Implementation Constraints
All software developed by bos web systems including Websites are "web-based" because they are accessed and operated by users through a standard browser application. Interfaces and functionality are constrained by the technology that is used to develop them, and in many cases these technologies have been extended so they are now used in a manner they were not originally designed for. Some interface conventions that are very easy to achieve with standard "Windows Applications" can be difficult to reproduce in web-based systems.
At all times bos web systems will endeavour to produce all required functionality for you to your satisfaction, however in some cases alternatives will need to be developed to work around these constraints.
You should also be aware that the ability of bos web systems to deliver some requirements may be compromised during implementation if unavoidable or unknown issues are encountered. Should any requirement communicated to us by you through our Proposal, Requirements Specification and/or Design Authorisation documents, be affected or in the estimation of our developers be unachievable, bos web systems will contact you immediately and work with you to develop alternative solutions. Generally speaking this typically only affects smaller, specific functionality and primary functionality is unlikely to be affected by such problems.
Copyright & Legal Issues
It is important to understand that it is your responsibility to obtain any moral consents and/or copyright clearance on any Content you supply to bos web systems, whether as part of the development of your solution or subsequent updates, and for any Content that you place onto your website yourself. This includes not just text but also photographs, images, documents or other related media contained in your complete solution.
At any point in time should Content on your site be found to contravene any NSW State or Australian Federal laws, you will be personally liable for any responsible for any subsequent consequences. Keep in mind that in addition to Copyright there are other laws that will apply to the content found on your website; some of these include (but not limited to) those relating to Privacy, Defamation, Misleading Conduct, Anti-Discrimination, Spamming, Pornography, Child Endangerment, Gambling and Censorship.
If you have any concerns at all regarding any of these issues, you should consider not posting the effected information onto your website and if appropriate seek legal advice. bos web systems cannot be held responsible for any information you choose, or authorise us, to place onto your website.
More Informaiton
Website Features: Content Development & Imagery
Software Licensing
Software is a form of Intellectual Property and is supplied to you by bos web systems under our Software License Agreement. This document is a legal contract that sets out the rights, terms, conditions and obligations that we have to you, and that you have to us, and bind both of us to an agreement that is designed to provide the maximum benefit to each without impinging on the rights of the other. A copy of your Software License Agreement will have been included with your Proposal, or your Requirements Specification if applicable, and before we can commence work on your project we need you to read, understand and sign this document and return it to us along with your authorisation. Only once we have received both of these documents can we commence work.
For more information and specific details, you should read your Software License Agreement. If you have not yet received a copy, we will provide one to you along with your authorisation for us proceed work, however if you would like to review one sooner please feel free to request a copy.
Please note that the information provided here in this section is simply a summary designed to help you to understand the purpose and contents of your Software License Agreement and does not itself form part of the agreement.
Understanding your Software License Agreement
To understand the purpose of the Software License Agreement, it is necessary to understand exactly what it is that you are purchasing from bos web systems. Software itself is not a product, but rather a service. In exchange for the fee you provide to us, we provide you with a service at the end of which you will have a software system in the form of a Website.
This service is actually composed of two parts: the specific work we perform for you as part of your project (which we would not have otherwise done) and work that we have conducted ourselves internally to produce software that we can re-used in your system. We also aquire similar components from third parties that we have been appropriatly licensed to re-use. This collective existing "Library" allows us to deliver your system faster, cheaper and provide you access to much more advanced features than would normally be possible; this is the primary advantage of getting a specialist company like bos web systems to develop software for you, rather than employing your own in-house programmers. If you like, it's similar to having a marketing booklet printed by a printing company rather than purchasing your own commercial printing and binding machines and doing it yourself.
