly fees and minimal customer support for bug fixes could provide me a reason to write a new application that will work just the same, but enhance some of their downfalls.

Thanks,

[Alomax]

I could easily bash out several long paragraphs on this subject, but I'll try and keep it succinct.

Smartlaunch is the best of a pile of crap.  That doesn't mean it's not crap, just that it's on the top of the pile.

The main reasons it sucks are as follows:

• It's POS system is limited and cumbersome if you sell anything more than a few dozen drinks/snacks
• It's licensing 'wizards' are old, half don't work, and most new games aren't included.
• The last major update (4.0 -> 4.1) was done in..... 2008? I can't even remember correctly
• It's support for mySQL is sketchy at best
• It has a half-assed and broken API, severely limiting it's customizability
• The reports that can be generated are limited to a pre-defined set and cannot be customized
• Their customer support is notorious for being horrible, however this has improved over the last 6 months
• Patches to fix bugs are very slow to appear, and any new patch stands a good chance of introducing business-halting new bugs

And now the pros :

• It's licensing system, while confusing for the novice, does work better than others I've seen.
• The UI is the easiest to use that I've encountered (both the customer-facing and employee sides)
• The customer-side operates as a shell replacement, completely hiding the desktop, which both limits what they can do, and presents them with a simple easy-to-use flash-based UI
• It's just nicer than others*

*I really need to go take a look at the other software again, the last time I compared them was a few years ago. 

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On the subject of writing your own software:
Don't. Developing something that works well and is secure for this kind of environment is complex and time-consuming.  I have no doubt that you (and all the ones before you) are fully capable of accomplishing such a project, however you're also going to be learning and running a business at the same time.  There are only so many hours in the week, and you can either half-ass both things, or focus on one and make it awesome.  There are already a handful of alternative pieces of software that might usurp SL soon, I'd rather give them some money and let them deal with the headaches.

[Smokey1913]

I was thinking of it as a way to gain capital in order to start, not necessarily trying to manage both at the same time.  If I could put something together in a few months, then send it out for beta, and even allow a manageable SDK for it, then use the profits towards the capital of the LAN Center.

Just thinking of alternative means to investors/loans.

Thanks for the info.

[Alomax]

You could put a framework together in a few weeks, the bear is the arduous testing and bug fixing that will go with this.  You're also looking at a huge marketing hurdle.  The market for the software is extremely niche, and the product not only has to be good, it has to be better than whatever people are currently using. Switching LAN management software is a pain in the ass even if you know what you're doing.

[consolegamer]

Has anyone tried Antamedia's software?

http://www.antamedia.com/cafe/

[Alomax]

I have not tried it in several years, and it looks like they've made many improvements. I'll have to check them out again.