AVOS 1.96

["Jeffrey W. Dean" <jwdean@spectrumltd.com>]

Thought I should clear the air on the 17" ballot traffic.  What we are doing
is certifying a firmware release that

1) Is backward compatible with the 1.94, 1.95 spider's web of uncertified
features currently in use.
2) Obtain Wyle certification for a release that can stand alone for some
period of time (perhaps 6-8 months).
3) Incorporate features that can be used in the future (e.g. with GEMS)
without returning for certification.

Insofar as 17" ballots are concerned, what is actually being put into the
firmware is the ability to recognize ballot lengths from 11 to 18 inches in
one inch increments.  Nothing more! No near term changes to GEMS for this
capability are scheduled.

Global must have a consistent policy for Ballot On Demand - one that meets
contractural requirements from the past and one that actually makes us some
$.  The BOD product is undefined at this time.  The one thing we know is the
printing world does not like 18" ballots.  They exist only because of the
FEC voting positions requirement.

Please don't spend anymore time worrying about 17 or whatever inch ballots -
let's get 1.96 tested and certified.

As an additional note - we will NOT be creating new firmware versions on the
fly.  If a maintenance release is required due to a bug or GEMS
incompatibility, then Wyle will be notified by a letter and release note at
the same time it is sent to the field ( the third digit of the version
number will be incremented for this situation).

New features (rcr's) will be accumulated, filtered by criteria and scheduled
for the next major release.  Please be aware that firmware version 2.1.x has
been in development for some time.

Hope this make things more clear.

Jeff Dean