5/2007
the touch
Merit
5/2007
From the
Desk of the CEO
O p E r a t O r N E w s l E t t E r
coin a phr
ase:
“If all the
manufactures
in our industry
would be this
diligent in
protecting the
quality of their
products, we,
your customers,
would be
stronger and
able to buy
more new
product, which
in turn would
strengthen the
manufactures.”
Dave Winfrey
-Bullseye
amusemenTs
That’s our Promise:
from Merit to the indus-
try. It’s what drives the
people here every day.
It’s my “North Star” to
guide the company. And
it’s why Merit is gaining
momentum.
Putting the customer
first is not always easy.
Sometimes
customer
feedback is uncomfort-
able to hear. Sometimes
customer requirements
conflict with each other.
Sometimes we do not
have time…. Regard-
less, we listen. We find
a way to satisfy needs.
We make the time. We
do it because by mak-
ing our customers the
top priority, we make
Merit better.
Customers tell us that
software quality is para-
mount; bugs create ex-
pensive service calls. So
we invested to make sure
each software release
is as good as possible.
Customers now rave
about our 2007 release,
which has proven to be
rock-solid reliable.
Customers tell us that
great games, devel-
oped with a clear un-
derstanding of player
interests, is the core
driver of profitability.
So we invest heavily in
game development and
maintain a game cata-
log unmatched in the
industry. Six of our ten
most popular games are
new or enhanced for
2007. Fresh content
keeps players interested
and increases coin drop.
Customers tell us that
ease of service and re-
pair are critical. So
we’ve designed our new
Aurora to have a slide-
out electronics tray, and
the ability to run 100%
of the system with the
electronics exposed for
service. Plus we’re de-
livering new diagnostic
capabilities that will
greatly enhance trou-
bleshooting by our cus-
tomer service team.
We intend to continue
our industry leadership
by delivering inno-
Merit Momentum
»3
Customers always come first. Listen to customer needs. Develop the
products that customers need. Deliver superior quality in everything
we do. Help customers make money.
Merit Customer Promise
thE MErit tOuCh
“Earnings have been way up for us with this software. This particular
location has had ups and downs, but with this software, earnings are up
50% and pretty sound.”
– Roger Westmont, Modern Specialty
“From my perspective, the game content in the 2007 software looks
like it is shaping up to be the best release I have seen from Merit.”
– Jason Rubin, AJ Amusement
“I have been really impressed with Merit’s commitment to getting
feedback from operators. I think the new release reflects our needs as
operators better than I’ve seen in years.”
– Jeff Reed, BJ Novelty
Op:talk
“From my perspective, the game content in the 2007 software looks like it is shaping up
to be the best release i have seen from Merit.”
–
Jason rubin, aJ
amusement
» OpEratOr CHOiCe
OPeraTOr
TO OPeraTOr
aDviCe
by Chris Vecchione
of apple Vending
. use yOur aDverTisinG
sCreens
they are FrEE and can be used to not
only advertise your business but also
endear you to the specific locations by
adding thEir ads.
. sWiTCH fOrCe’s OuT
WiTH neW iOns
if you can get better cost for game
pricing. it’s worth the shot.
3. reseT HiGH sCOres WeeKly
since we began doing this as a rule,
our collections have jumped around
6%... not bad for no cost. we often run
into locations who resist this, but 90%
of the time it’s bartenders or wait staff
who do not want their high scores to
be replaced. Just do it!
Bonnie Theard of Playmeter Magazine presents Merit’s VP Sales Bob Mills
& CEO Mike Maas with the 2007 Operator Choice award for Best Countertop.
5/2007
3
with Merit tech-expert
JOe Perry
»
) serial port or usB port:
• No touch controller found.
• Fatal error, cannot access i/O
board (2006 & 2007 software).
• invalid key error.
) Primary iDe port: (Hard drive)
• Disc boot failure or operating
system not found.
• Bad Command or File Name:
hard drive related issue.
3) secondary iDe port:
(CD\DvD drive)
• loading problem: CD\DVD
drive cannot be accessed.
Other:
• No modem detected.
• No sound.
»tECh TiPs
Possible CmOs errors:
vative high-quality products that provide strong return-
on-investment for Operators. Today, in every part of the
company-- Accounting, Sales, Manufacturing, Develop-
ment, Marketing, Service and Support - we are listening
and responding to our customers. Sometimes we do it
explicitly, like when we engage members of an Operator
Council for product feedback. But mostly it is through
many small, indirect, but super-important day-to-day
moments when a Merit employee stops to ask “What
would be best for the customer?” and then acts on that
insight. Those moments add up quickly, and together are
driving new momentum at Merit.