Both the work we perform for your project, and the work we incorporate into your system, are "expressed" as computer code, or Software, which itself is a form of Intellectual Property protected by Copyright. This is similar to commissioning a composer to write music for you at the end of which you receive a copy of the musical score. When you purchase Software from us, you are not actually purchasing the Software itself, but a service that results in a copy of a Software system for you to use. Like the composer or the author of a book, you do not not "own" the original composition or the story (that still belongs to its creator), you simply own the right to a copy of the story for your use. Similarily, when you buy a book, the fee you pay for that book includes the cost of the material it is physically made from, the services needed to print and distribute it, and a royalty that goes to the author.
When you purchase a book, you have the right to read it but not to copy or resell it except other than as allowed by law, and these "terms and conditions" are determined by the author of the book (and/or the publisher on their behalf) and when written down the resulting agreement is referred to as a "License Agreement". In the same way the Software License Agreement we provide to you sets out the conditions of use that we have imposed on the Software we are supplying to you, such as the inability for you to make additional copies or to sell the software to someone else. It also legally provides you with rights such as the right to use the copy supplied to you and to keep a backup copy. Providing that both parties comply with the terms of the agreement, the rights assigned to you in your Software License Agreement are perpetual.
Like all services we also have obligations to you under law to ensure that the service we provide meets our agreed description, is of reasonable quality and is reasonably free of defects. For the purpose of fulfilling these obligations to you under warranty, your Proposal, or Requirements Specification if applicable, and your Design Authorisation documents are considered to be the "description" of the service you have paid for. If any feature listed in these documents is missing, does not match the description or can be demonstrated to be faulty, then we will resolve these for you in accordance with the terms of our warranty.
More Information:
Website Development: Proposal
Website Development: Requirements Specification
Website Development: Design Authorisation
Copyright & Legal Issues
Documentation & Training
bos web systems provides documentation for most of our standard tools including our Content Management System and EMailBlast products. Generally however we do not provide documentation on a case-by-case basis as this can be expensive to produce, often as much as the software itself. Our experience is also that exhaustive manuals tend to be of limited use and usually don't even get read. By default we will not include specific User Documentation for your Website, however should you wish us to to do so please request this before authorising us to commence work.
If your Website includes our Content Management System and/or EMailBlast tools, you will be provided with a training session (generally about one hour) in how to use these systems as part of your solution.
At any stage, bos web systems can provide additional training for key personnel as required at our standard hourly rate or as part of your Software Support Agreement.
More Informaiton
Software Support Agreement
Website Development: Training
Website Development: Support
Operating Environment
As a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner, all software developed by bos web systems is designed to run on Microsoft platforms and technologies. Our Websites require hosting on a server running Microsoft Internet Information Server 5.1 or higher, with appropriate hardware and software to allow the site to run with adequate performance. Where applicable your Website may also require Active Server Pages (ASP) and/or the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 with ASP.NET enabled, and ODBC access to a Microsoft Access Database and/or Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or higher. Additional third party components may also be required, and these are usually itemised in your Proposal or Requirements Specification.
If we have quoted you hosting as part of this proposal, then we will have verified that the hosting provider's operating environment meets these operating requirements. If you are supplying your own hosting, either yourself internally or through a third party, then we can provide assistance with identifying, configuring and if appropriate sourcing licensed copies of these products. It is however your responsibility to ensure that the hosting provider you have selected meets these requirements.
A connection to the Internet will also be required. When accessing your Website we highly recommend you consider obtaining at least a 512/128 ADSL connection. Your system is still accessible from a dial-up connection however significant delays due to slower connection speeds may be frustrating for you as the administrator of your site.
Our administration tools including our Content Management System, EMailBlast and our Extranet Management Tool all require Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or higher.
While bos web systems will make every effort to ensure that your system is accessible through the widest possible range of commonly used browsers ("cross browser compatible") and platforms ("cross platform compatible"), some features may have limited accessibility or functionality in certain browsers or on particular platforms, and these incompatibilities are often outside the control of bos web systems. For example, many commonly available fonts in Windows such as "Comic Sans" are simply not available on Macintosh or Linux machines. For optimum performance we target Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 which covers 82.6% of users on the Internet. If you have any specific concerns regarding browser or platform accessibility, you should communicate these to us before authorising us to commence work.