Thank you for your continued business.
From the Desk of the CEO continued from cover
Mike Maas
CEO
if fOrCe (eCs) motherboard:
1 - arrow over and down to lOaD Fail-saFE DEFaults.
2 - press ENtEr. select Y for “Yes”.
3 - arrow over and down to lOaD OptiMiZED DEFaults.
4 - press ENtEr. press Y for “Yes”.
5 - press ENtEr. press F10 and then press ENtEr.
6 - Go to Final Steps: 1-5
To correct CmOs for force and iOn motherboards
if iOn (eCs) motherboard:
1 - arrow over and down to lOaD
OptiMiZED DEFaults.
2 - press ENtEr. press Y for “Yes”.
3 - press F10. press Y for “Yes”.
4 - Go to Final Steps: 1-5
final steps:
1 - the game should reboot. unplug the keyboard.
2 - shut down the game.
3 - Flip Dip switch 8 to ON.
4 - reboot machine to load any CMOs updates.
5 - Be sure to flip Dip 8 to OFF after completing the process.
Operators and technicians: send me your questions and i’ll answer some in every issue of The Merit Touch.
the correct CMOs for all the motherboards can be found at www.meritgames.com under suppOrt, under FaQ for latest tech 2007 notes (pDF file).
First, try booting with Dip switch 8 on. this forces a CMOs reset to the latest Merit settings. if the machine won’t boot, then try the following:
1 - plug keyboard into purple ps/2 connector on the motherboard.
2 - On power up, press the DEl key (for iON [asus]: hold the DEl key) to enter BiOs setup.
Did you know that corrupted CMOs configuration on the motherboard can cause various problems?
if iOn (asus) motherboard:
1 - at the BiOs setup screen arrow over to EXit.
2 - arrow down to lOaD sEtup DEFaults.
3 - press ENtEr. select OK.
4 - arrow up to EXit & saVE ChaNGEs
5 - press ENtEr. select OK.
6 - Go to Final Steps: 1-5
thE MErit tOuCh
hard Drives and Flash Memory: which
is better?
One of the questions operators fre-
quently ask us is, “why do you guys use
hard drives?” sometimes they follow
with, “is flash memory better?”
it all depends on what you want. For
high-speed access to large amounts of
data and graphics, like in a Merit game,
the answer is clearly that hard drives are
the best option. where storage capacity,
number of write cycles before failure,
and data transfer speeds don’t matter,
flash may be better.
Flash is solid state technology and
boasts the benefit of no moving parts.
Because flash memory doesn’t have a
motor, it can also draw less power, be
smaller, and weigh less than a hard drive.
so where weight or power requirements
are a principal concern, like in a camera
or a cell phone, flash memory is a great
solution. that’s why Merit uses flash
memory for the usB storage device
we offer to clone and store machine
configuration settings. we want you
to be able to carry your configuration
settings in your pocket, so it’s a snap
to pop in and out of the locations on
your route and quickly standardize your
configurations. But flash memory has
several important limitations, which
is why it’s generally not used outside
certain mobile applications.
the most important limitation of flash
memory is how much information it
can store. as an example, Merit cur-
rently uses a 40GB hard drive, and
takes advantage of most of that space
with constantly updating content and
detailed games, complete with thou-
sands of trivia questions, vivid video,
eye-popping graphics, and rich stereo
sound. 40GB of flash memory would
require dozens of memory sticks and
cost about $1,000. at that price, we
would not be able to include the free
1-minute install Quick-Click™ drive with
every Megatouch iON™ paid software
update. For the money, hard drives hold
much, much, much more information.
More information means better games.
Flash memory also has a limited number
of write cycles before it wears out. a hard
drive can survive far more read and write
operations than flash memory. this does
not typically matter for file storage, but
for running an entire operating system,
this can become a problem. what’s
more, while flash is faster starting up
and locating information, it is slower
than a hard drive for transferring big
files, like those detailed games with the
vivid video and eye-popping graphics.
perhaps in the future, flash technology
will improve to the point where it is up to
the task of running our games, in which
case we would reconsider. For now, in
order for Merit to continue to push the
gaming envelope and deliver our graphi-
cally-stunning games, we’ll stick with
our hard drives. One thing is certain- we
will continue to bring you the best in
entertainment technology, luring players
from miles around to spend their money
on your Merit games.
»HarD Drives and flasH memOry
meriT enTerTainmenT
2525 state road
Bensalem, pa 19020
800-523-2760
Fax: 215-639-5346
www.meritgames.com
“For high-speed
access to large
amounts of data
and graphics,
like in a Merit
game... hard
drives are the
best option.”